Checking in

A few notes:

1. I got a postbox in Gisenyi, so my mailing address has changed:
Trude (last name)
B.P. 304
Gisenyi, Rwanda, East Africa
I’ve updated my contact info page accordingly. I’d love packages – especially with food. Nuts, dried fruit, candy (rease’s pieces), canned treats (jalepenos, peaches)… Also magazines (New Yorker, Atlantic, etc) and new movies and whatever else might surprise me. But packages aren’t necessary – I’d love mail or even just email!

2. I’ve been a Peace Corps Volunteer for one month as of tomorrow. They aren’t lying when they say there’s lots of ups and downs, often within the same day! There are countless frustrating moments, but I’m getting very good at keeping my emotions in check – and I've learned that many things that are frustrating one day might get resolved the next day, or the next week. As Rwandans say, ihangane (“ee-hahn-gahn-ay”), have patience.

Each day presents new challenges, new vocabulary, new discoveries, new confusions, new triumphs. Some days I’m pumped about my awesome coworkers and working with cooperatives, other days I’m not sure how I fit in with my assigned organization – but then I’m excited about all the other potential projects in the community. Some days I’m down on having a housemate, but then I love my neighborhood and view LINK. Particularly when I see tons of other white people, I still get bummed about not being rural and isolated, but then I love the opportunities and bustle and character of Gisenyi. Cries of “muzungu” irritate me one minute and the next I’m smiling because I’ve introduced myself and made a new neighborhood friend who’s impressed with my infantile Kinyarwanda.

I’m celebrating small victories, like when the Congolese woman who lives in one of the other two houses in my gate fed me dinner of cassava “bread” and delicious greens on Tuesday. Speaking of food, yesterday I ate a mango the size of a (slightly flattened) football (it was expensive, but well worth it). The daily views of lake Kivu and the Congo beyond, the nightly volcano show, my wonderful (and funny) coworkers, text message exchanges with my fellow volunteers, the proximity of the beach, lots of worthwhile potential projects, and never being bored: I’m mostly happy, and always happy to be here.

3. I’d like you guys to comment with your questions about Rwanda, Rwandans, or my life here. What topics should I cover in the future? Is there anything you want to see a picture of? Who’s reading this?