Let There Be Light!

Imagine that your power went out right now. You'd be pretty irritated, right? Probably call your electric company to find out what’s going on. Break out the flashlight and try to think of something fun to do that doesn’t need to be “plugged in.” Basically to be without electricity in the U.S. is kind of an oddity because it means that there is either an outage or a person lives so far out in the middle of nowhere that power does not reach him/her. Or maybe that person is intentionally living without this convenient utility in order to “rough it.” Before coming to Rwanda I wasn’t sure what to expect on this front, and the info I read online was unclear. Some current volunteers said that they live in villages where power exists but is only about 50% reliable. I also read that Rwanda is trying to step up its electricity game over the next few years. My village is definitely in a transitional stage at the moment. Part of the area is wired and the remaining section (which includes my host home) is not. However, there’s a large spool of electric cable in the middle of the road and a bunch of empty poles stretching to the far side of town. I even saw some guys felling a tree last week in order to string the cable from one post to another. I was so mesmerized by what seemed to be such a momentous event, that I didn’t realize the workers were trying to warn me to move out of the way. Luckily my fellow Peace Corps pal alerted me that I should probably step aside or end up a pancake.

I’ve learned that the electricity situation here is on a pay-as-you-go basis. So you pay to have it set up at your house and then you sort of buy “minutes” to power it up. When you run out you have to buy more power. So this is the inverse of our American system of paying post-use every month. I’m curious to find out more about this and whether people “opt out” of getting wired for electricity due to the cost. I also only consulted one person for this info, so I’m sure there are a lot of details I’m leaving out.

As for water in Taba, many people go to the public spigot and pay per jerry can container that they fill. Some families send their kid or hire someone to go and get water a couple of times a day. I've been twice so far to help fetch water and let me tell you, it’s not easy! Can you imagine carrying (or pushing in a wheel barrow) 20 or more liters of water across town every day just to use for your normal bathing and cooking routine?!  Some people also pay to have the government install a private spigot at their home, but I’ve heard this is expensive. Once it’s set up they track your use with meter on the nozzle and bill you at the end of the month.

Locals lined up in front of the water spigot waiting to fill their buckets.

Around 6:30 it starts to get pretty dark here. Makes it easy to see the beautiful starry sky on a clear night, but it’s pretty inconvenient for anything else you might want to do like cooking, reading, or even just playing a game of cards. And you can’t really bathe after dark because you won’t be able to see where you’re scrubbing. Haha My family uses a battery-powered lamp or a flashlight around the house. And Peace Corps provided me with a kerosene lamp, but I haven’t used it much because I’m afraid to start a house fire—plus it’s not very pleasant smelling. I was proud of myself for learning how to properly light it though. Small victories! Luckily I purchased a solar-powered lamp before I left, and I freaking love this thing. The company D.Light makes them and offers a Peace Corps discount. They’re pretty neat because they can charge in the sun or via USB connection, and last for 4 hours on high or up to 8 on low. I’m hoping I might be able to find another in Rwanda to buy for my host family, since I know they are specifically marketed in developing countries for their practicality. A quick side note: In between starting and ending this post I spent about 45 minutes watching my 9 year old host sister hold the D.Light up while her dad ironed a suit by hand…in the dark…using an iron that is heated by filling a compartment with hot coals. He asked me in Kinyarwanda if we had irons in America. I said, “Yeah, but they run on electricity,” while demonstrating myself plugging an imaginary cord into a make believe wall outlet. He smiled and chuckled a little at that one.

Not having electricity or running water is definitely an adjustment. Luckily the training site where we meet twice a week for some Peace Corps classes has power, so I can charge my laptop and then use that at home to juice up my phone and camera. But a laptop battery only lasts for so long of course. Needless to say, the lack of electricity means there isn’t exactly an internet café or anything like that nearby. And the USB modem I have is not very reliable. I spent about 2+ hours last week trying to get connected long enough to upload my previous post and a couple of photos. So bear with me for now as I probably will not be able to reply to emails super quickly, and will definitely not be able to Skype for at least the next few months if not longer. Once in a while I am able to get on Gmail or Faceboook on my iPhone and it’s spectacular. As guilty as I feel having to ask you all this, my request is that if you want to talk on the phone you call me using Skype, Google Voice, or an international calling card for now—as it’s looking like I’m not going to be making a lot of calls with my limited amount of prepaid minutes/meager Peace Corps stipend. My phone number and snail mail address are on the contact page of this blog by the way.

To be honest, I’m starting to realize that unless my permanent site is close to a large town or city this might be the way it’s going to be for me indefinitely. I’ve been having some major separation anxiety the last couple of weeks including irrational fears that upon my return to the U.S. I will have lost all connection with friends and family. This is probably ridiculous, but that’s kind of how it feels out here across the globe.

So as I sit at my computer in complete darkness wearing a head lamp to read the keys, I’m thinking to myself how great it would be eating a Big Mac and watching Saturday Night Live back home. But at the same time, I’m gaining such a deep respect for the Rwandan people and their totally badass way of life. It’s kind of funny to think that we love to watch TV shows and movies about how the world would crumble into chaos and anarchy without power, when there are people all over the world living without it every day. On that note, I’ll leave you with a thought I had earlier. One volunteer down the road whose host family is wired said that they sit huddled around a TV every night like we do in America. I had to consider for a minute whether I thought that was progress.

Rwandan Toilets and Other Adjustments!

I’m going to start today’s post with a few words about Rwandan toilets. So, I’m not sure about how things are in Kigali, but out here in the villages, you’re basically looking at a hole in the ground with a few walls around it and maybe a door. The hole is either cut into some rocky earth, or if you’re like my host family and have a small concrete room with a couple of short platforms for your feet that you use to stand on and crouch. Then you hold your nose and cross your fingers that you didn’t leave your phone or keys in a back pocket, because if you did, and they slip out, you’re never seeing them again! I actually have no idea how deep these toilet holes are—it’s like pooping into a dark abyss. But surprisingly, they’ve been pretty easy to get used to. You’re not going to take a Reader’s Digest in there and relax of course, but they do the job. Sometimes you'll even find a little gecko hanging out in there, which isn't the worst surprise!

Another fun fact: Rwandans are not big on toilet paper. Don’t ask me how that works when they do #2 because I have no idea. And many people don’t wash their hands after using the bathroom—probably because they don’t have sinks out here in the villages so it’s more of a process to get out the water jug and soap, pour the water into a bucket, wash, empty the bucket etc. Plus you’re likely using water that you had to walk allllll the way down the road to fetch from the town’s public water spigot, so I guess I can see how it would be a pain to use it all up on hand washing. More to come on the water procurement later, but basically it’s a whole process. Community health workers are trying to change the no-hand-washing habit by encouraging people to set up wash stations in their homes, but it seems this hasn’t really caught on yet. So I end up carrying toilet paper and hand sanitizer with me wherever I go. Better safe than sorry, yo.

Overall, the hygiene expectations are interesting. Rwandans like to look “smart” or tidy. For example, a friend’s host mom wouldn’t let her leave her house Friday wearing some jeans that had a bit of dirt on the knee. And for church on Sunday people get dressed up to the nines. However, some little kids in my neighborhood run around in pretty tattered and dirty clothing. And deodorant is not a popular concept—like at all—which is odd for me because I am always so hyper-conscious of not smelling bad.  On the other hand, it’s important to Rwandans that they shower at least once a day. And they will find it very odd if you don’t. I use the term “shower” loosely here, because I am really referring to the process of filling a bucket part way with hot water, cutting it with cold water, and then using a cup to cleanse yourself…one appendage at a time. Haha It was pretty funny to see my host parents explaining the process to me my first night, using only hand motions and facial expressions.

Feet washing is a big MUST. You’re expected to wash your feet and shoes with soap and water every night, which makes sense because you’re walking around in red dust all day. I’ve been told that this is a big deal. For example, if you are going to an event to speak and your shoes are dirty, people might not take you seriously if they judge you to be unclean based on the appearance of your shoes. My host mom and dad are so sweet—while I fumbled the first time trying to figure out how to correctly wash my feet in a bucket, they came over and started scrubbing them to show me how! I felt guilty—but grateful for the instruction.

Another adjustment is the lack of mirrors. Because the bathroom is really just a room with a hole in it, there really isn’t a place for a mirror, so the only time I see myself during the day is when I put on a little concealer in the morning using a small mirror I brought.

Lastly, I will touch on the extremely humbling experience of hand washing my clothes, which I did for the first time yesterday. Man oh man, you don’t realize how great a washing machine is until you have to do without it. I had about 2 weeks of dirty clothes to clean, and no idea what I was getting myself into. They do it old school here, for real. One bucket of soapy water and two for rinsing—then you hang dry inside out. Easier said than done, friends. My mama expected me to scrub these clothes like there was no tomorrow, and she very patiently re-washed each article of clothing as I apparently did it all wrong. Mind you, we were not using a brush—just a bar of soap and some hardcore elbow grease. I felt like we were washing for days as I continually checked with her to see if my clothes were nibyza (good) or nibibi (bad). In reality, it was probably only about an hour. lol Being the spoiled American that I am with more clothes than their entire family probably owns, I realized to my embarrassment that my things would not all fit on the one drying wire in their back yard; so mama had to take the rest of my clothing across the street to hang on a neighbor’s exterior wall and bushes. 

My host mama's wash station

One half of my laundry hanging on the neighbor's wall

To add to the ridiculousness of this situation, there were 12 pairs of my underpants hanging outside all day for my entire family and any neighbors dropping by to check out. I found this interesting, since some other volunteers said they were instructed to wash their undies in their own rooms for purposes of modesty. So I guess that’s a personal thing, not a cultural one.

The long and the short of it is that I’m realizing that you can get by without a lot of the fancy gadgets we have in the states—like porcelain toilets and electric washing machines. Rwandans seem to be doing just fine without them. The lack of electricity and challenges of internet and phone connectivity is proving a bit more difficult for me to swallow, but I'll get to that later. For now, I have some clean clothes to wear for the week, and I'm a happy lady.

Arriving in Taba

On Saturday, my group left Kigali and traveled about 45 minutes out of the city to a Peace Corps hub site in the Southern Province of Rwanda. It’s surrounded by different villages where small groups of 2 or 3 volunteers will do their language training together. Each lives with a different host family, and then throughout the week we meet a few times to train with the bigger Peace Corps group at the hub. So first thing’s first, we pulled up to the hub and met our host families in a ceremony that included hugging and lots of communication via charades moves. Then all of the volunteers and host parents drank sodas together to celebrate. Perfect—I love soda! My host parents are Uwimana Emmanuel and Mukagahutu Bernadette, and their kids are Danielle (16), Simopiyer (14), and Garase (9). I headed back with my host Papa to their home in the village Taba and they showed me all of the equipment Peace Corps had dropped off—trunk, kerosene lamp, bucket and cup for bathing, mosquito net etc. and how to use them (more info to come on this later). 

I also met their cows and chickens and amused them by knowing how to say “Muraho, inka” or “Hello cows!” lol While waiting for dinner to cook, I hung out with the kids for a bit looking up at the stars and trying to figure out what to say and how to say it, since my host family doesn’t know a lick of English. When we eventually sat down to dinner, I realized that I was being treated as an honored guest—served meat, which I think is more of a special occasion thing here, drinking Sprite, and sampling some Rwandan delites. My Papa even turned on the radio so that I could listen to Rwandan President Paul Kagame giving a speech in English. To top it off he called each of the 3 other volunteers they hosted in the past so that I could talk to them on the phone for advice and support. Super thoughtful!

Saturday night was rough internally, as I was feeling a lot of mixed emotions from happiness to fear, sadness, homesickness, and general confusion. A LOT of confusion. I’d equate it either to being born all over again, or traveling to the moon. Basically I don’t know how to talk, eat, dress, or bathe. I have no idea where anything is. And I can’t figure out who I have already met and/or their names. It’s intense.

Sunday was much easier. In the morning I headed over to the local Presbyterian church with another volunteer, Bre, and a local dude that my host mom sent with us. The service was held outside with what seemed like a couple hundred Rwandans, and they put us in the front row right next to the pastor and choir members. They had 4 choirs for this 1 church alone! Understandably there was a lot of singing and dancing. At one point, Bre and I were asked to introduce ourselves and say where we’re from. Then they welcomed us with dancing and even had us join in. It was pretty amazing. A community member who spoke English did some translating for us, which helped tremendously.

After the service we explored the community a bit, greeting everyone we saw as children pointed and happily yelled ABAZUNGU! (white person) haha Rwandans are super friendly and everyone greeted us with enthusiasm and curiosity, welcoming us to their country. The few who spoke English even engaged us in some conversation, including a guy who runs half marathons and 5Ks around the world. During lunch at Bre’s house, we tried a fruit I’ve never had called “tree tomatoes” which are pretty tasty, and her host dad served me a Coca Cola, which I had been jonesing for hard. He speaks some English, so we were also able to ask him some questions about translating various phrases.

Her Papa directed us to the market where we engaged in a very confusing conversation with a lady about how to buy her pineapples. Luckily we were saved by an English-speaking guy nearby who heard us and ran over to our rescue. Then he probably walked away and had a good laugh. More info to come about toilets and electricity (or lack thereof) and all that jazz, but basically things are going well now that I have started to settle in a bit more!

Some neighborhood kids and my host sister Garace (she's the one holding the crying baby). Hilarious, because you basically see her joy at having me for a new "sister" juxtaposed with the terrified crying baby who freaks out every time he sees the crazy white lady. Then there is the random kid on my left giving me the most suspicious look I have ever seen. lol 

Jet Lagged to the Max

Well I made it to Rwanda, and it took but a mere 30 hours door to door. Haha On Wednesday we hopped on a bus to JFK, then flew to Belgium where we connected to our Kigali flight. I have to say, I was pretty impressed overall. There was some legit legroom up in this plane, and we even got complimentary ear buds to listen to whichever free movie or TV shows we choose on our individual screens. Baller. The food was not bad either. I especially liked the vanilla ice cream bar with crunchy chocolate shell. Hells yes. And I will not lie to you…I did in fact steal an airplane blanket and pillow. I’m sorry Air Brussels, but you just should not have made them so damn comfortable. That’s on you! Lol Fifteen hours in the air was definitely intense. At one point some very smelly beef stew was served that I thought for sure was going to bring on extreme vomiting. I played it cool though, and was able to hold off on any expulsions. Here's a photo after we got off the plane in Kigali, in a van headed to the Peace Corps compound—which consists of the main offices and a dorm space that we are staying in until Saturday afternoon.

Today was spent receiving some final immunizations like Typhoid and Flu, filling out paperwork, getting sized for a bicycle, and learning some beginners Kinyarwanda. We also set up our new pay-as-you-go mobile phones and wireless modems. Will have to see how those work out cost and service-availability wise, but I’m excited to be able to stay connected! 

Tomorrow will be more of the same orientation until later in the day when we’re separated and sent out to villages in small groups for immerse language, culture, and job training. So it’s off to bed for me now, as I’m 6 hours ahead of E.S.T. and totally pooped, but here are a couple of shots I took today during the one trip we made out of the guarded compound to set up our phones.

New Joisey

Right now I am sitting in my hotel room at the Wyndam Garden outside of Philly, taking advantage of their free wi-fi and savoring the last good old U.S.of A.-style chocolate milkshake I will probably see for quite some time. Today was our 1-day orientation where we covered some basics including Peace Corps history, expectations, safety, and some ice breakers. There are about 20 people in my Rwanda group, and we all head to JFK together in the morning for our flight out (with a layover in Brussels). So far so good, except for a minor snafu. Apparently, I misread the luggage guidelines and it turns out that while all this time I have been worried about over-packing, I ended up actually packing 50 pounds less than I was allotted. So yeaaahhh, that's a classic Darcy move. But whatayagonnado, right? (said with shrug and Italian accent) I guess at least I don't have to worry about overweight baggage fees. In other news, my two weeks in NJ with friends and family were great! Here's a photo recap of some highlights.

Made friends with this turtle at the Cape May Zoo, then checked out a wine tasting and ghost tour. The tour was led by a slightly senile elderly lady who knew nothing about ghosts. Fact: I have watched many hours of Celebrity Ghost Stories and could have schooled her. It was a hoot. haha

Visited the stables where my cousins Sara and Lori keep Sara's horses and take riding lessons.

My bro CDogg (a.k.a. Chris) turned 22!

Visited historic Lucy the Elephant in Atlantic City with my mom, my brother Chris, and his girlfriend Michelle.

Enjoyed all-you-can-eat buffet crab legs galore. And margaritas of course.

Chris tried his luck at the slots for the first time ever.

Spent time with old friends (Laina above and a whole posse from grade school below). I also got this short haircut to make the bucket baths in Rwanda a bit easier.

My dad (above) and step mom threw a sweet family BBQ and their awesome pitbull was in attendance.

Kayaked through the pine barrons with my mom and did not get attacked by Pineys or the Jersey Devil, even though we were legit out in the middle of nowhere. You should Google these 2 terms and you will understand my concerns. lol

Yeah, I know that's a lot of photos. Don't be a hater. haha