American in Africa!

Hi readers! My African adventure is underway! However, here is a small disclaimer from me to you:

Due to spotty (and very slow) Internet access, my blog posts will not always be updated as often as I’d like or even the day I write them. I will be dating all posts so you know when they were originally meant to be posted. Also, pictures will be uploaded to Facebook and to the blog page, but probably not until I have returned to Israel, because the Internet in the Village simply cannot upload large images. Thank you so much for your patience – I promise to keep all of you as updated as possible!

Here’s my first actual post:

January 30-31, 2011

It’s hard to believe that 24 hours ago I was asleep on my top bunk in Arad, waiting for my alarm to go off so I could take a shower, do one last load of laundry and get on the bus to Ben Gurion Airport. Now, I’m awaiting our connecting flight from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to Kigali, Rwanda. To say that I’m nervous would be an understatement; leaving my friends, and Israel, for a month seems scary. While it is only four weeks, and I know time will pass quickly with our nonstop schedule (6 AM to 10 PM every day, seven days a week!) the prospect of the unknown, and of such huge change, is frightening. I know I’m going to love the Village, Rwanda and its people, but adjusting to a new environment is never easy. Luckily, I am surrounded by friends who are all in the same position: none of us know what to expect.

The flight to Ethiopia was actually great. Turbulent and announced in Swahili, but great. We arrived around 5:30AM Ethiopia time (after leaving Tel Aviv around 12:30) and have spent the last hours sleeping on ridiculously upholstered chairs (they look like they belong in a movie theater that could have been on the set of Aladdin), having some breakfast (once again, like an idiot, I said “Toda” to the waiter who brought me my coffee, and then proceeded to take out shekels to pay.) I now need to get used to speaking English, using American dollars, and soon, Rwandan francs. We boarded the flight from Addis Ababa to Kigali (we thought), and then it was announced that we would be stopping in Nairobi, Kenya, which added about 2 hours to the trip. After our little pit stop in Kenya, we arrived in Kigali, made it through passport control, and claimed our bags. So really, in the last 24 hours, I’ve been in four countries and two time zones. I didn’t think of this until much later; the rest of my day, as you’ll soon read, was quite packed, and I was already exhausted.

We boarded a van sent from the Village; our driver, Ebimak, was awesome; and went to Ndoli’s convenience store and change place. We exchanged money, purchased Rwandan cell phones and SIM cards and headed to the Village. Arriving at the Village was unbelievable. The red dirt road winding up the mountainside which leads to the front gate of ASYV is surrounded by incredible views of the mountains and green valleys below; when the view becomes slightly blocked by red tiled roofs and green and brown buildings, we had reached the entrance to the Village.

Upon our arrival, we moved into our guest house and toured the Village. It is truly an amazing place. Not only do the kids spend hours in school, learning history, English, French, chemistry, math, they also take part in endless enrichment programs (yoga, music, technology…) and they work on the Village farm, which spans over 70 acres and includes vegetable and fruit patches (some of the most DELICIOUS pineapple in the world comes from Rwanda – we tried some), a chicken coop with about a thousand chickens and several cows. The Village is very much about sustainability; becoming independently funded to feed, clothe and provide for every student (which will eventually be 500 at a time). The farm is an avenue they are exploring to achieve this sustainability (exporting pineapple and fruit, selling eggs, etc.)

After completing our tour (which involved a minor thunderstorm, but the rain felt nice since none of us had showered) and meeting the director of the Village, an Israeli man named Ilan, we got ready for dinner. I decided to take a shower. This is much more involved than you would think. First of all, running water in the Village comes and goes, so what is done in Rwanda, and in the Village, is called “bucket showering.” To do this, you turn on the water (which is about a trickle) and place a bucket over the drain so the water collects in it. This way, should the water turn off mid-shower and you still have shampoo in your hair, you dump the bucket over yourself and you’re essentially clean. Luckily, the water didn’t shut off, so I was able to avoid the bucket madness. Also, since my hair is relatively short, washing it is easy even in showers with negative water pressure. Unfortunately, my roommates cannot say the same.

This brings me to my next topic: I am living with four other girls, one of whom is Brinley, and the other three are British (Tanya, Talia and Lucy). Even in the past few hours, I’ve picked up some fantastic new terms. The word of today is “mare,” as in short for a “nightmare.” An example would be: “Lucy is having a bit of a mare in the shower since she cannot wash her hair.” Unfortunately, this was a true scenario. I’m hoping that each day I can learn a new term and share it with you.

We had dinner with the entire Village; I sat with a group of girls who only wanted to know what I thought about all the “black peoples” in Africa, as if I had never seen anyone of color before in my life. They wanted to know if I was scared of them; they thought this question was hysterical. I, on the other hand, had no idea how to respond. Of course I wasn’t scared! Do I explain to them that I went to school with people of all races and ethnicities? I chuckled along and luckily, they moved on to asking me about what I like to study in school, if I have a boyfriend (when I said “yes” they all responded “ooooh!”), where I’m going to college. They are incredibly forward-thinking young women, and I am so excited to get to know them over the coming weeks.

I need to be up VERY early tomorrow, so that’s all for now. Wish me luck on the newest chapter of my year! More soon!

Lots of love from the Eastern Province of Rwanda,
Elana