A New Experience

I’ve lived in Africa before, which definitely helped prepare me for my Peace Corps service, but I’ve been realizing lately just how different this experience is from my others in Africa.

I’m living completely on my own. I lived with host families in Senegal and Uganda, which meant that I didn’t have too worry too much about things like buying furniture, shopping for groceries, cooking, cleaning, washing clothes, and disposing of trash. While homestays inevitably bring their share of awkwardness and sometimes even conflict, I’m realizing how easy it was to be taken care of. Now, I have so many more things to figure out and take care of on my own. Living alone is also offering a different sort of insight into the culture – while I have to make a more concerted effort to integrate and to see daily life, I’m also being forced to learn a lot of things I wouldn’t be if I were living with a host family.

There are no other Westerners around. When there are other Westerners around, I think I automatically judge my behavior, at least to some extent, based on what the other Westerners are doing, rather than on what locals are doing. Being the sole muzungu here has made me significantly more aware of local cultural norms and of how people perceive me and my behavior. Further, I think that, when there’s a group of muzungus doing things locals perceive as strange, they just think muzungus do weird things. Here, it’s just me, and if I do something that’s inappropriate, it would reflect on me personally and affect my relationships with people here. And, that’s particularly important because, socially, all I have here are my relationships with locals. (As a side note, my town actually has a few other muzungus – there’s two German girls with the German Development Service who live at the Catholic parish and two American guys who are World Teach volunteers at the secondary school. But, they don’t live near me, and they must not get out much, because I never run into any of them in town and people rarely mention them – which is notable, since, of course, everyone makes sure to tell me if they see another muzungu.)

I’ll be here much longer. Everything changes when you’re going to be some place for an extended period of time, and two years is a long time. I’m learning more, building more relationships, and gaining a deeper understanding of the culture.

I’m trying to be a change agent. A big part of being a Peace Corps Volunteer is working with people in your community and trying to address problems and create change. People don’t want to work with or listen to muzungus they don’t like and respect, so it’s extra important to be aware of your behavior and form solid relationships.

I’m more integrated in the community. Because of all the aforementioned factors, I’m much more integrated here than I have been anywhere else. Being part of a community is a very different feeling than being an visitor. Nyagatare is starting to feel like home, and it feels great.

I’ve realized just how much people here talk about muzungus. As my Kinyarwanda is improving, I’m hearing it for myself more and more. Plus, several of my good friends here say people talk about me and ask them about me constantly. One of them says he always knows where I am because every time someone he knows sees me, they tell him. (Constant updates of, “Jen is walking down the street,” and, “I saw the muzungu buying phone credit at that store” must be fascinating for him.)

Being the only Westerner around and living alone is making me more aware of the culture, helping me build more meaningful relationships with locals, and giving me an experience unlike others I’ve had in Africa. This experience is more personally and socially challenging on a daily basis, but, while I think my heart may always be in Senegal, I’m finding it to be the most rewarding yet.

College Town

As I’ve said before, I live in the Rwandan equivalent of a college town. I love college towns, so this is a real treat.

The university here, Umutara Polytechnic, is comprised of six faculties – Business, Agriculture, Veterinary Medicine, Information & Communication Technology, Technology & Applied Science, and Language, Communication & Media.

I’m not really sure what the quality of instruction is like. Several students have complained to me that their teachers are not well-qualified or that they frequently make mistakes. People have also told me that the library doesn’t have very many books, the computer lab doesn’t have very many well-functioning computers, and everything they learn is theoretical. The students also don’t have textbooks for the most part. They buy photocopies from the school for some things, but not all the students can afford them (it’s 30 francs, about 5 cents, per page, and there’s a lot of hand-outs); for other things, they take turns reading the one copy of the book in the library. I’m hoping to sit in on some classes at some point and get a better idea of what things are like.

Anyway, a lot of my good friends here are students, and they are really impressive. Many of them are from extremely poor families in very rural villages and grew up without electricity or other resources. On top of that, a lot of them are genocide survivors, who witnessed violence at an early age (around 6 for most of them), lost family members, and were even left to care for their siblings. But, they still finished secondary school and earned government scholarships to study at university. In a country where many people don’t complete secondary school and very few pursue higher education, that’s a really amazing accomplishment.

Even now, most of the students don’t have a lot of resources, but they work really hard (unless they’re always lying to me when they say they’re studying!). A lot seem to spend hours in the library, they come by with their reading assignments and ask me about words they don’t know, they practice English all the time, they sit in my house and copy vocab lists out of my Kinyarwanda books.

As the Rwandan government just changed the language of education from French to English last year, the students who grew up in Rwanda (which is the majority of them, as far as I know) are facing some difficult challenges. Imagine if you took a few hours of Spanish class per week in high school, then got to college and were told that everything was going to be conducted in Spanish. It would be a disaster. But, that’s what the kids here are dealing with, and they’re doing a remarkable job. Not only do they have little experience in English, but they’re not always getting great instruction in English, as not all of the teachers speak it very well either. Plus, they don’t have a lot of opportunities to really practice. I guess that’s where I come in – I’m really happy that I’m able to help them and give them a chance to practice. Two of my good friends were at my house the other day, and they told me that I explain things really well and that I’m helping them a lot – it was definitely a highlight!

Update

Wow, it’s been awhile! Life at site has been keeping me pretty busy recently. My time is mainly divided between working at my official job and trying to integrate into my community.

Most of my work is done in other sectors, which means I get to travel around the district a lot. I haven’t left Rwanda yet, but I’ve seen both Uganda and Tanzania! I mostly go to cooperative meetings and to health outreach trainings. Many of the cooperatives are just getting started, so we’re helping them conduct elections and set their procedures. Soon, they’ll start working more on income-generating activities and on micro-savings and micro-lending, which I’m really excited about. The health outreach trainings are mainly for Community Health Workers, religious leaders, and youth who have been chosen to work as peer educators. The trainings teach them about AIDS prevention, family planning, malaria prevention, water hygiene, and nutrition; provide them with resources; and, teach them how to educate others on health issues. I love that this project trains people to train others, because it will be more sustainable and have a bigger impact. My best day in the field so far was a at youth outreach event, which involved performances of traditional music and dance, football games for girls and boys, and speeches from youth on AIDS prevention.

I occasionally work in the office here in town, mostly on computer-related tasks that nobody else in my office can do [efficiently]. I’m trying to take those opportunities to teach my supervisor and other co-workers some computer skills that would be helpful for them. Hopefully, they’ll soon feel comfortable enough with computers that they won’t need my help any more. I’m a big believer that aid workers should aim to work themselves out of a job.

That about sums up my official job, which has been fine, but what’s been a lot more meaningful to me are the relationships I’m developing with people here. As my Kinyarwanda improves buhoro buhoro (little by little), I’m able to communicate a bit more with my neighbors, most of whom speak exclusively Kinyarwanda. But, sometimes I translate in my head things I say in Kinyarwanda. For example, my neighbor’s umukozi (housegirl) went to visit her family in her home village for a while and just returned. Wanting to say, “I’m happy you’re back,” I said, “Nishimiye wavuye hano” – “I’m happy you came here.” Only, I’m pretty sure that’s not grammatically correct, so it probably came across more like, “I is happy you came here.” Great.

Because religion is such a big part of the culture in Rwanda, like in most African countries, going to church is really important for integration. I’ve been going to the Presbyterian Church almost every Sunday and have made several good friends there. Last Sunday, the choir sang a song in English for me – I was so touched!

A lot of Peace Corps Volunteers barricade themselves alone in their houses as soon as it gets dark, which is around 6:00pm here. I did that for about a week before I got really bored and sick of being alone, felt unproductive, and realized I was missing out on a lot. I go out at night now, and it’s very liberating. Because so few people have electricity and there are so many fields, my neighborhood gets pitch dark, so I don’t really go wandering around alone at night. But, I go out with people whenever possible, go to the store across the street, visit my neighbors, and have people over. You can’t integrate when you’re spending 14 hours a day alone in your house, and I’m pretty sure it’s not healthy, so I’m feeling much freer and more social now.

Things That Are Illegal Here

I've gradually discovered that a surprising number of things are illegal in Rwanda, so I'm keeping a running list. Here are the crimes I've discovered so far:

-Plastic bags (should be the case everywhere...)

-Talking about ethnicity (an attempt to reduce ethnic tension)

-Homosexuality (sad, but common in Africa)

-Mosquito nets that haven't been treated with insecticide

-Being barefoot outside (It seems this is not actually enforced...)

-A pregnant woman being tested for HIV w/o the father present

-Not having a kitchen garden (an effort to improve nutrition)

-Accusing someone of having been a member of the Interahamwe

-Prostitution (not the case in all African countries)

-Polygamy (ditto)

-Not participating in umuganda

Football Fever

As most of you likely know, the 2010 FIFA World Cup, held in South Africa, kicked off on Friday. If you’re familiar with Africa, you can probably imagine that this is an exciting time across the continent.

As it seems screenings of World Cup games are akin to cultural events, and thus a good opportunity to work on integration, I’ve watched the majority of the games that have been played thus far, mostly with students at the university in my town. Granted, I was watching a small TV from the back of a large room and could barely tell when goals were scored, but I still caught both the excitement about football and the pride for Africa.

While watching the games the past few days, a few things have stuck out to me.

First, people all over Rwanda, and throughout Africa, I believe, are phenomenally excited that the World Cup is being held in South Africa this year. Because of its history, level of development, substantial white population, and relative importance on the international stage, South Africa is sometimes considered separately from the rest of the continent. But, for Africans, this is the closest to home a major event has been, and it has put their continent in the global spotlight. I think it’s fair to say that Africans all over the world see South Africa’s hosting the World Cup as a rare moment of pride and recognition for the whole continent. Or, more optimistically, the first of many such moments.

On a similar note, Rwanda is not playing in the World Cup, six African teams are (South Africa, Nigeria, Cameroon, Ghana, Ivory Coast, and Algeria). Regardless of which of the six teams is playing or whom they’re playing against, every single person here roots with unbelievable excitement for the African team. Why? Because, “They’re African,” “They’re our brothers.” Africa’s not a country, and commentators shouldn’t generalize – yet, it’s clear that Africans themselves (there I go, generalizing) feel a tremendous unity that ties their whole continent together.

Finally, I was excited to see that, when the U.S. played against England on Saturday night, everyone was rooting for the U.S., exemplifying the fact that Rwandans (Africans in general, I think, to generalize again) like America. Is it because of the USAID stickers plastered all over everything? Or because we elected a black President? Or because the U.S. is more predominantly Christian than other Western countries? Or because of Jay Z and Beyoncé? Based on my conversations with people, it’s probably some combination, but it’s hard to say. It makes me a little sad, though, that here Rwanda is a whole country full of people cheering on the U.S., when most Americans haven’t even heard of Rwanda and most of those who have only know about the genocide.

Anyway, I’m really happy to be in Africa during this World Cup, and I’m eager to see the excitement and pride continue to erupt in my little town throughout the next month.

Moving Day

A few days ago, I moved from the guesthouse I’d been staying at to my house – my very own house!

The actual moving process was quite an ordeal. My supervisor told me he hired some people to help transport my things. I envisioned a pick-up truck – after this long in Africa, I should have known better! Two guys showed up, and their only means of transportation was a small wooden cart that looked like it was about to fall apart. They tied my trunk, mattress, and a few other odds and ends to the cart, which one of the guys pushed, while the other wore my backpack, carried two buckets full of stuff, and put my suitcase on his head. Further, my supervisor and I had been busy at a co-op meeting during the day, so by the time we actually started moving my things, it was about 7:00pm, at which it’s completely dark here. Plus, on top of the two transport guys, my supervisor, and myself, a couple people who work at the guesthouse came along. In the end, we were a caravan of about six people, carrying everything I own through town in the pitch dark. It was quite a sight!

I’m still waiting on some of my furniture to finish being made so I can fully unpack, but I already have a bed, a dining table, a coffee table, 4 chairs, and a storage shelf. I’m also looking forward to getting a couple mats to put down. And, I still need to hang a clothesline and my mosquito net (though I haven’t gotten a single bite in four days of sleeping without one, which is shocking considering the number of bugs I’ve seen here – mosquitoes don’t like me) and buy a mattress that fits my bed and kerosene for my stove (since I moved in, I’ve eaten peanut butter with bananas, peanut butter with crackers, and peanut butter with bread). In the meantime, though, I’m just happy to have my own place and to be settling in and getting to know my umudugudu!

(Hopefully I’ll be able to post pictures of the house next time I’m in Kigali.)

Week in Ruhengeri

Yes, I am an idealist. In the world I like to see, aid money is used to provide aid. To my more cynical readers, none of this will come as any surprise to you. And, when I’m honest with myself, it didn’t to me, either. But, that doesn’t mean I’m okay with it.

Last week, there was a workshop on internal savings and lending groups for the organizations involved with Higa Ubeho and the Peace Corps Volunteers who are working with them. The workshop was held in Ruhengeri, a large town in the mountains of Rwanda’s North Province.

Here’s a look at some of the expenditures related to the workshop:

-The workshop took place at La Palme, a very nice hotel in downtown Ruhengeri.

-All attendees (around 45) stayed at the hotel. Each person had their own room, though the rooms were meant to hold between two and four people. The cheapest rooms cost $60 per night.

-We attended breakfast and lunch buffets at the hotel.

-We were given an assortment of drinks and snacks twice each day.

-Each person was given 7,000F (about $12.30) for dinner each night – more than enough for us to not only eat, but to buy expensive Western food and also splurge on drinks or dessert.

-People attending the conference came from all over Rwanda, and transportation costs for most totaled 3,000F (about $5.25) to 5,000F (about $8.80). Yet, we were each given between 10,000F (about $17.50) and 15,000F (about $26.30) to “cover transportation.”

So, over the course of the week, I received 36,000F (about $63.15) in cash, on top of the provided amenities - while I was learning about people who work hard to save 150F (about $0.26) each week to contribute to their savings/lending group. It breaks my heart and makes me a little sick. I’m going to try to think of something useful to do with the 15,000F (about $26.30) I had left over, because that is obviously the very least I can do.

As an American living in Africa, yes, I thoroughly appreciate having the luxury of hot showers, CNN, pizza, and free Internet every once in awhile. But, this clearly went overboard, and I shouldn’t even have to point out that this should not be considered an acceptable use of “aid money.”

I hope our Rwandans counterparts who attended the workshop with us benefited from it and gained knowledge and skills they will be able to use to help others. But, couldn’t we have accomplished that without so much lavish expenditure, and used the money that would have been saved to pay school fees for more children affected by HIV/AIDS (one of the purposes of Higa Ubeho)?