A Busy Few Weeks

So the last few weeks have been absolutely hectic! I have been fighting an ongoing battle with my USB modem and with Microsoft over the last few weeks, but I think (fingers crossed) everything will work now and I should (again a little hesitant to be optimistic) be able to get back into my routine of weekly blog posting.

Since my last post, I have gotten my site placement, taken my first LPI (language proficiency interview), and spent one week visiting my home-to-be. For those of you that haven't heard yet, my site placement will be in a small village on top of a mountain in the Gahengeri sector of Rwamagana district in the Eastern Province of Rwanda! I was excited when I found out my placement, but since my site visit, I can't wait to go back and make this place a second home. So as far as geographic location, I can't say exactly where my village is located for safety and security reasons (Peace Corps rule). What I can tell you is that my village is literally on top of a large hill/small mountain, and is about an hour walk uphill from the main road. It is absolutely beautiful up there, and everyone in my community seems to be welcoming and excited to work with me! My house is very big with 2 bedrooms, a food storage room, a massive living room, and a shower room (if there was any water piping at the top of the hill, I would have running water in my house). I live in a compound with my land lady who I have decided I am going to adopt as another momma, she is the sweetest little lady!

View from the restaurant at the bottom of my hill

Not too far from my house, I also have a beautiful school with about 2,000 students ranging from nursery school to secondary school (only through Senior 3; my school doesn't have any upper secondary school options). My head master seems to be super excited to work with me and help me to get clubs started at the school, and start a nutrition education and permagardening program. I am so excited to work with the students from all different grades and to help the teachers to improve their English communication skills; I think it will be a great two years!

The gardens behind my school

Oh, and just a side note: when it is clear in the evenings I can see the volcanoes that are up in the Northwest corner of Rwanda :) super cool!

So aside from all of the awesomeness that exists at my site, it was also a great reminder of how much more kinyarwanda I need to learn before I go to live in Gahengeri... and that brings me to the LPI.. I did perform better than I anticipated that I would for the oral proficiency exam, scoring a level of "novice high" which basically means I speak like a two year old child. As one of the comments I received back from the tester, it read as follows: "Kelly needs a sympathetic listener to be understood". I totallyyyy agree with this statement, BUT I don't know how sympathetic my listeners will be for two years.. Well that's all I've got for now, with any luck I'll post again on Sunday!

Why does it matter?

So this week we talked a bit about how our beliefs as Peace Corps Volunteers. Although we had countless other sessions and language classes, this topic stuck with me. The session was led by Brian who is our DPT ( don't ask me what it stands for, I have no idea) and he posed the question of "why does it matter?"

So why DOES it matter? Why am I here? What am I hoping to accomplish? As I began to think about these daunting questions, I wrote down a few ideas, scratched things out, reworded them... Here are a few of my thoughts regarding the topic.

           1. Unless you dig deeper and are passionate about learning more, you will only know what you      
               hear from others, and not what you see for yourself.
           2. To overcome ignorance
           3. To share my skills and help in the creation of a more cooperative global community.
           4. To lessen the impact of Us vs. Them thinking through cross cultural exchange at the    
                grassroots level.
Throughout my service, I am sure my beliefs will change, I will adapt to a new culture, and as a result  I will gain a better understanding of exactly why I am here and what I am doing.

We also watched a few very powerful videos and discussed the impact that the media has had on us. So before watching these videos, ask yourself the following question: "What do you think of U.S foreign aid?" Think about the Unites States and our involvement in foreign affairs, how much money we spend, and who we are helping, etc...