Parasites

     Blogging here from Kigali. You may ask why...I have to see the doctor tomorrow. I've been struggling for a while with abdominal pain and after waking up in the middle of the night with excruciating pain, I decided that although I HATE doctors, especially in the non-Western world, I better go to a doctor before anything gets worse. So tomorrow I go to the hospital to find out what's wrong. I've been told it's probably a parasite so stool sample here we go!
     Yesterday marked the first day that I officially began my job. I woke up early and went to the Guest House to catch internet. For three hours I researched three different Universities. I looked at the websites and retyped the important information into an easy to read cheat sheet. By the end of this year i'll be a pro at all Rwandan Universities so if you have any questions, ask away! The end goal will be a resource center filled with folders on the different post-ASYV options. Three Universities down, only 21 more to go (an hour per school ain't too bad).
     The day continued with a meeting with all of the volunteers to discuss some challenges we may face. We talked about how we will frequently be in a situation where we are asked to do many things but time does not allow us to complete everything. We prioritized different realistic tasks (like getting a sick kid from school, getting toilet paper for your house, writing an article, preparing for family time, etc). And to noone's surprise, I prioritized the things that were external of myself first. The things that had to deal with myself (my health, my friends, etc) were not as important on my list as helping the people in the Village. Prioritizing myself is definitely something i'm going to need to work on and I hope that this journey helps me to do that.
     After the meeting I went to lunch and then back to my room to take a nap. After 24 hours of having no water, I noticed the water was back on so I delayed the nap and went straight to the shower. Unfortunately the water from the shower head wasn't working so I had to take a shower in the spigot. Quite an interesting and acrobatic endeavor I must say. Never having to worry about water before, I freaked out by the thought of not having water. So after my shower I put some in a basin and in my kettle so I had a reserve in case the water went out again. After my water adventures, I finally napped.
     I woke up a bit before dinner and decided to go to one of the girl's houses. My neighbors are in Enrichment Year so I knew a few of them and decided to say hello. They were so touched that I had come over to visit them. They asked me if I could help them sometime with Facebook and I told them I  would. Amazing that even in rural Africa so many kids have Facebook. Such a crazy phenomenon! But great for me so I can stay in touch with the kids when I return to the States.
     The night continued with trying to figure out how to most effectively run kitchen service. The way it works is that all of the Family 3's from each grade has service together every nine days. So all of the kids picked a number out of a hat to decide which table they would be sitting at to help refill the bowls. It was unbelievable how inefficient the process was. They seem to excel in inefficiency. So much yelling and shouting. After an hour, the process was done and it was time to go back to my kids house to wish one of my girl's, Janviere, a happy birthday.
     All of the girls made Janviere really sweet cards and presented them to her. It was amazing how happy she was just by receiving cards and warmth from her newfound family. Seeing the joy and happiness of all of the girls really brought birthdays to a new level for me. It's not about the presents or the parties, it's about the people that you share your birthday with. And hopefully joyous days like this will continue even without a need to celebrate.
     I'm off to eat my chicken burger, salad and fries. Wish me luck on the doctor tomorrow.