Real Talk: 6 Months On

This week is Peace Corps week, and is also the week after I have finally gotten in touch with the Returned Peace Corps…

Emerging from the Doldrums, Part 2: The Good Stuff

Emerging from the Doldrums, Part 1

Let me be frank: it’s been a rough few months. Not necessarily on paper — within my head.

Where did September go?

When we got back from Uganda it was straight back to work: we had to prepare and distribute all the materials for the…

Marking Important Dates: A Look Back at July and August

A Day in the Life

I realized I’ve never done a “Day in the Life” post, in part because it’s really difficult to sum up my day-to-day life here…

Psyching myself out and being proven wrong every time

I arrived at site one week ago on Thursday (I’m writing this on Saturday afternoon Rwanda time). I started work on Monday, after spending the weekend getting organized and oriented (ie, unpacking, buying food and sofa cushions…oh, and…

Rwamagana to Rusizi: A Play-by-Play

Background: My Peace Corps site placement, as I discovered two weeks ago on Thursday, is at Mushaka Health Center in Rusizi District, Southwest Rwanda. I am the farthest from Kigali of any of the PC Rwanda Health 7 volunteers (or, trainees, as we still are). This…

Fighting through Fog

I’m gonna get real here for a sec. I still have some retrospective blogs to write, but I’m at the point now where I’m kind…

Shifting Allegiances and Practical Realities

Sometimes I let my privilege haunt me. I’m a white, cis-gendered, straight woman from an upper middle class family who possesses citizenship to two of the more powerful countries in the world. And I try to devote my life to serving others, but I can…