Malaria Part Two

I have been out of the hospital for a few weeks now, and as I look back at that experience, it seems so surreal.  Yesterday, I pictured myself wasting away in the crisp white sheets of my hospital bed, yellow eyes and skin, attached to my quinine IV, surrounded by all of the apple juice people brought me… and laughed.  At the time, it didn’t seem so serious.  It was just what I had to do.  Now, I realize, it was pretty serious.  Dr. Tommy did say I was in serious condition.  But in my state, I couldn’t truly comprehend just how serious my condition was. 

The only times hospitals have been graced with my presence are the few visits I have made to other ailing people, or the plethora of times I took little boys to the emergency room as receptionist at Camp Ridgecrest for Boys.  I have never been for me.  And what a first trip to the hospital!

People took VERY good care of me, and for that I am forever grateful.  My headmaster took me to the hospital, did all my dealings with the doctor, and came back multiple times to bring me more movies and just to check on me.  Two KICS moms saw me in the waiting room when they were bringing their own children to the doctor and ended up bringing me EVERY meal while I was there.  Breakfast, lunch, and dinner for 4 days!  (Because African hospitals don’t feed you.  As a matter of fact, on the first day they gave me some nausea medicine in tablet form, and Ellie asked if they had water for me to take it, and they said, “No water.”)  Ellie got me some water and came to keep me company every day.  Some KICS teachers brought me books.  My roommate, Emily, brought me a hysterical video and homemade cards from her entire 4^th grade class.  Jadot brought me more fruit than I could ever hope to consume.  Innocent and Emmanuel visited me multiple times and brought me more apple juice than you could shake a stick at.  Another KICS mom came and washed my hair in my bathroom sink and French braided it, so I didn’t look like quite as much of a disaster as before.  Another KICS mom brought me some tie-dyed socks to cheer me up.  The pastor of my church and his daughter, my student, dropped in while they were at the doctor one day.  And I’m probably forgetting even more visitors.

While I didn’t have visitors, I watched movies… and the whole first season of Modern Family.  I did Sudoku puzzles and crossword puzzles.  I slept off and on.  The second night in the hospital, I dragged my wheel-less IV stand one meter over to my private bathroom every hour, if you know what I mean.  I told my nurse of my issue, and she brought me a container for a sample to run in the lab in the morning.  Sure enough, it was a bacterial infection… from something I ate.  Probably those two bites of pizza I ate.  Seeing as that was all I had eaten in 8 days.  The plus side of said infection was that they could just shoot some cipro into my IV and eradicate it rather quickly.

I improved a little every day and was finally released after 4 days.  My liver enzymes (normally below 40) were at 299, and so Dr. Tommy put me on bed rest for a week.  At least now I could just lie around at home instead of in the hospital.  I went to stay at Ellie’s for 4 days, because she has a much more comfortable couch than I AND CNN and MNet on TV!  I watched Oprah, Ellen, The Bachelor, etc. for a few days before I went to my uncomfortable couch and my Sudoku puzzles.  After one week, I went back to the doctor, and my liver enzymes were down in the 50s.  I got to go back to work last week.  In the whole month of November, I only worked for 6 days! 

I’m STILL not at 100%.  I lost 18 pounds and ALL of my energy, so it’s a long recovery.  I am slowly by slowly gaining back weight and energy, but sometimes I still go to bed at 7:30.  I am looking forward to Bojangle’s and Moe’s and Taco Bell and McDonald’s and Chick-fil-a to help me get back to my normal size when I come home in 12 days!!

I will be in America from December 19 through January 6.  Let me know if you want to see me, and I’ll try to make it happen!

Remember, Remember, the Month of November (Part 1)

So, as you may or may not know, the month of November hasn’t been the healthiest one of my life.  I don’t mean I’ve been prematurely eating tons of junk food for the holidays or being lazy and watching movies and not exercising.  No.   I have been afflicted.

On November 1, I came down with the ol’ strep throat.  Strep throat sucks.  The last time I came down with it was senior year of high school.  I made a doctor’s appointment, then cancelled it, then realized what a mistake I had made canceling it and made it again and prolonged the symptoms.  I wandered around my parents’ house spitting in a cup so the saliva didn’t burn my tonsils.  I ate cheese grits for the last time in my life as my mom tried to force nutrients that didn’t burn my tonsils down my throat.

This time I spent one sleepless night with a painful throat and then just lay in bed all day with a fever and some white spots on my throat.   I had a phone consultation with one of the dad doctors from KICS and took the amoxycilin I brought with me for potential sinus infections (of which I have had zero).  It hurt, but I caught it relatively early so it wasn’t a huge deal.  I missed two days of school and surrendered control of my PE classes to substitutes, which I don’t particularly enjoy doing.  Hopefully they learned how to shoot lay-ups correctly anyway…

Fast-forward one week.  On November 8, my roommate Emily came down with some flu-like symptoms.  She immediately thought malaria and started a course of Coartem.  However, there was a flu-like illness going around at school, so she was convinced she had fallen prey to it and stopped the malaria treatment.  She missed 2 days of school.

Then, on the last day of my medicine for the strep throat, November 11, I started burning with fever myself.  I barely slept Wednesday night because I was hot.  I checked my temperature in the morning and it was a blazing 100.3.  That might not sound high to you, but being the cold-hearted person I am, my “normal” body temperature falls around 96.8.  So, it was a legit fever.  I went to school to tell the headmaster I thought I was coming down with what Emily had and after wallowing on the couch in the office for an hour, he sent me home.  I spent the day in my bed lying in a pool of sweat from burning with fever.  I spent the night in my bed lying in a pool of sweat from burning with fever.  I consulted dad doctor who also assumed flu.  I spent the next day in my bed lying in a pool of sweat and groaning from fever.  Finally, Friday night, my fever reached a whopping 102.3, and I got in the bathtub, still mostly clothed and sprayed cold water on myself to stop the hell-like sensation.  Saturday, the doctor dad finally did a house visit and opted for a rapid malaria test, expecting negative results.  WRONG!  Positive.  For multiple strands of the parasite.

So I started a course of Coartem.  And Emily restarted a course of Coartem.  Apparently we got bit by the same mosquito (as that is how malaria is transmitted).  One hour later I vomited for the 5^th time in my life.  That night we took the next 4 pills.  In the morning we took 4 more.  Emily improved.  Kelly did not.  Sunday night I took 4 more pills.  Monday morning, doctor dad came for a visit and noticed something strange.  My eyes were yellow.  Finally, it was time to take me in. 

We called the headmaster, and I changed out of my Barrel o’ Monkeys PJ pants and my Cookie Monster shirt into something a little more suitable for public: some brown workout capris and a honey mustard colored t-shirt (not the most flattering outfit for a jaundiced person…).  The headmaster picked me from my house and took me to Kigali Adventist Medical Center.  I moped and groaned around the premises from the lab to the waiting room to the doctor’s office to the waiting room.  I got a blood test and tried (and failed) to give a urine specimen.  I finally saw Dr. Tommy who said, “It’s a good thing you brought her in.  She is serious!”  Serious, but not critical.  He said, “the Coartem is obviously not working.  Stop taking it.  We’ll give you an IV.  Stick around for 2 or 3 days.”  I sat in the waiting room miserable taking pity from the other waiters while they set up my “temporary” room, as the other ward was full. 

As this is already getting quite lengthy, you’ll have to wait until later to read about the stay at the clinic.  I know the suspense is killing you, but I’m tired of typing.  So there.

Jet-Setting to South Africa

This past weekend, I had the great pleasure of visiting two former Sonrise students at their new school in Honeydew, South Africa.  It was interesting how the trip came about, but I won’t bore you with the details.  Basically, it was falsely advertised to me that the price of airfare would be stunningly low.  But as we all know, when something seems too good to be true, it probably isn’t true… Long story short, there is a very good reason that Rwanda is currently pushing for improved customer service.  Anyway, I bit the bullet and forked out the necessary dough to fly to Johannesburg over my fall break.  And I couldn’t have made a better decision!

Now most people around here, when they found out I was going to South Africa for the weekend, had one of two reactions.  1)  “By yourself!?!?  Be careful!” or 2) “I’m so jealous!  What are you going to eat?”  I did go by myself, and I was never in harm’s way.  And I ate corn flakes.  Three times.  Now for those of you who don’t live in Rwanda, I’ll just let it be known that Kellogg’s Corn Flakes are available in this country for the low price of 12,500RWF (or nearly 25USD) per box.  Needless to say, I haven’t eaten any cereal in the past 10 months. 

(Sidenote:  I have since eaten cereal in Rwanda thanks to my good friend Hannah from whom I received a box of Quaker Oatmeal Squares, only THE best cereal in the world, today in the mail…)

(Sidenote to the sidenote:  If you want to mail me something, like my good friend Hannah did, you can send it to Kelly Simpson, BP 6558, Kigali Rwanda)

Back to South Africa.

African Leadership Academy is an incredibly cool school.  It is comprised of 185 of Africa’s top young leaders.  Last year 2500 students applied and only 100 were accepted into the rigorous program.  I am proud to say that 2 of the first 3 Rwandans ever admitted were my boys Emmanuel and Dieudonne.  ALA is much more like a freshman year of college than any high school I have ever seen.  It reminded me of watching all of my engineer friends pulling all-nighters and struggling through their freshman years at Clemson.  It’s a really hard transition to make from a typical African school to such a rigorous curriculum, but most of the students there are grateful for the amazing preparation they are receiving for American universities and life in general.  I can’t wait to see what the future holds for the many incredible kids I met this weekend. 

I had an absolute BLAST visiting with my boys all weekend.  I attended their classes, ate with them in the dining hall, watched them make their country proud with an intore dance during a cultural exchange event, walked around campus, met their friends and teachers, and sat down for a few chats in between.  Dieudonne’s overflowing joy and zeal for life and Emmanuel’s incredible wisdom and poise were just what I needed to refresh me for the rest of my year here in Africa. 

Every person I met at ALA was astounded A) that I live in Rwanda and B) that I would fly to South Africa just for a weekend with the sole purpose of visiting my former students.  One faculty member came to tell me that Emmanuel looked so much happier all weekend because I came to visit.  As I left campus on Monday morning, I could hardly hold back the tears as Emmanuel told me how proud he was to have had a visitor and how loved he felt that I would pay all that money to fly there just to see him.  I assure you, it was worth EVERY penny to me, too.

And now for a challenge:  Is there someone you love who lives far away from you?  Don’t just sit around and contemplate seeing him or her some day; fork out the dough and go see him or her, pronto!  I guarantee the time you share and the memories you create will be well worth the money spent.  After all, to paraphrase my friend Kelly, I would rather die broke than live lame.  And to paraphrase Emmanuel, life is about more than accumulating assets; it is about sharing life.  

A Typical Tuesday

Every morning I wake up before 6:00 and turn off my alarm (which is set for 7:00), and roll out of my (king sized) bed and get dressed. 

Then I mosey on out the bedroom door (through the streamers, which my roommates taped up at 2am on my birthday, which yes, was over a month ago)…

Down to the kitchen where I eat some breakfast.  Today it was a fried egg and a banana.  (Sorry I ate it before I remembered I was documenting my every move and had to pose a different egg with the bunch of bananas.)

I then walk out of my house…

Into the streets of my neighborhood…

With my roommate Kerry...

To school! (This is my “classroom.”)

And this is my classroom.

I start most days in the office hanging out with my best friend Clementine, our amazing receptionist.  Unfortunately, I’m only her 4^th best friend (after God, her husband, and her son), but I’m getting over it.

On Tuesdays we have staff devotions before school.  This morning was my roommate Kerry’s time to lead devotions.  She made me take this photo before she started so I wouldn’t make her nervous as she was speaking.

Now that I’m finished teaching Comparative Governments, I have a new first period class (or task):  Reorganizing the teacher resource room.  It’s quite the chore, but I kind of like organizing, so it’s a good task for me.

I apologize for not capturing me in action teaching PE.  I’m wary of posting photos of students on the Internet, so I’ll just have to let you imagine me playing soccer with the 10^th graders then Chuck Chicken and Hear No Evil, See No Evil with the 6^th graders.  After those two classes, it’s time for lunch!

Yummy cheeseburger.

After lunch I played soccer with the 9^th graders.  I’m really awful at soccer, as I’ve never played it before in my life, but I must say that my foot-eye coordination has improved drastically over the past two weeks!

After school on Tuesdays, I take Kinyarwanda lessons with a few other teachers.

Joyce, our fearless teacher, is wonderful.  Today we learned verb tenses.  Eek!  Simple present tense, present continuous, near future, far future, near past, and far past.  As of now, the only verb I can tell you in all those tenses is to cook, but I’m learning!

After Kinyarwanda, I head out the gate and say “Murabeho!” to William, the friendly guard.

Then I walk through what I’ve nicknamed “Beverly Hills Rwanda”…

Down the Nyarutarama Tennis Club Road…

Until I get to my turn-off which leads to another, much different road…

Past the golf course…

And the cow?!?...

Where I am stalked by this creepy truck (AKA Mark and Griffin) that gives me a ride up to the next main road…

Which I cross to get to the path…

To the road to my boys’ house.

My favorite part of my week and my favorite thing I do in Rwanda is to teach these boys English.  You can’t help but fall in love with those big smiles!

Most English lessons turn into impromptu Bible studies which is also cool.

It’s dark by the time I leave the boys’ house and they accompany me down their road (with an incredible view of the city)…

On my way home (sorry I don’t have a picture of me on the moto...), I stopped by the Stop and Shop Market just down the hill from my house to buy some yogurt, chocolate, and biscuits.  When I went to check out, they hadn’t any change for me, so I had to purchase another yogurt and a piece of gum, instead.  Such is life here in Africa.  When I got to my house, the moto didn’t have change either, so I had to go inside and search the house over for 500RWF which was nowhere to be found.  So I had to think creatively for the moto driver and give him a 5000 and take a 500 and two 2000s from him.  So really he had change, but he didn’t think about using different combinations of bills to make the change…  Sorry for the diatribe on change-making; only my fellow Westerners in Rwanda will truly understand.

I got home and ate this for dinner:

Then I took off my shoes and got a nice glimpse of my ankles/feet.  While I do have a sweet farmer’s tan, that, my friends, is dirt.  Straight up dirt.

 I decided maybe it was time for a shower.  And I wanted to share with you my favorite part of my shower.  My soap holder from T-2000, the Chinese store.

In case you can’t read it clearly, that says: “Blessedness Squirrel: 

With incredible magic of the pretty squirrel,

you too will be the best friend

like a lot of many people all over the world.”

After the shower, I ate my Stop and Shop snack and wrote this blog post.  Now, tomorrow I will spend literally all day loading the photos so you can see a typical Tuesday in my life.  I hope you enjoy it (AKA you better appreciate it)!

Saturday

5:40- Wake up to the sound of birds screeching outside my window.

5:50- Try my hardest to go back to sleep.

6:00- Keep on trying…

6:15- FINALLY succeed!

8:30- Wake up and grade papers with Kerry.

12:00- Go to town to run some errands.

2:00- Go visit Gisimba orphanage to hang out with some kids.

4:00- Go home.

6:00- Go home and shower.  Check kigalilife for the evening’s options.

7:00-  Decide I’m too tired to do anything and read a book in bed.

8:00-  Fall asleep with my book in my hand…..

Friday

5:40- Wake up to the sound of birds screeching outside my window.

5:50- Try my hardest to go back to sleep.

6:00- Fail miserably.

6:10- Get up to prepare for the day.

6:40- Eat some breakfast.

7:00- Walk to school with Kerry.

7:05- Catch up with the world’s goings-on on the Internet and prepare for my day’s classes.

8:00- Comparative Governments class. 

9:05- Teach nine 10^th graders PE.

10:00- Break time!  Watch all the kids play basketball and soccer and four square and jump rope.

10:20- Teach 5^th grade PE.

11:00- Clean up the messes the kids make.

11:15- Lunch time!

2:00- Teach 9^th grade PE.

3:00- Bell rings and the kids disappear.  Now I spend the whole afternoon writing lesson plans for Mondays classes which I will give to a substitute, since I have to go to Ruhengeri.

6:00- Go home and shower.  Check kigalilife for the evening’s options.

7:30-  Meet friends at a restaurant to eat dinner.

10:00-  Go to Mama Africa for some karaoke.

12:00-  Venture back home to sleep.

Thursday

5:40- Wake up to the sound of birds screeching outside my window.

5:50- Try my hardest to go back to sleep.

6:00- Fail miserably.

6:10- Get up to prepare for the day.

6:40- Eat some breakfast.

7:00- Walk to school with Kerry.

7:05- Catch up with the world’s goings-on on the Internet and prepare for my day’s classes.

8:00- Comparative Governments class.  I’m teaching 10 seniors about British government until the end of September when Ms. Janeczko comes to take over the social studies department.

9:05- Teach nine 10^th graders PE.

10:00- Break time!  Watch all the kids play basketball and soccer and four square and jump rope.

10:20- Teach 6^th grade PE.

11:00- Sneak into my classroom to observe the last 15 minutes of geometry class before lunch.

11:15- Hit up the staff lounge for lunch.  Since I am free 4^th period, I get to have a long lunch.  I end up eating lunch with almost the entire KICS staff as they rotate through the lunch schedule.

1:05- Teach 4^th grade PE.

2:00- Teach 9^th grade PE.

3:00- Bell rings and the kids disappear.  SAT prep!

4:30- Go for a run, usually to a friend’s house… hang out.  Contemplate running home.  Get caught up in conversation.  Oh no!  It’s dark.  Gotta moto home…

7:00-  Get home and eat some food. 

7:30-  Go to school to load the necessary YouTube videos for class tomorrow and plan some lessons and catch up with some folks from home, etc.

10:30- Go to sleep to prepare for my body’s 5:40 wake-up call.

Wednesday

5:40- Wake up to the sound of birds screeching outside my window.

5:50- Try my hardest to go back to sleep.

6:00- Fail miserably.

6:10- Get up to prepare for the day.

6:40- Eat some breakfast.

7:00- Walk to school with Kerry.

7:05- Catch up with the world’s goings-on on the Internet and prepare for my day’s classes.

8:00- Lead a devotion to start Comparative Governments class.  Teach about Britain.

9:00- Teach 10^th grade PE.  This week we’re dancing.  Next week it’s Frisbee!

10:00- I get a nice long break on Wednesdays…

11:15- Go to the staff room for lunch and stay until the last lunch shift is over at 1:05 and hang out with all of the teachers as they come and go.

1:05- Go back to my classroom to prepare lessons for the next few days.

2:00- Teach 9^th grade PE.

3:00- The final bell rings and I meet with some 11^th-12^th graders for SAT prep.  (I’m getting really good at the math section of the SAT.)

4:15- My only free(ish) afternoon/evening!  Run to one of my friend’s houses and hang out for a while.

7:15- Go home and eat dinner and relax for a bit before bed.

10:00- Go to sleep to prepare for my body’s 5:40 wake-up call.

Tuesday

5:40- Wake up to the sound of birds screeching outside my window.

5:50- Try my hardest to go back to sleep.

6:00- Fail miserably.

6:10- Get up to prepare for the day.

6:40- Eat some breakfast.

7:00- Walk to school with Kerry.

7:05- Catch up with the world’s goings-on on the Internet and prepare for my day’s classes.

8:00- Comparative Governments class.  I’m teaching 10 seniors about British government until the end of September when Ms. Janeczko comes to take over the social studies department.

9:05- Teach nine 10^th graders PE.

10:00- Break time!  Watch all the kids play basketball and soccer and four square and jump rope.

10:20- Teach 6^th grade PE.

11:00- Sneak into my classroom to observe the last 15 minutes of geometry class before lunch.

11:15- Hit up the staff lounge for lunch.  Since I am free 4^th period, I get to have a long lunch.  I end up eating lunch with almost the entire KICS staff as they rotate through the lunch schedule.

1:05- Teach 4^th grade PE.

2:00- Teach 9^th grade PE.

3:00- Bell rings and the kids disappear.

3:15- Go to Mr. Dennis’s room for Kinyarwanda lessons with Joyce.

4:15- Run to the LEAF house in Kacyiru.

5:00- Teach my boys English. 

6:30- Try to escape my English lesson.

6:50- Finally get escorted to the main road by 6 of my boys who empower me to climb the mountain.

7:00- Hop on a moto for home or over to a friend’s house to hang out for a bit…

10:00- Go to sleep to prepare for my body’s 5:40 wake-up call.

Monday

5:40- Wake up.

5:50- Attempt to go back to sleep.

6:00- Fail.

6:10- Get up and shower and whatnot to get ready for school.

7:10- Hop on a moto to Sonrise.

7:20- Eat some delicious yeast rolls for breakfast.

7:30- Teach English to my first S1 (seventh grade) class.

8:50- Teach English to my second S1 class.

10:10- Break time!

10:30- Teach English to my third S1 class.

11:50- Hang out with some of my girls for a few minutes.

12:30- Head back to town on a moto.

1:00- Hop on a bus to Kigali.

3:00- Arrive in Kigali and run a few errands on my way back to school.  You know, stop by the post office to see if my package is there.  It’s not.  Check and see if my dress is ready at the tailor.  It’s not.  Go to Nakumatt to buy some flour.  “It is finished.”

3:45- Arrive at KICS for the tail end of the middle/high school staff meeting.

4:00- Plan the rest of the week in my classroom.

6:00- Go home and open the fridge to see what Germaine cooked for us.  Pop it in the microwave and eat it on the stairs (as the light in our living/dining room doesn’t work…).

6:30- Spend the rest of the evening relaxing, hanging out with my awesome roommates, etc.

9:30- Go to sleep to prepare for the fact that I’m going to wake up in T minus 8 hours.

Sunday

5:40- Wake up to the sound of birds screeching outside my window.

5:50- Try my hardest to go back to sleep.

6:00- Fail miserably.

6:10- Get up and shower and whatnot to prepare for the day.

6:40- Eat some breakfast.

7:00- Go to school to take advantage of the free Internet with no one else around to steal the bandwidth.

10:00- Go to church at Christ’s Church in Rwanda (CCR).  My favorite thing about CCR is that we sing songs in English, Swahili, Kinyarwanda, and Lingala. 

12:00- Walk home and grab a quick bite to eat.

12:30- Walk down the hill to a moto-taxi to ride to the bus station.

12:45- Attempt to purchase a bus ticket for the next bus to Ruhengeri only to have the woman behind the counter try to make me feel stupid by speaking the time of my ticket in Kinyarwanda and subsequently lie to me about the time of departure of the next bus which isn’t full. 

12:50- Sit sulkily on the steps at the bus station, fuming about the 4:00 bus ticket I hold in my hand.

1:00- Get out a book to read to pass the time.

1:20- A ticket taker comes and exchanges my ticket for the next bus:  1:30!

1:30- The bus departs for Ruhengeri.  I will spend the next two hours either listening to my iPod to drown out the rest of the world, taking a nap, or grading papers for my classes on Monday.

3:30- Arrive in Ruhengeri and moto to Sonrise to hang out for the afternoon.

3:45- Hang out with my girls at Sonrise all afternoon.

6:00- Eat the beans and rice I’ve been missing out on since I moved to Kigali.

7:00- Head to the house to hang out with Betsy, Anna, and Griffin for the evening.

9:30-  Go to sleep in the other bed in my old bedroom.

A Week in the Life...

Over the course of the next week, I am going to share with you the typical daily goings-on in my life, one day at a time.  I say typical, but let’s be serious… there is nothing typical about my life!

I will write longer more detailed blog posts on specific activities from my schedule if you let me know which ones you are most interested in.

Changes...

Many of you know this already, but for those of you who don't, here are the recent changes in my life that have kept me way too busy to write a blog post....  But soon I'll give you a glimpse into my life as a city girl!

I have been teaching 7^th grade English and literature at Sonrise High School in Musanze, Rwanda since January.  I also work on SAT and TOEFL prep with the older students to prepare them to apply to universities in the US.  I am also constantly approached by students to help them with various other things:  posting their dancing videos to YouTube, helping revise an essay for a competition, advising them on typical teenager issues, even finding a place for one of my orphaned girls to live during school breaks.  Every day is definitely an adventure!  I have grown to know and love many, many students.

I have also had the pleasure of developing relationships with many other people:  other ex-pats who are working or volunteering in various capacities around the country, the teachers at Sonrise, the waiters at the restaurants we frequent, a colony of visual artists, even the Regional Police Commander!  It is these relationships that have sucked me into the vacuum that is Rwanda.

I know you were all expecting me to come home for good in November, but this beautiful country and its people continue to beckon me.  I have been offered the chance to teach in Rwanda in a different capacity for the next school year and accepted the task wholeheartedly!  In August, I started to split my responsibilities between Sonrise High School and Kigali International Community School (KICS).  KICS is an international school that serves mostly the children of missionaries and other cross-cultural workers but also admits Rwandese students.  I am having a blast teaching PE to students from dozens of different countries!  Upon the completion of the Sonrise school year in October, I will be full-time at KICS until at least June 2011.

While it is difficult to leave my precious children at Sonrise, I am very excited about living in the “big city” and teaching very small, diverse classes.  My sphere of influence has increased dramatically, and I look forward to learning even more about myself, Rwanda, and the world in general.

Number One: Food Related Health Problems

We had the pleasure of attending Redeemer Church of Dubai while we were in town, and it was there that we learned a disturbing fact.  The pastor of the church informed us that 2/3 of the children of Dubai suffer from diabetes.  There is so much available for them to eat that they have eaten themselves diabetic.  The excess of Dubai often bothered us.  We would see often something luxurious, think “cooooooool,” then remember where we came from.

We came from a country where probably 2/3 of the children are suffering from malnutrition, from not having enough food.  Most people live on less than one dollar a day.  Beggars abound.  People die of malaria, a preventable and curable disease.  Poverty is rampant.  Development is on the rise.  Hope is in the air.  But life in Rwanda is still life in the third world. 

While our trip to Dubai was a resounding success and a welcome break from the real world, I can’t help but be humbled by the huge smiles on the faces of the millions of Rwandans I see every day who are truly happy.  We all know that money can’t buy happiness, and I have never believed that more than I do now, after coming home (to lovely, little Rwanda) from lavish, luxurious, Dubai.

Number Two: Speed of Development

Dubai and Rwanda are amazing feats of development in the past 15ish years.  Fifteen years ago, Dubai was the desert.  Rwanda was coming out of one of the bloodiest wars in the history of the planet. 

Today, Dubai is a HUGE city, home to the tallest building in the world.  Many, many international companies have offices in the “Free Zone” in Dubai.  You can literally buy anything you could ever want in any shop or mall in Dubai.  I can’t imagine a city more developed than Dubai.

Rwanda is safe and peaceful and well on its way to becoming the Telecommunications hub of East Africa.  Walking the streets of Rwanda today, it is impossible to think that 16 years ago no one left their house for fear of being slaughtered by machete.  The marketplaces are bustling, there are great buildings and banks and co-operatives and restaurants. 

While Rwanda is still not a developed nation, the speed of its progress astounds me.  I didn’t think I could possibly be more amazed at speed of development…until I saw Dubai.

Number Three: Shopping

Once upon a time I told you how shopping in the US and Rwanda were very different.  Now I’m here to tell you how shopping in Rwanda and Dubai are very similar.  There are great little shops and markets (souks) all throughout Dubai where you are expected to bargain for a good price.  You can get anything from spices to electronics to Pashminas to gold at really good prices.  You just have to have some bargaining skills.  Anna has those.  If you ever want to bargain for a good deal, I’d suggest bringing Anna along.

Another similarity in these shopping experiences is the people who come out of the woodwork to offer you their goods.  In Rwanda you never have a clue what’s coming… a wallet, some rope, apples, maps, pots, sunglasses… In Dubai, you know exactly what’s coming.  Pashmina, handbags, Gucci, Prada, Louis Vuitton, watches, sunglasses…  I did get a Pashmina and a “Chanel” watch, but typically my response to these guys was the same as my response to the Rwandan peddlers (only in English rather than Kinyarwanda).

While shopping in the streets of Dubai is practically the same as shopping in the streets of Rwanda, the shopping malls that Dubai are known for are COMPLETELY different.  Instead of the fake handbags, watches, and sunglasses, they have the real deal.  You walk through the mall and see Gucci, Prada, Louis Vuitton, Givenchy, Chanel, along with hundreds of other stores I’ve never heard of.  There are literally 14 shopping malls, the largest of which has something like 1200 stores.  One has an indoor ski slope.  One has an aquarium (where you can pay to scuba dive).  All of them have more stores and restaurants than you can shake a stick at.  I could afford only GAP, H&M, Forever21, and the sales racks at that…and McDonald’s.  You could spend days perusing the malls and still miss ¾ of the stores.  It is quite an experience and one that you can’t miss if you go to Dubai.

Number Four: Blonde Hair Attention

Anna has long, beautiful blonde hair.  It serves as a magnet to Rwandans and Arabs alike.  In Rwanda we get lots of attention because we are white.  In Dubai there are lots of white looking people, but not so many blondes. 

Here’s a story of something that happened in Dubai that could just as easily happen in Rwanda.

One day we were sitting on a bench waiting for a bus when a young boy and his mother walked by.  They quickly turned around, and the boy came running for Anna.  The mom asked if she could take their picture.  Anna obliged.  The boy was happy.  The End.

Moral of the story is, if you have blonde hair and hate attention, dye it before you come to Rwanda.  If you love attention, dye your hair blonde before you come to Rwanda.

Dubai is way more used to tourists, so don’t worry about hair dye before you visit.  And if you’re worried when you get there, everything in the world is available in Dubai, so you can just buy it in a store on any street corner.

Number Five: Dryness

Maybe this similarity is a bit of a stretch, as it is not ALWAYS dry in Rwanda.  During rainy season it’s actually QUITE wet, but at this time of year, Dubai and Rwanda are both dry, dry, dry.

Rwanda is dry and dusty and gives you black snot when you walk outside for extended periods of time.

Dubai is in the middle of the desert and always dry and hot, hot, hot. 

That’s about as far as this similarity goes, so I will take this opportunity to enlighten you on our desert safari experience.  If you ever make it to Dubai (which I would highly recommend), you HAVE to go on a desert safari.  We rode in Land Cruisers and sand bashed in the dunes.  It is quite a thrilling ride, I must say. 

After the sand bashing, we parked at camp and rode some camels. 

We got Henna tattoos on our feet.

We tried on Arabian traditional dress. 

We were then entertained by a man who spun and spun and spun doing amazing feats of dress and undress all the while.  He would have been a fabulous contra dancing partner! 

After the pre-dinner show we had an Arabian BBQ feast which was DELISH.  

After dinner we were entranced by an Arabian belly dancer.

 After a fabulous day in the desert, we returned to the big city.

Number Six: Bus Rides

Anyone who has ridden a bus in a foreign country will tell you what an experience it is.  (Don’t believe me, just ask my friend Rachel

YOWZA! The result of her attempt to leave Kigali by bus two weeks ago… Don’t worry, She had a nice safe flight to Nairobi the next day!)

Bus wrecks aside, the bus riding experiences in the UAE and Rwanda share some similarities.

First, the duration of a bus ride between Dubai and the nearest city (Abu Dhabi) is the exact same as a bus ride from Kigali to practically any other city in Rwanda.  You leave one city, ride for 2 hours through vast nothingness (desert in UAE, rolling green hills in Rwanda) and arrive in another city.

Second, the price of a two-hour bus ride is very inexpensive.  15AED (4USD) from Abu Dhabi to Dubai. 1700RWF (3USD) from Kigali to Musanze. 

Third, more often than not, the person sitting next to you will do something endlessly entertaining.  In order to illustrate this point, I will share with you a brief anecdote from a past Rwandan bus ride and a brief anecdote from our bus ride to Abu Dhabi.

Once upon a time, I boarded a bus in Kigali.  I took the very back window seat on one side.  Anna took the very back window seat on the other side.  Three very smartly dressed Rwandan women with very limited English sat in the three seats between us (one of them tried her hardest to switch seats with me, but I prefer being squished between a person and a window rather than a person and another person and respectfully declined (in English) her request (in Kinyarwanda)).  After this woman accepted her fated seat, she decided we should be friends.  Her name was Grace.  She combed all of her friends’ hair and then did the same to mine.  She attempted to style my hair just like Anna’s was styled 4 seats over.  She obviously didn’t have much experience with Muzungu hair, but I let her have her fun.  When I busted out my iPod a few minutes into the voyage, she decided she needed to hear the music as well and took the ear bud from my right ear and placed it in her left ear.  She rocked out to The Avett Brothers, Old Crow Medicine Show, and the like before she started requesting T.I., Michael Jackson, and Rihanna, none of whom I could oblige her with.  When we arrived in Musanze, it was all I could do not to laugh at the ridiculousness that was my bus ride.

Once upon a time Anna and I boarded a bus in Dubai.  The bus driver swiftly forced the men sitting a few rows back to move to the back of the bus as buses in the UAE are segregated by gender.  Women and children only in the front of the bus!  As Anna and I were about to sit together, a woman dove from her seat next to a man and stole the window seat.  So, I sat next to a man (gasp!) and Anna sat next to said woman.  She didn’t speak a lick of English.  At one point in the trip, Anna applied some makeup, and the woman stole it away from her to write down every word on the compact in her little notebook.  Later she apparently got a whiff of something smelly and decided to cover it up with her spray deodorant.  She sprayed it on herself and into the air and about gagged me across the aisle.  I never did smell the “bad” smell, but the “good” one sure was strong!  Just as we were about to get off the bus, she gave Anna not one, but two pieces of apparently foul tasting candy as a token of her appreciation for having such a pleasant seat companion.

Moving outside of your cultural comfort zone and onto a bus in a foreign country is something everyone should experience at some point in life.  Just steer clear of Kampala Coach if you’re traveling in East Africa!

Number Seven: Good Indian Food

As you may know, my absolute favorite food in the entire world is a good cookie.  Sugar, chocolate chip, snickerdoodle… you name it, I love it.  Now as difficult as it may be to believe, cookies are NOT readily available for purchase in Rwanda.  And as I’ve mentioned to you before, variety is also not readily available for consumption in Rwanda.  But one thing that is readily available is the best Indian food I’ve ever consumed.  Chicken Tikka Masala from Khana Khazana in Kigali is enough to turn even the worst of days into the best day of my life every time I eat it.

There are LOTS of Indian immigrants in Dubai and thus plenty of Indian restaurants to choose from.  Along with the opportunity to consume McDonald’s,

Burger King, Taco Bell, Chili’s, and Dunkin’ Donuts in Dubai, I also had the treat of some good Chicken Tikka Masala at a little local establishment.  It was ALMOST as good as the Indian food in Kigali. 

(Some other notable eating experiences in Dubai:  3 separate Lebanese feasts,

an Arabian BBQ, sushi, pad Thai, and Cold Stone Creamery cake batter ice cream with chocolate chip cookie dough to name a few.)

Number Eight: Dress

Since the UAE is an Islamic country, you see a lot of traditional dress in Dubai.  Men wear long white dresses and white or plaid headdresses.  Women wear long black dresses and cover their heads and sometimes faces in black fabric as well.  These things all have names, but as I said two days ago, Arabic is difficult and even though I heard the names of each article of clothing numerous times, none of them stuck.  Anna and I donned these outfits on a couple different occasions.  Once for fun on our desert safari and once in order to be dressed suitably to visit the 3^rd largest mosque in the world (with the largest chandelier in the world). 

While most people dress very western in Rwanda, there are many women who wear beautiful long dresses made of very colorful African fabrics.  The traditional formal attire of Rwandan women is equally as beautiful and equally as long.

The similarity of dress comes in the modesty of both cultures.  The only knees I have seen in 7 months are my knobby ones in the shower and a select few tourists in both Dubai and Rwanda who aren’t exactly culturally sensitive in their packing for vacation.  

Number Nine: Nokia Mobile Phones

In your land of iPhones and Androids, you may not have as much appreciation for this similarity as I do, but maybe if you take yourself back in time about 12 years, you’ll understand better.  Remember your first cell phone ever?  Not the car-phone-in-a-bag or the Zack Morris gigantor-phone, but that first Nokia, you know, with the Snake Xenia game to play when you were bored (or wanting to show off the fact that you had a cell phone).  Now do you recall the standard ringtone?  If not, go to Dubai, or come to Rwanda.  You’ll hear it everyday and everywhere.  In Dubai I was constantly restraining myself from reaching for my cell phone on the bus, in the malls, on the streets, etc.  Every time I heard that chime, I wanted to read my text message.  Unfortunately, Rwandan cell service doesn’t quite stretch to the Middle East…

While many people in Dubai (and even Rwanda) have Blackberries and iPhones, it is obvious that Nokia dominates the cell phone market in both lands.  There are many different types of Nokia phones, but I am of course partial to my version with the built-in flashlight and endlessly entertained by Snake Xenia, Bounce, and Nature Park.  While I had no service in Dubai, I regularly utilized the converter function on my phone to convert both currency and temperature.  (Did you know that 47 degrees Celsius is a blazing 116.6 degrees Fahrenheit?)