Emerging from the Doldrums, Part 2: The Good Stuff
Perhaps you’re asking, but what about all those cool things you’ve done? The stuff that, “on paper,” seems so great?
Here’s a summary:
Family
In January my nuclear family sped through Rwanda for a week — which was wonderful, but entirely too short. We made the most of our time, I think (though I got plenty of flack from my community about their visit being too short). We hit Kibuye, Kamembe, Mushaka, and even Nyungwe during the trip, taking time to enjoy the lake, the markets, some benzi, and a tour of the Gisakura Tea Plantation. We somehow managed to avoid doing any RDB-sponsored, official-tourism activities, which is somewhat amusing to me, but we had a great time drinking too much and playing too much Cards Against Humanity. I may not have been the best ambassador for Rwanda tourism, but we were able to spend some quality time, which I think was what we all wanted most.
Hikes, Running, and Health
We’ve done a good job going on hikes around the district with the new group of education volunteers — which not only brings our region closer together, but also gives us a chance to really explore the area. We went down to a waterfall and really nice lakeside area at a former PCV site, finally made it to the Great Rift Valley by my site, and even participated in the Nyungwe Marathon through the National Forest — though most of us ran the half-half (=about 7mi).
Eric and I even planned a trip to hike the Congo-Nile trail, which runs along the coast of the lake, from the northern town of Gisenyi/Rubavu all the way to Kamembe. We were only going to hike the first half, to the mid-way town of Kibuye, since apparently that’s the pretty part. But, as luck would have it, a tiny cat scratch on my knee turned into a nasty staph infection, so we had to cancel the hike. But we did get to see…
…Golden Monkeys!
I was gifted (by two very generous friends who will remain anonymous here) a permit to see the Golden Monkeys up near Musanze — which is where all the tourists go to also see the gorillas, by the volcanoes. The golden monkeys hang out in a bamboo forest at the base of the volcanoes (whereas the gorillas are up on the mountains), and are an easy hike from the visitors center. Permits are a fraction of the price of the gorillas, but you still get to spend an hour watching monkeys jump around your head feasting on the bamboo. It was…fun. Just not really my jam overall, paying a ton of money to go see heavily-tracked primates in the “wild.”
From there we still went out to Gisenyi for a night (since we’d payed a deposit on the hotel), and had a nice time, though the hotel turned out to be nowhere near the lakefront. We did pick up some masks on the way out of town, which I’m excited about as I start to collect souvenirs.
WASH
As all of this was happening on the weekends, I was ramping up my final grant project: a glorified latrine construction shrouded in hopes for WASH (water, sanitation, and hygiene) sensitization in the community. We haven’t done the monitoring and evaluation (M&E) yet — the latrines are still being finished — but I can report that the sensitization meeting we had went reasonably well, and when I invited a representative from SHE (Sustainable Health Enterprises) to do a menstrual health management training with my community health workers (CHWs) and the teachers from my sector, that went really well and was overall very well-received (though a little awkward at first in both cases).
So, while work overall is starting to wind down and I feel more and more detached (mostly because I don’t want to spend my days writing name after name on forms at reception unless I absolutely have to), I am still able to check things off and achieve some value-add, which is encouraging.
We’re now in the throes of World Malaria Month, which I have yet to do anything with, but I promised I’d do some activities at the schools that have…
…Clubs!
I’ve got a handful of really driven former students who have taken it upon themselves to start GLOWBE clubs at schools near where they’re living. They’re a spin-off from the GLOWBE Camps we’ve done — Girls Leading Our World and Boys Excelling. It’s encouraging to have the lessons shared and spread in areas without PCVs, but I’ve kept my expectations and hopes for their success fairly reserved, since I won’t be here the full school year, and I can only visit so often to check in on their progress. And from what I can tell the results have been…mixed. But it’s one of those things where I have to try to remember that every little thing counts for the better.
COS Conference
At the end of March we had our COS Conference, to help us start thinking about how to wrap up our lives here and readjust to life in the US. It was a celebratory few days, full of recognizing our accomplishments, joking about how to get through the final months, and excitement for what’s to come. At least, that’s how I took it — there are a decent number of our group extending their service for a year to work with an organization here in Rwanda. Not everyone is so restless as I.
Our hotel had a pool, and mini fridges in the room, and truly amazing food — I had no idea how much I missed cake, of all things. We had some good reflection time and constructive chats about how to anticipate the weird hardships that come with reintegrating into your home culture after so long spent so far away. But I think the thing I enjoyed the most was the feeling of old friends having been reunited. It served as a great opportunity for closure among the group, and shifting to think about how to extend that to our Rwandan friends and colleagues, as well as starting to think about what lies beyond Peace Corps.
April Showers and Revisiting Uganda
April brought the departure of two of my best friends in country plus my sitemate. It’s also remembrance month for the genocide here in Rwanda, so things move slowly and people’s hearts are heavy. I spent A LOT of time in my house, having not been invited to any events and not wanting to invite myself, but also trying to reconcile my heavy heart with the guilt I felt — because how legitimate or fair or allowable can my depression be relative to the hardship that so many of those I know here went through?
I know it doesn’t work like that, but it’s hard not to feel it.
April did bring a second visit to Uganda though, and this time all the way to Kampala and Jinja for some white water rafting and (to my surprise and yours) bungee jumping. We were offered a low-season package and I got peer pressured into it. It was horrifying. I’m glad I did it. The rafting was a ton of fun.
We then went down to Bunyoni, which was as stunning and calming as it was last September. I think if I ever visit this region again I’ll be making sure Byoona Amagara is on my itinerary — it’s truly a special place.
I will say, Uganda is a much larger country than Rwanda. I felt as though we spent a large part of the trip in the car. But it was nice to get away for sure — the trip, for reasons unknown to me, rejuvenated me and is helping, I think, to motivate me to power through these final months. Well, that, in addition to finally having a date, and flights, and an end in sight.
And so now we are almost done with May. The rains will be finishing soon, I’m closing out the financial aspects of my grant and aiming to finish the initial monitoring and evaluation by the end of the month, I’ve got a couple last projects with the school, and then it’s just hanging out, helping out around the health center, saying goodbyes.
I am restless but hopeful, sad but determined. Let’s do this.
