What I can't describe in words, I can take in pictures

Packed and ready to go. One year: One large back pack, one day pack, one carry on suitcase and one pink motorcycle helmet.

My last Tim Horton's.

Sunrise over Mount Kenya.

Finally! After hours and hours of flying, I arrive at Kigali International

My room for the next nine days.

My little friend showed up just to say "good night"

I made it to Rwanda!

I have arrived! I should be resting, I know, but my body can’t decide whether it’s 2am (it is in Calgary), 10 am (it is in Kigali) or the middle of the afternoon (which is what it feels like outside). I will rest soon but for now, blog! I’ve decided it’s better to type in Word and save it so that I don’t forget anything and when I find an internet connection, I can post multiple blogs. So, here I sit in my room at the Amani guest house. Above me is my mosquito net which will come in handy tonight. I’m looking forward to it actually. Sort of like building a fort when you’re a kid. At least I hope it feels that way! My flights from Calgary were entirely uneventful and for that I’m very, very thankful! Before leaving London for Nairobi I met up with Christine who is another volunteer from Montreal. I recognized her from the picture she emailed me. The flight itself was long and my personal entertainment system didn’t work – not that it mattered, I’ve seen most of the movies offered at this point. So I tried to sleep but was terribly uncomfortable. I tried to read but you can only do that for so long. At one point I felt a tightening of my chest when I realized that I would be away from home for an ENTIRE YEAR. Logically I knew this but it really sank in. It’s a long time. What have I done? But I tried to focus my energy on my excitement rather than my fear. Then it happened. It was near 6 am and I looked eastward. There, over the Indian Ocean, the sun was starting to rise. It was slow at first. Just a thing orange line over the horizon. The line grew and the sky turned from black to blue and at once it seemed that God had only two colours on his pallet, one bright orange, the other royal blue. The sun was rising over Africa and I was witnessing it! I grabbed my small camera and tried (unsuccessfully) to capture it. One year is a long time, I thought, but to see sunrises like this might make it worth it. I was like a tourist in Banff, trying to get the perfect image. The silhouette of Mount Kenya appeared in the distance. It was beautiful. In Nairboi we met another volunteer from Florida named Portia. Together we headed outside to take the plane to Kigali. Over Lake Victoria we flew and arrived to the Land of A Thousand Hills. We cleared customs (Welcome to Rwanda!) and my passport received another stamp. My luggage made it! I didn’t bring much, though - my pack from Peru and a small suitcase, the kind small enough to bring as a carry on. After Portia realized her luggage was still in London, we went through to meet Ruth, Jean-Claude and Samir who were holding “VSO Rwanda” signs. They almost didn’t get though because today is dedicated to community work and no one is supposed to be out driving. On our way back we were stopped by the police again until they believed that our drivers were picking up volunteers. As a result of the community work day the streets were void of cars but full of people. First impressions of Kigali (now keep in mind I’m comparing it to Lima, La Paz etc.) is that it’s very clean and orderly. Rolling hills, green trees and very beautiful!

Stopped here for a rest.

Well, I slept for a bit and showered. I feel a bit better but did not want to oversleep. I’m afraid of not sleeping tonight. I woke and took a shower – a very cold shower. If you remember my story about Copacabana Bolivia, you’ll remember that I’m a) not good in cold showers and b) not coordinated when it comes to keeping water off the floor. But at least we’re not high in the Andes where it’s cold outside – we’re in hot Rwanda where the cold water, while made me just about lose my head, was manageable. So, clean and refreshed I hear voices outside my door and peek out to see a few old and new British and Irish volunteers had arrived – and just in time for lunch! This afternoon we’re going to an internet cafe so I can post this and send a few “I’m here and I’m okay” emails to everyone. We were each given 5000 Rwandan Francs to see us through today and tomorrow. It’s equivalent to about $15, from what I can tell. So here I sit, ready to start this adventure. I’m missing you all already but can’t wait to see what the next year will bring.

Friday August 28th: Londong

I’ve just arrived at London Heathrow and have completed 1/ 3 of my flights before arriving at Kigali. I will fully admit that with the amount of travelling I have done this year, I have yet to acknowledge this is IT. This is THE ONE that I’ve been planning for all year (this is my sixth journey and who knows how many flights that includes!) It just hasn’t hit me yet that it’s real. Saying good bye to Aimey and my parents was hard. Made harder by a photo album my mom gave me at the airport. I told her “I can’t look at this right now” as tears welled up in my eyes. The situation was not made better when she said, “It’s not for now. It’s for….you know…Christmas.” As if that helped!! We did have one last Tim Horton’s and I don’t even like Tim Horton’s coffee. I went through security and there I waited. My flight was at 10pm so I did sleep some before arriving here. After having travelled with Aimey in South America, it was sad to sit next to an empty seat. My travel buddy should have been there. And then I got all panicky remembering that I was sick in Peru. What if I get sick here? Who’s going to help me? What about Africa? Who’s going to take care of me? The panicked subsided and I did ask myself “Am I crazy?” (I’ve heard the jokes…save it!)

Now I sit, reading through the Rwandan “Primary Methodology How to Guide” that was developed for VSO volunteers. I have realized, lately, that by the questions some of you aren’t exactly sure what I’ll be doing in Rwanda. Truth be told, either am I!! Well, my title is Basic Methodology Trainer for teachers. The goal of Rwandan schools is to develop child centred schools in the country. That is, schools where students participate in their own learning, take an active role and draw from their own experiences. In short, move away from traditional teaching where the teacher stands at the front, talks and writes on the board hoping students have learned something. As I read through the 55 page document, I’m starting to get excited about the job I have to (get to!) do. This is what I love. If I forget for a moment that I’m ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE PLANET, I’m more excited than I am terrified. When I first started teaching my principal, M.R, hired me to teach math. I know, folks, math. Me! A social studies teacher! I accepted the job on the spot and when I hung up the phone said to myself “Uh oh. What have gotten myself into?” I’ve been teaching math since (as well as social studies, thank God) but I was talking to M.R. one day about a month into my first year and he said “Your learning curve must be very steep, so steep that you must be flipping backwards by now.” He was right and now, as I wait to board my next plane to Nairobi, I feel like I’m starting the steep climb of a learning curve and pretty soon I’ll be all Mary Lou Reton – except without the leotard.

The Long Journey Begins!

First, you all need to read Tina's blog - especially if you have any worries at all about me. She has done such a great job of taking pictures of her house, which will be my house soon enough. The link is on the right of this page. 

Well, I think I'm packed. It took me no more than 40 minutes. Two small bags, which is good because I can divide everything in half: socks, underwear, shirts, pants, malaria pills, contact lenses, shoes. That way, if one bag goes missing at least I'll having something. I hope it doesn't happen but just to be on the safe side. I still have to wait to pack in last minute things. I'll put off putting on clean clothes for a while. My journey begins tonight at 8pm when I check in and ends Saturday morning at 8:30am in Kigali - and that's assuming everything goes as planned! 

Tuesday night I got together with some friends to say good bye. It was harder than I thought. A lot can happen in a year! I also met a second cousin. We met on facebook after she recognized my last name on another friends profile. We have the same great-grand father! It's such a small world. She has been to Africa and brought me the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency which I've been meaning to read for years now. Nadine also brought along "dry shampoo". I'd never heard of it before but you can get all the oil and crap out of your hair when you don't have water. Apparently this happens often.

Keri, me and my dad.  Fitzgibbon cousins!

Cheers!

Nadine and I

Representing J23. 

Yesterday, after my procrastination, I made my second last Canadian meal which was a spinach tortellini dish. Yummy! And I made a tray of brownies. I don't know the last time I had brownies but I certainly don't know when I'll have them again. I got to talk to Em in Victoria and then talked my parents over Skype just to test it out. Now, assuming I can get reliable internet once in a while in Kibungo, I'll be able to chat with them for free! Tonight they come over for a "last supper" (guess we'll all have to sit on the same side of the table.....) and I've convinced Aimey to made her cashew spinach salad. We'll also have cheese smokies on the bbq and sweet potato fries. Then, we'll all head to the airport to say good bye / see you soon. This is my last post from C-Town. I will likely write sitting in Heathrow for 7 HOURS but if not, we'll chat again when I get to Rwanda. 

 

Let me set the stage for you....

In my room there are boxes and things EVERYWHERE. I have box or two for my parents, one for storage, one for Aimey, and one for the trash. I have stuff all over the place and it got too much for me so I decided to do something productive: check the internet to what the weather will be like in Kigali on Saturday (+27 for those interested!). I've read about Ted Kennedy and the amount of sugar we eat and a fire in Calgary last night. Then I realized that my favourite (read: only) eye liner is too small to last me though the year and I can only get it in the city and I don't have a car. So I panicked. What on earth will I do in Africa without eyeliner? The funny/ridiculous thing is that I hardly ever where eyeliner and have probably had that pencil for well over a year. Honestly, Anna! Get a grip. Last night I got together with some good friends to say "goodbye". I held myself together but did have a few tears on the drive home. I have such good friends and I will miss a lot in Calgary. I realized that a lot can happen in a year and I will be so far away as it does. I will miss at least 9 or 10 book swaps! This is a pretty big thing for me and I suppose the longer I type, the longer I procrastinate. My suitcase won't pack itself, after all!

Some final thoughts

I'm back in Calgary now and happy to be home. It's a quick turnaround, as you know. I leave for Rwanda tomorrow. I have had this week, while my friends and family are back at work, to gather my belongs and myself, for that matter. Peru and Bolivia were amazing! It was the first time I'd been to South America or a developing nation, for that matter. The culture shock was there and the language barriers were frustrating but I grew and pushed myself farther than I'd thought possible. Here are some highlights:

Scariest moment -- biking the World's Most Dangerous Road. I take it back. Driving back up the road was worse. Going down, I didn't have time to see the cliffs.

Biggest relief -- wondering if I would have to back out of the Inka Trail but waking up the next morning feeling weak, but better (and 5 lbs lighter!)

Best thing I ate -- Saltenas in Bolivia and Tacu Tacu in Peru.

Nastiest thing I ate -- it wasn't the guinea pig and llama. It was actually a fish soup I had my second night in Peru which made me violently ill.

Best find at the market -- a gift for my brother. 25 cents and I bought him a plastic yellow volvo to hang from his car, Valentina (yes, he named it!) that I got in Copacabana during the car blessings.

Grossest thing I saw -- a man drinking his own pee. Literally, peeing into his hand and then drinking it.

Most challenging thing I did -- there were a million! Probably hiking up to Dead Woman's Pass on the Inka Trail.

Books that I read -- 

--I finished "The Time Traveller's Wife" by Audrey Niffenegger (good story, easy read but apparently the movie is getting bad reviews. Too bad, really), 

--"The Other Side of the Story" by Mirian Keyes (super easy, super fun and super thick. The perfect holiday book that you can leave behind and not feel bad about it) , 

--"The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society" by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows (a novel written in letters about the German occupation of the Channel Islands during WWII. Great story) , 

--"Twilight" by Stephanie Meyer (if you haven't heard of this, you must live under a rock! It's a teenager book and a fun story. Not sure I'll committ to the other two books, though)

--I started "The Space Between Us" by Thrity Umrigar (so far, so very good! Story of an Indian woman and her servant. Sort of like a A Fine Balance - which is one of my favourite books of all time)

Most relaxing day -- hot springs in Chivay after hiking up the Colca Canyon.

Friendliest local -- the lady in the market who warned us that men will spit on you to distract you and then slash your bag open. She warned us to be careful with our money. (Of course, she only spoke Spanish - which we didn't understand - but gestures communicate well!) Also, the lady in the sandwich shop in Arequipa who remembered that we liked Avacado spread on our buns.

Biggest rip off -- Paying 90 soles to get to Arequipa on one bus line. When they only had six passengers, we were put onto another line, that cost only 60 soles. But, we were wise to their game and demanded our money back!

Most frustrating moment -- struggling with the language. Eventually we could say what we needed and had some basic words. Our numbers, our colours, hot, cold, water with gas, water without gas, toilet, orange, apple, the bill, delicious, stop here please!, thank you, and (for all the people hounding us to buy things) no, thank you!

What I missed the most -- hair conditioner, good toilets

What I miss most now that I'm home -- new challenges every day and Orange Fanta. 

Best thing I brought with me -- hand sanitizer and toilet paper, without question. One thing I could never figure out was that all washrooms had a toilet paper roll holder but never any toilet paper.

Would I recommend that you all go -- without a doubt! 

I've spoken with people since who have been reading this blog. I didn't realize it (I thought it was our parents checking in to make sure we were okay). I'm flattered and a bit shy now but thanks for reading! The adventures are going to continue as my suitcase heads off to Rwanda tomorrow. 

 

Let me make myself clear

As far as I know, Zebras are not native to Bolivia. Llamas, yes. Alpacas, yes. Stray dogs, OH YES! As per a few questions, there aren't real zebras. The issue in La Paz is that traffic is insane. The lines on the road mean very little. Horns are the main method of communication. And drivers have an amazing ability to avoid hitting pedestrians. Perhaps that is the Bolivian sixth sense. Drivers, though, don't pay attention to traffic lights, nor do they listen to the traffic police. As a result, the La Paz government decided to get 16 and 17 year olds to dress up like zebras (I kid you not!) in an attempt to get the drivers to pay attention. After all, why wouldn't you pay attention to a zebra? In all honesty, I didn't see one zebra direct one car, but they were there, marching to their post! So, just as a point of clarification, the zebras aren't real!

We are back on Canadian soil now and I will write a final wrap up soon!