PO Box

A number of you have asked, so here's the address:

Courtney Kelly
c/o ASYV
PO Box 7299
Kigali, Rwanda

Don't mail anything of value or anything you want me to get in less than 4 months and think of even a postcard as an experiment.

Also internet access does not flow quite as freely as I might have told you, it's been hard to find when I'm in Kigali and super slooooooow when I'm in the village so don't worry if you don't hear back from me for a spell.  (Another factor is that I'm pretty much scheduled from 7 AM to 10 PM every day and after that I tend to take an ice cold shower and pass out.)

Things are going well here.  I've joined a new family, (#8!) of 16 incredible girls, a momma (Momma Daphi) and my new Big Sister (Erica).  The first day the kids arrived was incredible. We were so excited and nervous to meet them and they were 1000x more nervous and excited to meet each other and see their new home.  As a part of the festivities, I helped greet bus loads of kids and their guardians and check "luggage".  Some of the kids came to move in with a small brown paper bag, slightly larger than a lunch sack.  It's amazing where they're coming from, and what they'll be exposed to over the next four years.

We've been playing a lot of ice breaker games and I made a G-Rated Rwandan version of my favorite, Mingle, Mingle, Mingle: House (2),  Moto (2), Bananas (3).

Today we ran "Mucakamucka" which is pronounced like "Mu-Cha-Ka Mu-Cha-Ka" which is like a military jog and sound off at 6:00 AM.  Everyone did it, many in flip flops.

Then we harvested beans on the farm.  I've picked beans before. IN A GARDEN.  Maybe 50 individual beans.  We cleared several acres and made 10 giant 'haystacks' if beans.  It was fun to do with the kids and in the beautiful setting, but I was glad after about two hours when we were finished and I don't think I'd do well as a migrant farm worker.  Let's hope it doesn't come to that when I come home.  Mostly this week we are working on orientation for the new kids and I'll start my professional skills development program after New Years.

This will be two New Year's Eves back2back at ASYV.  It was a blast last year so I'm looking forward to doing the Dougie with my girls and rocking out in the dining hall.

Also, we have a new tradition: Akabanga Saturday when Courtney brings Akabanga hot sauce to the dining hall to spice up the rice and beans.  I need to get you a photo of Akabanga, because it comes in basically a visine bottle and the kids seem to love it.