Hey all! I know it has been awhile for blogging, but I have been on home stays and keeping rather busy. I have decided to make a list of things I have observed or experienced in Africa thus far. This should let you in on a little bit about what is going on in my life, while also making you laugh or perhaps get disgusted! Anyways...enjoy :)
1. That great white shirt you know and love so much will quickly become that great brown shirt you know and hate.
2. Most things in life become optional. Ex: using toilets/toilet paper, shaving legs/armpits, wearing bras/underwear.
3. Cold showers will be your only showers and you will most likely never be fully used to them.
4. Doing laundry can turn into an all day task, as well as cooking any meal.
5. Meal times are way different. Ex: Most families eat supper at 10:30pm or later.
6. Despite popular belief, you will actually gain weight while living here, but you walk a lot so you can attempt to lose some.
7. You may actually come back just at light if not lighter than when you arrived.
8. Walking is a way of life.
9. You better hope you enjoy carbs because that will be your staple food while here. Ex: rice, beans, bread, and potatoes will be all of your meals in some fashion.
10. The fruit here is AMAZING!!
11. Ugandan English and American English are 2 very different things. Just because someone is speaking English doesn't mean you will understand them. Most Africans pronounce every single letter in a word.
12. Ugandan men are super blunt and forward. You will most likely(if you're a girl) feel overwhelmed on countless occasions.
13. The mannequins here all have HUGE lower halves. The top looks normal and then the hips expand so far, lol.
14. You will be called "Mzungu" at least 5 times a day. It will become so normal you may began to think this is your actual name. Also, when small children say it, it's okay, but if adults do it's just weird.
15. You will get used to the oh-so-familiar scent of your own and others 'natural' body scents. :)
16. Most people have surprisingly white and straight teeth.
17. Most Africans have never heard of or seen contact lenses before.
18. You will get stared at everywhere you go and a lot of street vendors will raise prices on their merchandise for you.
19. Africans are extremely hospitable and welcoming.
20. Birds, monkeys, and roosters make great alarm clocks-at 5 am! haha.
21. Some terms and phrases that are a bit different than America: Instead of saying, 'My name is Taui,' they say, 'I am called Taui.' Instead of saying, 'I have 3 siblings,' they say 'We are 4.' Instead of saying, 'I'll walk you home,' they say, 'Can I give you a push?'
22. With the younger children here, they all have no hair, so the only way to tell them apart is girls wear skirts and boys wear pants.
23. The exchange rate works highly in our favor! :)
24. Power outages are a normal everyday occurrence.
25. Gender roles are taking VERY VERY seriously.
26. Many younger children kneel/bow to older men or women in their community.
27. You will definitely become an expert at bathing from a basin using only your hands, doing laundry by hand, cooking, and washing your hands properly.
28. When someone has a birthday, they "shower" them. This basically means they wake everyone up and we all go and watch friends pour water on the birthday person.
29. Dating is a lot more serious here. When you meet someone's family it means you are engaged or should be heading there real soon.
30. If you are married or have a ring on your finger, the opposite sex generally stays away from you out of respect to your spouse.
31. Blowing your nose soon becomes a fun game of "What color will I see today?"
32. Dirt here is reddish/brown and will eventually be in places you didn't know where possible.
33. Your feet will never be fully clean.
34. Mixed people such as myself are called "half-casts."
35. Dress here is very modest and students are required to dress up for classes(lectures).
36. Tea time is 2 times a day-everyday.
37. Africans are very resourceful.
38. Views on homosexuality and divorce are so extreme. Homosexuality is not tolerated and most think it should be punishable by death.
This is just some of the things I have observed in my life so far in Africa. As time goes on I can add more. I hope this helps you see a little bit of what life is like here :)
Monday, September 27, 2010
Unique
God works in some very unique ways.
Last night I got a chance to talk to my mom for almost an hour! As we were discussing my home stay and my mama and papa here in Africa, we made an amazing connection. I had already talked to my real mom previously about how my parents and how they lost a baby girl last year at birth. However, last night I also informed her of how my mama is in a wheelchair because she is disabled from the waste down and how my papa weaves for a living. As soon as I said, "Oh, he has a workshop with looms in it," something clicked. My mom began to tell me how about 5 years ago she had prayed to be able to speak in tongues and the night she did that she had this really weird dream. In her dream a woman who was disabled in some way was sitting next to a weaving loom and crying because she had lost a child!! It was the scariest/most exciting thing ever! I got goose bumps and immediately started crying with my mom on the phone. It was such a neat God experience we got to have together over the phone last night and I can't even describe my feelings. This just seemed like such a neat experience I wanted to share. :)
Last night I got a chance to talk to my mom for almost an hour! As we were discussing my home stay and my mama and papa here in Africa, we made an amazing connection. I had already talked to my real mom previously about how my parents and how they lost a baby girl last year at birth. However, last night I also informed her of how my mama is in a wheelchair because she is disabled from the waste down and how my papa weaves for a living. As soon as I said, "Oh, he has a workshop with looms in it," something clicked. My mom began to tell me how about 5 years ago she had prayed to be able to speak in tongues and the night she did that she had this really weird dream. In her dream a woman who was disabled in some way was sitting next to a weaving loom and crying because she had lost a child!! It was the scariest/most exciting thing ever! I got goose bumps and immediately started crying with my mom on the phone. It was such a neat God experience we got to have together over the phone last night and I can't even describe my feelings. This just seemed like such a neat experience I wanted to share. :)
Friday, September 10, 2010
Kampala
Africa may be my favorite place on earth! Today was one of the best days I've ever had!! This actually won't be going up until later though because the internet has been down for a couple of days. When I say today, I mean 9/9/10.
When we 1st arrive in Uganda back in August, there were some girls staying in my dorm that I actually got pretty close with in a short time. When we got back from Rwanda, they had moved out of this dorm and into hostels or other dorm buildings. 2 of the girls we met are named Amito and Truth. They are both my age and super sweet. Amito is sooooooooo tall, dark, and gorgeous. She actually does some modeling for various agencies. Truth is almost as tall and just a beautiful. My friend Esther from the USP program and I have connected really well with Truth and Amito and planned to go to Kampala for the 1st time today. We left around 4:15 from Mukono in a taxi. Now, a taxi here is a bit different than one in America. A taxi here means a big 15 passenger van stuffed full of people. It's crowded, hot, and smelly, but oh so much fun. Me, Esther, Amito, and Truth took one from Mukono to Kampala-which technically we aren't supposed to do, but hey you only live once, right?! It only cost us 1,000 shillings which is equivalent to like .50 or $1.00 in American-amazing! Once we got there, we had to cross traffic which is literally 100 times worse than traffic in Mukono. Esther and I were holding hands with Amito and Truth likes babies, lol. Once we got there, we went to a market-in other words a massive group of people crowded in 1 tiny area trying to sell things. This market was right next to railroad tracks and I couldn't move anywhere because it was so crowded. Of course Esther and I were the only white people there, so the only word I could ever make out was "Mzungu" as we walked through the crowds. There was a lot of neat stuff like clothes, shoes, and jewelry for real cheap. I bought a few things, but most of the people would raise their prices on us simply because we were white. Luckily, we had Amito who would bargain for us and get us great deals. It was a bit overwhelming, but I enjoyed every second of it!
After the market, we hit up Garden City Mall. Oh my goodness.....how I miss malls already! This place was beautiful and everything was open and breezy. It wasn't like a typical mall in America, but that made it even better. They had supermarkets right in the mall and some really cool shops. Of course they also had some American type stores with clothes and shoes like you would normally see. If I ever feel homesick that is where I shall reside, haha. For supper we decided to go to this cafe called 'Cafe Javas.' Amito goes there a lot and it's actually really nice and Americanized. My body was overjoyed to dine on chicken and smoothies!! I got cajun chicken sandwich and spiced fries and a smoothie for supper and needless to say I could die happy. Now, life isn't really that serious, but I am realizing how much I take for granted when I am home. At dinner, there was a group of like 8 men sitting next to us talking about us in some other language. Truth actually understood what they were saying and it wasn't very pleasant. They were stereotyping us and actually staring at us and treating us inappropriately. I suppose men will be men regardless of where you are in the world. Typical. Once supper was over, we hit up the supermarket and got a few items and then headed back to Mukono. It cost 1,500 for the way back but that is still super cheap in comparison. Once we reached Mukono, we weren't by the campus so we decided to be adventurous and ride on a boda boda. I was super scared, but I might as well be a rebel while I can! I rode with Amito and Esther rode with Truth. It actually turned out to be not very scary and a lot of fun.
When we 1st arrive in Uganda back in August, there were some girls staying in my dorm that I actually got pretty close with in a short time. When we got back from Rwanda, they had moved out of this dorm and into hostels or other dorm buildings. 2 of the girls we met are named Amito and Truth. They are both my age and super sweet. Amito is sooooooooo tall, dark, and gorgeous. She actually does some modeling for various agencies. Truth is almost as tall and just a beautiful. My friend Esther from the USP program and I have connected really well with Truth and Amito and planned to go to Kampala for the 1st time today. We left around 4:15 from Mukono in a taxi. Now, a taxi here is a bit different than one in America. A taxi here means a big 15 passenger van stuffed full of people. It's crowded, hot, and smelly, but oh so much fun. Me, Esther, Amito, and Truth took one from Mukono to Kampala-which technically we aren't supposed to do, but hey you only live once, right?! It only cost us 1,000 shillings which is equivalent to like .50 or $1.00 in American-amazing! Once we got there, we had to cross traffic which is literally 100 times worse than traffic in Mukono. Esther and I were holding hands with Amito and Truth likes babies, lol. Once we got there, we went to a market-in other words a massive group of people crowded in 1 tiny area trying to sell things. This market was right next to railroad tracks and I couldn't move anywhere because it was so crowded. Of course Esther and I were the only white people there, so the only word I could ever make out was "Mzungu" as we walked through the crowds. There was a lot of neat stuff like clothes, shoes, and jewelry for real cheap. I bought a few things, but most of the people would raise their prices on us simply because we were white. Luckily, we had Amito who would bargain for us and get us great deals. It was a bit overwhelming, but I enjoyed every second of it!
After the market, we hit up Garden City Mall. Oh my goodness.....how I miss malls already! This place was beautiful and everything was open and breezy. It wasn't like a typical mall in America, but that made it even better. They had supermarkets right in the mall and some really cool shops. Of course they also had some American type stores with clothes and shoes like you would normally see. If I ever feel homesick that is where I shall reside, haha. For supper we decided to go to this cafe called 'Cafe Javas.' Amito goes there a lot and it's actually really nice and Americanized. My body was overjoyed to dine on chicken and smoothies!! I got cajun chicken sandwich and spiced fries and a smoothie for supper and needless to say I could die happy. Now, life isn't really that serious, but I am realizing how much I take for granted when I am home. At dinner, there was a group of like 8 men sitting next to us talking about us in some other language. Truth actually understood what they were saying and it wasn't very pleasant. They were stereotyping us and actually staring at us and treating us inappropriately. I suppose men will be men regardless of where you are in the world. Typical. Once supper was over, we hit up the supermarket and got a few items and then headed back to Mukono. It cost 1,500 for the way back but that is still super cheap in comparison. Once we reached Mukono, we weren't by the campus so we decided to be adventurous and ride on a boda boda. I was super scared, but I might as well be a rebel while I can! I rode with Amito and Esther rode with Truth. It actually turned out to be not very scary and a lot of fun.
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Sorry it has been so long since I've blogged, but life has been very hectic. I am attempting to gather all my thoughts from Rwanda and create a blog post about my trip, but that will take a few days. For now, I will tell about the past couple of days and the start of classes.
Our group returned from Rwanda Sunday night (9/5)right before supper. We had to meet Monday morning (9/6) for our 1st set of classes. My 1st class did not start until 11am, which is amazing :) This class is called Faith and Action and it is a class that the USP program has for us. It will consist of a lot of paper writing and reflections. We meet 2 times a week and 2 hours one day and 1 hour the next. Another class I have is African Literature. My professors name is Patrick and he walks with a cane. Probably the cutest old Ugandan man I have ever seen! For that class we basically introduced ourselves and went over the syllabus. All the professors grade on a 20 point scale here, which makes my life!! Wooo! For example: points from 100 to 80 is an A. I also had my social work class on Monday and I think this will be my favorite. I am doing a practicum while here and I have decided to work at a school called Salama, which is for blind children. Blind children are seen as cursed by most families and most are sent away :-/ I will have to keep journals of my experience there and write a few papers for that class. I am excited for this experience because it will be something so different from anything I've ever done before. I am meeting the leaders of the school on Friday and planning out a schedule of when I can work there. I am sure it will be a roller coaster of emotions, but such a great learning experience for me!
Yesterday (9/7) I didn't have class again until 11am! Africa must love me or something, lol. I had my African Traditional Religion class, which sounds like it will be so much fun! We are going to learn about Christianity in Africa, as well as Islam and Judaism. My professors name is Samuel and he is married to a woman who works for USP. He seems like an interesting man and that he will really challenge me to work hard. After that class, I went to my 1st community worship here, which is similar to a chapel service @ Greenville College. Except, it's more fun-ha! It lasts an hour and we do singing and dancing, announcements, and a speaker. Yesterday they read from Eph. and talked about grace. They have community worship every Tuesday and Thursday from 12-1 and I required to attend 12 of them(I just couldn't escape chapel attendance, even with leaving Greenville!) I met and am friends with a guy who helps out with the worship services and I think I will get to read Scripture some of the times, if I want to. That was my last thing of the day, so the rest of it was spent hanging with friends and meeting new Ugandans. Everyone is still really nice, but it is sometimes hard to tell if people are truly wanting to be our friends or if they think we have money and will give them stuff; as bad as that sounds. This is something I am really struggling with while here, because some students(mostly men) think women are like the movies, which is not good for anyone. However, I am still having a great time and I do have a lot of wonderful friends(guys and girls) from Uganda!
Today I did not have any classes!! I will never have class on Wednesday, but this will be one of the days that I do my practicum once I actually get started. I got to sleep in until 10 which was simply stunning. I went into Mukono town with Loren from USP and Brendah who is one of my Ugandan friends. We shopped around for about 2 hours in the blazing heat! It is soooo hot today and I love it. One scary thing about shopping in town is all the traffic. No one really pays attention to road signs and you will get hit if you don't watch where you are going. I made it safely this time, no accidents required, haha. I bought a scarf/dress thing from my friend Agatha yesterday and wore it as a dress today. It is big enough to wear as a skirt, shirt, dress, scarf, or head wrap; I will be making great use of it! I wore it as a head wrap yesterday and everyone loved it. I felt like a real African haha.
As I've said before, laundry is my least favorite thing in the world. Well, it has proven to continue to hate my life as we speak. Since Monday, I have done 4 "loads" of laundry and just finished washing it all today and getting it hung on the line. I had so many dirty clothes from Rwanda that I could cry, lol. My hands are starting to get dry and crackly already and it is only like my 2nd time doing laundry. We have to wash our hands right after using the laundry soap and put on lotion so my hands won't fall off. I did my jeans and a towel yesterday and let me tell you-worst life choice. It is funny to see how dirty the water is when you ring things out though. The really sad story is laundry has to be done every couple of days so it won't pile up.
There are soooo many students here on campus now and it is a bit overwhelming. They all still stare, but most do that because they are new 1st years and are super scared of everyone, lol. I have met a lot of 1st years during lunch and supper and they all seem pretty nice. At meals it is so crowded that you just have to hope to find a table with anyone, even if you don't know them. So, every meal I am meeting like 6 new people. I shall have 1,000 friends before I return to the states. :) I am still getting along with everyone in USP and Honors college(they are the Ugandan students that live with us and came to Rwanda.) I am finding it very easy to get close with the Ugandan students and we all seem to bond really well.
Well, that is life as I know it now. Rwanda posts will be coming shortly. :-)
Our group returned from Rwanda Sunday night (9/5)right before supper. We had to meet Monday morning (9/6) for our 1st set of classes. My 1st class did not start until 11am, which is amazing :) This class is called Faith and Action and it is a class that the USP program has for us. It will consist of a lot of paper writing and reflections. We meet 2 times a week and 2 hours one day and 1 hour the next. Another class I have is African Literature. My professors name is Patrick and he walks with a cane. Probably the cutest old Ugandan man I have ever seen! For that class we basically introduced ourselves and went over the syllabus. All the professors grade on a 20 point scale here, which makes my life!! Wooo! For example: points from 100 to 80 is an A. I also had my social work class on Monday and I think this will be my favorite. I am doing a practicum while here and I have decided to work at a school called Salama, which is for blind children. Blind children are seen as cursed by most families and most are sent away :-/ I will have to keep journals of my experience there and write a few papers for that class. I am excited for this experience because it will be something so different from anything I've ever done before. I am meeting the leaders of the school on Friday and planning out a schedule of when I can work there. I am sure it will be a roller coaster of emotions, but such a great learning experience for me!
Yesterday (9/7) I didn't have class again until 11am! Africa must love me or something, lol. I had my African Traditional Religion class, which sounds like it will be so much fun! We are going to learn about Christianity in Africa, as well as Islam and Judaism. My professors name is Samuel and he is married to a woman who works for USP. He seems like an interesting man and that he will really challenge me to work hard. After that class, I went to my 1st community worship here, which is similar to a chapel service @ Greenville College. Except, it's more fun-ha! It lasts an hour and we do singing and dancing, announcements, and a speaker. Yesterday they read from Eph. and talked about grace. They have community worship every Tuesday and Thursday from 12-1 and I required to attend 12 of them(I just couldn't escape chapel attendance, even with leaving Greenville!) I met and am friends with a guy who helps out with the worship services and I think I will get to read Scripture some of the times, if I want to. That was my last thing of the day, so the rest of it was spent hanging with friends and meeting new Ugandans. Everyone is still really nice, but it is sometimes hard to tell if people are truly wanting to be our friends or if they think we have money and will give them stuff; as bad as that sounds. This is something I am really struggling with while here, because some students(mostly men) think women are like the movies, which is not good for anyone. However, I am still having a great time and I do have a lot of wonderful friends(guys and girls) from Uganda!
Today I did not have any classes!! I will never have class on Wednesday, but this will be one of the days that I do my practicum once I actually get started. I got to sleep in until 10 which was simply stunning. I went into Mukono town with Loren from USP and Brendah who is one of my Ugandan friends. We shopped around for about 2 hours in the blazing heat! It is soooo hot today and I love it. One scary thing about shopping in town is all the traffic. No one really pays attention to road signs and you will get hit if you don't watch where you are going. I made it safely this time, no accidents required, haha. I bought a scarf/dress thing from my friend Agatha yesterday and wore it as a dress today. It is big enough to wear as a skirt, shirt, dress, scarf, or head wrap; I will be making great use of it! I wore it as a head wrap yesterday and everyone loved it. I felt like a real African haha.
As I've said before, laundry is my least favorite thing in the world. Well, it has proven to continue to hate my life as we speak. Since Monday, I have done 4 "loads" of laundry and just finished washing it all today and getting it hung on the line. I had so many dirty clothes from Rwanda that I could cry, lol. My hands are starting to get dry and crackly already and it is only like my 2nd time doing laundry. We have to wash our hands right after using the laundry soap and put on lotion so my hands won't fall off. I did my jeans and a towel yesterday and let me tell you-worst life choice. It is funny to see how dirty the water is when you ring things out though. The really sad story is laundry has to be done every couple of days so it won't pile up.
There are soooo many students here on campus now and it is a bit overwhelming. They all still stare, but most do that because they are new 1st years and are super scared of everyone, lol. I have met a lot of 1st years during lunch and supper and they all seem pretty nice. At meals it is so crowded that you just have to hope to find a table with anyone, even if you don't know them. So, every meal I am meeting like 6 new people. I shall have 1,000 friends before I return to the states. :) I am still getting along with everyone in USP and Honors college(they are the Ugandan students that live with us and came to Rwanda.) I am finding it very easy to get close with the Ugandan students and we all seem to bond really well.
Well, that is life as I know it now. Rwanda posts will be coming shortly. :-)
Monday, September 6, 2010
Rwanda Adventures
Okay, so this is like 1,000 years late but better late than never, right?! This shall be my blog on Rwanda and I was going to be all detailed and fill you in on all the wonderful/not so wonderful things about my trip, but that would take forever. Instead, I am going to give some highlights and also share a poem that I wrote after we got back that helped me to process all of the information I had to take in. First, my poem... it is titled Innocence.
Cry, plead, beg, scream,
Is this pain or is it a dream?
The sword is sharp as blood flows down,
The words won't come as I start to drown.
Raise your hand as you've never done before,
Beat me and shake me till I crumble on the floor.
Who is this man with a voice so proud,
Why are the shrieks of my family so loud?
Where should I go, where should I run?
This game of hide-n-seek was never much fun.
Mommies are dead and daddies are broken,
Who will listen to the words that I've spoken?
Cutting, shoving, bleeding, and sorrow,
Will I live long enough to see my tomorrow?
What is the hate that I see in your eyes,
Who told you an earful of horrible lies?
Look at my face and tell me I'm filthy,
Look in my eyes, could I really be guilty?
Innocence in my soul, youth in my heart,
How has my world suddenly shattered apart?
Is it possible for peace to come back again,
Or will I eternally be punished for the lack of my sin?
This poem was finished a couple of days ago and I wrote from the perspective of a small child in the genocide.
While in Rwanda, we stayed at a church guest house for 2 days and then for 4 days we stayed in another area of Rwanda at a different guest house. The trip there was most uneventful because everyone was sleeping most of the time. The roads were extremely dusty and soooo bumpy! I felt like I could have fallen out of the bus. Overall, it was about a 13 hour drive there and we had to stop at the border of Rwanda which took forever. While there we went to a genocide memorial building that had different exhibits placed throughout 3 floors. There was not only information, gruesome pictures and stories on Rwanda genocide but on 4 others as well. Outside in the back they had mass graves of some of the Rwandan victims. On the top floor of this building, it was dedicated to children that were lost in genocide. There were pictures and stories of how old each one was, their favorite things in life, and how they died. I will not share details, simply because they are hard to talk about. I would gladly share with anyone who asks and feels the desire to know more. That was probably the hardest part of the day for me, because some children were as young as 3 months old. Other rooms has videos of survivors and their stories or rooms with pictures of victims, or bones and clothing from the deceased. It was a lot to deal with in one day, so when we returned to our camp that night everyone was exhausted.
The next day, I thought things couldn't possibly be any harder than that memorial, but I was wayyyy wrong. We went to a church named Nyamata that was actually a site for killings during the genocide. Before we entered, a man talked with us through a translator about what we would be seeing while inside the church. Sometimes he would speak to us in English, but it wasn't very good so he kept with the translator. When we went inside the church, it was immediate disbelief. There were bullet holes all over the ceiling and piles of clothes EVERYWHERE. There were broken pieces of furniture and bullet holes in the walls and doors. Also, I didn't know this at the time, but before we left we were informed that the dark stains on the brick walls were actually blood stains from victims. The back half of the church had clothes that looked too small for adults and we found out that this section was where children 5 and under where sent to get killed. I shall once again spare you the details of this scene, but it was not a pleasant moment in life. We all gathered in the front of the church while Charles(the man telling us about the church) told us he was going to tell us some stories himself without the translator. What occurred next may have been one of the worst/hardest moments in my life. Charles started to tell us that the reason he knew so much about this church is because he was actually there when the genocide was happening. He was in the church and managed to be 1 of 5 people who survived that day. I can't remember the exact number of people in the church that day but it was in the high thousands. He was only 8 years old at the time and had to sit by and watch as his mom, dad, and at least 6 siblings were murdered. He survived because his older brother covered him in blood and bodies so the Hutus would assume he was dead. This is as far as I will go with details on that because it gets a lot worse. I apologize if this offends anyone, but I would like to truly express my Rwanda experience. As Charles kept telling us stories, I had to leave because I was literally sobbing. Everything about the genocide just became so real to me at that moment and I couldn't handle it. Outside of the church they had mass graves and I just couldn't bring myself to even go near them. When we arrived back at our camp that night, I had to go to bed because my body felt physically and mentally exhausted.
Almost the entire week we were in Rwanda I had gotten really sick. Monday-Saturday I had symptoms of just about everything. It hit it's highest point on Thursday when I had a fever of 103 and couldn't keep food in me. So, I was miserably sick on top of taking in all this graphic information. However, the Rwanda trip was an actually amazing experience. I got to know and bond with the Ugandan students who came with us and also get to know my fellow USP students better. We would have little random worhsip sessions most nights that always made me feel better. We also attended a trade fair that had all sorts of crafts and goodies to buy. We went to a place called Ubuntu that was a shelter for widows of the genocide and they make and sell crafts there as well. It also provides schooling for widows and orphans. That was a lot of fun because they put on a dance and little musical show for us. Earlier in the week we got to attend a Rwandan church, which was crazyyy!!! We had to sit up front-awkward and we sang some songs for them and gave a sermon. They had like 5 different choirs and sang about every 5 minutes. haha. It was a really neat church experience and so different from America. We of course couldn't understand a single word that was being said, but I till enjoyed myself. It was a 3 hour service.
I really had a great time in Rwanda and there is no way I could ever tell you about all the things that happened. These are some highlights and I would love to share other stories with anyone who wants to know. I highly recommend going to Rwanda at some point in life and getting a chance to see 1st hand the horror of the genocide but also the reconciliation that is taking place.
Cry, plead, beg, scream,
Is this pain or is it a dream?
The sword is sharp as blood flows down,
The words won't come as I start to drown.
Raise your hand as you've never done before,
Beat me and shake me till I crumble on the floor.
Who is this man with a voice so proud,
Why are the shrieks of my family so loud?
Where should I go, where should I run?
This game of hide-n-seek was never much fun.
Mommies are dead and daddies are broken,
Who will listen to the words that I've spoken?
Cutting, shoving, bleeding, and sorrow,
Will I live long enough to see my tomorrow?
What is the hate that I see in your eyes,
Who told you an earful of horrible lies?
Look at my face and tell me I'm filthy,
Look in my eyes, could I really be guilty?
Innocence in my soul, youth in my heart,
How has my world suddenly shattered apart?
Is it possible for peace to come back again,
Or will I eternally be punished for the lack of my sin?
This poem was finished a couple of days ago and I wrote from the perspective of a small child in the genocide.
While in Rwanda, we stayed at a church guest house for 2 days and then for 4 days we stayed in another area of Rwanda at a different guest house. The trip there was most uneventful because everyone was sleeping most of the time. The roads were extremely dusty and soooo bumpy! I felt like I could have fallen out of the bus. Overall, it was about a 13 hour drive there and we had to stop at the border of Rwanda which took forever. While there we went to a genocide memorial building that had different exhibits placed throughout 3 floors. There was not only information, gruesome pictures and stories on Rwanda genocide but on 4 others as well. Outside in the back they had mass graves of some of the Rwandan victims. On the top floor of this building, it was dedicated to children that were lost in genocide. There were pictures and stories of how old each one was, their favorite things in life, and how they died. I will not share details, simply because they are hard to talk about. I would gladly share with anyone who asks and feels the desire to know more. That was probably the hardest part of the day for me, because some children were as young as 3 months old. Other rooms has videos of survivors and their stories or rooms with pictures of victims, or bones and clothing from the deceased. It was a lot to deal with in one day, so when we returned to our camp that night everyone was exhausted.
The next day, I thought things couldn't possibly be any harder than that memorial, but I was wayyyy wrong. We went to a church named Nyamata that was actually a site for killings during the genocide. Before we entered, a man talked with us through a translator about what we would be seeing while inside the church. Sometimes he would speak to us in English, but it wasn't very good so he kept with the translator. When we went inside the church, it was immediate disbelief. There were bullet holes all over the ceiling and piles of clothes EVERYWHERE. There were broken pieces of furniture and bullet holes in the walls and doors. Also, I didn't know this at the time, but before we left we were informed that the dark stains on the brick walls were actually blood stains from victims. The back half of the church had clothes that looked too small for adults and we found out that this section was where children 5 and under where sent to get killed. I shall once again spare you the details of this scene, but it was not a pleasant moment in life. We all gathered in the front of the church while Charles(the man telling us about the church) told us he was going to tell us some stories himself without the translator. What occurred next may have been one of the worst/hardest moments in my life. Charles started to tell us that the reason he knew so much about this church is because he was actually there when the genocide was happening. He was in the church and managed to be 1 of 5 people who survived that day. I can't remember the exact number of people in the church that day but it was in the high thousands. He was only 8 years old at the time and had to sit by and watch as his mom, dad, and at least 6 siblings were murdered. He survived because his older brother covered him in blood and bodies so the Hutus would assume he was dead. This is as far as I will go with details on that because it gets a lot worse. I apologize if this offends anyone, but I would like to truly express my Rwanda experience. As Charles kept telling us stories, I had to leave because I was literally sobbing. Everything about the genocide just became so real to me at that moment and I couldn't handle it. Outside of the church they had mass graves and I just couldn't bring myself to even go near them. When we arrived back at our camp that night, I had to go to bed because my body felt physically and mentally exhausted.
Almost the entire week we were in Rwanda I had gotten really sick. Monday-Saturday I had symptoms of just about everything. It hit it's highest point on Thursday when I had a fever of 103 and couldn't keep food in me. So, I was miserably sick on top of taking in all this graphic information. However, the Rwanda trip was an actually amazing experience. I got to know and bond with the Ugandan students who came with us and also get to know my fellow USP students better. We would have little random worhsip sessions most nights that always made me feel better. We also attended a trade fair that had all sorts of crafts and goodies to buy. We went to a place called Ubuntu that was a shelter for widows of the genocide and they make and sell crafts there as well. It also provides schooling for widows and orphans. That was a lot of fun because they put on a dance and little musical show for us. Earlier in the week we got to attend a Rwandan church, which was crazyyy!!! We had to sit up front-awkward and we sang some songs for them and gave a sermon. They had like 5 different choirs and sang about every 5 minutes. haha. It was a really neat church experience and so different from America. We of course couldn't understand a single word that was being said, but I till enjoyed myself. It was a 3 hour service.
I really had a great time in Rwanda and there is no way I could ever tell you about all the things that happened. These are some highlights and I would love to share other stories with anyone who wants to know. I highly recommend going to Rwanda at some point in life and getting a chance to see 1st hand the horror of the genocide but also the reconciliation that is taking place.
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