(I love restaurants where it is safe to have salad!)
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
My First Official Week.
It has officially been a week. Part of me feels like it has been way longer and part of me feels like I am still a tourist. I have enjoyed my first week so much! From riding the bus, seeing mille des Collins, being fitted for a customized dress, and going to all the best restaurants I have had a good first experience of life here in Kigali.
It is still hard to feel confident in this unknown land when I don’t speak the language. I have been able to learn a small bit of the language in only a short time here. I’ve got my basic numbers down and the essential phrases. Kinyarwanda is a beautiful language!
I have visited two ministries so far, the street kids ministry and Ubuzima HIV/AIDS. It was great to meet new people and see where I will be spending a good amount of my time while I am here. I automatically get hugs and smiles just by saying I am Danika’s friend. (For those who don’t know – Danika spent 3 months here last year) She left an amazing impact on all the people in these ministries and I am loved just by knowing her!
It is fun to be a white person here, all the kids wave at me and I absolutely LOVE it! It is also fun to call other muzungus out only for them to look at you and laugh because you too are a muzungu!
I can only imagine what it will be like in a month, two months, and five months. I know that right now my fears and insecurities are so big but I know that God is faithful and will bring me through them. I have no doubt that I will love living here!
It is still hard to feel confident in this unknown land when I don’t speak the language. I have been able to learn a small bit of the language in only a short time here. I’ve got my basic numbers down and the essential phrases. Kinyarwanda is a beautiful language!
I have visited two ministries so far, the street kids ministry and Ubuzima HIV/AIDS. It was great to meet new people and see where I will be spending a good amount of my time while I am here. I automatically get hugs and smiles just by saying I am Danika’s friend. (For those who don’t know – Danika spent 3 months here last year) She left an amazing impact on all the people in these ministries and I am loved just by knowing her!
It is fun to be a white person here, all the kids wave at me and I absolutely LOVE it! It is also fun to call other muzungus out only for them to look at you and laugh because you too are a muzungu!
I can only imagine what it will be like in a month, two months, and five months. I know that right now my fears and insecurities are so big but I know that God is faithful and will bring me through them. I have no doubt that I will love living here!
Thursday, February 3, 2011
The First Hours In My New Home
I have made it! I am in Rwanda! My flights went well, I watched 3 ½ movies and slept a little. I was lucky to have two empty seats beside me so I could sprawl out on the seats from Amsterdam to Kigali! I definitely felt a bit overwhelmed first arriving here – it had been 4 years since I have been out of my North American bubble. Sitting on the opposite side of a North American car on the way to the house was one way of starting the culture change, then seeing the town and having people stare and point at you DEFINITELY was a culture change! It was hard not being able to connect with anyone when I got to my new home but luckily it was late and I was able to fall asleep on Kigali time.
I slept quite well but was woken by the sounds of our “pet” goat crying at 6am. It felt way too early for me to get up so I grabbed my earplugs (thanks to the person who gave me that tip!) and my eye cover and fell back asleep for the next 4 hours. I am now officially on Kigali time! It still boggles my mind that currently it is 12:00pm at home but 7:00pm here.
For my first day I had my housemate Nicole take me around town. Nicole is also 22 and is from the UK. She is here as part of International teams but is also getting credit for her school back at home. We took the bus in and visited some stores where I could buy some stuff for my room. We grabbed a coffee at this beautiful coffee shop called Bourbon. This is a beautiful coffee shop in their shopping center where you can find the most Muzungus and delicious coffee drinks. Although you think spending 5 dollars on a drink is steap – try 8 dollars! It is definitely a nice little taste of home that will be a treat every now and then.
Nicole and I got to know each other more and she taught me a few Kinyarawanda phrases. It is definitely very nerve racking to be in a country when you don’t know the language.
We then went to visit our other roommate Dora. Dora is Rwandan and she is the one renting out the house to us.
Arriving back home (not mentioning the way of transit for my mother’s sake…) I started organizing my very messy room! It took me a while but I now feel a lot more settled in. I got my very own cell phone and modem so I can connect to the Internet! It feels great to be able to connect to people at home.
On the agenda tonight Dora and I are going to watch one of the movies I brought and then I will edit some photos and read. I am excited for the following days of seeing the memorials and learning my way around town. Thanks for reading – I will post more soon and add some photos as well.
I slept quite well but was woken by the sounds of our “pet” goat crying at 6am. It felt way too early for me to get up so I grabbed my earplugs (thanks to the person who gave me that tip!) and my eye cover and fell back asleep for the next 4 hours. I am now officially on Kigali time! It still boggles my mind that currently it is 12:00pm at home but 7:00pm here.
For my first day I had my housemate Nicole take me around town. Nicole is also 22 and is from the UK. She is here as part of International teams but is also getting credit for her school back at home. We took the bus in and visited some stores where I could buy some stuff for my room. We grabbed a coffee at this beautiful coffee shop called Bourbon. This is a beautiful coffee shop in their shopping center where you can find the most Muzungus and delicious coffee drinks. Although you think spending 5 dollars on a drink is steap – try 8 dollars! It is definitely a nice little taste of home that will be a treat every now and then.
Nicole and I got to know each other more and she taught me a few Kinyarawanda phrases. It is definitely very nerve racking to be in a country when you don’t know the language.
We then went to visit our other roommate Dora. Dora is Rwandan and she is the one renting out the house to us.
Arriving back home (not mentioning the way of transit for my mother’s sake…) I started organizing my very messy room! It took me a while but I now feel a lot more settled in. I got my very own cell phone and modem so I can connect to the Internet! It feels great to be able to connect to people at home.
On the agenda tonight Dora and I are going to watch one of the movies I brought and then I will edit some photos and read. I am excited for the following days of seeing the memorials and learning my way around town. Thanks for reading – I will post more soon and add some photos as well.
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
For anyone interested I am having a Fundraiser on Saturday the 15th of January.
It will be held at the FRWY coffee house - 333 King st. E in downtown Hamilton.
It starts at 7:00 and ends at 10:00.
There will be coffee and performances by Pe Ro and Songs To Wear Pants To.
I am so excited and appreciate any support that I can get!
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