Fulfilling the Calling

Introducing Kivu ... My new cat!

2009-09-09T00:07:00.000-07:00

So... I've been having some problems with rats. They live in my roof and occasionally go into my kitchen and most recently into my house. I am absolutely petrified of rats and so a cat was the only logical answer to my rat problem. Unfortunately, Rwandans do not think kindly on pets and in all my time in Rwanda I had yet to see any cats. But, fortunately for me, my friend Benjamin knew of someone who could get me a cat and so one day Kivu came on a bus all the way from Kibuye (which is a horrible two hour bus ride) in a burlap sack. And that's why I named him Kivu; after Lac Kivu in Kibuye.

He's a great cat and I have no more rats! All the Rwandans think I'm crazy because I actually feed him and let him sleep on my bed. They call me "umusazi", which means crazy.

Anyways, here's Kivu.

The 1st Annual Git Fest!

2009-07-28T01:25:00.000-07:00

So it now seems that I spend a lot time with the VSOs in the neighboring city of Gitarama. During the summer in England, there are many festivals that celebrate a variety of things. So in honor of that British tradition, the VSOs held the very first Git Fest (Festival of Gitarama)!

The theme for the Festival was dress up as your favorite musical icon. Being a child of the 90s, I found an awesome Lisa Loeb/Lilith Faire dress at the Gitarama Market and paired it up with crazy leggings. It was a lot of fun with games, food and drinks. It was also fun meeting the other VSOs that serve in Rwanda.

I have posted some pictures of the event. I'm doing a crazy Michael Jackson pose in front of the Michael Jackson Memorial. It also drew quite a crowd of Rwandans looking over the wall, watching us play hide and seek and twister.

Finally Pictures of My Village!

2009-07-06T04:44:00.000-07:00

So I'm not technically allowed to say where I'm located in Rwanda. However, it's in a small village close to the bigger town of Gitarama. I took some pictures last week during a Genocide Commemoration Ceremony. My village is in a valley and so the pictures I took are when I was walking up the huge hill to catch the bus.

News Flash... I Have a New Address!!

2009-06-16T00:41:00.000-07:00

Hello from "getting warmer and warmer" Rwanda!

Wanted to let everyone know that I have recently changed my mailing address to a closer town to the village where I live. By saving grace, I have recently met some British VSOs (Volunteers Services Overseas) who live in this town close to me and have offered to share their P.O. Box with me. And their books!! Which is great because I ran out of books awhile ago and needed to get my hands on some reading material.

So the new address is:

Mary Rose Axiak
Peace Corps Rwanda
B.P. 146
Gitarama, Rwanda Africa

Please, Please, Please - send me anything! I am desperate for news about back home. I would love to receive letters, postcards, magazines, newspapers, books and pictures of all my friends and family back home! It's hard to respond sometimes but any mail is so appreciated.

And Then There Were 29...

2009-05-29T08:10:00.000-07:00

On January 26, 2009 35 American Peace Corps Trainees met in Washington, D.C. to begin their two year experience in Rwanda. Before we left D.C. we were already down to 34. 10 weeks into training and right before we were to swear in 2 others left (a married couple). Within the past two weeks two others have left and now it appears that we are down to 29 volunteers in Rwanda.

That is to say that life in Rwanda and the life of a volunteer is no cake walk. It takes determination and a constant re-focus of why you decided to become a Peace Corps Volunteer in the first place. Life at my site has definitely not been easy. Speaking three languages a day and constantly being stared at and called "Muzungu" definitely can wear on a person. If there is one change that I already see taking place in me is my patience - patience is definitely a virtue here in Rwanda. Patience and the ability to be totally a lone with nothing to do. Here's to "finding myself"!

I Solomely Swear... I'm An Official Volunteer!

2009-05-15T23:55:00.000-07:00

Well it has actually happened! I'm an official Peace Corps Volunteer and can now begin my two years of Peace Corps Service in Rwanda. This means I can officially return back to the States in two years. Yes, I do that know that that is a long time away. So now I’m in a village by myself working at a Centre de Santé (Health Center for all you English folk) and teaching English to the nurses and government officials. I have my own little house behind my resource family’s home. It’s actually their storage rooms that they converted into a house for me. I have a little sitting room, bedroom and my own latrine/wash area. Oh! I also have my own kitchen but it’s outside and I don’t really know how to start a fire yet, so I rely on food from my resource family.

I have posted the picture of the Swearing-In ceremony with all the volunteers and the American Ambassador to Rwanda (in the back-center). It was a nice day but it rained the whole time - so my hair was completely ruined.

It’s been a little difficult getting used to my new environment (my little village with very little to do or eat here). I’ve been really homesick and also I experienced my first intestinal/stomach sickness – Giardia! It was awesome; vomiting and other pleasantries for over a week! When the nurse gave me the antibiotics she told me “Welcome to Africa – this is the first of many.”

Can’t wait for people to visit!

T Minus Two Weeks!

2009-04-02T01:45:00.000-07:00

Two weeks to go and I will be done with my Pre-Service Training! Which means I’ve been in Rwanda for almost 10 weeks now and boy has the time flown by. If I pass my language and technical tests then I can be sworn in as Peace Corps Volunteer on April 15^th and move onto my site. All of us trainees are in study mode right now because our language skills have to be high intermediate in Kinyarwanda to be sworn in as Peace Corps Volunteer.

The pictures I have are from one of the national parks here in Rwanda that we visited a couple of weeks ago. There are a handful of national parks in Rwanda because ecotourism is becoming very popular here. The parks are very beautiful and it’s great to know that the current government is taking steps to perverse the environment and animals here in Rwanda.

Last week there was an earthquake and because I was still sleeping I thought for a minute that I was in California. There is an active volcano here in Rwanda and the earthquake was due to volcanic activity.

Tomorrow is my birthday – I can’t believe I’m going to be 27. Man, I’m getting old…

T.I.A. - This Is Africa!

2009-03-24T04:53:00.000-07:00

So it's been awhile since I've posted my last blog and that's because my computer was infected with a virus and crashed! It's been 4 weeks and I've finally received my computer back from repairs and I still don't know if it was fixed. It's very difficult to get information. Anyways... because I had to drop my classes back in Monterey and now won't be graduating until I return in two years. But as everyone says here - T.I.A. - This Is Africa and you must have patience.

It's been difficult for me to study the Rwandan language with all this crazy school mess happening but I'm trying to press on and hopefully on April 15th I will be sworn in as an official Peace Corps Volunteer and head off to my site. Two weeks ago we were able to visit our future sites where each of us will be spending the next two years (by ourselves). Turns out I have to get used to a latrine because a toilet is a luxury in my village.

I'm still enjoying my time here but miss everyone dearly (especially Winston!)

A Day in the Life of a "Muzungu"

2009-02-20T07:44:00.000-08:00

So life in Rwanda is now becoming very routine. When we first arrived, everywhere we went a crowd would stop and stare at the "muzungus" (white person or Gringo). In fact people would yell out that "muzungus" were coming and a crowd would form. Now, thankfully we are slowly becoming part of the Rwandan backdrop in our town.

Everyday we have Kinyarwandan language class that usually lasts for about 4 to 5 hours. We also each have a Rwandan family that we visit at least twice a week. My family is great! They have 5 boys and the wife is expecting again (she really wants a girl!). This coming week she is going to be teaching me how to cook authentic Rwandan food.

This last week we learned a little bit more about the Genocide and visited memorial sites. In Rwandan culture it is inapporiate to discuss the genocide or politics, so it has been very difficult to be a typical, curious American and ask questions about these subjects. In fact our language teachers say we ask too many questions!

I've tried to upload pictures to show how beautiful Rwanda is but my internet connect is too poor to do that.

Love and miss all of you!

Muraho na Murakaze Neza mu Rwanda!

2009-02-03T08:18:00.000-08:00

Hello and Welcome to Rwanda!

So I've managed to survive my first week in Rwanda and let me just say how beautiful this country is. The people are very proud of their country and it shows in the cleanliness of the country and the friendliness of the Rwandan people. After spending a few days in the capital and visiting the Genocide Memorial (it which I was in the local newspaper about going to the memorial) our group is now in a city in the southern part of Rwandan. We will be spending three months learning language and cross-cultural communication. Everyday we spend at least 4 hours learning the language and culture and the rest of the time is spent learning our technical skills.

I miss everyone already but I'm so excited to be here and experience the great things that are happening in Rwanda.

80 Ibs for Two Years!

2009-01-25T19:56:00.000-08:00

So it took me all day but I finally managed to pack all I will need for the next two years in 80 lbs of luggage. Thanks to a couple of friends, I have every antibacterial wipe, lotion and cleanser you can think of! It was hard parting with a couple of articles of clothing and coming to the realization that yes, I will be wearing khaki, cargo pants pretty much every day of my life for two years.

A couple of things that I could not do without were:
my French Bible
a mosquito net
Emily Dickinson Poems
sunblock
flashlights
a leatherman
hiking boots
mascara and eyeliner
my bathing suit

I hope I have prepared my luggage and myself for what will no doubt be the adventure of my lifetime!

The last American Christmas for two years...

2008-12-12T11:31:00.000-08:00

As the U.S. is in full swing with the holidays, I can't help but wonder how life will be so much different a year from now. The holiday season is such an institution for Americans and something a majority of us look forward to each and every year. It's a time for family, food and faith. I can't imagine a December without hot chocolate, mistletoe or Bing Crosby.

How do Rwandans celebrate Christmas? Only time will tell, but in the mean time the song "I'll Be Home for Christmas" has taken on a whole different meaning and this season I've come to realize how truly grateful I am for family and friends.

Sustainable Development and Macy's

2008-11-18T13:36:00.000-08:00

I was searching around the website of my favorite store, Macy's, for holiday gift ideas and came across something really interesting. This semester I am taking a development class and of course we are discussing sustainable development and Micro-Finance. While searching around macys.com, I discoverd that Macy's is now selling products (baskets, silks and ornaments) directly from women's groups in Rwanda, Cambodia and Indonesia. I've always loved Macy's and this just adds to my opinion. I think it says a lot about sustainable development and micro-finance loans when a huge store, such a Macy's, becomes part of great projects like these. I'm attaching the website if you would like to take a lot at what Macy's is doing and the products that they are selling.

http://www1.macys.com/campaign/rwanda/index.jsp?cm_sp=SEARCH_MERCH-_-HOME-_-RWANDA

Expectations of Service in Rwanda

2008-10-31T12:18:00.000-07:00

Once a volunteer accepts their Peace Corps invitation, they are then asked to write an aspiration statement describing their expectations, strategies and professional and personal goals while in country. Below is an excerpt from my aspiration statement regarding my expectations of Rwanda.

Expectations

I expect my service as a Peace Corps volunteer in Rwanda to be far more challenging and far more rewarding than any expectations I can conceive of now. I expect my limits to be tested, my patience tried and my emotions spent. I expect to see a beautiful country, marred by tragedy but embodied with the perseverance to survive and press on. I expect to be surprised, shocked and fearful at times. Yet I also expect to be humbled, elated and energized. I expect I will be confused more times than not, but I know I will be constantly learning; language, culture and about HIV/AIDS. I expect I will face challenges emotionally, physically and mentally and to never be as prepared as I had hoped. I expect I will miss home, miss my family, miss my dog and most of all miss American culture. But I expect to come back with a different and hopefully better perspective on people and life. And above all else, I expect for this experience to not only change my life, but that I will love my time as a Peace Corps volunteer in Rwanda.

3rd Time's a Charm: Bienvenue à Rwanda

2008-10-21T13:58:00.000-07:00

I have just recently received my official Peace Corps invitation to serve in Rwanda. And though as exciting as that may sound, I must say I was a little taken back when I found out where I was to be sent to. A couple months ago, in August, I was told that the Peace Corps was considering sending me to Francophone Africa. Since then I had done all my research on Western Africa, particularly reading up on countries such as Senegal, Mali and Burkina Faso. When the invitation package finally arrived, I scrambled to open the envelope eagerly anticipating Mali or Senegal. When I saw the words Rwanda I had to sit down. Rwanda was not Western Africa and I didn't even know that Peace Corps sent volunteers to Rwanda. In fact the Peace Corps has not been to Rwanda for 15 years; since the beginning of the tragic genocide.

Since the reading of this news 4 days ago, the reality of spending the next 2 years of my life in a beautiful country marred by ethnic conflict has finally settled in. And now I'm really excited about leaving on January 26, 2009. But it has also stopped me and made me think that this is actually my 3rd time applying to the Peace Corps and my 3rd placement. And a lot has happened in my life since the first time I applied to Peace Corps 4 years ago as a lowly undergrad from Sacramento State. In the past 4 years I have definitely had my fair share of ups and downs yet I feel I have really matured as a person. I have began graduate school and am studying international development. 4 years ago would I have been ready for Rwanda - No Way. But today I'm ready and let's hope Rwanda is too.