The ceremony, at the US Ambassador's house, made national news. Here's the story. We were on TV! In fact, I met a man today who recognized me from TV as one of the volunteers who swore in. I feel like such a celebrity!
The thirty-six of us spent the last few days in Kigali. It was both hectic and fun. We were given our move-in allowances and set loose to shop and paint the town. I had Chinese food, sushi, a smoothie, hookah,, real coffee and a chicken crepe within the span of a few days. It was blissful.
But the enjoyment has ended with the weekend. I headed off for my site today, but I am homeless. I am writing now from a room in my headmaster's house. I am staying with him until he and the Peace Corps staff find me a home. Which means indefinitely. I was really looking forward to having my own space, and now I feel like my homestay experience has just been extended. In Peace Corps, the highs are really high and the lows are really low. After such a great week, I am frustrated at my housing situation and already missing all of my friends and colleagues who I spent the last three months with.
I am trying to let the situation ground me and remind me of why I am here. It makes me think of the title of my blog. I didn't set out to make residence here. I am an exile, a sojourner. My citizenship is heavenly, and I must remember that my purpose here is to live in eternity, not just for the moment.
I'm done for now, so have some pictures.
This is the T-shirt we had designed for our group. It has a gorilla holding an English book and keyboard, volcanoes, a woman carrying a basket on her head, and a Komera ("Be Strong") logo made to look like a Primus (the most popular beer brand here) logo.
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| From 2011-12-11 |
And here I am now with one of my headmaster's children.
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| From 2011-12-17 |
Your t-shirts are ballin'. good call on those!
ReplyDelete-Shawn