July 22, 2019

Monday: I slept really well last night again, so getting up this morning was really easy. Made some tea with honey and started to get ready. For breakfast I made myself a peanut butter, banana and honey sandwich which was so good and so needed. I finally found a small enough honey jar last night to buy so I am super happy I have that now. We headed to work and it again is super slow of us just painting and waiting for it to dry. We did half of the spots of the giraffe tire and touched up the zebra. As we were waiting for it to dry we went to start digging the holes for the tires, and as we were digging we acquired a large crowd of onlookers which was interesting. For lunch we went to Crema, got coffee and of course made our PB&J sandwiches. Rachel, our coordinator, stopped by and ate some Crema with us and as always it was good to talk to her for a little bit. After lunch we finished painting everything and let it dry so we can bury the animals in the courtyard tomorrow. There was no work to do so we left work early and got some food and drinks for our last home cooked meal. They cleaned our house today, but our guard had the keys and he was gone so we were locked out for a good amount of time which was very irritating. When we finally got inside, I showered and had a snack before everyone came over for dinner. For dinner, our whole squad (Amanda, Alodie, Dean, Noah, Emmanuel, and Jean Claude) came and ate. We made pasta, vegetables, and jambalaya and purchased some street corn from our corner! It was so fun to hang out with everyone, laugh and chill in the house for one last night.

July 23, 2019

Tuesday: My alarm went off today at 5:30am as I wanted to watch the sunrise and it was supposed to be clear skies today! The sky was very pretty and I could see the sun coming up from behind the volcanoes which was such a God moment. I made it to Crema for a bagel and coffee around 6:15 and called my friend Elie before she went to bed. When Elie and I were done chatting I got a ton of time to talk to one of the baristas, Erica, about her life and recent struggles and successes. I loved hearing her story and it breaks my heart that I will only see them one more time! She said she would get me the granola recipe though and we would take some pics on Thursday before we head to Kigali. We got to work, touched up the tires, worked on our presentation and drilled together the bodies of the animals. During our lunch time, we ate our last PB&J, got some final milkshakes (maybe), figured out bus times for Thursday and got some taxi’s phone numbers so that we can get to the bus stop on Thursday morning. Very productive. When we got back to work after lunch we went ahead and buried our animals in the pediatric courtyard. As we were burying them we attracted a nice crowd of kids, and they looked freaking ecstatic for the new addition. The mentally ill lady came back to say hi to us, she really loves Amanda and I lol. They got buried pretty quickly so Boaz was still not back yet. Once he got back from lunch we showed him the animals and he said “wow, so wonderful” so I would consider that a win. We left early again since there wasn’t much to do. Once we got home, I showered and also started to pack before we all headed out for dinner. Dinner tonight was at Volcana Lounge which is our classic pizza spot. Tonight though, I opted for the spinach lasagna which was so good and the cheese was not gouda which was a plus! Most cheese in Rwanda is gouda and it gets old very fast, excited to eat some good brie and mozzarella when I get home! After dinner I ended up watching a Netflix movie in bed before falling asleep.

July 24, 2019

Wednesday: Wow, today was our last day of work at Ruhengeri Hospital and all the emotions hit today. It was a regular morning with some tea, bread and fruit for breakfast, our final walk to work, and our final Mwaramutse’s to the guards at the gate. When we got to the workshop we found out that the giraffe’s ears got pulled off of its head so we went to fix them by attaching them like the zebra’s ears. We took some more pictures as a group by the tire animals and talked to some of the patients. We decided to clean the workshop as much as we could and sweep to discard our messes from the project and other work. We said our final goodbyes to the staff and Director General and left the hospital at lunch time. The last walk out was so sad, I am not ready to leave. For lunch we went to La Poliette and got some coffee, and a final sambusa and chapatti meal. Once we got home I started to pack, clean the house, and took a nap before dinner. For dinner we had our meal from Jean Claude at the Fatima where we had our meals the week prior. For dinner I got a sausage brochette and chips which was so yummy. After dinner I finished packing and went to bed to rest up before an early morning.

July 25, 2019

Thursday: I woke up to birds early in the morning, a nice way to wake up on the last day. I finished getting all my stuff together and Amanda and I headed to Crema for a final breakfast and a final goodbye. When we got to Crema, our girl Erica was working and she was so sad that we were leaving. She wrote “Thx McKenzie” in chocolate syrup in my spicy mocha and gave me the granola recipe that I love SOOOO much. We hung out there till 8:45ish, took pictures, and talked to the workers. We went home, grabbed our bags, and hopped in a taxi to the bus station. We tried to get the 10:15 bus but since the 6 of us all had lots of luggage, we kept getting moved to later buses. Finally at 10:50 we were off to Kigali to conclude our trip. We made it to Kigali around 1, got in another taxi that took us to our hotel La Palisse. It was wonderful being in a hotel the last few nights as there were free meals, a nice powerful and warm shower, and we were all in the same area of each other. Laura and I went back to IPRC to grab lunch and say goodbye to our host family. Then we went to Kigali Heights, grabbed some coffee and tea for ourselves to take home, and then got our BOGO pizza dinner at Riders. We concluded the meal with some classic gelato and it really hit the spot. We grabbed a taxi home with some other people that came to Kigali Heights as well and it was the worst experience I have ever had in the taxi. The driver was rude and tried to jip us so many times so we ended up getting out in the middle of the drive. We then hung out as a group at the hotel bar while people waited for their dinners, talked and caught up.

July 26, 2019

Friday: Today is the day of our final conference and every hospital group gives a presentation on their work from the past month. Breakfast started at 7:30 so we had to get up somewhat early to get ready and look nice. The presentations started at 9 and each one lasted about 30 minutes each. It was really eye opening to see how different everyone’s experiences were in their different cities and how they grew from their experience. Our presentation was 3^rd so we got it out of the way pretty quickly and it went well. Every hour we would have coffee breaks and the coffee breaks were incredible as the hotel provided coffee, African tea, tea and juices as well as different snacks. In the morning there was fruit and breads, and in the afternoon they had mini pizzas and sambusas. Once the conference was over we were presented with certificates and then took lots of fun pictures with the group. After everyone changed a group of us went to Simba to get last minute food n stuff. At night we hung out by the pool, in other peoples rooms, and then Maya, Lauren and I went to get dinner and then we went out to the club for our final hoorah! It was an eventful last night in Rwanda and being legal for a while.

July 27, 2019

Saturday: Our final day, cue the tears. Today was really not much as we woke up, packed our bags, ate some breakfast and hung out at the hotel. The flight from Kigali > Doha > Dallas was at 4:20pm so the 7 of us on the flight left the hotel at 1:15pm to get to the airport. To get into the airport we had to unpack our entire bus and go through security and have our bus and bags searched by the canines. Once in the airport we went through the passport counters, checked in and got to the departure lounge. I only had to move 2 bags of coffee out of my checked bag, wohoo so I made it without throwing anything away. Once in the lounge we had about 2 hours to kill so I grabbed a smoothie and looked around at the duty free shops. The flight was really good, there was no one next to me so I had lots of room and Qatar airways is super nice. I am currently sitting in the Doha airport as we have an 8hr layover here from 12am until we board around 6:50am ish. So far we got some food (I got ramen) and walked around a little bit. We are going to explore some more, maybe buy some chocolate and clean up. I am going to try to stay up as when we leave on the plane, it will be around midnight Dallas time and will sleep on the plane! Yay we are almost home.

July 28, 2019

Sunday: Finally in America and it feels so weird. My second flight from Doha to Dallas was 15 hours but went by really fast. No one was in the middle seat AGAIN, the lord was really looking out for me! I watched like 2 ½ movies, and then slept the whole time so I feel like jet lag isn’t going to be terrible. We landed a little earlier than expected, went through customs and now I’m so excited for my enchiladas later tonight, wohoo!

This trip has to be one of the best things in my life. I have left these 2 months with the main notion that community is so important. That no matter who it is or where you are, that people love you immensely and that you should love them back with no contest. The community in Rwanda showed me that patience and grace is easy when your heart is truly in it, and that some issues you may have with someone are never worth it. 25 years after the genocide against the Tutsi’s the Rwandan community is full of love, strength, and generosity toward one another and I think that is something that America can really aim to be better at. I am leaving Rwanda with a full heart, and strengthened mind. I owe my life to this country and its people. I will be back so very soon. From the memories, small and large laughs, hikes, lots of bananas, a poorly cut mango, stomach issues, bed bugs, mosquitos, coffee, tea, bread, corrosive cleaner, crazy ladies, loads of medical equipment, petroleum and paint, taxis and long walks; I am forever thankful for the best summer of my life!!

July 15, 2019

Monday: Why da heck is time flying by. This is our last full week at Ruhengeri Hospital and I am SENSI! When we got to work we started on some paperwork that EWH requires for us to turn in, then we were pulled into ophthalmology by Boaz to fix a split lamp. The split lamp was the same one we had worked on earlier, RIP but now the power supply was not working. We found the issue in the circuit board so we brought it back to the workshop to work on it there. When we got back to the workshop, the tailor was there with our covers for our secondary project. WHOOP! So exciting, but I didn’t have enough cash on me so I had to run to the ATM and get some more. Of course, the closest one was not in service so I was just running around town. When I got back to pay the tailor, there was not much time left before lunch so Amanda and I just cleaned a machine and put the cover on it. For lunch we went home and made some PB&J’s, tea and took a quick cat nap. After lunch, we started working on our other secondary project which is the tires. We got the heads assembled and started painting the base coat which was a good start and where we wanted to be today. The paint legit would not come off of our hands which is a huge bummer, and apparently, we needed to use petroleum to get it off. Everyone knew this (including some random kids on the street) but no one told us!! How rude. But we will know for the rest of our painting adventures so I guess we will be okay. For dinner, I heated over my left over rabbit and then headed to Migano’s to drink some tea and call people. The wifi was having a hard time tonight so calling people was difficult, but we tried. Tonight we heard that there was an ebola case in Goma, Congo which is right next to Gisenyi, Rwanda. So our friends in Gisenyi would come join us in Musanze tomorrow wohoo! We will  see how that goes tomorrow!

July 16, 2019

Tuesday: This morning when we got to work we saw that our giraffe that we painted yesterday did not dry well. It was super lumpy and half of it was still wet so we decided to remove the paint and start over. We also realized the white paint was GLUE, so that was also a big bummer. We added more petroleum and paint thinner and it seemed to work, and dried well. In between coats of paint, we went to the neonatology department to do some preventative maintenance. While changing some of the dirty air filters, we found an incubator that had broken wires on the sensor. So we soldered and fixed the sensor, yay! We did another coat of paint and headed out to lunch. Lunch consisted of going to the market to get peanut butter, jelly, pasta, bananas, and some white paint. We took a few small sandwich bread pieces (almost like a roll/hot dog bun) and our new PB&J back to the workshop and ate there. Our coordinator Rachel came and joined us so we got to talk to her for a little, just us. She came to visit us, but she also came to bring the Gisenyi boys to the hospital. They are staying pretty close to us and get to be at our hospital for at least this week so we are pretty excited for that! After lunch we went to laundry to look at a washing machine that needed a new capacitor, and also worked more on painting our animals. The boys came around 3:15, and we gave them a tour of the hospital and then headed home. They came and visited our home and then we headed out to dinner with Musanze’s newest residents! Amanda and I took Noah and Dean to the Korean restaurant and then to Migano’s for ice cream after. We splurged, what a day. After dinner and ice cream, I hopped in bed and finished the Jonas Brothers documentary, Chasing Happiness. Overall, an interesting but exciting day. Super excited for what is to come this week!

July 17, 2019

Wednesday: Today was the first day that the boys from Gisenyi joined us at the hospital and it was such a treat! When arrived in the morning we started painting the two animal heads right away so they could sit out and dry. It was a bit cloudy in the morning so we were worried about them drying, but it eventually warmed up and got sunny out. Boaz took us to laundry, and we fixed the machine that needed the new capacitor. He also showed the Gisenyi boys the different machines and how they all worked. When we got back to the workshop we decided to clean all of the equipment that was going under the covers. With now 7 people at the hospital, it went by super fast. We put the covers on all the machines and now our main secondary project is done! Before lunch we then added some of the brown spots to the giraffe head, we are so excited to be making so much progress now, and the dots look pretty alright if you ask me. For lunch Amanda and I had PB&J at Migano’s again, they brought us plates and napkins again which is so kind. Love them! When we were done eating, we meet up with Dean and Noah and went to find some tires as we are not longer able to get them for free. Thankfully, the gas station right by our hospital had a tire center and we picked 2 up for 10,000 RWF. We are nearing the end of our secondary budget now, so the only mistakes made are happy ones lol. After lunch we painted another white coat on the zebra, a coat of brown dots, and a base coat on the tires. Sadly, we had to go back and exchange one of the tires because there was way too much metal sticking out of it, and kids can’t get hurt like that!!!! We took Jean Claude (a Gisenyi IPRC student) with us to help exchange the tire since he is good at communicating in both English and Kinyarwanda which was super helpful as they wanted us to pay for a new tire. When we got back to the workshop we painted a white coat on the tire for the zebra and decided that we had done enough for the day. After work I went home and showered, then went over to Crema for BURGER NIGHT! I got to call my Dad and John for a little bit while I was there and messaged a few friends online. At Crema I ordered a chai latte, and swear to God the best chai latte I have ever had. When it came time to order burgers I was so shocked by the many options they gave us to put on the burger; ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, onions, pickles, lettuce, avocado, tomatoes, and cheese. I got everything but tomato, but sadly I didn’t get any cheese or mustard on my burger. It also came with original or paprika potato chips, yum and I ordered a citron fanta to #splurge. The burger was mediocre at best but I really enjoyed myself with my friends, in the atmosphere and something other than rice and beans was good. I went home, made myself a cup of tea, and snuggled up in bed to watch Mamma Mia as I plan to watch both this week! Good day!

July 18, 2019

Thursday: I can’t believe it is already Thursday and that our friends are all coming to visit us in Musanze tomorrow! We got to work and our tires were still a tad wet from yesterday so we moved them outside to dry. It was a little bit cloudy this morning so it took them a really long time to dry completely. While we were waiting for the tires to dry, we finished cleaning one last machine and started making our conference presentations. Boaz was sick so there was not much to do other than wait for things to dry. We tried to go to pediatric to see if there were any broken devices that needed to be fixed but they told us that Boaz knew where they were… RIP. Back to the workshop. On our way back we ran into the crazy lady from last week that was walking around topless and telling us to find her shoes. She followed us all the way back to the workshop but she finally walked away. For lunch we went to the Green Garden buffet and I accidentally finessed an extra piece of meat so that was an experience. We also went to the Modern Market and found Jean Claude some earphones and walked around. After lunch we painted the zebra stripes on its body and finally got a second coat of white on the tire, however the yellow was STILL sticky… ugh. The giraffe body is pretty much finished and looks really good, it just needs a few minor touchups. There was nothing to do at work except wait for things to dry so we left like 30 minutes early. I was craving a chai latte so I stopped at Crema and got one as well as a warm cinnamon roll. The people at Crema know my name now, which I don’t know is a good or bad thing, but we will take it because they are very nice to me. I really needed that pick me up today. I am so thankful that the Gisenyi boys are with us now because it makes doing nothing at work so much more enjoyable. When I got home I did my last load of laundry for this trip WOHOO!!!! It took me way longer than it should have but I’m glad laundry is no longer. For dinner we went to a bar right by our house and grabbed some akabenzi (fried pork) and chips. As usual, we got so freaking much so we ran home and grabbed a dish so we could take it home. I was exhausted by the time dinner was over so I went pretty much straight to bed tonight.

July 19, 2019

Friday: Today our friends come to visit in Musanze and I am so excited to have a chill weekend with them and especially glad to not travel. Work is really slow again with not much to do but paint and wait for the paint too dry We pretty much sat on our computers for the majority of the day which was relaxing to an extent. When we left for lunch Alodie told us we didn’t need to come back to work after since it was sport day (every business/school/work) chooses a sport to do at 2pm and does it together). So we went home, made some lunch, took a nap, and cleaned the house before our friends arrived. We waited for our friends and got dinner at Migano’s and then some people went to the boys hotel bar and watched the National African Futbol (soccer) game. I wasn’t feeling too well so I just went home and went to bed.

July 20, 2019

Saturday: Today we woke up with guests in our home, so exciting, and took them to Crema for some coffee and breakfast. They made donuts this morning which weren’t exactly like American donuts but still wonderful. We hung out at Crema for a really long time just talking and playing games. The staff at Crema loved that we brought friends and were sad to see them go! After Crema we went to Inshuti Art Center and looked around at their sculptures and art for a while. We then took an adventure and found a pedicure place and we all got our toes painted. It was surprisingly very nice and relaxing, definitely a bit sketch but worth the 5,000RWF. I didn’t sleep well at all last night, so I left the group and went home to take a nap before dinner. On our way to dinner, it of course started to rain so we were drenched and cold while eating but I got some yummy pasta so I was satisfied. After dinner we went to hang out at our house for a little bit then went to Cascade to celebrate Lauren’s birthday. They had a nice fire outside that we all sat around and led into really good and intentional conversations.

July 21, 2019

Sunday: This morning we slept in a little bit, and it was also my first night in a while where I did not keep waking up in the middle of the night so that was awesome. We tried to go to La Poilete for breakfast but they didn’t have much of a breakfast selection so we went back to Migano’s… classic. We stayed at Migano’s for quite a while as we also waited for some of our friends to come and as they needed lunch. We also ran into the owner of Crema, Nathan at Migano’s which was funny as like 5 people in our group were wearing their new Crema shirts. So muzungu of us. Everyone else went to the bus station to go their respected ways, and Amanda, Noah and I headed home. I sat in my room, finished Crazy Rich Asians, and watched Mamma Mia 2 before dinner. For dinner Amanda and I decided to make some pasta and vegetables, which were super simple and good. We needed a simple and cheap meal after a weekend of eating out for every meal. RIP our budgets. After dinner I took a really nice warm and steamy shower, and settled down in my room pretty early. It was nice to chill out for the remainder of the night and go to bed early.  

July 8, 2019

Monday: Finally, we get to go to work after a weird week of not having anything. When we got to work this morning, we started to test the oxygen concentrators that we fixed last week to make sure the oxygen concentration is the ideal 97%. Unfortunately, 2 out of the 4 we thought were good were around 20%, which is just normal air blowing out. For a good portion of the morning, we decided to clean the 4 concentrators as they were very dirty and full of dust inside and out. One of the concentrators got up to 80% with just cleaning it which was crazy how much the dust impacted it. We started to look at that concentrator to see if we could figure out how to get the concentration up. We found a leak in one of the circuit boxes that was releasing air, but we were not sure if that was an outlet of pressure or a leak. We decided to wait till after lunch to ask Boaz. One of our coordinators, Claire, came and took us out for lunch today at Miganos! Yum! I got a smoothie, and a nile perch dish with a side of parsley potatoes and vegetable rice. I devoured it, it was incredible and I knew I wouldn’t need a big dinner after that meal. It was fun to talk to Claire and hear her insight about this month at the hospitals and ideas that she had for us. After lunch we went back and tried to troubleshoot the two oxygen concentrators some more. We decided to add a sealant to the leak and see if it would work, but the sealant didn’t dry before we left the office so we will have to try again tomorrow. The other oxygen concentrator was having loads of problems this afternoon, and decided to stop blowing out air all together. Everything that could go wrong with the machine was, and we are thinking it has to do with the circuit board but we are still stuck on that as well. We are not having much luck in the maintenance workshop fixing equipment which is super defeating as that is what we have come to do. Hopefully later this week we will move onto other departments of the hospital and try to fix issues around the hospital. The amount of time at the hospital has gone by SO quickly and we can not even believe we are on our 3^rd week of work. After work I went to the forex bureau to exchange some money, and cross our fingers hopefully it is the last time I will have to exchange. Prayers for my spending habits. Went home, rinsed off my grime and read for a while before dinner. We decided tonight is going to be an avocado toast, mango, and tea type night with not much going on. After dinner, I snuggled up in bed and watched 13 Going on 30.

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July 9, 2019

Tuesday: Yesterday I was in a weird funk so when I got up this morning I made sure to make myself some tea and a good breakfast. When we arrived at work, I started uploading our conference invitations (at the end of the month we have a big conference in Kigali where each placement gives a presentation on their hospital and all of the work done during the month) so that we could give them to our BMET Boaz, as well as the Director General of the hospital. We decided to test the oxygen concentrator that we put sealant on since it had dried over night. THANK THE LORD the machine got up to 100% concentration which is incredible. Boaz had us clean two different ultrasound machines as the spare parts for them were coming in soon. We also talked a lot to Boaz about our secondary project and how we were going to get it done. We have a budget of $200 between the group so we concluded on 2 different projects. The first and main project we are doing was suggested by Boaz. This includes getting cloths to cover the big medical devices that are stored in the maintenance workshop, either getting repaired or waiting for spare parts. The tailor came today to measure the equipment, and the cloths will be ready by next week! We also are considering getting tags for each cloth so the device can be labeled and the BMET knows what is under each cloth. The second project consists of making a play area for the pediatric unit. We are going to make a zebra and giraffe put of tires and paint, so the area will have a more playful feel for the kids. We talked to the head of transportation at the hospital and he has spare tires for us to use so we will only have to pay for paint and some piping. We cleaned a few more spare parts for the ultrasound machine and went to lunch. Amanda and I wandered around the modern market for lunch and found some cheap sambusas and chapatti and fried chapatti so we were satisfied. We then found Amanda a white top for a wedding she is going to this weekend so our lunch trip was a success. After lunch we cleaned the 3 oxygen concentrators that are fixed so that we could take them to the pediatric area. When we finished cleaning them, we went with Boaz to optometry to fix a few split lamps that were broken. One was an easy printer paper jam, that was easily fixed. Next was a burnt bulb, so an easy fix but we do not have that bulb on hand and is hard to find. We found it on Amazon for $80 so if we have money left over at the end we may get it for the hospital with our stipend. The last was a headlamp and we found that the light wasn’t lighting due to a poor connection on a wire that was already taped up. We removed the tape and soldered the connection together. When we tested the connections there was voltage running through everything and the bulb had continuity but the bulb still did not light up. We were very confused as to what was wrong with the headlamp/bulb so I we are going to see if we have a replacement bulb to see if that works. I recorded everything down in the work summary document and then we headed home. I grabbed some water for the week and the store on the way back, and a Citron Fanta to have with dinner. I showered, and chilled for a little bit then Amanda and I made some dinner. Tonight our meal consisted of vegetables (onions, green peppers, carrots, and green beans) and pasta with a garlic butter type sauce. After dinner, Amanda and I played cards and talked for a while before heading off to our rooms where I finished the night in #selfcare mode.

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July 10, 2019

Wednesday: This week is flying by so quickly my goodness! This morning when we got to work we headed to the pediatric unit where we were given 3 nebulizer and a suction pump to work on. During our time working there was this mentally ill lady that came into the room we were working in and was trying to hang out with us. She kept saying she was looking for her shoes but she had them on. She would then proceed to show us her toe that was all mangled and gross. She left and then came back topless, the security guard finally got her situated but that was very entertaining and made work more eventful. Once we finished the devices, we headed to eat lunch back at our house. I opted for a PB&J sandwich, a banana and passion fruit. When we got back to the hospital after lunch we grabbed a capnograph from the ICU to work on. The problem was that it was not reading the CO2 levels correctly, we tried to fix it but could find nothing wrong with the device internally. We asked Boaz for help and he was stumped too so we are going to continue tomorrow. We didn’t get a chance to talk to the Director General yet about our secondary project so we are hoping to do that tomorrow. After work Amanda and I headed over to Crema to get coffee and a snack. It is open till 8pm today because they have burger night which looked incredible and am going to come back next week and get one. When I got home from Crema, Jean Claude was at our house! Jean Claude was the original BMET at Ruhengeri but is on leave for an UN Mission. He still has been in contact with us as he is the main contact for our stay in Musanze but we hadn’t met him yet. We got a chance to talk to him at our house for a little bit then he invited us out to dinner. We went to the Fatima Hotel and had dinner and drinks there. We stayed for a super long time talking about school, his work, our work and our lives. We had an incredible time with him and are super sad that we won’t get to see him again. Jean Claude also set up for us to have dinner at the Fatima two more times before we leave so we are going again tomorrow night and our last night in Musanze. A stand up man for sure!

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July 11, 2019

Thursday: Today again was a pretty normal day, but today my hands were DISGUSTING from the equipment cleaner we had been using. My hands were peeling and super dry so I made a pledge that I would not clean machines today. When we got to work we were given 3 different fetal dopplers to fix so we worked on those in the morning as well as into the afternoon. Today we also had a change to go talk to the General Director about our secondary project and get his approval. It was reassuring to finally get approval so we could start on our tire project on Monday. The cloths should be in next week too, so everything is coming together with the secondary project. Lunch again today was PB&J but we ran out of bread that morning so we took the peanut butter and jelly with us to town and got some croissants for the sandwich. We sat down at Migano’s to eat these and the nice waiter brought us plates and napkins for us to eat on! So kind. After work I showered and did some laundry and packed before the weekend started. Then for dinner we got our second free dinner from Jean Claude at Fatima. Tonight, I got rabbit and some wine. INCREDIBLE MEAL!  When the rabbit came out we were shocked because there was enough food to feed 5 people on the platter, but I took some home and will eat it for leftovers on Monday night! We got home pretty late after dinner so I finished packing up my bag for the weekend and then went to bed.

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July 12, 2019

Friday: This week flew by so quickly oh my goodness! Since we had no more bread/breakfast items at the house, Amanda and I went to Crema for breakfast this morning. We both made it to our free drinks, BOOYAH! I got a spicy mocha, and a rolex (chapati omelette) which both very much hit the spot. We got to work and decided on a plan for our secondary project. There was not much to do in the maintenance workshop so we went to town to buy all of our parts. It took way longer than we anticipated as people tend to move slow here, but glad we got it all done so we can start working on it. When we got back to the office there wasn’t much to do so Boaz told us to go to lunch, which consisted of going to an African Buffet. After we ate we stopped by a sambusa shop to get ourselves snacks for the Kigali bus ride. When we got back to work there still was not much to do so we decided to start sanding our pipes and gluing parts together. Today was superrrrr slow. Not a ton of fun, and my phone battery died the fastest it has ever had. The day was over and Amanda and I headed to the bus stop. We hopped on a 4:30 bus to Kigali and were on our way. When we made it to Kigali we had a freaking terribly long cab ride back to IPRC (50 minutes, RIP) because there was classic afternoon traffic. All the girls that came went to our cult favorite, Best Bar for fish brochettes and chips. We were all super tired so we headed home after dinner.

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July 13, 2019

Saturday: I was abruptly awoken at around 8am to this dang rooster that our Kigali host family had apparently recently purchased. Laura and I tried to sleep in a little bit but were too irritated by the rooster so we went to La Mane for coffee and a pastry for breakfast. We stayed at La Mane for quite a while and journaled and talked. It was super nice to talk to her about life and everything that’s been going on. For lunch we grabbed chicken pies from Simba, oh my lord so good I’m very upset I hadn’t had one earlier. Then a group of us went to Kimironko which is a big market where we bought lots of crafts and gifts for our family, friends and ourselves. For dinner we went to Meze Fresh and got a fat burrito… so good, I needed that in my life. It was our friend Maya’s birthday earlier this week so we went out to the club to celebrate! We went to a new place called Fushia, and it was so fun and we stayed out wayyy too late but it was worth it for her!! On our way home we stopped at Milanova and grabbed some chocolate croissants, again so good. My sleep was short that night but ya know it be like that.

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July 14, 2019

Sunday: The rooster made a wakeup call again which was no fun. I got ready for the day, packed up, and went to another homestay to steal some of their breakfast food since ours wasn’t providing food that weekend. We hung out for a good portion of the morning at their house, talking and chilling. Maya found a cool coffee shop in town called Kigali Art Café so we went to that for coffee and lunch. We stayed there for a crazy long time, due to us talking a lot but also a good African time example of the bill being way more complicated than it should have been. From there we went to the bus stop to get back to Musanze. When Amanda and I made it home we grabbed some bread and water, and then made some dinner. My dinner consisted of my Bolognese leftovers from last week and some more pasta on top of that. It was so nice not to cook. I then took the most incredible shower since I have been in Africa and it was a fantastic end to the night.

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July 1, 2019

Monday: Today we had off from work because it was Independence Day (wohoo) so we were still in Kigali in the morning. We woke up at our old homestays house and had breakfast with them! Yum, I missed some good African tea. Laura and I played a few games of cards with Marina which was super fun. We got our squad together went to Simba, got lots of fun food because it’s cheaper at Simba than in Musanze. Then we headed to Millanova to grab some chaptati and sambusa for lunch and then headed to the bus station. Amanda and I got on the bus to Kigali, got good seats and a good snack. When we got back to Musanze we stopped by Migano’s to get a loaf of bread and the place smelled INCREDIBLE! Bad news, when I arrived home I had to check for bed bugs because my bug bites were not promising. Sadly, I found a guy but he was dead and there was only one bug. I changed my sheets and called my coordinator and let them know what was going on. They are going to send people to come clean our house tomorrow to get the bugs away. Amanda and I washed some laundry, and then went to a fun Korean place for dinner. We were pleasantly surprised with FREE BOTTLED WATER, a commodity for sure, and this interesting appetizer platter. It was weird but yum. For my meal I got a dumpling soup and it was exquisite. The soup was piping hot and had the perfect amount of spice to it, and I was really pleased. There was even a ton left over that I got to take home for dinner tomorrow night. After dinner, I tried to shower at home because I really needed to wash my hair. Don’t worry my body was just recently washed but my hair was in rough shape. Unlucky girl right here, there were only droplets of water… both hot AND cold. I was upset, and there was just enough to get my hair damp. I opted to just try in the morning, and went to bed.

July 2, 2019

Tuesday: The day started off in a bad light as when I got up to shower, ABSOLUTELY NO WATER! How rude. And get this… UNLUCKY! About 30 minutes after I tried to shower (and way to late to shower) there was plenty of water and hot. My hair went in a bun for the day and it was honestly the worst it has ever been. Oil training is empowering, right ladies? Anyway had my classic bread, jempy, and bananas for breakfast and headed to work. At the beginning of work, we tried to work on the infant warmer that was still broken from Thursday and we were still having a hard time so we switched over to working on our secondary project proposals which now contains many ideas, and Boaz gave us some too so we have lots to work with! Then Boaz needed to go fix the electricity wires in the Laboratory so we went with him. It was so cool as we had to climb a nice tall ladder to get into the attic and walked on the “trees” lol just pieces of wood. We didn’t do much but it was really fun to watch and Boaz does a good job of explaining what is going on and what he is doing. For lunch Amanda and I ventured to a new restaurant called La Poillete to get some bakery goods of you guessed it, chapatti and sambusa. Amanda got a chocolate croissant which was honestly so dangerous. They heat it up for you in the wood fired oven and speechless so good. We went back to work after lunch and tried to work more on the infant warmer. We got a little further by finding a corroded battery but that didn’t seem to help either. We worked on a pulse oximeter too which was a good break. Then Boaz showed us all of these new tools that he has that helps him test different machines and such. After work, I went home and all of our mattresses and sheets were in the lawn drying #thanks bed bugs so the cleaning people were still working. But I got a kit kat and was satisfied. Then I got a nice shower, warm and powerful. So thankful. I unpacked all of my clothes (we had to pack up due to the cleaners) and made my bed again. For dinner I reheated my dumpling soup, and equally as good the night after. Very satisfied with my meals for the day. I then headed out to Migano’s to get some tea and call my parentals, journal and read. It was a much needed me day and very thankful to spend some time on my own. I freaking am in awe of Musanze and all of the vibes it has given me. The peaceful streets, quaint shops, local shops, very western shops, the hospital, the market and everything in between are giving my heart the opportunity to become its best self. I honestly can’t say I have felt more at home anywhere, than how I felt today. A big milestone, and maybe a huge sign that I will be back. Musanze you have my heart, thank you for being you. And very safe, I enjoy walking alone (sorry mom), exploring and listening to some music. Also, the fact that I can leave my laundry out at night is a god send. I geek okay guys.

July 3, 2019

Wednesday: I woke up for the day well rested and refreshed from my night of self reflecting. Headed to work for another day of fun. We were running a tad late, but God was on our side as Boaz was not there but in Kigali running some errands. The oxygen plant director took us around and showed us all the ins and outs of the oxygen plant, and how the oxygen cylinders were used around the hospital. It was very interesting to see their system on oxygen distribution, especially since the oxygen plant is very useful for the hospital in general. Most hospitals do not have oxygen plants, so they have to rely on an external supply and oxygen concentrators. When we were done with our tour we took a short break and then started to work on a few oxygen concentrators that were broken in the maintenance workshop. We got one fixed and then went to lunch. Today we went home for lunch and made some PB&J’s #yum and ate some bananas. I told our friend Gad at the hospital that I would give him chocolate (a big mistake because he didn’t forget) so he followed us home to grab his KitKat. Oh well, I will just get a new KitKat for myself! After lunch Amanda and I went back to work but Alodie was not feeling well so she stayed home to rest. Back at work we fixed 4 more oxygen concentrator and tried to fix a broken table, but the table was not having any luck. Sad! Overall, it was a very productive and empowering day at the office, especially since Boaz was not there. We took good initiative and were successful in our endeavors. After work, we went home and I ate some candy (typ, I eat terribly unhealthy things for snacks here…), cleaned my undergarments, and rinsed off from the day. Then all 3 of us headed to the kitchen to make some rice and veggies. A very good dinner and lots of fun hanging out in the kitchen listening to music and cooking. After dinner we made some tea and popcorn and went into our respected rooms to watch tv or movies. I went to watch Black Mirror, and then read and journal. It was such a relaxing night and I was in my freaking element.

July 4, 2019

Thursday: Happy July 4^th! Happy Independence Day America! Happy Liberation Day Rwanda! So today is a holiday in both of my homes so we did not have work today! I got to sleep in for a LONG time today, and truly the first time that has ever happened. I woke up to birds chirping quite loudly but it was a really nice awakening. I went out to wash the rest of my clothes, and now they are all washed so I won’t have to do lots of laundry for a while now that were in Musanze except for scrubs mostly. Then Amanda and I headed off to our second favorite place, Migano’s to get a French Toast breakfast, and I also got a fried egg and African Tea. Bless up! We sat there for a while catching up on life and the internet life and self reflection. I then went to the modern market to see if I could find a tailor to make a dress for me out of the fabric I had left from Kigali. I found a nice lady on the top floor, and I think it was her young daughter who spoke a little bit of English that helped her. Overall, I had to use basically all of the Kinyarwanda that I knew to get the dress and bags how I wanted them and INCREDIBLE she said I could pick them up tomorrow! After I conquered the tailor, I walked around town to see if I could find anything exciting, and I found tons of small little food places that I want to try in the coming weeks. Major success. Then I met up with Amanda again and we went to the Dian Fossey exhibit and learned about her conservation efforts and the gorillas in the Virunga’s (the mountains in Musanze). After the exhibit we stopped by Crema because I was desperately craving their granola. So wonderful, I am going to try to get the recipe before I leave. Once we got back home I chilled out and watched a movie on Netflix and worked with Amanda on trying to plan our adventure to Kibuye this weekend. Once it was all figured out, we showered, made some pasta for dinner, and went to our rooms to pack and watch more movies! We love our movies in Musanze, so relaxing and a good end to the day.

July 5, 2019

Friday: As normal I woke up around 6:45 to get ready for work, but this morning I awoke to a text from Boaz saying that the President extended Liberation Day so we would not be going to work AGAIN! A solid 2 day work week, so crazy. So I went back to bed for a while longer to rest up for the weekend. I got up, ate some bread and drank some tea while reading my book on the porch. It was nice to have a slow morning and listen to the birds chirp. Amanda and I got our bags packed for the weekend in Kibuye then we headed to town. We got akabenzi (fried prok) for lunch, and always took forever, but very good and worth it! I then went back to the tailor to get my bags and dresses. It was much more crowded than yesterday so it took a long time to find her and when we did she wasn’t done with the bags. She said 10 minutes so we walked around for little bit browsing and it still wasn’t done so we decided to come back on Sunday. Disappointed I didn’t have my items, but ready to get on the bus to Kibuye. We hopped on the bus and it took a lot longer than expected which was a bummer, but we had good seats so it worked out. I also purchases a sambusa from the window because I was starving, and I was very satisfied by it. We arrived in Kibuye around 7:30 and met up with everyone at the hotel. Some of the people that arrived earlier had already ordered their dinner so we went to the gas station down the road to get some snacks for dinner. We hung out in the hotel restaurant for the rest of the night and caught up.

July 6, 2019

Saturday: At the hotel we were staying in a dormitory style area, so a big room with tons of bunk beds, and a bathroom with a few showers. A few of us got up at 5:45am to watch the sunrise over the lake as the accommodation was right on Lake Kivu. It was pretty cloudy in the morning so the sunrise wasn’t as awesome as we thought it would be, but still very much pretty! I then went back to sleep for a few hours before breakfast. Breakfast in the morning was a huge buffet, and they made all different kinds of eggs that were wonderful. Sad news for me was that I wasn’t feeling too great so I did not eat as much as I wanted. I took some medicine before we went out on the lake for the day which helped a little bit. We headed out to our boat at 9:30am and it was not what anyone really expected. Pictures are below of the boat, and the way the seats were made it hard to see everyone so I would have to turn around and it also did not go very fast but the water and cold wind felt incredible. There were three islands that the boat took us too on Lake Kivu, Monkey Island, one with lots of bats lol (I can’t remember the name) and Peace Island. Monkey Island is supposed to have monkeys but apparently, they come out mostly early in the morning so we did not see any, sad day. The next island was pretty big and tall, and our boat guy took us up to the very top. None of us were expecting a hike, especially in bathing suits and chacos but it was an experience. There were TONS of bats on our hike which bombarded us and was incredible to see them so close up in huge numbers like that. When we got to the top, it was a spectacular view of Lake Kivu and a nice break from the hike we were not ready for. Peace Island was the last island we went too and consisted of our time to swim in the lake. Not much went on with the swimming except for normal lake shenanigans in the water. I hadn’t had the opportunity to swim since being in Rwanda so being in the water was a really nice change of pace. After our boat tour on Lake Kivu we were starving so we went to get some brochettes and chips from a bar close to the dock. Africa time really came out this afternoon as it took about 2 hours to get our 13 meat and chip meals. Should not have taken that long but ya know typical. The time spent waiting for our food was a tough one but nice to sit and talk to the squad. When we finally got back to the hotel there was no running water for showers so we just changed and then sat outside in the chairs by the lake talking and chilling out. For dinner we walked to another hotel in Kibuye, that was WAY farther (45 minute walk) than we thought but their restaurant also had an awesome view of the lake and was so nice. I got some citron fanta and the curry. That night also consisted of us sitting by the lake and talking till we started to fall asleep.

July 7, 2019

Sunday: We had a chance to sleep in a little bit this morning as check out was not until 10. Our morning was pretty much just waking up, packing up, and getting to the bus stop. Once we got back in Musanze it was about 3:30 and Amanda and I had a few errands to run. We headed to the market to get some fruit and vegetables, and we went without Alodie this time and honestly did a stellar job and did it quick. We then got our bread and a snack (chocolate croissant YUM) from La Poillete which is a bakery/restaurant in town. We have been getting our loafs at different places each week so we shall see how this loaf compares to the others! Then we headed to the modern market so I could pick up my tailored clothing and Amanda needed to go to the ATM. My tailor was there which was a surprise as it was pretty empty since it was getting late for a Sunday. However, she had only made one bag and the dress when I had asked for 2 bags. I tried to tell her that I would not pay her the amount originally said which was very difficult to communicate since she didn’t speak English, which was super frustrating. I gave her a little less than originally said but overall, I got gipped. I am super happy with my dress and bag that I do have but not what I paid! For dinner tonight we went to Volcano Lounge since they were closed last Monday when we tried to go. I got a Hawaiian pizza which smacked on all sorts of levels. It was a big splurge day due to the tailor situation and the pizza, but I am going to bed full and happy tonight!

June 24, 2019

Monday: Today was our first day in the hospital and our first full day in our house! We woke up in the morning around 6:45 to get to Ruhengeri Hospital at 8am. The walk to the hospital is around a 18-25 minute walk depending on how fast we walk. However, today was a harder walk as we had to carry our toolkit and we were wearing our business casual attire. The walk is generally pretty nice, and we pass a lot of fun places and our favorite coffee shop Crema. We arrived at the maintenance area and got introduced to Boaz, the head of maintenance at Ruhengeri. The original BMET Jean Claude, is on leave as he is working with the UN for a year. Boaz took us on a tour of the hospital, we met the director of the hospital and got acquainted with the huge campus. Lots of the hospitals in Africa are many different buildings, one for each department, with green areas in the middle and Ruhengeri is no different. I love the different feel from the American hospitals which can be very depressing and cold, as the greenery and sunlight while walking around the hospital campus is refreshing. Our tour was over and we started to work on the inventory. EWH requires us to take inventory the first few days/week at the hospital to get familiar with the departments and equipment that the hospital has. This is also good information to use to base a “need report” off of, as if a hospital has lots of equipment that is usable but not being used, then less equipment could be sent and in return sent somewhere else. At noon we took about an hour and a half break for lunch and ate at the hospital canteen. It was a classic Rwandan buffet, and was relatively cheap. The rest of the day was spent doing inventory in the maintenance workshop and we got really worn out as we stayed in the same room all day writing down serial numbers of dusty equipment, rip. At 4pm we got off of work and headed to town to go to the market. We went to a “super market” and got some essentials such as toilet paper, soap, laundry detergent, Nutella, Blue Band (butter kinda), milk and some other things. Then we ventured off to the isoko (market) where the vendors are selling fruits, vegetables, rice, beans, eggs, clothes, shoes, soap and anything you can imagine. We got some potatoes, eggs, green peppers, onions, avocados, cooking oil, and rice. Best local experience I have had in my 5 weeks that I’ve been here and I can’t wait to go back and explore. We took a taxi home, sat down and rested for a little bit. Once we felt better rested I made some tea and then we stepped into the kitchen and made some dinner!! Our first family dinner, it was so fun! I made some eggs with green peppers, onions, and avocado which was yummy and simple. Alodie made some chips and Amanda made some popcorn. A really good balance of all the different food groups for sure! After dinner we cleaned up and headed to bed as we have a super early morning tomorrow.

June 25, 2019

Tuesday: Today was an incredible day as I feel like I am starting to get used to being in Musanze and less sad I’m not in Kigali. I woke up at 5:40am as we needed to be at the hospital at 7:15 for our staff meeting. I made myself a good breakfast of some tea, and a sweet roll with Nutella and bananas! We have so much fruit in our house (bananas, passion fruit, and tree tomatoes) so I have had lots of that! We got walking to the hospital and made it right on time to the meeting, but Africa time… and it didn’t start till around like 7:45. They did a quick sermon/prayer and then went through different things going on in the hospital. 98% of it was in Kinyarwanda so it was hard to stay awake during it honestly. They introduced us as students from the USA, wohoo represent, and we said hi and explained why we are here. The meeting concluded and we got to work on inventory for the rest of the day. Today was better for inventory as we went to some of the different departments and it was much more slow paced. Inventory was also nice because Boaz walked around with us to introduce us to the department heads and staff and show us where the equipment all was. Boaz is super knowledgeable and I really enjoy him. He doesn’t know much English so we are all trying super hard to communicate but it has already gotten better in one day so I’m excited to see our relationship begin to grow. For lunch Amanda and I went to Crema and got some bagel sandwiches and coffee to combat our early wake up call. We sat outside and it was really nice and a peaceful lunch. The day finished off with more inventory and will probably do that for the rest of the week. After work we tried to find this bakery to get a loaf of bread, we went to the wrong place and ended up in a back of a restaurant but ended up getting some bread that looks good so I consider it a win. Alodie and Amanda were tired and went home but I continued to walk home and explore. I found a few small markets around our house and a water jug place which we desperately need #hydrate! I wasn’t really feeling like cooking tonight, but Alodie made us a meal so I am very thankful for that. While she was cooking I washed my business casual clothes from Monday that got pretty dirty, and the rinse water was gross so I hope they are clean! We ate dinner, then I made some tea and called a few people. After calling some of my family, I showered, read and went to bed.

June 26, 2019

Wednesday: Today started off pretty laggy as I was incredibly tired for some reason. When I got out of bed I had realized that I had gotten quite a few mosquito bites which was not fun. I made myself some avocado bread and got ready for the day. Today at work consisted of more inventory, but one of the departments that we visited was the neonatal department and the NICU which was an experience in itself. The babies in the NICU were the smallest I had ever seen, and they were desperately grasping on for life. My heart and prayers went out to all the mothers at Ruhengeri and around the world that are dealing with their child in the NICU. The babies all had bandaids/tape either on their bellies or forehead with their information because the hospitals don’t have a medical bracelet system from what I have seen. For lunch Amanda and I went to a restaurant in the town called Isange BF. It was surprisingly such large portions (we ordered a chicken leg and veggies) and also got a soup and rice with our meal. I then needed to try to exchange my money as I was running out of cash but was having a hard time finding a forex bureau and/or bank that exchanged money so I resorted in using the ATM. And of course the first ATM I used didn’t work but I got it on the second the one I visited. I will definitely be exchanging when I go back to Kigali two weekends from now. After lunch, Rachel our coordinator came and visited us at the hospital. She walked around with us while we did inventory which was a good relief and fun time. We all went home, including Rachel and hung out for a little bit before dinner. While Rachel is here she gets to take us out to dinner, whoop, so we decided to go to a restaurant called Migano’s and man was it good! I got some lemon ginger tea to start, then got a fish dish that consisted of tilapia with lemon garlic and simmered in a coconut and tomato kind of sauce. The meal came with 2 sides and I got egg fried rice, and parsley potatoes! The most refreshing thing I have had in awhile. We also got to have dessert so we opted for the ice cream sundae with cappuccino, chocolate and vanilla ice cream. We enjoyed the cappuccino and chocolate the best as the vanilla had a strong taste of strawberry and was a little but off putting. Overall, great night and good talks with Rachel.

June 27, 2019

Thursday: Today was an incredible day for us in so many different ways! The morning started a little bit early, but we wanted to take Rachel to our favorite coffee shop, Crema, before work. At Crema I ordered granola and yogurt for breakfast and a cortado to drink, again the best thing I have had in awhile. The granola to yogurt ratio was impeccable and it was nice to feel like I had been eating some what healthy. And the cortado was served in this adorable mug that looked like one from a specialty market, so cute. We got to work and Amanda typed up the rest of our inventory from Wednesday. Boaz still wasn’t there yet so we started brainstorming secondary project ideas for our hospital. We decided on two different ideas that we really like, and have solid plans for them so we are so excited to put them in action in the next few weeks. For those of you who don’t know, our main task in Musanze is to repair medical equipment but we also have a secondary project to fulfill. Our project has a budget of $100 per person and can consist of anything that can benefit the hospital or community in some way. We decided that the pediatric ward was looking a little sad and that we wanted to add a few different play options for the kids that are there. Once Boaz came to the office we decided to stop inventory and open some equipment. We started working on an infant warmer which had a broken control board. The control board was an easy fix, however once we fixed it the heating element would turn off on its own after about 5 minutes. This is not good as the infant warmer needs to stay at a constant temperature for a long period of time to control the babies temperature. We kept trying different solutions to fix the problem and we haven’t figured it out yet. There is a piece that if it wiggles will turn the device back on so we are going to clean and reseed it tomorrow morning and hopefully that will work. For lunch today we found another self serve buffet with a good variety of food and also cheap. Then Amanda and I went to the bus station to try and figure out our weekend trip, we somewhat succeeded but will see tomorrow. Then I found a store with fun wind breakers and caved and bought one for myself. Definitely did not need it but I bargained well so it was too hard to walk away. We went back to work on the infant warmer then went home and showered. We needed gas and some avocados for dinner tonight and our nice security guard went and got it for us! So kind Jean Paul! We all took a rest before getting to cook dinner. For dinner I made Amanda and I some eggs with peppers, onions, and avocado with a side of some avocado toast, we love a good avoca! I made some tea to accompany my dinner, it was incredible. I will be a tea fiend when I get back, sorry friends and family. After dinner, I went straight to bed as it has been such an exhausting and draining week, but so beeping grateful for the week I have had. It has been so different. From the change of pace, scenery, encounters, relationships, and responsibilities, I have learned so much about who I am as a person and how I can adapt to the sudden shift of lifestyle for the second time. I am so pumped as tomorrow is FRIYAY, and we are leaving work right after lunch because we are traveling this weekend. Amanda and I are going to meet up and stay with some of our friends in Butare, go to the canopy walk then go to Kigali and stay in an AirBnB for the weekend. Monday is Independence Day in Rwanda so none of us are going to work Monday so we are most likely going to stay in Kigali till Monday morning! It will be a nice, refreshing weekend as we will get to see a majority of our friends and be in a familiar area once again.

June 28, 2019

Friday: Friday morning was a little rough for the Musanze house as both Amanda and I had very upset stomachs. Our BMET Boaz decided that we shouldn’t come into to work as we were going to leave at noon anyway. This gave us an opportunity to rest and start to feel better before the weekend. After taking some medicine and another 2 hour nap, I felt ready to conquer the day. We went to Crema for lunch and I got a chocolate and banana smoothie so yum! After Crema we went to the bus station and hopped on a bus to Kigali and then a bus from Kigali to Butare. The bus station situation was very interesting to learn how to do but it was super easy, and the workers at the bus stop were super helpful. Our bus to Kigali was interesting as we were the last ones on the bus so we had the “private jet” seat which is the one that folds down in the middle. Not comfortable at all, but it wasn’t horrible for only a 2 hour drive. The bus to Butare was a lot better as we got food at the Kigali bus station, exchanged money, and got good seats on the bus. We made it into Butare after a long day of travel at about 8:30pm and met with our friends staying there, Kali and Kaylee. We went to a bar/resto place (usually just a typical Rwandan buffet) and got some food as we were super hungry. The rest of our friends came into Butare at about 9:30pm and they met up with us at the resto. It was INCREDIBLE to see so many of the people I had spent the last month with, even though we hadn’t even been gone a week from each other a reunion was much needed. We went back to the hotel and went into one room and talked until the wee hours of the night.

June 29, 2019

Saturday: There were 10 of us in Butare for the day but 6 of us got up at 6am to go to the canopy walk in Nyungwe National Park, which is about a 2 hour drive from Butare. Before we headed out we got breakfast at the hotel which was so nice as I had not had African Tea, or an Rwandan omelette in awhile! We got in the car and drove toward the park. It was a very scenic drive and going into the park you could see chimps every few minutes on the side of the road! When we got to the front desk they informed us the canopy walk was closed due to construction, sad! But we went on a different hike, which was honestly probably better than the canopy walk and cheaper. We started our hike and it was very peaceful, with the sound of the birds chirping, the wind rustling the leaves and a slight drizzle; it was one of my favorite walks. After our hike, we went to a guest house that was right outside the park for lunch. We were stoked as the restaurant was at the top of the hill and had astonishing views of the surrounding villages. I got some citron fanta, and pasta and ended the meal very satisfied. THEN, the waiter came by with a nice juice for all of us that was incredible enough that we got the recipe to make back at home. Picture below, credit of Gabriella Smith!! After lunch, we rushed back to the hotel, packed and headed back to the bus stop as we decided to rent an airBNB in Kigali for the night. Our bus to Kigali was the best bus we had been on, our hearts are now pledged to Horizon Bus Company! We reached Kigali, got to our mini mansion and INCREDIBLE. The pictures on the website did not do the house justice. For dinner we just had snacks and some sambuusa and chapatti, which tided us over. For the night we just hung out in the mansion and had so much fun!

June 30, 2019

Sunday: In the morning we all gradually woke up, and all ended up congregating on the balcony and having some good conversations to tea and bread. We departed the house at around 11:30 to go to lunch at the rooftop Camellia which had an incredible view. That has been a common theme of this weekend. After lunch we went to the cinema and saw Toy Story 4, almost made me cry. So wholesome and pure! After the movie, Laura and I went back to our original home stay in Kigali. It was so nice getting to see Marina and Macheta and have dinner with them! Then we went to karaoke and ended off the night in bed!

Monday and Tuesday: This past Monday and Tuesday were our ‘almost’ last day of classes where everything was still ‘normal’. As always we had Kinyarwanda from 8:30-12 and lecture/lab from 1:30-5ish but on these days it was particularly easy! The final days of Kinyarwanda consisted of us conducting our own lessons and teaching the class what we had learned, and really long breaks! What a blessing. Monday after class consisted of a pre-organized EWH soccer match, that surprisingly got really competitive and didn’t start well but then ended in a fun game! Tuesday after class, Maya and I went to Question Coffee and again it did not disappoint.

Wednesday: Wednesday morning did not start off well as I took my malaria medicine before breakfast and then my stomach decided that it did not like that. So instead of going to the first hour of Kinyarwanda, I decided to stay in bed. When I decided to get up to go to class, it had already been dismissed and the squad decided to play a competitive game of soccer on the soccer field. I had already put some more food and another dose of malaria medication in my body so I was feeling good and ready to play!! So much fun as some IPRC students refed our match. After the game a few of us went to lunch at La Mane, a coffee shop/bakery nearby. For lecture and lab today, we went on a ‘spare part scavenger’ hunt which consisted of our teams going into town to find different spare parts that we may need in our second month in our hospitals. This scavenger hunt was so stressful as there were not many shops and 30 students trying to ask for the same items, however it was helpful to know what to look for in the shops and affirmed that it was easy to find what we may need.

Thursday: As always, Thursdays consist of hospital visits and this one was no different. Our group went to CHUK hospital, toured and got to repair different medical equipment. This week Amanda and I worked on a patient monitor. The BMET (Biomedical Engineering Technician) originally said the button needed to be fixed but in reality, we replaced pretty much the whole system. After reseeding the button, we found that the blood pressure measurements were not working but the pO2 levels were. As Amanda and I tried to trouble shoot the problem, we replaced the whole circuit related to the BP as well as the paneling. This issue took such a long time to troubleshoot but we finally succeeded in finishing the machine and the BMET got us to fill out the forms to send it out to the floor. It was an incredible experience that really affirmed my knowledge in what I am about to do next month, and I am so thankful that this week at CHUK happened. This is what I wrote for my scholarship ‘end of month’ reflection and I think it is applicable “Ending my fourth week in Kigali, the growth I have encountered in my classes and in the local hospitals has been astonishing. The first week of class we visited Kibagabaga hospital to take a tour of the hospital and work on trouble shooting damaged medical equipment. Going into the hospital on our first Thursday I was scared as though I felt like I had no training or knowledge on how to fix anything. During the time in Kibagabaga that first Thursday affirmed me that I can be successful in repairing medical equipment and that my trouble shooting opinions are valued. The next three Thursday of hospital visits were more personal and I was able to fix more and more medical equipment. This past Thursday at CHUK hospital, our group fixed 2 different patient monitors and put them back on the floor to be used that day by doctors. The scared and afraid McKenzie of week one is now confident in her abilities and excited to immerse herself into Ruhengeri hospital for the next 5 weeks.” Thursday night we went back to Kigali Heights and Riders lounge to get buy one get one free pizzas! Again so yum, also got a scoop of gelato as you know that I cannot resist a good scoop of ice cream.

Friday: Our last day of class was so sad and so surreal! John only made us take his teacher evaluation in class and then we went outside to play games. We played games, took pictures, and made a 4 level human pyramid for about an hour and then we decided to end Kinyarwanda for the day. A few of us went to the market and Justine and I bargained our way into copping some Rwandan soccer jerseys, SCORE in so many good ways. Justine and I went to lunch at the on campus canteen and had our last 500 RWF meal and a good citron Fanta before lecture. Lecture just consisted of Rachel (our coordinator) and Dr. Moreno giving us tips for our second month and letting us reorganize our toolkits. After class, we went to the Ubumwe Hotel for dinner as a group and had an INCREDIBLE time! I got a good gnocchi dish, a good view of the city, a lots of laughs with my friends. Afterward we went to a place called Coccobean to finish off the night! Friday was one of my most favorite nights in Kigali and I am so thankful for all of the memories we made that night and the past 4 weeks together.

Saturday: Our last full day and very sensi! I got up early to wash my undergarments and then went to brunch with my dad and his students. They were leaving that day to go back to America so it was good to see him one last time. I had brought him his 2 gifts of ties and coasters and OF COURSE, I brought him my roommate Laura’s coasters. When I got back home I realized this and had to go to Kigali Heights to meet one of his students to exchange coasters. There was a silver lining in this mess as I got a chance to have a final gelato and sit and relax on my own at the gelato shop. When I got back home I played the rest of the day with our house kids, Marina and Machetta, the time we had Saturday was so intentional and I cherished it a lot. Our last dinner consisted of our classic Rwandan meal of beef, rice, chips, and green banana; a good final end to our time at IPRC. That night Laura and I went back to La Mane, drank some coffee, journaled, read and talked. I had an incredible time with her that night and will miss our intentional talks over books, coffee and tea.

Sunday: Cue the tears because they were very real. Woke up this morning to Zumba happening at the soccer fields as it was ‘car free day’ where they encourage movement and sports in the morning. We finished up packing and went to breakfast with the family. We exchanged gifts with our host parents and took lots of cute pictures. Classic, Machetta asked for more games from my phone and made the day even more real. Thomas and his wife took our luggage to the front gate and dropped us off as we waited for our cars to arrive to take us to our respected cities for month 2. As a group we waited for our cars and all of us started to get really emotional as each car started to head out. Eventually, Amanda, Alodie and I got in the RAV4 and set out for Musanze. Around 1pm we arrived at our house and got settled in. We met our house guard Jean Paul and it was so easy to fall in love with our house. We each get our own room with nice full beds, and lots of room to spread out. We have a dining room, kitchen, small tv, and a WARM shower/bathroom for us to share. Then we went out to town to explore and found a super cute coffee shop on the way to the hospital from our house. It is going to be crazy dangerous as they have good coffee, smoothies, pasties, breakfast, lunch and good wifi. A terrible combination for my aesthetic addiction. We then tried to find the super market but got lost so just decided to go home. I unpacked and was so relived to have a ton of room. Amanda and I went to dinner at a place called Volcana Lounge and Alodie stayed in and had a friend over from childhood. Amanda and I got a nice pizza and were very satisfied. As we got home Alodie made chips and soup and let us have some, so good and our first official family dinner!! Got a warm shower, and am going to head in for the night.

Looking ahead: Tomorrow Amanda, Alodie and I start our internships at the Ruhengeri Hospital in Musanze, Rwanda for the next five weeks. We will have 8am-5pm days and work with the BMET Jean Claude. The first few days will consist of meeting the staff at hospital, getting acquainted with the area, and taking inventory on equipment. Once we are comfortable in the hospital we will start working on repairing the medical equipment, a secondary project of our choosing, and tackling their equipment graveyard. I am so excited for all that I will learn this next month and in the hospital, will keep you all updated. For now, n’aho mukanya.   

Hello everyone welcome back! this week was one for the books, lots of fun and crazy adventures for sure.

Monday – Wednesday: Nothing too special happened. We had language class, technical class and lab like normal. Lab actually was very difficult these days as we had this power supply lab where we were making a transformer… it defeated us all. The days ended by going to play soccer and hanging out with the squad.

Thursday: Our lab group went to Muhima hospital and we had the best time! We got to fix two different infant warmers, a pulse oximeter, and a few other devices. It is so rewarding to actually trouble shoot the device, find the problem, and fix something that the BMET staff thought was irreparable. After our day at the hospital we traveled to Kigali Heights and had a good GNO getting gelato and pizza. Emphasis on the gelato. I kid you not, my first ice cream related thing in 3 weeks, I was so lacking and it was so good. Pizza so good and so worth it as it was buy one get one free! My stomach wasn’t a fan of the grease and cheese but ya know YOLO! Then we met up with the boys after to go to an art gallery called Inema for the rest of the night! A baller of a time!

Friday: We were supposed to have language class but our teacher John let us a have a game/free day before we went we went to the Youth Village, so kind of him. Around 1:30 we went to the Agahozo Shalom Youth Village which is a place where students in upper grades, that grew up without parents can come succeed in a loving environment. The students here can stay for up to 4 years. They have family houses with a mom that takes care of them, game days, life skill classes, 3 different major school focuses and much more to help them succeed in their future endeavors. When we were there we put together a pressure sensing kit, an ECG kit, toured the campus, watched the talent concert and had dinner with them. Every student and staff member that we interacted with welcomed us with open arms and were so warm and kind to us. The talent concert was maybe the best thing I have seen in awhile. My favorite things where the fashion show, the modern dance, and the a capella group. The girl in these pictures is Hugette, who I got to work with while I was there. She is such an inspiration, loves chemistry, basketball, and is full of pure joy.

Saturday: Oh man what a day. I need to stop getting up at 4am on Saturdays. But anyway we got up at 4am to go to Volcanoes National Park and hike the Bisoke Crater Lake hike, one of the five volcanoes in Rwanda. I am not kidding when I say this. Hardest thing I have ever done in my life. The SAT does not even compare. We got to the base and we had high hopes for everything when we saw everyone in nice hiking gear, boots and gators as we were rocking our running shoes and tshirts! We had a nice bumpy ride for 40 minutes to the base of the hike, got some walking sticks and were on our way. The first 30 minutes were very nice in a farm land type area and we saw a 2 day old lamb… so beeping adorable!! Then we got to the gate that keeps all the buffalo and gorilla in the park, and we started. For 2ish hours we were in straight mud, and it only got squishier and steeper the more we climbed. Thankfully we had these incredible guides, it was a 1-1 ratio pretty much and Emmy legit saved my life. There was this sketchy little river part, and the guides all had rain boots so they were all in the river and trying to help us across. Didn’t work. I fell in. I tried to get out and it was just not working, I look and felt like a fish out of water. That’s okay though, I got out eventually and we kept going. Our guides were all about getting to the top and we barely took any breaks and I almost cried as I just a few breaks and my shoe kept coming off in the mude. The mud was everywhere and Emmy was pulling me up by the end of trail. But hallelujah we made it to the top, and it was the most rewarding thing ever! Took lots of pics, ate lots of pringles, and laughed a lot. I am so thankful for the girls I went on the hike with as though the hike was so taxing, there was not a single complaint from anyone. We tackled that mountain with joy, laughter and enthusiasm and I am FOREVER grateful for my mushiki’s (sisters)! The way down was very scary, as again it was pure mud and very steep. There’s a part where it is straight rock and has eroded areas where people continually put their feet, so grateful for that honestly. But lets not lie, I fell on my butt a few times. But good news, didn’t fall in the river this time! We ended the hike caked in mud, but with full spirits and citron fanta’s in hand. Will miss those in the states for sure. Our drive back was nice and quiet and our day was incredible, I FREAKING CLIMBED A VOLCANO IN AFRICA!!! I am jealous of myself honestly. Sad note, didn’t have running water when I got back to the house so my hair has not been washed in a week, I have a hard time washing it with the bucket so its just gonna have to wait. But ya know life be like that and the bucket got the mud off my poor ankles so we good.

Sunday: Wow, a jam packed day. We got up and I asked my house lady, Frieda if she could wash my shoes from the hike. She did, an icon! We went to the Kigali Genocide Memorial which was much more modern memorial than the one at the millennium but just as powerful, and maybe more as over 250,000 people were buried on the site. There was a lot included at the memorial about different genocides that have occurred in the past such as Holocaust, Cambodian genocide and a few more. Pictures of the ones lost were hung on wires, and quotes from children that survived the attacks broke my heart. Those kids are heros and know the true meaning of unity in Rwanda. After the memorial a few of us went to lunch, and then to the tailor. I picked up my pants, scrunchies and ties and they were all wonderful! I have so much fabric left so I need to find another tailor in Musanze to make me some more clothing items. Once we left the tailor, we went back home for a little bit and it was CRAZY! At IPRC there is a big football/soccer stadium and they were having a game so we had to run around all the traffic and crazy fans to get to our house. Honestly so dope and fun to see all the energy and excitement for the game just out of our window. Laura (one of my roommates) and I adventured to Question Coffee which is a coffee company fully run by strong and empowering woman. Also so cute and wonderful, it boosted my mood a lot to read, listen to music and drink some good coffee. Went home, washed my under garments (Frieda washes our normal clothes, but all under garments you wash yourself). She has never been there when I have washed my stuff, and I was doing it all wrong… RIP. But she laughed at me a little bit then showed me how, basically doing it all for me. Again, such an icon she deserves all the praises. Made a mistake by doing it at 5pm because the sun sets around 6:15 but glad its done for the week. Supposed to go to karaoke later tonight with some people and their home stays, but it’s been a long day so we shall see.

Conclusion: Ending this post is so bitter sweet because as I look onto this next week I see tons of different emotions, experiences and memories. We have one more week in Kigali, then we will all be traveling to different cities to make HUGE impacts in the rural cities of Rwanda. I am so excited to move slower in these cities, and have some time to breathe and reflect on my own. The relationships I make with the locals the next month will be so rewarding and teach me so much. However, leaving the relationships I have made and the city I have grown so fond of will be very difficult. All of us are going to have to work hard to keep in contact, and make an effort to see each other on the weekend in our different cities or in Kigali. For now, I am living in the present and cherishing my time in class, in my homestay and our quirky adventures as a group. We have freaking full week ahead of soccer scrimmages and a full on competitive game, a supply scavenger hunt, a concert and dinner, and a few more trips to the city center (prayers for gelato)! This time next week I will be settled in Musanze, so in my next post you will probably hear about my travels there and my first day. But I may post again earlier or later than Sunday depending on the wifi situation, as I am going to have to figure that all out all over again tehe.

N’aho mukanya (see you later!)

Hello hello everyone! I am ending out my second week here in Kigali and this marks the halfway point of me being in Kigali as in 2 weeks I will head to Musanze to be stationed at Ruhengeri hospital. This week was interesting as lots of different emotions hit and acclamation to city has really increased. Friendships have strengthened and I have been learning so much about my own personal growth through them. The week was normal with class, playing soccer with our host kids and getting meals but I will explain in more detail below!

Last Sunday we spent the day becoming more culturally aware of Rwanda’s history during and after the genocide in 1994. Our first stop was the genocide memorial which was located in a catholic church where many woman and children were hiding from the oppressors. On the churches exterior you can see the bullet holes used to forcefully enter the area. Inside the church were clothes, items, bones, skulls and coffins of all the victims from the attack on the church. The memorial was one of the most powerful places I have ever visited. Hearing the stories and history of the genocide were more intense than I had previously realized and really gave me a sense of perspective on the knowledge we know about other countries and their history. After the genocide occurred, many of the pastors in churches visited Hutu and Tutsi in jail and at their homes asking for healing and forgiveness of the two groups, and to encourage them live in harmony. For 25 years Rwanda has been extremely community focused and dedicated to healing through interactions and talking. This brings us to our next three stops of the day which are incorporated into the Millennium Village which is village set up to encourage healing and growth. We visited a farm where we were fed lunch of local Rwandan food; rice, beef, potatoes, casava and other vegetables. Next we visited the Women’s Cooperative where the women use the weaving of baskets to spend time to talk about their experiences of the genocide and heal through vocal expression. The women taught us how to weave baskets and we were able to purchase some of their work. Lastly we visited the Millennium Village where 54 families Hutu and Tutsi families live in unison as community. When we arrived we were welcomed with a children’s choir and dancing from the older girls. They were incredibly talented. Then we met the village leaders, and got to hear stories from a man that was an oppressor and a woman who was oppressed during the genocide. We were given the opportunity to ask them questions about their experiences, their answers and stories were truly eye opening about how much they have healed in the past 25 years. They then served us banana wine, and the little girls came out and danced. They finished the day off by getting us to dance with them, my heart was so full from their love, growth and generosity throughout the entire day.

Monday was a normal day of class but Tuesday was Eid al-Fitr which is the end of Ramadan so we didn’t have class on that day. Monday night we went to a place called Best Bar and played some cards and mafia which was a really fun bonding time! Tuesday was amazing as I had the opportunity to see my dad while he is here in Rwanda. We walked around downtown Kigali, and got dinner at Heaven which was a much needed change from my usual food. I got fish tacos *drooling* they were so good. I also got to shower at my dads hotel with hot water and use a hair dryer which was such a luxury that I have been missing.

Wednesday consisted of class like normal, then at night a few of us went downtown to get some clothing made at the tailor! We went to a fabric shop downtown and picked out our desired pattern and took it across the street to a tailor. This lady was a friend of one of my friends house mom that they had previously visited to get stuff made. The tailors areas are pretty hectic and I am glad some people knew what they were doing, and we brought our friend Pascale to translate for us. The hallways are all full of different shops stuffed full of different sewing machines, however we easily found who we wanted. She measured me to make me pants, and a few other things that I got as gifts! Super fun experience.

Thursday is our day to visit the hospitals in Kigali, and this week our group went to King Faisal hospital. This hospital is premier in the country and is a resource for many countries in the surrounding areas. It was really exciting to see all the different equipment and procedures they have in place compared to the past hospitals we visited. Typically our hospital visits are supposed to consist of a quick hospital tour and then we begin to work on equipment that are in the equipment graveyards or broken on the floor of the hospital. However, the BMET at Faisal was supper detailed and informative in our tour so it took the whole day. It was very helpful as he explained many of the different machines, how they worked, and reaffirmed us to make sure we knew how they worked and the common problems they have so that we knew how to fix them. The BMET took us to every part of the hospital, including being able to sit in on a CT scan, MRI scan and into the OT (operating theater). Also super coincidentally I saw my dad and his students touring the hospital as well, such a fun surprise. Thursday ended back at the IPRC campus and was super peaceful. I just called some friends and family, read my book, and journaled. 

Friday was a super normal day of class and not much happened at night other than going to Simba, the grocery store, to get some snacks for Saturday. 

Saturday, by far my most favorite day yet. WE WENT ON A SAFARI! At 5am we headed out to Akagera national park to go on our safari. We were in 3 different safari cars and it took about 2 and a half hours to get to the park. In the park we got to see giraffes, elephants, 12 different species of antelope, baboons, monkeys, hippos, buffalo, water buck, so many birds, zebras, and so much more!! We concluded that zebras are the squirrels of Akagera, there are so freaking many! The safari drive got us all COVERED in dust, and showering last night was such a blessing. Later Saturday night we met up again at a coffee shop and hung out until we needed to be home.

Sunday! Today was super nice and peaceful day. We woke up, had some breakfast, then I went straight back to sleep for another hour. Then my roommate and I washed some clothes and met up with our friends at a craft market. We spent a good amount of time there buying gifts and things for ourselves. We have gotten pretty good at bargaining which is helpful. After that we went and got some burgers and chips at a spot close by, YUM! Taxis were hard to find today and once we did there was a bit of confusion with the driver and the cab but overall a good day. Now I’m writing this post and need to do some textbook reading for the week! TTYL LOVE YALL 

May 25; I departed DFW and man what an adventure. The plane departing DFW was delayed 2 and a half hours and I was gloriously sitting in the middle seat for that time. I really had to pee. Sad. We finally took off and headed to Amsterdam. My layover in Amsterdam was 3 hours, and with the delay I ended up missing my next flight. Thankfully, the lady at the KLM desk was very helpful by getting my flight rescheduled and letting me go through the priority check in/security. The airport was a ZOO at 11am so so thankful I didn’t have to wait. Downside, my new flight took me to Nairobi, Kenya instead of Kigali, Rwanda, where I needed to be that night. So when I landed in Kenya I got myself a hotel room, and a nice shower so I could depart to Rwanda by 6:50 the next morning.

May 27; I landed in Kigali, Rwanda around 8am. Got my visa approved and called the driver to pick me up and take me to class to join the rest of the group. When I got to campus, I was dropped off at Thomas’ house which is the homestay I am living with while in Kigali. Thomas was so excited that I finally made it and joined his new family, so sweet :’) He walked me to class, which is about a 5 minute walk from our house. Everyone was in the middle of Kinyarwanda class, which is the major language spoken in Rwanda. Typical, I got called up to demonstrate legit 5 minutes after I got there and looked like a complete goon. We had Kinyarwanda from 8:30-12:30, lunch, then went to the bank to exchange money, and the MTN store to get our Rwandan phones. We LOVE our burner phones, theres this dope monkey game which is a crowd favorite for sure. On the conclusion of our first real day I was awestruck. I am spending 10 weeks in this BEAUTIFUL country with people I am already getting to know so well, and my attitude ending the first week just emphasizes my feelings of excitement for what is to come.

A day in the life; On a normal school day my 2 roommates and I wake up around 7:15 to get ready for the day. We have breakfast which normally consists of african tea (which is leaves and milk brewed together), fruit (either mangos, pineapple, bananas, or passionfruit), bread and butter, and hard boiled eggs. Very simple and very yum. We have Kinyarwanda class from 8:30am – 12:30pm which is crazy fun and also so hard at the same time. Our professors name is John, and he is a great teacher and super helpful. We also have students in the class who are from Rwanda and are able to help with our pronunciation and learning. Our class is full of laughter and jokes, and lots of friendship. Much appreciated. We also get a “15 minute break” which is more like 40 minutes. This is the freaking best because we love talking to each other and the Rwandan students and learning about their life. We then go to lunch around campus and lunches average to 1,500 – 2,500 francs which is about 2-3 dollars, a steal. An average lunch for us is called “fast food” which is really just a buffet with rice, soup, this banana dish (honestly its like a savory banana, hard to explain), beef, vegetables, noodles, and potatoes. Then we go to our lecture/lab of Medical Devices in the Developing World. This is where we learn safety and knowledge on how to interact in the hospitals when we deploy next month to our respected places and fix broken medical equipment. We finish class around 5:30, and recently we have been taking our homestay kids to the field and play soccer/basketball/volleyball with them till it gets dark. We have dinner, which is very similar to lunch and then go to a cute bakery/coffee shop called La Mane.

Fun things so far; Every Thursday instead of having class we will visit local Kigali hospitals and work in them for the day. This past Thursday we went to Kibagabaga Hospital, met with the BMET (biomedical engineering technician), got a tour of the hospital, and fixed different old equipment. I personally worked on an oxygen humidifier and we troubleshooted the heck out that thing, but we figured it out!! Heck ya! For lunch on Thursday we went to a restaurant called Meze Fresh, which was like Chiptole. So good, and so needed. But honestly, at that point I think most of our stomachs got kinda upset by the amount of grease in our quesadillas. But worth it for sure. At night we have been hanging out, watching soccer games, and discovering the city of Kigali. On Friday night we explored a lot and went a music festival called Jazz Junction which had a bunch of different African Artists from rap to country. Such a freaking blast and an incredible once in a lifetime experience.

What I have learned so far; Seriously guys, it has been exactly one week and I am shook by how much I have grown in myself and my abilities. My experience in the airport the first day pushed me to take charge and make decisions on my own and not rely on anyone else to get me through the major and minor setbacks. I have learned that time in Rwanda is slow, and that patience is needed. That the time waiting is so valuable. This is where you learn about peoples lives, passions, and who they are. We have all grown so close so quickly. I have learned that taxi drivers like to take advantage of Americans and you need to bargin and do it well. We finally mastered our 5,000 franc taxi drive to the city center. Booyah. I have learned that I somewhat know what I am doing. When I came into this trip I was worried that I was not adequate enough or qualified to fix devices that would potentially save someones life. I am adequate, worthy and qualified. I have learned that I am absolutely terrible at other languages and can not speak in accents at all. But I am trying and the Rwandans seem to appreciate the effort. I am freaking pumped to see where my time in Rwanda takes me, I will try to post weekly so tune in (fun emoji!!!)

On May 25 I am heading to DFW to catch a plane to Amsterdam, then to Kigali, Rwanda. I will be in Rwanda for about 10 weeks where I will be living, learning and most importantly; fixing medical devices in local hospitals. This first month I will be in Kigali, where I will take Kinyarwanda language classes and train to work in the hospital. The second month of my trip I will be with 2 other girls in Musanze where we will work full time in the Ruhengeri hospital! I will update this site as much as I can with pictures and information from my travel. I am so freaking pumped to see how I grow through this experience and freaking pumped to share it with you all!