So, my sore-throat turned out to be strep throat. Woohoo. Sam pointed out the white spots on my tonsils and the nurse at the clinic confirmed. She put me on anti-biotics for a week. I really hate taking them, but I didn’t have much of an option.

We just got back from a 3-day trip to Nyagisagara, which is another 3-hour drive from Kigali. Rwanda is small enough that you can drive from the northern tip to the southern in six hours. Because of the strep, I was considering staying back. Emilia had already come down with something the week before, so I would have stayed back with her at the Parsah’s home. The Parsah’s are this amazing Persian/Italian couple who’ve lived in Rwanda for almost 3o years. They’ve had us over for dinner 3 times so. She makes some goooood authentic Persian polo.

Anyway, I’m glad I went to Nyagisagara because it turned out to be the most exciting trip we’ve made thus far. We stayed at the Baha’i Center in Nyagisagara for all 3 nights. The first night was really bad for me. I was so nauseous and basically passed out on a mattress when we arrived. I think it was the side-effects from the meds I was taking. I felt really good the next morning, and during the day we met up with the locals who had prepared this amazing dance for us.

The next day we went on one of the most strenuous hikes that I have ever experienced. It took us over 3 hours to climb around 3 huge mountains. For the first hour, the incline was 40 degrees up hill. We were going pretty fast too, and the first 3o minutes felt like an eternity. We had a guide who was so hard-core that he scales these hills bare-foot. Our feet would have been completely destroyed by the jagged rock. We passed a lot of people whose daily routine was going up and down and these mountains, which made me realize that I really had no right complaining. I even saw someone walking down in crutches. How?? Anyway, the last two hours were pretty easy. Once we got up to the first hill/mountain, we basically looped around the mountain tops till we got to our destination, which was a small community of people that the group had visited the year before.

I’ve been told that many of the communities we visit are a lot more vibrant than the previous years. Many communities were so visibly disaffected from the genocide that smiles were hard to come by. It’s very different now. In most communities, it’s hard to tell that they’ve had this bloody past. Tomorrow we’re going to the Rwandese version of Auschwitz, and I hear that this is one of the few communities that remains to be extremely depressed. There’s a memorial site there that has been left almost completely intact.

The people here always tell me that I should take good news home with me. To them, the genocide is a big shame and I get the impression that many don’t fully understand how it all happened. I don’t either. The genocide wiped out 1/8^th of its current population, and I cannot even begin to fathom how that must have been. They want people to know that Rwanda is safe now. And, it is safe. It seems to be one of the safest and most forward-thinking countries in Africa.

I’m enjoying the trip a lot more now. I feel like I’ve transitioned into the pace of things here, and I’m beginning to really be here mentally, rather than just going along with everything.

We’re going to Kampala on the 7^th for 3 days!

Shout outs to John Michael, who just found out he’ll be in Haifa for 2 ½ years! And to Bejan, Melle, Laila, Dibo, Jacki Ambe, Mona Ziems, Bryant, and Sahar. And to everyone else :)

http://www.thedustyfoot.com/home.html

Interesting tids
1. The computers in this internet cafe use mozilla fire fox
2. Mars bars are a dollar each
3. The kids come up to you and whisper agajupa. They all want your agajupa (water bottle).
4. Whenever we go out to the villages we are secretly followed by clandestine Rwandese soldiers ordered to protect mozungus. This is because the government is intent on maintaining a good relationship with the west.
5. Hakuna matata is part of the Rwandese vocabulary.
6. You can get a fine for going over the speed limit.
7. A young man in Kabare II was wearing a t-shirt with "Saddam Hussain" in bright neon green letters plastered all over it. I don't think he knew who Saddam is.
8. We eat awesome fruit salad in the morning. Passion fruits, bananas, papayas, pineapple. Sooo good.

Still have the sore-throat. It's not getting worse or better, although it doesn't hurt as much in the evenings. Sometimes, I feel incapable of interacting with the people here. Moments like these I feel stuck and wanting to retreat into the background. The thing is if you're white, you're automatically the center of attention wherever you go. I'm kind of used to this already, but it's more heightened here because I'm not a familiar face. Occasionally, it's a test of patience. When some random person on the street asks me where I am from, I just say Cameroon and wait for the look of disbelief. They laugh like I'm obviously lying to them. Then I just smile and walk away. Little do they know that this muzungu boy went to their schools, but has recently been spoiled living in America.

It's interesting to think that it is just pure luck/chance to have been concieved/born where you were. For all I know, I could have been born in a little Rwandese village outside Kigali and I would be a very different person. So, what makes some people think that a particular person's life, based on geography or culture, worth more than someone else's life? Just something interesting to ponder... or not.

Better to light the candle than curse the dark - K'naan

So, we just got back from a one-day trip to Papias' villagem (out translator and awesome companion) and another 3 day-trip to Chabajua. This is turning out to be a 2-month long road trip! These two last trips were both 4-hour drives from Kigali.

Papias' village is in the KIBUNGO province and is mostly made up of children. This seems to be very typical of the villages here. The children-factor was soooo noticable in this particular village. When the kids heard our car drive into the village, there was a massive out-pour of children out of their classrooms swarming around the car. There must have been over 300 kids that day. They remembered the group from last year, and were obviously awaiting the 2006 visit.

Sam and Steve had made up a song a few years back, and when Sam pulled out the drum and started banging on it and shouting out the words, the kids all answered back in unison. 300 voices chanting in unison. Amazing!

A lot of the children here are orphans and so many of the villages have taken on the responsibility of taking care of the orphan children. I have noticed that you almost never see people in their 20's and 30's in the villages. It's typical to see older people in their 40's, 50's and 60's and a huge number of pre-pubescents. It's clear that orphanages would be of great service to the Rwandese. I'm thinking of orphanages that would also give a holistic education to these children. Considering the amount of funding that is available for such programs, I'm sure it's doable. I've had this idea stuck in my mind the last couple of days.

Our other trip to Chibajua was long and tiring. I'm getting used to not having the spoils of western life. My sleeping bag is my refuge at night and the setting of the sun makes me long for sleep. Life here starts at day-break and, in the villages, ends just after sun-set. In the evenings we have jam sessions, with Sam playing the drum and everyone one else following with the appopriate lyrics. And lots of dancing too. During the day, we hang out with the kids, play soccer with them, talk to the parents about their needs. Some of the kids are malnourished so we took some pictures and will send them appopriate vitamins. We had a hygiene class, and bought some sandals for some children.

Out team is getting along pretty well. There's a budding romance between 2 of the youngest volunteers, and I think only 3 of us have caught on, so it should get a little interesting.

All but 2 of us came down with colds in the last few days, so we're back in Kigali to recoup before the next trip. So stay tuned....

You can smell Jack Daniel's Barbeque Sauce in the air on your way to Nkore

We just got back from a 2 day trip to Nkore, which is about a 4-hour drive from Gatanga. Half the trip is on a narrow dirt road that goes high up into the mountains. The scenery is absolutely amazing. I took a lot of pictures, but it would take forever to post them up, so I’m shooting for 3 right now. I hope it works. Anyway, the river valleys here look like some of the pictures you saw in geography class when you were learning about ox-bow lakes and all that good stuff. Whenever the car stops, you are surrounded by dozens of curious faces. They look at you like you just landed from a foreign planet, and you can tell they have a thousand questions that you won’t be able to understand. Language is a huge barrier for us. Everyone here speaks kirwanda. French is spoken mostly around the city, and English even less so. So, we have Papias, our translator and good friend, wherever we go. He is quite a personality, and is amazing with children. Papias’ life story is really interesting. I’ll have to share it with you some time.

We had a small mishap on our way to Nkore. The bus got stuck on a bridge, after jamming into one of logs. Many of the bridges here are made out tree-logs, and one the logs had gotten stuck under the car and pulled almost 10 feet away from the bridge. So, one of the back tires was suspended in the air and the trick was to roll another log under the back tire so it would have something to push against. Anyway, people began to gather around us, as everyone started yelling their suggestions. Good times. Actually, it wasn’t that hectic. There were some good suggestions, but way too many cooks for this meal. It all worked out at the end. I have it all on picture and video J

Whenever you walk around in the rural areas, you are followed by dozens of children who walk along side you, looking in your face, smiling at each other. As they walked around us the first night, on our way to have dinner at a friend’s house, they started singing in unison. I don’t know what the song meant, but it was absolutely beautiful. Anyway, that is Africa for you! I have learned a few words in Kirwanda. Merakosay means thank you. Jambay, a Swahili word, is hi. Amakourou is how are you? And that is always followed by nimayza, I am fine. It’s either that or nimayza chani, I am very well. Moramochay is goodnight. So, we played some games with the children, gave out whistles and candy. Papias taught them a song, and Jamsheed, our latest volunteer from Germany, taught them a step dance. I think they really loved it. We had a question/answer session with the adults after we all introduced ourselves. It was sweet. We spent the night at the Baha’i center and took off at noon the next day.

There has been some sweet group bonding experiences this last week. Note to self -Family Guy and Arrested Development can make some awesome midnight chatter.

I tried posting yestereday but I didnt have enough time. Sorry, if i hqvent replied to everyones emqils. I will try to get to them as fast as i can. I try to post on here the first thing so that most of you will know whats going on. This internet cafe has the most jacked keyboards, with the keys in all the different places so bear with me. Ive been so weak the last few days, and last night I felt I a little sick. I went to bed as soon as we got home from hqving dinner at a friends house and I felt better this morning. Anyway, I have to get going now. I will try writing more in a few days.

Day 3

Live from Rwanda! The trip only took a total of 40 hours. 58 for the rest of the group! I flew out of Dulles at 7 p.m. Saturday evening, spent almost a day at Heathrow, where I met the rest of the volunteers, then boarded a plane for Kenya that evening, arrived in Nairobi at 6 a.m., where we had a 10-hour lay over, and then made a final 2-hour flight to Kigali (capital of Rwanda). With almost no sleep during the trip, except for a couple of hours Steve and I were able to pass out at Heathrow, I felt like a total zombie towards the end. I don’t really know what it’s like being a zombie.

My team mates include Steve, Emilia, Nasseem (from Canada), and Sam who’s from Phoenix. Sam is 22 and is responsible for the creation of Orien Aid. All the volunteers are super chill and very laid back. The girls are a lot more quiet the guys. The guys tend to dominate the conversations, which I hope changes soon. Emilia seems to be the only one who might feel the least comfortable. I think this might be her first time far away from home. We’re working

We were welcomed at the Kigali airport by Teddy and a couple of other men who work with the Orien Foundation. Teddy Anderson is American/Persian and grew up in Rwanda, but is visiting for the summer. Teddy’s parents run another organization along side Orien, and the two pair up to provide service to the near-by villages outside of Kigali. Teddy’s parent’s house is the home-base for the group, from which we will do most of our driving expeditions to the villages. The house runs on solar cells, and there is no power most of the time. No running water either. They own a big piece of property on the outskirts of the capital where they are building a school and clinic. It’s really peaceful where they live and you can see the city below you. I’m trying to get the pictures to upload so you can see for yourself. From what I understand. the Anderson’s work in Europe, where they try to raise money for the clinic and school.

As some of you know, I wasn’t really sure what to expect when I got here. All I knew was that there were some positive things happening in Rwanda and I was just drawn to be part of them. Orien Aid is a cultural exchange initiative, that allows volunteers to come here and learn more about the Rwandese culture, and to hopefully share something about us with the people. This is the 5^th or 6^th Orien trip to Rwanda, so the surrounding villages are expecting to see some familiar faces. We basically do lots of road trips, meet with the locals, ask them how they are doing, play soccer with the kids, do some unity-oriented work-shops with the hopes that it will inspire the kids. We’ll also be trained to give advice on nutrition, AIDS education, and compost treatment.

Rwanda reminds me a lot of Cameroon, with the rolling hills and cool temperature. It is, in fact referred to the land of a thousand hills, and if you have seen Hotel Rwanda, the name of the hotel means the hotel of a thousand hills. The people are extremely welcoming, which seems to be a quality that is shared by most Africans. We are “Mozungu” here J. The kids whisper it when you walk past them, but mostly they shout it at you, with big smiles on their faces. They are amazingly resilient for being a post-conflict society. You can sometimes sense the pain in their eyes. Most families here have lost at least one member in the genocide. The words “Hutu” and “Tutsi” are now considered taboo, and no one ever talks about the genocide, except maybe in a side joke. Just to tell you how sensitive it can be, I was told that one of the volunteers last year was asked by a Rwandese how many siblings he had, and he answered and then asked the same question back. The man responded with a blank stare and did not say a word for the rest of day.

Villages here continue to have fact-finding meetings every Friday, where family victims air out their emotions, and attempts are made locate those responsible for individual deaths. Usually, neighbors killed neighbors. Most of those who took part in the killing have since been released, so this is an attempt to find some closure for the people.

It’s amazing how recent all this death and destruction occurred. I just hope we can learn all we can and be able to share our experiences with our family here.

I fly into Kigali, Rwanda the afteroon of June 5th. I'll write more when I can.