Day 1

Where to even begin? So much has happened since we landed in Kigali yesterday afternoon. After an hour of confusion in the airport, we finally met up with two members of the RVCP (Rwandan Village Concept Project) named Aurea and Otto that had come to pick us up. They took us to Bourbon Coffee to wait for the RVCP coordinator to meet up with us, which is somewhat ironic considering a Bourbon Coffee just opened recently a few blocks away from GW. After eating we walked to the bus station which was completely chaotic and unorganized. Thank god we had the RVCP's help buying tickets, otherwise I don't think we would have ever made it, and we finally caught a bus to Butare.
The bus was packed with people and traveling at scary speeds... luckily it was dark so I couldn't see what was going on because I think in daylight I would have been completely terrified. On the bus we sat next to a man a few years older than us named Jude who told us that he is coming to George Mason University in August to get his PhD in Economics. He then told us that he worked for the Ministry of Finance and is the head of Microfinance for the country. Really, I don't think it gets much cooler than that. He has never been to the States before but is very excited to come to D.C., so we told him we'd show him around the city. We talked for a long time about the economic development of Rwanda, and he had many questions about the new healthcare bill passed in the U.S. I never expected to have such an interesting conversation on my first night in Rwanda, but I think it goes to show that students and young people all around the world are interested in the same issues, and in this I find much comfort. We exchanged email addresses with Jude and when we finally arrived in Butare after a very bumpy journey he made sure that we were safely in the hands of RVCP members that had come to welcome us. At night the the town is almost pitch black (there are no city lights to cloud the night sky) and we stumbled with our luggage down a dirt road to our new home. There is also another girl staying at the house, Saskia, who is medical student from Germany that is doing a clerkship for 6 weeks. They call us all IP's or International Partners. The house we are staying at has 3 bedrooms with bunk-beds (clad with mosquito nets of course) a makeshift living room, a kitchen and a bathroom. The kitchen is very basic; there is no stove or refrigerator, only a sink. The bathroom is also fairly basic with a toilet and a bathtub and shower head, but its definitely nice to have running water considering that many restaurants and stores around town lack this. There is also a landlord of sorts named Nimwata, he speaks no English (only Kinyarwanda) but has one of the most gentle smiles I have ever encountered. He comes in and out of the house as he pleases and loves to have his radio on full volume while he works, but I don't mind this...I quite enjoy Rwandan music.
This morning we went to breakfast with Saskia to a little shop that sold muffins and African tea, which is a lot like the chai tea that we know in the U.S. After breakfast she gave us a short tour of the city. We wove our way through the market where many people called after us "muzungu" which means white person. Alfonse, the head of initiatives for RVCP, explained to us that this is not a derogatory term, but just a sign of interest. Nevertheless, I wish that I could be a little more inconspicuous. We then came home and I took a nap, I've been so exhausted...I think its a combination of traveling and culture shock. When we were all rested Alfonse took us to the National University of Rwanda, which is where all of the members of the RVCP go to medical school. The campus was lush and vibrant with students bustling around on their lunch break. The students are currently in their hardest week of exams and Alfonse tells us that they are all very stressed, but I could not tell beneath their warm welcomes and constant hospitality. Accompanied by Chrisopher and Ephrem (more RVCP members), we ended the day with dinner at a nearby hotel. For only 4USD we were served a full plate of plantains, rice, beans, frites, and a "Rwandan sized" Primus, which is a locally brewed beer. At dinner we were joined with more RVCP members, Getete and Hovaire who had just finished studying for the night. We chatted for a few hours over dinner and they made plans on to throw us a welcome party on Friday. I have never met so many generous and beautiful people in my life. They show as much interest in learning from us as we want to learn from them. It's hard to describe the connection I already feel with these people. Within 2 days I already feel that I can call them my friends.
Tomorrow we have planned a trip to the orphanage where we will be with the children for the afternoon and be introduced to the women with whom we will be working with for the next month. I can't wait to get our maternal healthcare education program up and running. With such driven and gifted students on both ends I have no doubt that we will be able to accomplish a lot in the next few weeks.