Having almost made it through my first school year (exams are next week), I think now is as good a time as any to write a short blog update.
There’s not really anything spectacular to report—everything’s been relatively mellow for the past few weeks, mostly because I’ve been at site. I read 4 books in 6 days and got maybe a bit too involved in their plot lines; while reading The Bonesetter’s Daughter I tried to teach myself Chinese, which lasted until I realized that there’s not really a whole lot of practical use in Rwanda for Chinese. That plus the fact that Chinese is, from the look of it, just as difficult as Kinyarwanda had me saying ‘zai jian’-which apparently is the Mandarin word for goodbye.
Other than my fictional adventures, I’ve listened to my students give presentations in English and holler over one another about whether we listen to Rihanna or Sean Kingston afterward. I’ve made a list detailing what I’ll eat when I go back to America for Christmas (it is by no means complete, but a rough draft is below). I’ve taken walks around my village, lesson planned, cooked, and started getting very excited for my family’s visit to Rwanda in two weeks. I’m starting to write a grant that will hopefully allow my school to get guitars; next year I want to be able to teach my students and coworkers how to play (although I’m still kind of learning myself).
Things are very normal, in a very pleasant way. It’s hard to believe more than a year has passed since that terrifying first plane ride from Minneapolis to Philadelphia; but it has, and it feels pretty great to look back on a full year of teaching and know that it is complete.
One down, one to go…
Olive Garden salad and bread sticks
BACON
Cheese
Cheesecake
Salad (any kind)
Bagels
Nachos
Pad Thai
Enchiladas
Steak n’ Shake
Homemade cookies
Homemade pie
Pizza rolls
Pizza
Orange chicken
Sweet and sour chicken
Chicken fried rice
Egg rolls
Coffee heath bar crunch ice cream
Turkey sandwich
I love reading your blog. Keep up with it!