Rwanda 1/15/11

Everyday life

I realize that I have been writing about several different experiences I've had, but I have never talked about my everyday life here. So this entry will be about a typical day in Margot’s life. First off I live in the rural town of Gisenyi. There is an active volcano 2 k away from us, and at night we can see the red glow billowing out from it. About 10 minutes walk away is Lake Kivu, which is a volcanic lake, it is very warm and fun to swim in, and it has a very nice sandy beach. Also about 2 k away is the boarder of Congo. We made friends with the boarder manager's son, so we’re hoping to go over the boarder some day! The town of Gisenyi has approximately 2 paved roads, no stop lights, and one stop sign-but I don’t think anyone knows what it means because I have never seen anyone stop at it.
I live in a house on the outskirts of town with the other volunteers. Marit and SynnØve are my best friends here; they are from Norway and work in the children’s program at the orphanage. Tim, and his girlfriend Lynn are from England, and are the funniest people I have ever met. Tim works with me in the HIV program while Lynn works in the GVB (Gender Based Violence) program. Then there is Kristi from Alaska who also works in the GVB. We are such a happy little family here! We also have Jane who lives in the house and is a translator and Ashimma who is the security guard, and Kitezzi who runs the house- cooks, cleans etc.
I wake up around 7 or 8 every morning then head to the clinic after a few hours. Before Tim got his motorbike it took quite a while to get there. First we had to walk into town, which takes about 20 minutes. Find a bus, sit on the bus for 15 minutes before it actually started going. Ride the bus for 15 minutes. Then walk or sit on the back of someone’s bike to Murara umudungudu (village), which takes 30 minutes walking or 20 riding. All the way into the village children run out of their houses yelling muzungu, muzungu!! That means white person, and everyone here calls us that. It’s not a racist term, but it does get annoying when you can hear people talking about you everywhere you go. Seeing white people here is a novelty to most though because
I can go a whole week without seeing another muzungu.
Anyway when we finally reach the clinic the first thing I do is take the blood for the HIV testing. There are always 15-70 people wanting to get tested. After taking all their blood I go to the lab and do the tests. After, I go back to the room and teach my HIV class. I usually break it up into 4 different parts: What is HIV, how do you get it, prevention, and what to do if your test is positive. After the class we have all the people come into a room individually (or as a couple) and we deliver the results, and offer further counseling. This generally takes most of the day, and I either go home afterwards, or stay and do other miscellaneous tasks that are needed such as medication distribution, or HORRIBLE paperwork. I have also spent the last 2 Friday afternoons at the orphanage working with the older children (15-20) either watching a movie with them or helping in their English learning class. Then I come home, attempt to bathe, read, do other things, and then have “family dinner”. Which is always rice, red sauce, unidentifiable vegetables, and best of all potato wedges, or as the brits call them, chips. After dinner we usually talk or watch a movie then go to bed early. And that is a normal day in my life in Gisenyi, Rwanda.