BE Camp

BE Camp was a buggy success! Despite the bed bugs (not as bad as the girl's camp in July), we finished BE Camp with only mild sleep deprivation. My kiddos were great, and I am so proud of them for stepping out of their comfort zones while meeting new people and trying new things. We spent the week learning about physical, social, and mental health, HIV, gender-based violence, and life skills. The week was also filled with those little moments that make all of the difficult parts of my job worth it.

One of the students came down with malaria on the first full day of camp, so I spent the week giving him his medicine, sitting with him when his fever spiked, and making sure he stayed hydrated. He is twelve years old and has been living with the Rwanda Orphans Project (referred to by the boys as the "center") in Rwamagana for several years. He is the most serious twelve year old kid that I have ever met. The entire week (after his fever broke) I kept reminding him to smile and have fun, and try to be social with the other boys. At the end of the week, I got this note from him and promised to visit the center in January.

And here are some other pictures for your enjoyment.; pictures of the project I led on preventing gender-based violence, the closing ceremony, and some tug of war games.

So what's it really like?

I've been visiting my parents in the States for a little over a week now and people keep asking me "So what's it really like?" I think they expect me to change my answer from what I originally say; to tell them I can't wait to move back to the States, that life is extremely difficult in Rwanda, that I'm not happy, I really don't know. But to be completely honest, I really have no idea what their imaginations have conjured up as being what they believe to be life in "Africa". I am happy. I love my job. I love the area that I live in and the people that I live with. Yes, it is difficult. Peace Corps is not easy, but it's not supposed to be easy either. I knew what I was signing up for and I do not regret my decision. 

Then there's the inevitable "oh! you are such a good person" conversations. Doing Peace Corps does not make me a better or a worse person than you. It was a choice. I made a choice to join the Peace Corps and I made that choice to learn from and experience a different culture. It is nothing self-righteous; I'm not doing it to be a humanitarian. I have skills that I can share with people in Rwanda and they have skills which they can share with me. I am learning just as much as I am giving. This is the type of work that I like to do, the job that makes me happy, and that is why I made my choice. It is the same as when someone chooses to start a business, they do it because they like it. People liking different things and wanting to do different things with their lives doesn't make one person better or worse than another. 

The truth is I have a job that is perfect for me. It's not perfect for all people, and that's ok. I don't expect people to like the same things as me, we're all very different. I am happy with the way that I am living and the work that I am doing. Yes, I miss my family and seeing most of them for the first time in over a year is great. But this is not my home anymore. It is a very strange feeling to be a guest in the house that you grew up. It's like being in a strange state of limbo; I'm a guest in Rwanda and as much as it feels like home, it's not, but coming home I feel like a guest here too. It's difficult to describe.