Peace Corps

Splish Splash

December 2, 2018 Elle Peace Corps

Splish, splash, I was takin’ a [bucket] bath
Long about a Saturday night, yeah
A rub dub, just relaxin’ in the tub
Thinkin’ everythin’ was alright

Well, I stepped out the tub
I put my feet on the floor
I wrapped the towel around me and I
Opened the door……………………………
Bobby Darrin

Taking a long, hot shower [or even a short, hot shower] or a relaxing bath along are two of life’s greatest luxuries. As neither are available to me at the present time, I can only dream… dream that one day my back will get clean, the hot water will pulsate and rumble all around me, and I will work out any muscular kinks.

There are no such luxuries in my life. In Rwanda, my life revolves around a bucket. Or more accurately, buckets. A bucket for a bath. A bucket to wash clothes in. Another bucket to do dishes in. You see how it goes.

To say that I am not a morning person would be a gross understatement of fact. SO. More times than not, I do not bathe in the morning, I use those extra few minutes for another cat nap, and everyone’s is a little happier.

My morning routine

I roll out of bed around 6:45am. By that time, the roosters have been cockle-doodle-doing since about 4:30a. And the cows are moo-ing about who knows what and despite the fact that I sleep with my windows open, and do in fact hear the world coming to life starting about 5a, I roll over, pull the blanket over my eyes, turn the music up just a little bit louder, and drift in and out of consciousness for the next two or so hours.

6:45 is the absolute latest I can arouse myself, find clean[ish] clothes, make my hair look like I, in fact, did not stick my finger in an electric socket, drink 500ml of water and eat a piece of fruit and call it breakfast, brush my teeth, take my vitamins, and get to the health center by 7:00a. Most of the time, I am the only one present at 7a, but they say work starts at 7 and like the punctual American I am, I’m there at 7 [or at least by 7:15].

Also, notice there’s no time to be messing around with buckets at this time of day, but what I do, is pour water from my jerry-can into my bathing bucket until it is about 1/3-1/2 of the way full, probably using about 7-10 L of water. I then set this bucket outside in the sun, and let that amazing star perform it’s magic.

Step-by-step for bucket bathing

It’s rarely what I call hot these days, [and though sometimes I do sweat while going on long walks, it’s usually confined to the back of my head… dry shampoo is a wonderful thing] so cold, straight from the tap water is a no-go; if it’s a choice between cold water on a cool day or being dirty, being dirty may just win out.

My day usually ends around 2p so I walk the 50 or so steps from the health center to my house, make lunch/dinner, and if it’s been a sunny day, whooooo-weee…. my bucket now contains lukewarm water, which is more than adequate for me to do the deed. [It’s amazing what we can become accustomed to/ becomes normal]

I have tried to make my shower room ‘rural Rwanda luxurious‘. Bucket bathing still sucks but at least with all my tools in the designated spot, and not having to schlep them around from here to there, makes it not suck as much.

My ‘luxurious’ shower room at the house on the corner

12 Steps for the perfect bath

Step 1: Prepare the water. Either use the sun (easiest) or use the stove to get a little warmth in the bath water

Step 2: Gather all needed supplies. Nothing worse than needing something and not being able to get it

Step 3: Get nekkid… except for flip-flops. No amount of cleaning will make that floor clean. Wear the flip-flops.

Step 4: Hang clothes on the nails loving pounded into the concrete

Step 5: Fill my cup with water.

Step 6: Take washcloth, wet, take soap and wash face. Use the water in the cup to rinse soapy face. 20% done. [Every.Single.Time I am amazed by the amount of dirt I see in the cup.]

Step 7: Fill cup again and pour over head. This part is so much nicer with lukewarm water.

Step 8: Shampoo. Lather. Rinse. Rinse again. 40% done.

Step 9: Using a washcloth [or loofah scrubby thing], soap it up and begin scrubbing. I usually start at the top and work my way down… over the hills and valleys and peaks and crevices, if you know what I mean. 60% done.

Step 10: Rinse. It’s actually not too bad with warm water. While I still miss a faucet and actual hot water, this will suffice. 80% done.

Step 11: Wash feet. Without really realizing it, it’s amazing how much dirt they can attract… even while wearing socks and shoes.

Step 12: Rinse feet and marvel at the amount of dirt/dry skin you’ve removed. 100% done

Addendum:

Dry self and put on clothes… Bonus points for remembering to bring clean ones.

This process usually takes approximately seven to ten minutes. When it’s a nice sunny day, there is nothing more enjoyable [in Rwanda anyway] than sitting outside, freshly bathed in the sun reading a book while letting the sun dry your hair. It’s one of the few times I can enjoy bathing, because in rural Rwanda, bathing is no longer fun; it’s just another chore to be done.

Postscript: I have one of those Amope foot things…It is essentially a battery operated sander for feet. I use it once a week on clean feet, then slather clean, scrubbed feet in Vaseline. Finally, I put on socks and go to bed. It’s amazing how much nicer my feet are since I started doing this.

Bucket bath tools needed:

1 Bucket
1 cup [anywhere from 8-16oz will do], or empty plastic bottle
Soap of choice
Shampoo of choice
Flip-Flops
Non-electrical lighting [not necessarily needed if you are bathing in the middle of the day]
Towel and washcloth

Shout out to Bobby Darrin’s Splish Splash for this post’s inspirational title

On being thankful and having gratitude

November 26, 2018 Elle Peace Corps

What I am thankful for–Peace Corps year one edition

Once upon a time a friend and I used to send each other our daily gratitude lists. A list that would have anywhere from 3-7 items on it that we were truly thankful for, and would sometimes be as basic as clean water and air or as complex as a peaceful resolution to a serious problem. It was a good way to start the day… being in a state of gratitude before leaving the house. Because sometimes life happens, and life can be a bitch.

This week contained the American Holiday of Thanksgiving, and for the second time in a decade I find myself outside the US for this distinctly American holiday. I find myself feeling more grateful than I have in quite some time, thanks to the last few months living in Rwanda and its inevitable way it shifted the way in which I experience the world.

I am the mashed potato maker

Why am I so full of gratitude lately?

I am thankful for my education.

Lord knows I have enough of it and sometimes it was a struggle to get and pay for, but never, not even once, did not think that I couldn’t finish high school or go to college. I may have been/be on the most circuitous path ever, but dropping out of school because I’m female has never crossed my mind.

I was a latchkey kid, got myself up and fixed my own breakfast from about 8 years onward, and caught the school bus until I could drive, but these struggles are nothing compared to what many students in Rwanda face. Many students walk up to six kilometers every morning to get to school, some without shoes over the hilly and rocky terrain. Some struggle to concentrate, because their growling stomachs compete for their mental attention. They sit snug as bug next to their classmates — three, sometimes four to a wooden desk — in the hot or cold classroom of up to 60 students. They rely one notebook and one pen with zero additional educational materials. Kids return home, make dinner for their families, sell food at the market, and take care of their younger siblings. And repeat it all, the next day.

Living in a place where so many students stop attending school after primary school… primary school! reminds me how much of a gift my education is. I am lucky for the teachers that challenged me and the resources made available to me, and while I can’t name every teacher I’ve ever had, I do remember some of the more special ones and am thankful for them on a regular basis.

I am thankful for the kindness in my life.

Rwanda is not an easy place to be a foreigner, and I’d guess it’s probably not that easy to move to a different area within the country. My guess for that is due to the genocide that occurred almost 25 years ago. Depending on their age, most adults in Rwanda were alive during that period either as babies, children, or young adults themselves. It doesn’t come easy or natural for Rwandans to trust outsiders. That being said, I have experienced kindness while I’m here. The people I work with who help me learn Kinyarwanda on a daily basis. The people who have helped me find my way when I’ve gotten turned around. Kindness comes in many forms here, but one usually has to prove his or her worthiness in order to receive it so it’s nice to experience true kindness with no strings attached.

I am thankful for life’s challenges and the values instilled by overcoming them.

It’s the hurdles I had to jump in the past that make me the driven, independent person that I am happy to be today. If it weren’t for the bumps along the way, I would not have had the opportunity to grow in ways that I did and continue to do.

As much as I have dealt with and overcome in my life, people in my community face an entirely different set of challenges than challenges I have faced and ever will face. Their resilience, perseverance, and unwavering hospitality in these times of difficulty, is admirable. Going through tough times in America, while still challenging, is not the same as going through tough times in Rwanda.

I am thankful for learning more about myself.

As noble as “saving the world” sounds, a majority of my Peace Corps experience thus far has been a heroic adventure of self-discovery. I have found the beauty in stepping outside of my comfort zone and saying “yes” to self-growth opportunities. I have practiced patience, continued to learn the value of making mistakes, and appreciate the importance of perseverance. I am becoming more sensitive to what makes me happy or sad, and making decisions based on those observations. Self-respect starts with making decisions with your happiness [among other things, of course] in mind.

I am so grateful that my time here has allowed me to grow in these ways.

I am thankful for my friends and family.

Though there are few places on Earth I could be where I would be physically farther from my peeps, my time away has made us closer in many ways. In order to join the Peace Corps, I had to quit a job, ‘alter’ a relationship, and give up my kitty cats to the care of another person. The support from my friends and family allowed me to start a new chapter of life in Rwanda.

Separation often acts as a test, whether it intentional or unintentional, and to my delight, I have a small little team of supporters cheering me on this adventure of mine. While I probably could have survived [ definitely not thrived] without them, it makes it a whole lot easier knowing that someone I know is watching Lucy and Molly, people are sending me little notes and gifts, letters and postcards, and people are generally interested in what I am doing.

I am thankful for a gained perspective on the world and its people.

I’ve traveled a fair amount prior to joining the Peace Corps. I’ve even been outside the country for an extended period of time before. I always try to be a temporary local rather than a tourist whenever I go some place new. But staying in a neighborhood for a week or even a month at a time is not the same as staying in one place for a year [or two if I make it that long]. Being in the Peace Corps gives one the opportunity to truly immerse oneself in a community, and if that person is lucky, have the community accept them as one of their very own.

I often think to myself how lucky I am to be experiencing the world through a different lens while I spend each day immersed in a community on the other side of the world. With each culture brings unique values and it has been enlightening and refreshing to experience Rwandan values, and see how they take precedence over things that are often obsessed over in the American world, such as technology, material items, money and work. Life here has changed my perspective on my personal values and I am grateful for the lifelong lesson my neighbors has taught me.

I am thankful for my cohort.

We are now a group of 22 unique and individual souls having lost a member just a few weeks ago. [She went home; she didn’t die]. To be honest I would have never even crossed paths with a lot of my cohort, let alone entertained friendship. But at almost 6 months in, I now have a ‘brother’, and a handful of close friends in the cohort which makes sticking out through the tough times a little easier. Being together [however brief] during this last week has made me realize how much I miss those who don’t live so close to me.

“I’m bored” and other Peace Corps thoughts

November 18, 2018 Elle Peace Corps

As a kid, rule #1 was to never say ‘I’m bored” around adults. Inevitably, that would lead to the assigning of some chore that I REALLY did not want to do. As a fairly inventive kid, I was rarely bored. I read., built things and explored. I wrote stories and drew pictures. Sometimes, I talked to my friends on an actual telephone. In the house.. Anything to not tell the adults “I’m bored'”

In that regards, Peace Corps Volunteers are like kids and Peace Corps Staff are like adults. Boredom lives in the Peace Corps and everyone knows it, but no one says it. Peace Corps Volunteers around the world are in charge of their own schedule. For Peace Corps Rwanda Health, our schedule should mirror our counterpart, but at minimum, we should ‘work’ 20 hours/week. But what if your assigned counterpart has fled the country and works zero hours? Or the other one shows up 5 hours late because of ummm ‘excessive alcohol consumption’? Or you show up to the health center at 7a as you are told to do for a meeting, and sit on a hard wooden bench for an hour and no one shows up to said meeting.. What happens then?

There’s no time clock to clock in and out and in theory, PCVs should create schedules with their counterparts. But in my case, with no actual counterpart, what’s a PCV to do? 20 hours a week is approximately 11.9% of a week. How do I fill the other 88%.? I wonder around the ikigonderabuzima and look for friendly faces. Sometimes I end up in pharmacy and count pills and fill prescriptions [oooh pharmacy tech, I know how to do this job]. Other times I end up in maternity and see babies [oooh NICU nurse, I know how to do this job]. Sometimes I end up in an educational lecture [oooh, topic educator, I can do this too–just not in kinya]. Yet, other times I help unload deliveries [ooooh, inventory specialist, I can do that too]. Sometimes, and lately this has been my favorite thing to do, I peruse daily ledgers to see why people are coming to the health center [actual community health] and tally the number of cases of each admission. Then I sort by gender and age range. [oooh. beginning epidemiology]. I love doing this task mostly because it doesn’t require me speaking to people and I since government documents are in Kinyarwanda, Kiswahili, French, and English, I get exposure to all 4 languages. Sometimes I bring my radio and listen to Rwanda radio and spend literally 8 hours in my office without seeing another soul. [I know, bad volunteer. We are supposed to be out meeting and greeting and gaining fluency in our language[s],] I’m very productive with the ledgers and can categorize large volumes of info into readable reports. Sometimes I weigh babies. [I can practice numbers in French and Kenya! and get tongue-tied over Rwandan names]. There is freedom to do literally anything.

Some PCVs bury themselves in their projects; some spend two years doing nothing. Some use weekends to travel around the country they are in; while others are “site rats” and barely leave their site. [This is 100% not me It’s my goal to visit everyone in my cohort’s site at least once. I don’t think the PC director would approve of that goal, but I’m going for more Rwanda integration than ‘site integration’]

Be Present. Just Be Present. That’s a feat that most Westerners cannot accomplish.–especially Americans. Peace Corps is the perfect opportunity for volunteers to release themselves from the American mindset of always being occupied or productive in a fast-paced society. I’ve gained an appreciation for unstructured time with family, friends and neighbors, hours of uninterrupted reading time (34 books and counting in 6 months) But here I am finding ways to keep myself entertained [yay for only child experience] , and these past 6 months are changing me and clarifying the future version of myself. Whether I like it or not, it’s changing me, and that is something powerful. I’m growing so much more aware of who I am, where I am, what I can give, and where I’m going.

When people show up late for meeting, I learn how to measure height in centimeters.

And sometimes people show up SEVERAL hours after the scheduled meeting time. I now know that I am 175cm tall.

Here’s some things I do when I’m bored (I mean really bored) at site.

Go on a walk
Listen to music and stare at the wall
Play with #notmycat and her babies
Play solitaire
Play banana grams by myself
Look up words in my Kinyarwanda/French/English dictionary and try to learn 2 languages at the same time
Look up “cost of living in Washington, DC” Or Washington state. Or London. Or Canada. Fall down the rabbit hole of ‘where can RNs work internationally’
Look up qualifications to work for MSF
Begin to lear Arabic despite not knowing anything about Arabic nor having anyone to speak Arabic with.
Speak with my neighbor in German because my German is much better than my Kinyarwanda or French
Make up entirely non-plausible stories in my head about living in Rwanda and speaking more German than any of the 4 official languages of the country.
Daydream about going on safari.
Read, read, read, and read some more
Study for the GRE
Make some tea
Do some yoga
Write a blog post
Plot revenge
Take a bucket bath inside my house and use the excess water to ‘mop’ the floor
Watch pirated movies
Take a three hour nap
Stay up until 3 am because that’s the only time I can hear myself think
Sort out my photos
Write letters to friends
Teach myself how to photoshop on pirated software
Journal, journal, journal
Put on a face mask
Plan a trip to Uganda, Kenya, and/or Tanzania
Plan a trip to Zimbabwe/Zambia
Make plans to live abroad permanently including how and where
Check on my bucket garden
Chop vegetables
Make grocery aka market lists
look up new recipes that can be made with village supplies
practice suturing my fake arm
read more books
listen to music
try to remember how to solve math problems
investigate taking the foreign service exam
WhatsAPP other PCVs

Remember why I’m here and how joyful this whole experience is despite the ample free time!

By the numbers 2: Food and Market

November 4, 2018 Elle Peace Corps

1: Number of times I had pizza. Although advertised as ‘cheese pizza’ it certainly had a lot of onions on it. Also the number of kilograms of peanuts and sugar purchase since August.

It was definitely not like thins

2: Number of times I go to the market each week. Once to the Huye market and once to the Mbazi market. I absolutely hate the market and as much as I hate the grocery store, I’m looking forward to just having to deal with Publix instead of 10 different people for 10 different items. Also number of kilograms of rice and beans purchased since August

4: Number of new dishes I have learned to cook courtesy of my closest fellow volunteer who loves to cook

I live off Fanta Citron

5: Number of times I have fixed spaghetti in the 2 months I’ve been at site. I went a couple of weeks without but now it’s my Friday night activity along with watching a movie—dinner and a movie… I’m leading a fancy life over here among the hills.

6: Number of Rice Krispies Treats eaten in one day [I received 8 in a care package; had self control on day 1 and 2, then….] 3 number of days said rice crispy treats lasted

8: The number of times I’ve eaten at the local Chinese restaurant. 4 number of different dishes I have tried at said restaurant.

12: Number of recipes in my current rotation. Other than the spaghetti, this ensures that I eat something different every day in a two week period. [soups, sandwiches, potatoes, eggs, and rice and beans make up the bulk of my diet]

15: KG the amount of gas I bought in August that I am hoping will last me until February [or longer]

23: The total number of pounds lost since my arrival in Rwanda; also the number of pounds of pizza the average American eats.

24: Number of Fanta Citrons consumed since my arrival to the South [This may or may not be a lot, but it is my only beverage other than water. And it’s much better for me than Dr. Pepper.

52 (out of 60): Number of times I have skipped ‘the most important meal of the day‘. Mornings and I are not friends. Even in Rwanda when everyone is up with the sun.

500 RWF: Cost on a 500ml Fanta in a restaurant. 1 or 2: Number of Fantas I drink per week.

1440: The number off calories my fitness pal says I am supposed to eat per day. 0: the number of times I have exceeded 1440 calories in one day; although one time I did exceed the number however the total was offset by the gratuitous amount of walking I did that day upping my calories to 2145 for the day… I came nowhere near 2145 calories.

3500 RWF: The average amount I spend at the market buying the following: Cucumbers, carrots, potatoes, red onions, green beans, green peppers, eggplant, tomatoes, mandarin oranges, apples, and bananas + bread and cake.

Cooking in the Corps 2: Crepes

October 28, 2018 Elle Peace Corps

My absolute first experience with crepes occurred in 2010 during my South America sojourn when fellow traveler [and now friend] Emilie offered to make some. Emilie was a former pastry chef in France so if anyone would know anything about crepes, it would be her. As those memories are now fuzzy and clouded by copious alcohol consumption, I sure they were delicious. Everything she made was delicious.

Fast forward a couple years and I am back in America, living and working in a small town called Traveler’s Rest, South Carolina. One of my fellow co-workers and RNs, had decided along with her husband to take an abandoned building is said town on open a creperie. Before the restaurant actually open, Kristin brings several varieties of crepes to work to allow us hungry health care workers to sample and give feedback as to whether this particular rendition should make it on the menu. A few months later, Tandem opens and 4 years after opening, it’s still going strong.

Fast forward again to 2018, and I’m in quite literally the middle of Africa, in southern Rwanda, and my closest stage-mate just happens to be a fantastic cook who just so happened to spend some time in France. Whether the two are related, I don’t know, but I digress. Anyway, said mate and I get together at regularly planned intervals for cooking and movie watching. I don’t have much of a sweet tooth, can easily pass on chocolate and Nutella, but nearly go bananas for cinnamon apples, a recent addition into my food repertoire called Biscof cookie butter, and bananas foster. I also love savory crepes filled with bacon, eggs, and cheese. Needless to say I was excited to learn how to make this ‘fancy’ dish and was promised it was easy. It is. If I can do it, so can you.

What you will need [obviously adapt this to your surrounding. If you’re in America, you can probably find All-Purpose flour. In Rwanda, not so much]

Ingredients

1 cup flour
2eggs
1/2 cup of milk or 1/4 cup of milk powder + 1/4 cup of water
2 tablespoons of butter [or butter-like substance]
1/2 cup of water
dash or pinch of salt
whatever you want to stuff your crepes with [fruit, meat, sweetness]
cooking oil

Tools of the trade

a true non-stick skillet
a wire whisk
a bowl
spatula

Directions

In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour and the eggs. Gradually add in the milk and water, stirring to combine. Add the salt and butter; beat until smooth.
Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each crepe. Tilt the pan with a circular motion so that the batter coats the surface evenly.
Cook the crepe for about 2 minutes, until the bottom is light brown. Loosen with a spatula, turn and cook the other side. Serve hot.

See. Easy Peasy, and tasty AF.

Things I miss about the USA

October 21, 2018 Elle Peace Corps Wanderlust

Happy Labor Day. These random holidays like Labor Day and 4th of July and Memorial Day has never really meant too much to me. Working in health care, days like these are really just regular days. There’s no such thing as ‘holidays’, or at least not in the traditional sense where I’d get the same days off as everyone else and get do things like hang out at the lake with friends or enjoy cook-outs for the holiday. So in that sense joining the Peace Corps has been interesting. At one point or another I’ve celebrated every American holiday outside America, and some countries’ holidays inside that country. But nothing can replace celebrating the holiday in its original form… And while I’ve only been gone from the USA for a few months, there are still things I miss. This post is from my previous travel blog from when I spent 16 months traveling around South America (with some updates from what I’m missing now… Some things change; some never will… like my love for good pizza).

Pizza Pizza is probably my favorite food on the planet. Back home, I probably ate pizza 3-4 times a month. Not always the same kind or from the same place, but pizza (and a salad when I’m feeling healthy) has been a staple in my diet since the early years and I don’t suspect it leaving any time soon. I did find pizza goodness in Buenos Aires and Mendoza; however most of South America and all of Rwanda has been a huge disappointment in terms of pizza. Bad crust, bad sauce, strange ingredients. I can’t wait to hit up Barley’s Taproom or Sidewall’s or the Mellow Mushroom for some good pizza with olives, feta cheese, spinach, and tomatoes.

One of my Peace Corps goals is to make a pizza… a delicious pizza like the one pictured below.

Watching American sports. I am a huge sports junkie and I miss meeting up with friends to watch March Madness, college bowl games, or stressing over Tennessee football. Fall is always the hardest because college football in nearly a religion in the south, and I am a follower of the sacred University of Tennessee. Watching my favorite teams at odd hours via slow internet streams just didn’t cut it, and while going to sporting events where I am is a small comfort, I am never going to follow Mexican bullfighting, Venezuelan baseball, Peruvian football, Rwandan basketball, or Buenos Aires polo when I am at home. [Although I happily watched Super Bowl XLV live.]

I am grateful that I was in a country that was a soccer loving one with time time zones close to the original for some of the world cup matches. Before joining the Peace Corps, I had hoped to score tickets to World Cup|Russia, but watching the games in this tiny corner of the world where soccer rules, is great for international bonding.

Food variety. If I ever eat white rice again, it will be too soon. Seriously, that seemed to be the hallmark of almost every single meal I’ve eaten over the few months. I wasn’t a big fan to begin with, but having it on the plate for breakfast, lunch, and dinner got old. Fast!

One of the staples of Rwandan cuisine is–you guessed it–white rice. It’s no wonder I never eat this in America.

Free, non-carbonated water in restaurants. Again, this should be self-explanatory. Plenty of places offered free snacks, but free water? Not a chance.
Public transportation. Even though back home I do not live in an area with good public transportation, I like going to places where it’s accessible and easy to use. MARTA in Atlanta has gotten me where I needed to be on more than one occasion. Subways in Rome, New York, London, Moscow and Buenos Aires are amazing. If I didn’t live in a rural area, I’d be all about using light rail (like Seattle’s metro link that whisks me to and from the airport to the center of town without issue) or whatever was available. Motor bike taxis, bicycle taxis, mini buses, cars nearly falling apart, and cabs—not so much to my liking.

Bogota’s TransMileno is surprisingly efficient, and while crowded at times, it is a much better option than loading up a minibus to maximum capacity +1 and having people yell ‘stop’ when they want to get off the bus.

Knowing where to find things. Again, yes, you can buy just about everything you need on the road even in tiny remote villages in the middle of nowhere. But finding those things can be a challenge. In most of the places I visited (and Madagascar is no exception), daily essentials were spread out among many smaller stores and it took me days (or weeks) to figure out where to go for what I needed.

OH, how I love Target. I spent part of my last visit to Seattle walking around this three story gem located right in the middle of the city. They had everything…

Not paying to use the toilet. Or even finding a toilet when needed. I think this one is self-explanatory. Fun fact: did you know that, according to The Guardian, the top 10 worst places in the world to find a toilet are in Africa. One is Madagascar [4th worst place in the world to find a toilet] and two of Rwanda’s neighbors also make the list [Tanzania and Congo] and there is a World Toilet Day (it is November 19th if you’re curious), dedicated to keeping everyone’s shit corralled so that fecal contamination of the water supply as well as diseases transmitted via the fecal-oral route are diminished.

Another Peace Corps’ goal: to make myself a luxurious toilet where my knees don’t creak every time I must use it or in emergency situations, shit does not splash on my shoes/feet.

Respect for people’s time. Even though I am not a scheduler by nature, I do appreciate time. At home, when someone says “let’s meet at 8:00,” they generally mean “let’s meet at 8:00.” If they are running late, they will call or text you to let you know. We have a basic appreciation for people’s time and not wasting it. Such was not the case while I was traveling. Nothing seemed to start on time and someone saying they would meet you at 8:00 meant hopefully they would be there by 9:00 – likely with no contact whatsoever to indicate they may be late. When we were planning anything that include non-Americans we always gave a fake time. 7:00 meant 8:00 or so. Indeed, most people didn’t arrive until closer to 8:30. I think this just reflects a more laid back attitude, but as someone who hates waiting around for no good reason, I will take the American way every day.

German trains and s-bahns are always so punctual. If I lived in Germany, I’d never be late anywhere.

Alexanderplatz

I have found a general lack of respect for time in nearly every corner of the globe… except Germany and Switzerland… oh how I love that place; they are so punctual.

American men. I know many women love over foreign men. Heck, I have even dated foreign men [One abroad, one who had moved to USA], but overwhelmingly, the foreign men I have met [mostly Italians and Hispanics] are overbearing, controlling, condescending, and overprotective. I do not like being yelled at or whistled to in the street. I do not like being asked if I ‘want to fuck’ because those are the only English words they know. For me, that machismo attitude is such a turn off! Give me a good old American guy who can see a woman as his equal and appreciate her independence. A guy that smells clean, wears cologne sparingly, and bathes regularly. A guy who wears baseball hats and khakis rather than skinny jeans, and who is at least my height (5’9). If he has green eyes and curly hair, well, I’m a smitten kitten.

Free wi-fi: Wi-fi is slowly making its way down south, but it is not always free, nor is it always reliable. It brings me back to the Ethernet cords I had in college. Or dial-up. Both make me appreciate how prevalent wi-fi is in the USA. [and Canada and Europe]. 2018 hasn’t brought many upgrades to the poorer corners of the world.

But what I miss most about being away from the USA, is people and kitty cats …co-workers, friends, and family + Lucy and Molly.

Peace Corps Rwanda | Clothing, Electronics, and House Things

October 14, 2018 Elle Peace Corps

I received my nomination to Madagascar in July 2017, moved from the apartment I was living in to the house I now own in October/November 2017, didn’t board the plane to Madagascar in February 2018, re-evaluated the suitcase now headed for Rwanda in May 2018. The suitcase[s] were packed and re-pack 3 times before I even left the US, but the question is, did I do a good job packing? Did I pack the right things? Is there something I wish I had packed but didn’t? Is there enough clothing, or too much? Is my kitchen too ‘extra’ or just ‘extra enough? Let’s see

Luggage

Let’s start with the bags. I have so.many.bags. It’s unreal. My big green duffel bag’s handle broke during one of the many transfers during PST. It’s now used as a bedside table. The main compartment has stuff left here by the previous volunteer [think mosquito net and some clothes] + clothes that no longer fit me nor can I make them work. I’m using the small pocket on the top at a drawer of sorts where I keep my Vaseline, nail maintenance tools, and my battery operated foot scrubber. I’ve used the larger outer pocket as sort of a trash collector. I gathered so many papers/books, ect during PST that I don’t/won’t use anymore, and I hate the idea of burning trash so I jsut put it there. Out of site, out of mind.

The Osperey Backpack and REI backpack were solid choice which are now empty, hanging on the wall waiting patiently to be put to use again.

Another volunteer and I bought a Target suitcase set the day before leaving [and some clothes], and I have the carry-one size suitcase. The bag is fully packed waiting on its return trip to America in February. It will bring back a lot of things to America that I don’t need, and will bring to Rwanda a lot of things I do need [mainly food items]. I’m also taking home a few things for a fellow PCV that he will pick up upon his return to American.

My checkered tote bag served its purpose in getting my electronics here, but now sits lonely under a table. I almost always use my backpack for quick trips around town and going to the market for the sole reason that I can carry my backpack on my back.

My leather purse will be going back to America. It has literally been used once.

My daily backpack was packed in side another bag. I use this bag the most and honestly it probably won’t make it the two years. I also used this bag for my entire nursing program and paid less than $20 for it in 2014 so I’ve definitely gotten my money’s worth out of it.

I have a small canvas bag that I use for my weekly market trips. I bought it at Primark for about 10 Euros in 2012/2013 that is serving it’s purpose well, and I won’t be taking it back to the US

I have acquired two more bags since arriving in Rwanda [I know. I have a problem] One’s a padded tote and the other is more like a small cross body purse. Currently they are serving as wall decoration. I bought them more for souvenirs than anything, but the padded tote will house my computer [if it survives that long] and my camera when I COS.

The green Osprey bag is going back to America and not returning to Rwanda. I plan to have my orange backpack + the padded tote and small fabric purse as the only bags when I leave. The rest are staying in Rwanda and I really don’t care what happens to them.

Clothing [I have lost nearly 25 pounds in the first 5 months so a lot of my clothing is comically large now]

In the terms of every day life, I didn’t pack a ton of clothes. In PC-land, I have way too much clothing.

To revisit I had the following:

Fleece pull-over x1. YES, I could probably use another. My plan is to completely wear this out.
Lightweight rain coat. YES. I use it for wind and rain. And moto rides.
Cardigan x3. Three is too many. I’m taking the black one home [it’s the best quality, and I do like wearing them]; the other two I’ll wear while in Rwanda, but aren’t making the cut back to America.
Blouses x5. I brought them because PC says we need business casual clothing. I’ve worn 3 of the 5. The nicest of the bunch is returning to America when I visit. 2 will be left behind in Rwanda, and 2 [may] make it in the POST-COS wardrobe.
T-shirts x5. YES. Plus I’ll be bringing more when I return to Rwanda… Plain colorful T-shirts. I doubt these will make it back to the US as I wear them everyday and hand washing isn’t kind to clothing. But they are relatively inexpensive at Target, which is where all of these came from.
Hoodie x2. One is returning to the US because it’s too nice for village life, and the other one won’t last/make the trip home. I fully expect it to be in threads two years from now.
Flannel Shirt. MEH. I wear it occasionally. It won’t be returning to the US.
Other miscellaneous shirts x3. Just NO.
Pants x 12. This is INSANE. 6 will probably be too many. To be fair, I didn’t pack 12 pairs of pant, but due to care packages and shopping, I now HAVE 12 pairs of pants [most of which are too big, but I still wear them] The jeans I wore to Philadelphia are way too big and I never wear them anymore. I wore them a lot in PST, so I don’t feel too bad. I have another pair of jeans that were too small when I left for PST, but now fit. I brought one pair of scrub pants, and had 3 other pairs arrive in care packages. 1 gray, 1 black, and 1 blue. The original gray and blue pants now look like clown pants on me. They won’t be returning to America. I bought 2 pairs of pants at Target prior to leaving. One is too big for a belt and the others I wear sparingly. [They are heavy weight brown cargo pants and washing them is a bitch]. I have 2 other pair of brown/khaki pants + 3 pair of gray/stone pair of pants. My plan is to alternate between two pair of pants, hopefully wearing them out [literally… My favorites always break down in the thigh area]. For COS, I want to be down to no more than 3 pairs of pants [possibly khaki/gray only]. I’m hoping to wear the scrubs out even though I love the quick wash/dry capabilities of them.
Skirts x4– I brought 2 –one mid-calf brown skirt and one slightly below the knee blue, and have had 2 made. I’m planning to bring at most 2 back with me.
Socks and underwear x a lot… seriously I think I have close to 40 pairs of underwear and 20 pairs of socks SERIOUSLY! A lot of the socks are returning to the US since I only wear wool socks or sandals. I have 12 pairs of underwear in rotation. During training, I took out 6 pairs of underwear and 4 pairs of socks and used those exclusively. Once I moved in to my house, I took another 6 pairs of underwear and 4 pairs of socks and put them in rotation… so now I have 12 pairs of underwear and 8 pair of socks in rotation. At the 8,16, 24 month mark, I will remove the too worn items and replace as necessary. In reserve I have 5 pairs of underwear and 3 pair of socks for my COS trip. I have found that the cotton ones have a much shorter lifespan that the quick-dry kind.
Bras. I have 3 sports bras and 4 regular bras. One of the sports bras is now too big [Yes, I’m losing weight there too]. I fully expect to be down to 2 or 3 at the end of 2 years
Shoes—I brought 5 pair; 2 are returning to the USA, and it their place, I will be adding my hiking boots and another pair of shower/house flops, and possibly my tennis shoes. One pair I brought just for swear in, another pair isn’t practical, and I don’t think the slide ons will last two years, and I HATE shoes that go between my toes [which are readily available here].
Additional clothing: Yoga pants x2, mesh basketball shorts x2… One of each would suffice… Swimsuit not used regularly but glad to have it

Household/Kitchen Things

I didn’t pack a lot of house things since I knew I’d be living with a host family the first three months. Instead I packed a box, and shipped it to me the day before I left. In retrospect this was one of the better decisions I made concerning packing. Things inside the box included:

Set of knives
Measuring cups/spoons
grater
vegetable peeler
can opener
Stainless steel mug
Assorted spices
A few zip lock bags
A head lamp
Seeds
Snacks [tuna, peanut butter, hard candy, clif bars…]

Each of these things was worth the space and cost of sending myself the box.

Two sets of sheets [one used in PST, the other not used] Fun fact: I brought twin and full sized sheets. While I did use the twin in PST, the bed I have at my site is essentially a queen. I had to buy sheet anyway.
I quilt/comforter. YES. It was so heavy in the bag, but every day since breaking it out, I’m glad I have it. It’s warm, and I like the color.
2 pillows from home. YES. Annoying in transit, but I’m so grateful to have a ‘real’ pillow.
down blanket and travel pillow YES. I use these when I visit other PCT. It’s nice to be comfy when outside my home environment
Toiletries. YES. It’s nice to have brands my skin is familiar with in an environment that’s not familiar. Leave the make-up at home, but bring quality skin care products. And lotion. Lots of lotion.
Meds. YES. PC does give an adequately stocked med kit, but it’s also nice to have some things of my own because the last thing I want to do is make an hour long trek to the bus station to pick up medicine when I’m feeling sick. I use the PC med refills for things like insect repellent, condoms, lip balm, tampons, and malaria med. Everything else I use my own supplies
Quick Dry Towel–Meh. I rarely use it, but will on my post COS trip.
Decor–I brought 3 flags, USA, SC, and University of Tennessee plus some photos/cards of/from friends back home. These are comfort things I’m glad to have but are not at all necessary. I’ve also used ikitenge fabric to decorate the walls
Curtains–Totally not necessary, but I’m glad to have them

I am over all happy with the household things I have, and the only thing I wish I had was a water bottle. How I overlooked this is beyond me.

Electronics

Laptop FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS HOLY, YES. Bring a laptop. It doesn’t matter what kind, but have one. I fully expect this one to not last the entire time, but it makes doing PC reports much easier. Blogging is MUCH easier from a laptop.
External Hard Drive x2. One is a 1TB drive, and the other is a 2 TB. YES. One quit working so I;m glad to have the other one.
Kindle… Meh. I’ve read all the books on my Kindle, but I have an app on the laptop that allows for e-reading. The Kindle is going back to the US
Camera. Yes, but not unequivocally yes I don’t like taking pictures of people so it hasn’t gotten much use yet, but I do plan to use it more when I travel. My smaller camera is returning to the US because I never use it. I have a tiny action camera [think Go Pro knock off], plus my iphone [which I use mainly for music since its not 4g capable], and my cell phone. I have enough cameras
Flash drives x2 32GB each Meh. They are small so they don’t take up much space, but I haven’t used them yet
iphone I was hoping to use this as my phone but since its an older iphone its not 4G capable and the only service I get in 4G so I had to buy a Rwandan phone, but I love using it as an Ipod
External speaker–it quit working after about a month, or more accurately it works, there’s just a lot of static when I use it
Headphones x4 I have yet to use them so why I though I needed 4 pair is beyond me. They will return to the US and I’ll use them at the gym.
USB charger YES. You never know about the electrical grid in the rural villages
Flashlight and headlamp YES my kitchen doesn’t have electricity so I either have to eat at 5p or use my headlamp to cook
Rechargeable batteries Absolutely
Outlet adapters one or two should suffice; I brought 10! of the 2 pin kind [like used in Europe] which is what I need for Rwanda, but apparently places like South Africa, Tanzania, and Kenya use different ones.
Power strip I brought it because I had it, but these are widely available in Rwanda

You will hear people say this, and if you are anything like me, you won’t believe it, but here goes anyway: Pack half the clothing and double the snacks of the original packing plan. I legitimately wear the same clothing All.The.Time. 4 pairs of pants would have been sufficient. Maybe 6 or 7 shirts. In a country like Rwanda, villagers wear the same clothing all the time so it’s not weird if you do to.

How I spend my days

October 7, 2018 Elle Peace Corps

When I was preparing to go into Peace Corps|Madagascar, I read a lot of PC blogs from a lot of countries and I found that there are a plethora of “Day in the Life of a PCV” posts out there. At first, I read them with fascination, completely hooked on every activity.

Example:

5:30am – Wake up.
My thoughts: Wow! They get up so early! They must be so productive! I’d also like to point out that this was my usual bedtime for non-working days in the US. I am the epitome of a night owl.
6:00am – Start cooking breakfast.
My thoughts: Wow! I wonder what they’re eating? How do they cook? How long does it take? I’ve never really been one to eat breakfast… mostly because that’s my bedtime.

7:00am – Fetch water.
My thoughts: Wow! Fetching water! Just like Little House on the Prairie!

I know. I am a Peace Corps nerd.

Truth be told, my day-to-day life in the Peace Corps is, not unsurprisingly, much like day-to-day life in America. We get up, we do what it takes to eat, and clean up. We work, we sweat, we come home, we bathe, eat again, and we relax. We have days off, we travel, we come home and panic about how much work we have to catch up on. See? Just like at home.

Well, almost. Peace Corps life, while much like life at home in some ways, also has its dramatic differences. I think a lot of people really wonder: just what are you doing over there aside from your assigned job? Today, instead of the hour-by-hour breakdown of my daily routine, I want to give you a glimpse of what fills my days.

I’ve never been one for routine, but in rural Rwanda it’s all about the routine. Here, I rarely use an alarm clock. Instead, the roosters go off around 4:30am, and continue pretty steadily and increasing incremental volume until around 5:30am when I am awake and just procrastinating getting out of bed. I usually get up around 7 or so depsite the roosters cockle-doodle-ing for hours[In Ecuador, it was the monkeys howling, here roosters. At least the monkeys are cute. I threaten the roosters with my soup pot]

First order of the day: eating. Like many volunteers, I try to organize meals around what will involve the least amount of dish washing and water consumption. For me, this is generally a piece of bread and a fruit, usually a banana or sometimes an apple. I don’t drink coffee or tea so it’s usually just 500ml of water to go with it. On the mornings when I have a wild hair to do something crazy and have extra time or Saturday or Sunday, I may whip up a batch of pancakes complete with hot chocolate. [<—–This does not happen often].

After eating, it’s usually time to haul water. I use about 80-90 liters of water a week, all of which must be hauled by hand or head from about 150m away. I usually haul water 2x/week. 50L at a time. [of course during the frequent water shortages, this chore become infinitely easier as there is no water to haul] Then, I have to treat and filter my drinking water. Next, I may glance around and find dead insects or any number of other deceased night invaders. Sometimes I find a dead mouse head if SadieMae [the friendly compound cat] has been a good cat instead of a lazy cat.

Finally, it’s time to dress myself for work and head out to the clinic. Or maybe someone has given birth overnight and I’m doing baby measurements. Or maybe I’m going to the market to buy some vegetables. Maybe I have a meeting, and everyone is likely to be two hours late. Either way, these work related activities can take up a good chunk of the day, and as a rule it’s always longer than I expected it to take.

By mid-afternoon, if it’s not raining, the sun is hot and it’s time to ‘rest’ or in my case get some chores done and cook my big meal of the day. This means dishes, laundry if I’m getting desperate for underwear, taking a bath if I’m feeling extra ambitious, and hauling the water to go with those activities. Laundry must be hung to dry, and it can take a few hours to hand scrub sweat stains out of T-shirt sleeves.

Sometimes I do medicine inventory–By hand

As the sun creeps lower in the sky, I might fire up my the stove. I’m still wary of cooking with gas. I have a somewhat not-so-irrational fear of blowing myself up. Then, cooking. I never know what I want so often I boil water and cook vegetables or something easy. Finally, just as the mosquitoes are coming out, I’m headed under the bed net. I use this time to edit pictures, blog, write letters,talk to my US peeps, or read. Sometimes I read for fun; other times I’ve got my nose stuck in medical books. I’m usually in bed no later than 9pm, but often don’t actually try for sleep until 11p or 12a. (Once a night owl, always a night owl).

So there’s a day in the life of a Peace Corps volunteer in rural Rwanda. And this is just a village day. Conference days are really different.[Breakfast at the ungodly hour of 7a; meetings all day] Travel days are different in that they involve a whole lot more sitting and gnashing of teeth [get to bus station, buy ticket, wait for bus, sit on bus, arrive to Kigali. change buses,ect] . Each of us do the same chores and daily routine activities that we did back in America, but here, these things can take half the day instead of a few minutes. Take laundry for example: instead of wadding up my dirty clothes, tossing them in the machine, pouring in soap, and walking away and doing something else for a bit, laundry here can take hours. I have to first haul the water, get the clothes soaked and soaped, scrub until my knuckles are raw, do a whole rinse cycle in a different bucket, then wring everything and hang it to dry. While you learn little tricks to cut down on the time consuming nature of these activities [like soaking your clothes in a bucket of water and soap overnight], maintaining ourselves at our sites takes a lot of our time and energy.

I grow things in pots

Work, which can vary with the day of the week, takes up the other large bulk of our time. Babies come when they want whether a meeting is scheduled or not. Screenings can take all day. For example, if a mom/baby doesn’t show up to a scheduled meeting, we have to chase them down. Is the baby OK? Are they eating? Is mom OK? If it rains or there’s a funeral, your whole daily plan might fly out the window and you have to start rescheduling things all over again.

Day to day life here is full of little joys, little disappointments, and lots of the regular things we did back home, but now we do them Africa-style. In Peace Corps, no one day is quite like the next, and if you ask me, that’s the best kind of daily routine.

meeting day–the question is always what time will they show up?

I’m a stranger here myself

September 30, 2018 Elle Featured Post Peace Corps

What the actual F*ck am I doing here?

It’s a question I ask myself daily, sometimes hourly, and occasionally every few minutes. Even now, I don’t have a clear answer. I’m a stranger in an area used to having Peace Corps’ trainees. As long as I stick to main roads and predictable schedules, all is well. But when have I ever stuck to main roads and predictable schedules?

I have been in Rwanda two months and yet, I’m still a stranger. All of that time other than one week has been in our training village of Rwamagana, Eastern Province. Here we learn the Kinyarwanda language and learn how to be a Peace Corps Volunteer. How to be a volunteer? Yes, because as of now, I am still NOT a Peace Corps Volunteer, merely a lowly Peace Corps Trainee. The one week not spent in Rwamagana was spent visiting my site. Aka the place where I’ll arrive a stranger and leave a full-fledged villager [PC gaol for intergration]. Let me tell you, during that week I asked myself the above question about 100 times. A day.

After two months, I’m still a stranger in the host family I’ve been placed in. Truth is most evenings I’m ‘home’ alone. Host mom spends an ungodly amount of time at church. And host sis is a teenager doing teenager things. Which means not hanging around the American Adult who has kicked her out of her own bedroom.

What the actual f*ck am I doing here? y5rWhere the h*ll am I? Why isn’t there any food? How can I get the f*ck out of here? Why am I headed to yet another bar when I’ve told this person I don’t drink? Is it too late to go back to work at my [nice] job in America? The one with awesome co-workers? Or my house with my [oh-so-comfy] bed? Or my kitty cats? Why did I think becoming a Peace Corps volunteer was a good idea anyway?

One of the two sweet kitties I left behind–Hey Miss Lucy

My Peace Corps Journey

I considered applying to the Peace Corps when I was in high school. And then again after college. It was part of the reason I studied foreign languages in college. But as LIFE tends to do, it got in the way and I saw my immediate post-college years running away from a bad relationship [quite literally as I spent years 22 and 23 on the run in Mexico–and Belize–and Guatemala–and El Salvador…you get the drift] and then running towards a career [any career].

24 would have been the perfect time for me to join the Peace Corps. I was mostly unencumbered by responsibilities. I was nearly fluent in Spanish. I’d spent much of the last year and a half teaching English as as Second Language in various places to various groups of people. Aside from the political aspect [and while PC claims to be apolitical, an overwhelming majority of PCVs lean democratic. That’s neither good or bad; it’s just a fact], at 24, I was a Peace Corps’ poster child–a person with just enough life experience to still see the good in everyone and still want to save the world. I was a person unsure of my life and career goals. I was exactly the type of person that the Peace Corps seems to attract.

At this stage of my life, my 20’s have long passed [thankfully]. I am still about as apolitical as they come, and I while I have a career as a nurse, no one in their right mind would call me a professional do-gooder. I am as sure of my career and life goals as one can be when FATE is involved.

So what am I doing here and why I am I doing this exactly?

Well, it took me a long while to work that out.

I’ve written about that a couple of times already, but even though there are several contributing factors, at my core, I want to help people. And yes, I could ‘help people’ without putting my life on hold, and moving 7800 miles and three continents away, but where’s the adventure in that?

To date, I have traveled in 54 countries [although none in Africa until now], but never really lived in one area other than the upstate of South Carolina for a period longer than four months [except that one time, I moved to North Carolina, but my LIFE was still firmly ensconced in South Carolina.] My reasons are as varied as any other PCV’s reason are, and yes, at the end, I hope to get something tangible in exchange for my service.

My site seems to already know about permagarden techniques

Where is here? And Rwanda?

Well, it wasn’t my first choice….

But when was the last time you met anyone who has been to Sub-Sahara Africa, let alone lived there. I know a few people who have visited a handful of countries, mostly in East/Southern Africa. Not many people I know even consider Africa [as if it is one country instead of one rather large continent consisting of 54* individual countries] as a vacation destination. And Rwanda? If not for this opportunity, I can almost guarantee than I would have never set foot in the country. And I like to consider myself a traveler,and in my mind that means doing my best to experience the touristy parts of the world as well as places that are off grid. And in 2018, Rwanda is still off most people’s grid.

“I want to help people.”

And I really do want to help people. I’ve worked in healthcare for most of my adult life. If I didn’t truly want to ‘help people’ there are a lot of other, less strenuous, less soul-draining professions out there. Professions where I could make more money, have a better life-work balance, and not spend all hours of the night awake.

But American healthcare is complicated. The overwhelming majority of my co-workers want to ‘help people’. Yet we often know that whatever we do–whether it’s a life-saving measure in the Emergency Department or Continued Care in a Rehabilitation Department–it’s a stop-gap procedure. Yes, SOME people do GET IT. Some people see it the catalyst needed to do massive behaviour change. However, for the most part, Americans are repeat offenders in the health care system.

Now I’ll get my chance to work with patients who really want and need help. Of course, creating behavior change is still going to be hard.

Panoramic view of an area near my future house

Third Goal

One of PC’s central missions for each volunteer is to share their story with people in America. A blog or Instagram account is an easy way to do that. So is writing for the local paper or sharing my story in person. In addition to writing this blog, I’ll be doing a presentation in at least one elementary school classroom during my service.

Forth Goal

Ok, so there is no official 4th goal, but for me, joining Peace Corps’ is a way to slow down in inevitability of life. People say the older you get, the more time flies, and at this stage of life, I’m starting to see that. The pressure to settle down, get married, have a career is intense. Momentum is carrying me along and sometimes I can’t seem to stop it. Of course, there are less dramatic and more practical methods of changing habits and behaviors than moving to a remote Rwandan village for two years. But where would be the fun in that?

From Trainee to Volunteer 3: Home wasn’t built in a day

September 23, 2018 Elle Hideaway Peace Corps

This is the last post in my series From Trainee to Volunteer relating the trials and tribulations transitioning from Peace Corps’ Trainee to Peace Corps’ Volunteer [See the others here: Swearing In, Site, Goals, and Expectations]

Mbazi, Rwanda

[now that I’m no longer an active PCV I can disclose my exact location of my Rwanda home]

The first time I cried during Peace Corps service was Monday during site visit. We arrived on Saturday, and that Saturday morning was last meal. The health center ‘lost’ the keys to the side rooms. I had no toilet. Or kitchen. PC headquarters didn’t offer any assistance. I only used the HC toilet and didn’t bathe for the entire week. [Yeah, by Friday, I was pretty disgusted by myself].

I brought snacks—peanuts, eggs, chips, a couple of bananas and 8L of water smuggled out of St Agnes. I didn’t realize that these snacks would be my only food for three days. I went to work that Monday morning in a state of shock. I came back at lunch, went in the room that is now the kitchen, sat on the floor and cried. Big, giant ugly tears. I was hungry. I didn’t know where anything was to even get food.

Other volunteers were staying with host families and current volunteers. I was in a two room house with no electricity. [Let me clarify that the house has electricity; I just had no way to access it during site visit]. I called my friend and said ‘I have to get out of here now’. To his credit, he didn’t say ‘just tell me when to pick you up.’ He probed around for the cause of my mini-mental breakdown. We created a plan for getting me food which would lead to a better head space. One that was more equipped to deal with the challenges of serving in the Peace Corps.

Mbazi–part 2

All this to say that it was not love at first sight at my site. I arrived late in the afternoon on Thursday and the first thing I did was set up a basic kitchen. We’d missed lunch and St. Cristus’ breakfast was not nearly as complete as the St. Agnes’ breakfast. I knew that the last thing I wanted was to have another meltdown due to lack of food. I still did not know where anything was. I had pots and pans and a special bag of food I’d gotten in Kigali in preparation for making my first meal.

Making a home

Later on a full belly, I set about unpacking and settling in. I hung my US Flag, SC flag, US map and UT flag on the walls. I hung two large ikitenge fabrics on the walls. I made my bed then sat on the couch and opened up my first care package [from me]. While eating a Heath Bar [that amazingly didn’t melt] and reading going away cards/letters, I formulated a plan to turn the two rooms on the corner into something of a home.

‘Murica, the great state of South Carolina, and the University of Tennessee make up the wall decor in my living room

My bedroom has these amazing brown curtains that have hung in every place I’ve lived since 2009. My bed has two pillows [from home], a nice weight quilt [from Target] and a fuzzy blanket [from T-2000]. Next to the bed, my large duffel bag now serves as an end table. I keep all my electronic cords here since it’s near the outlet and I use electronics in bed anyway. [I know…I know…bad sleep hygiene].

The large green bucket has many uses but most of the time it serves as my dirty clothes container. I have a small trash can that I put trash in. On the floor I have my small rug [purchased in Rwamagana] that allows me to walk around barefoot. The accordion wall hanger, an over the door hanger and about 15 nails make this room ‘homey’. Lastly I’ve hung a few photos up on one side of over my bed, and cards, notes, and motivational sayings on the other side.

I had a local carpenter make a table that I sit my two metal chests on. [The smaller chest contains socks, underwear, tank tops, ect and the larger one tops and pants.

Bicycle delivery of two tables costing approximately $20 each; also you can see the health center where I work in the back ground.

My living room is more generic with the sofa, two chairs, and coffee tables all belonging to the landlord. In this room, I just moved the furniture to a different location than where the previous volunteer had it. I hung up the flags, added some glow in the dark stars, another accordion wall hanger, and a hook for my moto helmet. I have a small stool and two basins by the front door for no other reason than I don’t know where else to put them and that space looks empty.

The curtains hanging over the two windows and front door I made myself from a panel of ikitenge fabric I’d bought because I liked it, but had no idea what to do with it. I also like that it’s black, and although not black-out does a decent job of keeping it dark. I keep the windows open nearly 24/7 [I know…. I know… bad example for preventing malaria], and most of the time the breeze coming in keeps it pretty cool in here.

The latrine is your basic squatty potty, but instead of just having a hole directly underneath, this one has a concrete step and is built at an angle. So I have to pour water in after I use it to ensure the products end up in the intended destination. I have to ‘flush’ my latrine.

I’m most impressed with my little shower room. I still don’t shower every day [for example, I’m not getting naked outside when it’s cold out], but this room makes is a lot nicer when I do. I keep all my supplies together so it’s a ‘just add water’ situation when I do shower. It still smells like shit but what can you expect when it’s located next to the cow stalls and has ‘open-air ventilation.’

The kitchen

Finally on the tour of my little house on the corner is the kitchen. I spend more daylight hours in this room than any other, and not because I’m in there cooking all the time. Twenty five nails in the wall have made this kitchen a home. I have a place for the pots and pans, the hand towels, the oven mitts, coffee mugs, and kitchen utensils.

One table, courtesy of the health center, holds my gas stove, PC-issued water filter, and a dish drain. I had a table similar to the one in my bedroom made and keep it in the kitchen. I use this one for food prep and dry goods storage. The 4 tier plastic shelf holds fruits and vegetables as well as plates and plastic storage.

The chair in the corner was relocated from the house. I moved it from the bedroom to the kitchen. It gives me a place to sit ‘outside’ but still inside. I also have a small stool and two basins that are put into use when I’m doing dishes or laundry. My favorite pieces are the two shelves I made from scrap wood. I’ve got one hanging in the kitchen as a spice rack of sorts, and the other in the shower room holding toiletries.

Spice rack, pot storage, and dish towels

I still miss my little house in the country, and the two kitties that live there, but over the last month, taking the time to make this a little space a little more like me, makes it easier to be away from my ‘real’ home.

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