"Meeting you"

February 6, 2011

Today was one of those days that I found myself missing what’s “mine.” We attempted to have a Sports Day for the kids, but as I’m learning, things in Africa rarely go as planned. We scheduled Sports Day to begin at 3 PM; by around 4, kids began showing up in small groups. Our next move was to divide them into teams; this failed miserably. What ended up happening was pickup basketball and volleyball games, a small group of girls interested in the relay races we had set up (this lasted a grand total of twenty minutes) and many people sitting in the stands cheering for the participants. One of my new friends, Yvette, was very interested in my camera, so I let her take some pictures, both with me and of the other volunteers. She was then shocked to see that we could look at the pictures and she could see herself in them. She remained quite impressed by the notion of a digital camera.

Though Sports Day itself turned into somewhat of a free for all, I did end up having quite a long conversation with one of the pastors who works at the village. He opened by asking me why I don’t play basketball so I can be tall and thin like a Rwandan. I explained to him that I will probably never look quite like a Rwandan, try as I may, and that I was playing in the relays but not in basketball. He understood, and then began asking me about Israel and Hebrew. He’s fascinated by Hebrew and wants to learn it because he wants to be able to read the Old Testament in its original language. I think that is incredible; I explained to him that Hebrew is a difficult language to learn because it has its own alphabet and sounds like almost no other language; he responded by telling me, “That’s okay, I will learn. Maybe you will teach me? Shalom!”

After Sports Day, it was nearly 6 PM and all I wanted was a shower and some clean clothes. Well, no running water. I would have taken a bucket shower, but there was no water in the outside faucet to fill a bucket, so showering in general was out of the question. It was in this moment that I wanted to throw up my hands, scream out of frustration, and simply get back to Israel or America, to running water and “real” food, to everything that I consider comfortable and normal. Not even an hour later, my attitude changed. I went to dinner and sat with a group of girls, most namely, the girl next to me, Rose, who only wanted to practice their French. Now they are learning future tenses with French verbs, so we were practicing “I want to eat,” “I will go to sleep at,” “I want to study.” I also taught them small words like “presque” (nearly or almost). They thought this was fantastic, so they tried using it in every sentence. They also didn’t know the word for “potatoes” in French, which I found odd because they eat them every day, so they really liked learning “pommes de terre.”

Rwandans, like Israelis, love hearing how much people like their country and what we find beautiful about it. So, every day, at least once, I get the question, “Do you like Rwanda? What do you like in Rwanda? What do you like about the village?” I always say I love how friendly people are, how beautiful the hills are, and how much I enjoy learning from everyone in the village. Tonight, when I asked Rose what she likes about the village, she said, “Meeting you.” I nearly melted. Knowing that I’m making a difference, regardless of how small, in someone else’s life, especially in someone like Rose, I know I am in the right place, that I made a good decision in coming here, and that I am appreciated. I find myself missing the smallest things that I never appreciated: running water, eating at restaurants, knowing the lights will turn on when I flip a switch. There is none of that here, no trace of Western civilization or comfort. But I am learning to enjoy this new simplicity and face new challenges: working in the school, building the warehouse, and interacting with new people I would never meet otherwise. This place is incredible; it’s only been a week and already I feel it doing something to me. Changing me. It’s an unbelievable opportunity that’s been given to me, and I plan on making the most of every moment and forcing myself to realize, even in the most difficult times, that I am here for a reason, I am here to make a difference, and I am here to help others achieve what they think they can only dream. These students are so driven and inspire me to appreciate what, in my life, has never been a question but a logical next step (finish high school, get into and attend college, have a career). They push themselves to achieve all of that, to make their dreams come true. Now, I am here to help in any way I can to make sure Yvette can become a doctor or Rose can become a teacher. In the past week, they have shown me that they have the power to do it, and they only want my help and encouragement. As I’ve told them, I am in support of their dreams 150%.

Tomorrow is an early day – I’m at the school, teaching English, Math, French and History all day. When Rose heard this at dinner, she told me she would be studying extra hard tonight so that way she knows everything I ask her in class tomorrow. I told her not to worry, my questions won’t be that tricky. She said she would study anyway. These kids amaze me.

More soon!

Elana