December Has Arrived

So Mitchell and I have officially been in Rwanda for over 3 months. The first three months have been filled with joy, confusion, hard work, and a lot of laughter. I am very much settled here but do often think back to my home in New Jersey and all the friends back in the States.
I have gotten a chance to spend a few nights out of the center in Gatenga. First, Mitchell, Hannah, and I took a trip to the northern part of the country. In the north you can see many volcanoes that are on the border with The Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda. The scenery is beautiful up there. We spent a night on one of the quiet lakes that are squashed between the mountains and hills. The weather is a little cooler up there, but really nice. In the morning we took a 30 minute boat ride (see right) and then got out to hike a couple hours. At the end of our hike we were met with a pretty awesome waterfall (although they are currently trying to divert the water to use for production of electricity). We had a blast!
Then comes Thanksgiving. Mitchell convinced the community to go all out there year for an All-American Thanksgiving…or as close as you can get a little country called Rwanda. This year Mitchell chose our turkey and we really made sure it was fresh, as we watched them kill and prepare it for cooking. Unfortunately, I was not actually here at the community for the great Thanksgiving feast; I left Thrusday morning for a trip to Nakuru, Kenya. The rugby team I play with a bit invited me to a 7’s tourneyment. The trip was long…20 hours by bus, on terrible roads…but I had a good time. Kenya is a bit more diverse and developed from what I saw in Nakuru. When I returned from the tourneyment I made sure to stuff myself with a leftover turkey, stuffing, and gravy sandwich like I would if I were home. The director here had a great time celebrating our American holiday. In fact he promised, “Next we are having Thanksgiving again…with our without Americans!”.

Since the Patronage finished, Mitchell and I have a few days to relax before things pick up for the holidays. First our “Boss” from New Rochelle, NY is coming on the 11th. He will be here for a few days to check out the community here and determine if the program can continue to send volunteers here next year. Adam is a great guy and a bundle of laughs…so we are very excited to see his bright shining face, red nose, round belly, and big white beard…so he might not have a round belly or big white beard, but he will also be bringing a few Christmas gifts for the two of us…thanks Mom and Dad). Once Adam leaves we will prepare for our trip to Uganda where we will be spending our Christmas with a few other volunteers.
Before I sign off I would like to introduce you to one of my new friends here. I got this idea from a friends blog (you know who you are) and figured all of you back home might enjoy meeting a few of the people I meet in Rwanda.

This is Gabriel. He just finished studying here at Gatenga with a focus on electricity. He was the top of his class for electricity and is very bright. I would see and talk with Gabriel often (he knows English well). Gabriel also lived in the Foyer here and was one of the obvious leaders amoung the other boarding students.
I hope Thanksgiving was awesome for all of your back home. I heard that Old Man Winter sent some snow…even in Texas. Enjoy the snow and good luck buying all your presents…

HoHoHo,
Chris

The Patronage

Now that school is finished, things around the center are a bit quieter. Recently the “Patronage” started. It is basically a camp that is run at the center for about 3 weeks. Kids of all ages come and spend 3 or 4 hours here. We sing, play games, and teach the children. The youngest kids are 3 and they range all the way up to about 15. Things here are less organized so we don’t have a set number of kids everyday, it all depends on who shows up. So far we have ranged from about 300 to 650. It is fun playing with the children but it can be quite exhausting.
Aside from that, Mitchell and I have been working on the farm to fill the rest of the time. We are slowly working to clear, plow, and till an unused field so we can start planting there. We have also been thinking and talking a lot about a major project that we could focus on while we are here. Hopefully we will have decided something soon and will let you all know.
Ocassionally I will take an afternoon and go play some rugby. I have been playing with the national team which I just randomly stumbled into after hearing about some rugby in the area. It is nice to play and coach the guys a bit. The team is pretty good, but overall they just lack experience. They generally know the game and are pretty fit, but they just need to play more. I am hoping that I can teach them a few things while I am here in Rwanda.
The other day I was hit pretty hard with reality. I was helping by driving one of the brothers here to the psychiatric hospital. At the end of the school year one of the students was taken there because of a dramatic change in behavior. We went to visit him with the only person that knows him well at all and is still alive, his Godfather. All of his family has passed away and he grew up as an orphan with some sister (I do not know the order). Since he has come to the school to board and study, the sisters have moved to another country. So, this student really has no one. At the hospital, the brother and Godfather spoke with him. I do not understand Kinyarwanda or French still so I did not understand what was being said, but I did understand that he was not happy. It was difficult to see this young man (20) seem so alone and abandoned by everyone. I began to think about really all the orphans out there that may feel the same way, all the students in the Foyer here that have no living family. How blessed are we to have the families we have; it still supprises me when I talk about my family and they are surprised that I still have both parents and all my siblings. Thanks for reading.

Enjoy your thanksgiving,
God Bless

Pictures of Centre Des Jeunes

Overview of the farm with playing fields in the distance
Several banana trees...they are everywhere

An awesome chameleon

One of the smaller canals controlling water flow through the Center

Working in one of the many canals with the boarding students

One of the orchids in bloom

We have the largest collection of orchids in the entire country of Rwanda...including several species that are new to science and have yet to be named.

Two tractors that Mitchell drives to help operate the farm

An overview of the farm

Exam Week

Sorry it’s been so long since leaving an update. A few weeks ago it was Teachers Day. I was a little surprised at how big of a day it is for teachers. We began the day with a football (soccer) match of the teachers playing the students. I played sweeper and had a blast. I find playing sports one of the best ways to bond with the teachers and students. Due to some unfortunate circumstances (the students cheating and not such a great referee…Mitchell) we lost to the students 4-1. Next year we will be sure to put the students back in their place. After the match all of the teachers spent a few hours eating lunch and drinking soda or beer…mostly beer. It was a fun relaxing day and awesome to see all the appreciation here for the teachers.
Mitchell and I continue to work with the student during the week and lead groups of students to work for a few hours on Saturday. During the week, work is a bit lighter…mostly preparing the land for cultivating and planting. I enjoy Saturdays more; usually we have bigger projects to work on. A few weeks ago we cleaned the “Grand Canal”. This is the main canal that all the water that enters our compound (tons and tons) leaves out of. Needless to say, the canal is very big, very dirty, and extremely important. We need to keep the canals clean so that our land does not flood too much and the water can drain. 2 Saturdays ago we were waist-deep in very muddy water cleaning out weeds, trash, shoes, jackets, etc (you would be surprised what you find in a drainage canal). I had a lot of fun working hard and getting dirty.
Mitchell and I have officially started driving around Kigali. One of the Salesian brothers here has been taking us with him to run errands in the city and always asks us to drive. We are becoming more comfortable with the city and the streets. It is easy to get lost in the city. The streets all wind left and right, and there are absolutely no street signs. Eventually you just recognize things and start to get a better feel for where you are.
Sundays we continue to get a taste of America. We continue to watch American football at the embassy. Last week we bought some ground beef and made some hamburgers. It was great to relax with fellow Americans and chow down on some juicy hamburgers.
This week the students are taking their final exams. Just when I was starting to get into a good daily schedule things change a bit. Now I try and help around the farm and often during the day just try and find a few things to keep busy with. I have decided that during the school break I want to help teach the teachers English and AutoCAD. Next year school will only be taught in English, so it is imperative that the teachers can speak English well. As of right now, very few of the teachers know English at all, so this could be a big help. I also want to teach AutoCAD to the construction and electrical teachers. I am hoping that over my year here I can start an AutoCAD program that will continue when I leave. I hope that by teaching the teachers, the will be able to continue teaching their students. Hopefully we can work it out here.
I have taken a few pictures and I will try and post them soon so that you all can see a little bit of my world here in Rwanda.

It's been a few weeks so I will try and update you with my daily activites. I am in a pretty set schedule now. I teach at least 20 hours or so of computers a week to the students here. I teach the secretarial, construction, and electrical students basic computer knowledge. We are slowly getting through and introduction to a computer and introducting Word and Excel. I am starting to focus on learning to type with the secretarial students. I feel that this will be very very helpful to them because Rwanda is quickly moving to an automated computer business world. Some days it is very frustrating trying to teach the kids. Their first language in Kinyarwanda. Most of the students know a bit of French, but really don't use it. I only speak English...which sometimes creates a problem. Not only do I not speak their 1st languague, but I can't speak their 2nd language either. Not to mention the fact that half the computers are in French which the other half are in English. But...slowly we are getting somewhere.
After school Mitchell and I play with the children that show up. I usually rotate between Football (soccer) and Volleyball. They are actually quite good at Volleyball (suprise to me) and I really enjoy playing. After playing, we pray the rosary with all the students that live on the grounds. It is a great time to just reflect on why I am here and try and listen to what God has to say.
Also, in the mornings I have been trying to get up and attend daily mass with the pre-novitiates here. The pre-novitiates are an awesome bunch. I am teaching a few of them English and love talking with them. I expect that we will get to know them better and I hope to become really good friends with a bunch of them.
Recently, Mitchell and I visited the US embassy. It was a great break for me and Mitchell...sometimes you just need to talk with a few Americans. The "party" we attended had a very few Americans, but we did get invited to watch football with the Marines this Sunday night. We are really excited to just hang out with the Marines and watch some good old American Football.
Other than that, living in Rwanda is going well. We are looking to get an official French tutor to help us learn faster. We are slowly learning but would like to learn a bit faster. I am also learning a lot about the country and finding out about some good adventures to go on. I hope all is well back home.

My address here in Kigali is below. I believe you have to send through airmail, which I am assuming will be pretty expensive. Feel free to send me a letter but please don't spend too much sending it.

Centre des Jeunes Gatenga
B.P. 468 Kigali - Rwanda

So today was my first day of formal teaching on my own. It went pretty well dispite the fact that most of the kids don't know English. Well...to be more correct that don't know/understand "American". They can speak and understand what they call "British" and just have a really hard time understanding English when Americans speak. But, classes went well and it seems they students did in fact learn a few things.
Last Sunday we were actually invited to two different soccer matches, which we found out after the fact. We ended up going to a game played by some of the students that board here at the school. I was very supprised when we showed up and they handed me a jersey and told me I was playing. I tried to politely decline a few times but they weren't having it. We played a pretty good game and luckly pulled out a 1 to 1 tie with a team that was noticably better then we were. They want me to play again this weekend, but we will see.

This last week has given me a better idea of what I will be doing for most of the next year. I will infact be teaching computers...mostly an introduction to the machines that many students have never ever used before. I will be introducing a few simple programs like Microsoft Work and Excel and I hope to introduce AutoCAD to some of the construction students when possible. In the afternoons we get a chance to play sports with a couple hundred children. Students that attend the school along with many local children living in Gatenga, Kigali show up to the school and play mostly Futball (American Soccer), Volleyball, and Basketball. I really enjoy playing with the kids and starting to develop friendships.
After sports the students that board here (roughly 100 plus students) all meet near out residents to pray the rosary in Kinyarwandan. Although we only know very basic greating in Kinyarwanda, me and Mitchell join in and pray the rosary with the kids. Since we have started I feel like the students give us more respect and have become much more personal.
During our free time we try and learn French. A very nice German volunteer, Hannah, that lives in the same area has been a huge help.

Yesterday was Mitchell's brithday and we went out to a nice Indian restrauant. The food was excellent and I think Mitchell was very happy that we went. Also, a few days ago, a new volunteer, Deborah, came to the school. She is a psychologist and will help with some the of the students and local children. I am excited for tomorrow, Sunday. There will be a soccer match at the school between Gatenga students (18-20) and another local Kigali district. I hope all is well with everyone back home.

Hello all,
Mitchell and I have made it to Rwanda safely. The internet is somewhat avalible but a little slow. We have spent the last few days just observing what goes on here, and so far it's been great.
The Salesian community here is very active. We live on 27 acres of land, most of which is farmed. They grow many many different types of bannanas along with many of the typical fruits and vegetables like, peppers, cabbage, lettuce, tomatoes, herbs, eggplant... I believe I will be helped to teach computers, general knowledge and hopefully autocad to the students learning about construction.
A few people know english, but all the Salesian speak mostly French. We are doing our best to learn it. We will also hopefully learn some Kinyarwandan at the same time.
We went out the eat the other night and ate goat meat and potatoes...it was excellent. I will start to teach and play with the students here more on Monday and will update you then.

My Skype ID is "chstjoseph", feel free to try and chat if I am on.

Departure Day

The day has arrived. I will be leaving for Rwanda to spend a year working with the Salesians as part of the Salesian Lay Missioner program. I will be working with a fellow SLM, Mitchell, and working with children in the capital city of Rwanda, Kigali. My flight departs from JFK today, 9/2/2009, at 4:00 pm. Before arriving in Kigali at 9:00 pm on September 3rd, we will stop in Frankfurt and Brussels.
I am still working on wrapping up a few loose ends as I prepare for my departure. Please feel free to post comments and questions. I will also be more than happy to respond to any emails I receive (chstjoseph@gmail.com)