On my 'typical day' so far

Oh, man.  Trying to get anything done with no internet access at all is just about the most frustrating thing in the world.

The internet is coming to me though the tiniest pipe, with 600 other request at the same time.  It's enough to make me nostalgic for those dial up modem sounds from 1999. 

Here's me trying to craft blog post off-line, and then paste it in later when there is more access:

There's been a request for more general info about what my typical day is like.  No Kidding!  If you find out, will you please let me know.  Things around here are generally in a state of flux, due to continually growing and changing to meet the next challenge.  I might have expected one thing, but that was yesterday, and times have changed.  Get with the (new) program.

In actuality, things do seem to be settling down a little now that school has started and the huge graduation event has passed.  We'll see if this is just a lull before the next coming storm, or truly some kind of pattern forming.

I have two main responsibilities in the village (at press time) and they are as follows:

I am a 'cousin' in Family 8.  Family 8 (which will soon be choosing an inspirational hero name) is 16 fifteen to seventeen year-old orphaned and vulnerable girls who just entered their enrichment year here at ASYV, a 'big sister' who will stay with the girls all 4 years, and serves as a chaperone and to provide guidance, and a mama, who runs the house and family and provides all the support a mama should, from instructing the girls on how to mind the house, to caring for sick girls. I also support the family, but I'm only a cousin, a more distant relative and one that won't be with them forever. 

My roles in the family are to support the learning and use of English, to serve as a role model for work on the farm, service in the dining hall, participation in Mukaka Mukaka (morning run), behavior in assemblies and throughout the village.  I'm another person to welcome the girls to ASYV and another adult to give attention and positive support to kids who likely have not had enough of that prior to arriving.

I try to eat lunch and dinner with the family and then after dinner there is an hour of 'family time' back at the house.  Family time is the best part of the day.  It's where the19 members of Family 8 talk about the day, make any necessary announcements (e.g., Mukaka Mukaka will be at 5:30 AM the next three weeks because some kids were late for village time last night), give instructions and resolve any concerns developing in the family (who's day was it to wash the floors? e.g.) and after that can play games, sing songs, and hang out. 

My other, more formal, responsibility is that I'm working for the Career Development department in the Student Resource Center.  Think high school guidance counselor office.  In the Career Development office we work to provide all of the ASYV students with as many tools as possible to succeed on their chosen future path beyond Agahozo, whatever it may be.  This can be university application assistance, ACT/SAT prep, vocational school investigation and application, searching for internships and job applications.

So, on a typical day, I try to balance these two roles as per the schedule in the village. 

How that breaks down lately, is that I skip breakfast with the kids at 6:30 AM (porridge and a dinner roll), go for a much blogged about run at 7:30 or so, get to the Student Resource Center after that to beat the bushes (phones, slow internet) for internships, job placements, scholarships and partnerships that might help the 125 kids that will be graduating and leaving Agahozo this year (and actually a bunch of stragglers from last year too, but there is an alumni team mostly supporting that process.) 

At 2:00 I head up to the dining hall to have lunch with Family 8, (generally rice and beans and potatoes, but sometimes rice and cabbage and potatoes, or rice and beans and cooking bananas, or maybe rice, cassava root and steamed carrots with cauliflower (a favorite of mine).

From 3-8:00 PM, the kids are out of school and in various programs or have free time. During this time, I work in the Student Resource Center with kids as they come by, assisting on a request-by-request basis to review CVs, cover letters, college applications and essays and general career counseling. (E.g. What does a graphic designer do, and what kind of qualifications are required to work in that field?)

At 8:00 PM I go back to the dining hall for dinner with Family 8, (see menu above) and then after dinner we have family time from 9:00-10:00.  I have free time from 10:00 PM on.  Hurrah.

Add to that that new tasks come up all the time that were are seconded for, and also that I will try to sneak away to Rubona (1.3 mile walk away) on market days (Tuesday and Friday) for a warm coke and some fresh fruit.  I've also been told that in the coming weeks I'll become the faculty advisor for a student club, but that clubs only meet on Mondays, so how bad could that be?

On Tuesday, I went to the market and bought this hat for $1000 RF (~$1.50):

#Sport.

Oh yeah, come visit.  If you are thinking of a visit these are the holiday times I can travel:

• March 31 - April 20
• July 28 - August 10

I don't have a junket planned for these breaks yet, but I'm thinking Kenya, Tanzania, and Ethiopia are candidates and if I just get crazy, Madagascar could be interesting.   Or maybe just sleep.  Sleep sounds good too.

If you come for dates other than that, I'd love to see you, but I'll be in Rwamagana, which is pretty quiet, except for every other weekend which I can spend in Kigali or perhaps traveling around Rwanda (Volcanos National Park and the Gorillas could be done in a weekend I think).  So let me know if you are on the way and we can coordinate destinations and plans.

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Late breaking addition for those of you know the Rod Phares story from Baylor Debate camp between Freshman and Sophomore year of high school:

Tonight at dinner I was sitting with a big sister from another family.  She's a former actress and very poised and dignified.  I felt a sharp stick in my thigh, like a needle stick, and jumped and shouted "ouch!"  I got the pants hemmed recently and thought maybe the seamstress left a needle in, or there was a pointy plastic tag or something.  So I'm hopping around in front of all the kids, trying to feel inside my thigh in my pants when I find it, a biting ant.  Then 6 more bite me and now that I know what it is I'm hopping all around and flailing and shouting more which is apparently the signal for ants to bite at will.  Antics ensued.  The big sister just arched an eyebrow at me, like these big loud Americans act a fool all the time and here she goes again.  Ants 2, Courtney 0.