Long Overdue

My friends, I am so sorry that I have not been updating my blog! I could give you a million excuses - the unreliable Internet that we experienced for a while, being on the field, having work to get done, being lazy - but none of them truly excuse it. I apologize. Even though I have so much to share with you - lessons learned, questions, adventures - I thought this one would be a bit more lighthearted and focus on some of the highlight stories that I have experienced in the past two weeks.

Story #1 - The Nacumatt Experience
How many of you know what Nacumatt is? Carrefour? Anyone?

Think European SuperWalmart.

The first Nacumatt came to Kigali last weekend and of course we had to go see it. AWESOME. You can buy your electronics, toiletries, cereal, and furniture all in one stop. As you can imagine, this is a really big deal for all of the expats here. Not only are items such as lotion and familiar brands hard to find but they are expensive once you do find them (think $14 for lotion). Nacumatt has come to save the day. You can find so many products there (including Cadbury chocolate) and the prices aren't as bad as they are in other places. I'll be honest, we spent about 45 minutes just walking around the store and as we were leaving I thought, "Wow, with this here now, I could live here..."

Story #2 - Nobody puts Baby in the corner
Trivia Question: In "Dirty Dancing" what was Baby going to study when she went off to school?

Answer: Economics of Developing Countries - so she could join the PeaceCorp.

What an appropriate movie for us to watch! Last night we celebrated Sarah's (Director of Programs at WRR) birthday by eating chocolate ice cream (another reason to love Nacumatt) and watching "Dirty Dancing" projected on the wall. Sarah had never seen the movie before - she wasn't allowed as a little girl - and always wanted to see it for her birthday. It certainly proved that birthday wishes can come true! With 6 girls and 2 boys joining in on the celebration, we sang along, giggled, and were reminded why Sarah was probably not allowed to watch it (I wasn't either for a while...) It was sitting there last night that I was filled with so much joy that it brought a few tears to my eyes (to know me well is to know that isn't too big of a surprise). How often do we really stop and enjoy the simple pleasures? Do we really stop, rest, and recharge enough? I went to bed very content last night.

One of the best lines in the movie: "I have been thinking a lot about the Domino Effect lately. Do you think if Vietnam falls China will fall as well?" (remember, it was set in 1963)

Story #3 - I want one.
When Phil and Becca were out of town last week I had to come up with some means of transportation. Paying for a taxi all of the time gets a bit expensive so I decided that I was going to be adventurous and try one of the taxi motorcycles that I had seen zipping around town. I have been on the back of a bike before but this was different! The bikes are not that big (could they support both of us?), they dodge in and out of traffic like small gnats, and the road conditions here are less than favorable. I summed up the courage to finally get on one of the motos and... I LOVED IT. I rode them all day, all over town. Now, to be honest, during my first 3 minutes I told the driver to slow down about 86 times but once we got moving and I began to trust him, we really started moving and had such a good time. I am dead serious when I say that I want one and I look for opportunities now to ride. I get disappointed when a friend says they will give me a ride because it means that I won't be able to take my new favorite means of transportation.

Story #4 - Crisis Adverted
This actually comes from excerpts from a few emails that I sent out about a week ago.

I had been having this awful thumping in my ears and I was scared (thanks to WebMD) that I was 1)going deaf 2)had cancer or 3)had gotten a parasite - yes, in my ear, so I went to King Faisel Hospital, just down the road from World Relief. One of the receptionists there was very nice and she gave me all of my instructions in English. I filled out my paperwork and then went up to stand in line at the counter in order to check in. I was standing about 2 feet behind the person who was being helped and not 1, not 2, but 3! people cut in front of me. I have talked to some of my African friends here and there are varying opinions about it being just bad manners, I was not aggressive enough, people are not used to using the "queue"(not an original part of the culture), some think they are more important than others, etc. It didn't matter - I was not feeling well and I was going to be late - not a good combination. I FINALLY got up to the counter, put down my paperwork and smiled at the lady. She not only did not smile back, but proceeded to ignore me and do other work. I will admit, this is where I lost my culturally-savvy cool, grabbed my paper, mumbled "FINE" and went over to the other receptionist who was open. She got to see my smile and I was quickly processed for the small fee of $20 (yes, this is all my doctor's appointment cost - without insurance). I was then ushered to another receptionist in a different area and she took my paperwork and told me to have a seat. My appointment was at 3:40pm and it was now 3:45 (It was the unresponsive receptionist's fault - I was there at 3:15!). I sat there, and I sat there, and I sat there... 40 minutes after my appointment was supposed to have taken place I asked the previous receptionist, who was wearing a very pea-green blouse, when I could expect to be seen. I was extremely polite and non-confrontational. She responded, "After the person in front of you is finished." My bad. One hour and five minutes after my appointment was supposed to take place, I was seen by Dr. Jeffrey I-can't-pronounce-your-last-name, ENT. We hit it off famously! He checked my ears, nose, and throat and found nothing wrong. He said that it was probably just from all of the dust (darn dry season) and the irritation from being on the moto (trust me, this will not stop me from riding again). He prescribed some drops and said that I could use them if I felt like making sure my ears were totally cleaned out (I told him my mother would be proud to hear that I have dirty ears - although I don't, I clean them fanatically). He did check my throat to make sure that I did not have Thyroid Cancer as WebMD, as I said, had me convinced this was a valid option. He also took my blood pressure and he said that it was low. I asked him if I was dying to which he responded, no. PHEW. He did, however, say that women who are expecting can have a low blood pressure... I assured him this was not the case and, in fact, the words "Immaculate Conception" were used. He then sent me on my way and on my way I did go. I'll be honest, I still have no idea why my ears were bothering me. They are absolutely fine now. Maybe I just had to learn a new aspect about the culture - customer service and rights. Huge lesson.


That's it for stories (well, at least for now). We have a team coming from Mars Hill to do a Water Harvesting project starting on Monday. Please keep us all in your prayers. I promise, I will be more diligent and will write more soon.

Imana Ishweme!