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.