Differences

It's hard to believe I have already been here for over 8 months! I've really grown to love this country, the incredible school I work at, the precious children I get to teach everyday, and overall just the lifestyle. I've really gotten pretty used to the way things work around here, but I thought it would be interesting to share some of the things that are just a little bit different....

Cell phones: These are all prepaid. They call it "airtime" when you put money on your phone. And this is how it works: it always costs money to make a phone call but its pretty cheap and sending text messages is even cheaper. When you run out of money on your phone, you go and find and "mtn guy" as we call them. "MTN guys" are people who stand around in bright yellow MTN vests (MTN is the phone and internet company). You give them how ever much money you want on your phone (I usually buy $8 worth at a time and it lasts me about 3 weeks!) and they give you card with that amount on it. Then you scratch off the card to reveal a number. You then type this number into your phone and voilà! Then you have airtime and can freely make phone calls and send texts. :)

Internet: Works similarly to airtime. My housemates and I get internet via a USB stick. The stick has a sim card in it. Each month we buy airtime from the MTN guys and put it in the sim card then in the stick. When you want to get online, you put the stick in your computer and connect (then it's similar to 1990's dial up).

Electricity: Also prepaid. Every house has a box outside that has a little screen telling you how many units of power you have left. When you run out of power units, you run out of power until you pay for more. To pay for more, you have to go to a little store and purchase it. They give you a little receipt with a number on it. You come home and type the number into the box and voilà again! You have power :)

Rain: It affects EVERYTHING. Probably only about 20% of the people here drive cars. Everyone else walks everywhere, drives a motorcycle, or rides on moto taxis, or even better- bike taxis. (I'll get to taxis next). So when it rains everything stops or at least slows down. It's not uncommon to find yourself stuck somewhere in a place full of people for extended periods of time when it rains.
This actually has been something that helped me to depend more on God. In the states, rain doesn't really stop or affect anyone's daily schedule. Rain just means you need to find a closer parking spot and carry an umbrella. Here rain means your whole life is put on hold and you can't go anywhere. Sometimes I think it's God telling me, no you don't need to be so busy, you need to stay home and spend time with me!

Motos: Motos, or moto taxis, are a pretty basic means of transportation here. There are guys everywhere in blue or green vests that drive motorcycles around and will take you places. You can go clear across the city for less than $2. And thats the most you'd ever pay. They even carry a helmet and make you wear it.
This was my main means of transport until about a week ago when I bought my own scooter! This is pretty exciting because it means I can go anywhere whenever I want without having to track down a moto. It also means I wear a helmet that only I wear and I'm in control of my motor vehicle. :)

Shopping: We don't have a walmart or a kroger or anything of the sort. But we DO have the market! Very cheap and very fresh produce! Second hand clothing! All that clothing that you send off to "charity." Well it gets sent here. I'm just waiting to find a tshirt or other item of clothing that I've sent to charity. Although it's not sold as cheap as a salvation army in the states. Its only slightly cheaper than it would be new.
There are also little grocery stores around the city. They're about the size of a drug store or 7-11. The funny thing about these stores is that they don't always have what you want in stock. In fact they could have something for one week and then you might not see it again for several months. That's just the way it is.

Water and Power: Don't count on it. You just never really know when either of these things can go out. Then you never know how long they'll be out. Literally as I write this the power is out. It went out at about noon and came back on around 4:30. Since then it's been on and off all night. Oh, it just came back on! Candles and head lamps are essential here.... and power's out again.
The power being out also doesn't mean we get to cancel or go home early from school. It just means you always have to be prepared with making copies ahead of time and having back up plan for anytime you want to use your projector.

Other cultural norms...

It's not unusual to see two men hold hands while walking down the street. No, they're not gay, they're just friends. People here are very affectionate. Holding hands with the same sex= friends. BUT, holding hands with the opposite sex= very inappropriate. You never see couples holding hands, mostly just men.
Eating in public is also something you never see. In fact if someone sees you eating while your walking or driving, they might think you are homeless. Obviously you don't have a table to sit and eat at.
Raising you eyebrows= yes. This is actually a really convenient nonverbal communication gesture as a teacher. When kids ask me if they can go to the bathroom while I'm teaching, I don't even have to stop talking, I just raise my eyebrows at them they know!

Well this has gotten long. But there you have some fun new facts about Rwanda. This is my life and I love it. :)


...in other random news. Today at elementary chapel my class lead elementary in the song "God is so good." I had them sing it in as many languages as we could, we sang it in 7 languages, English, Kinyarwanda, Swahili, Spanish, French, Russian, and Korean. Pretty. Cool.

A Question We Can't Shave for Later

Oh hello there! We mustache you a question.... 

...Miss Merz needs about $1200 to finish her year of living here in
Kigali with us. We really like having her here teaching us!
 So the question we mustache you is;
 Would be willing to donate her and support her?? 

Please?

Happy birthday Momma!

This is a special birthday message to my mom!
I also thought people might enjoy seeing this video of my kids, some speaking their native languages :)

Puke and Prayer

Today one of my students puked in the middle of class. Welcome to kindergarten, the land of bodily fluids. I've been in a classroom when a kid throws up, it's always interesting to see how the teacher reacts and how the students react. Only this time, I was the teacher. I told the sick child to go strait to the bathroom, then looked around the room to find the least concerned looking student and sent her to the office to get some help. I told the rest of the students to go to the carpet and sit down. Then I assessed their reactions, they had all been talking to me (all at the same time of course) through out my process of handling the situation, but I of course didn't hear what they were saying until now. Finally when I started listening I realized they were asking me if they could pray for the sick student. "Miss Merz we need to pray for her!" "I already did pray for her." "I did too!" "I prayed that God would heal her" One even said "I already prayed that no one else would throw up!"
I was blown away that these 5 year children were not only not completely disgusted, laughing at the sick kid, saying "eeww" or "Gross", or reacting in any other inappropriate manner. They just were so concerned for the wellbeing of their peer and all they wanted to do was pray for her.
These kids never cease to amaze me.

Jeremiah 29:11

I've been in Rwanda for over 6 months now! One might say I'm over halfway through my time here. Well, I am over halfway through THIS year, but I'm not halfway through my time here. After a lot of time and thought and a LOT of prayer I have made a decision to commit to one more school year of teaching kindergarten here. This was not an easy choice, but through prayer and discussion, God has really shown me that this is what I am meant to do next year and where I am supposed to be. "Now Kelsey, how do you really know that next year will just as wonderful and you won't miss your friends and family like crazy?" Well I don't. I don't know what is in store for next year. I AM going to miss my friends and family like crazy. In fact I have a very hard time imagining being away from them for yet another year. And in fact, I don't know how I will afford teaching for another year without pay. But guess what... it's ok. God says I don't need to know what's coming, I don't need to stress about how I'll survive another year away from loved ones, I don't need to lose sleep over where money will come from to support another year, and I don't need to worry about it! Even saying this isn't easy. I don't know what another year in Africa will bring, but God does! The one who created me and everyone and everything knows! And He has a plan, not just a plan but THE BEST plan for my life. He knows the struggles I'll go through, HE will provide for me, HE will provide peace for my family at home in the states, HE will write my paychecks, HE will bring great things and lead me to further His kingdom. Which is really all I want to do!
We have a new superintendent/director for our school next year. She already is working at our school now, but will be taking this new position in the fall. She has been meeting with all the returning teachers to discuss the changes that are to be implemented next year. Before my meeting with her I was talking to a friend about what she might discuss in the meeting. My friend who already knew the new plans for next year mentioned that she had reviewed each teacher's prep time and there would be some big changes coming in that area. I also recently had received an email from a parent who's also on the school board. In the email she told me that at their last meeting they had looked at the number of "face time minutes" each teacher spent with their students. I was the "clear winner" with 500 more minutes a week with students then the top number for any secondary teacher.
So before even going in to my meeting with our new director, I was already excited (beyond excited really). I had no clue what changes she was making for next year or what she was doing about this new discovery of my work time. I didn't know anything about her plan, but I knew it would be good. I just trusted that she would make things better for next year.
Why can't we have that same kind of trust for the Lord's plan for us? If I can be "beyond excited" for someone's plans for me next year without knowing what they are, why can't I do the same for God's plans? He created me, He can give me anything I need if I follow Him. He wants to give me the best life possible if I let Him. But, somehow I'm not always beyond excited for His plans for my future, not in the same way I am for my school director's plans. It's funny how we can trust a person so easily and yet still question whether God really knows what He's doing. Of course He knows what He's doing!
I'm incredibly humbled by how much God has already revealed himself to me this year, how much He has provided for me, how much He has shown me of what He can do.
I do still have concerns of being away from home for another year, but one thing I know is that when God leads you somewhere, He doesn't just leave you there. I know He will provide for me just as He has been this whole year. And I know that with His plans, and my life in His hands, I have nothing to worry about.
God is so GOOD! (At this point, my students would start singing "Our God is an Awesome God") :)

Christmas break

(Note- This blog was written about a week and a half ago, but it's taken this long to upload the pictures! )

Dec 19- Last day of school, my kindergarteners had their first ever class party! This was a pretty big deal. We have yet to really celebrate any holidays at school, halloween and Thanksgiving are American holidays (my kids are from 9 different countries). So finally we were able to have a class party and celebrate Christmas! I had some wonderful moms come in and lead crafts, play games, read stories, sing songs, serve food, and we ended the day with a movie. Exhausting day, but the kids had a blast! I can't tell you how many times I heard them say things like "this is the best day ever!" or "this is the best party of my life!"
It's funny the things you forget about that are so exciting the first time. This is the best part of teaching kindergarten.

Dec 21- Acts 20:35 tells us it's a greater blessing to give than it is to receive. While I may not have much money to give, over Christmas break, I was rich in time to give and I was blessed with some great opportunities to spend my time serving. Today I went to work with my dear friend, Torey. Torey works at a home for street boys. We went out to the home and visited with the boys who were still there for Christmas. The ones who had family members to be with, went home for Christmas, but there were still about 6 older boys who remained in the home for the holiday. After they had finished their morning chores, Torey gathered the boys together and told explained to them that was almost Christmas, and at Christmas time, families get together and give each other gifts. She told them that they were a family and they wanted to get them each a new pair of shoes for Christmas. So they were going to go down to the market and each boy could pick out a new pair of shoes that they liked. What a blessing it was for me to take these boys and help them find shoes that fit them and ones they liked. It was incredibly humbling to see the joy these young men had just from getting a new pair of shoes- something so simple and regular to americans, but so rare and special to these boys!
This afternoon, Torey and I were blessed with a chance to serve a wonderful family in our community. This family has 6 kids- 2 teenage girls, 2 boys ages 5 and 6, and 2 Rwandan babies whom they are currently fostering, a 11 month old girl, and a 7 month old boy. The parents took the older girls Christmas shopping while we spent the afternoon with the boys and the babies. I'm thankful there were 2 of us to keep up with the energy of these spunky and precious boys and the sweet babies.







Dec 25- Christmas day! Quite a bit different in Africa, than it is in America. Christmas here means going to church, being excited and full of joy for the birth of our savior, and maybe sharing a special meal with family and friends, and MAYBE exchanging gifts. Of course there were gifts exchanged from western families, but I learned from many Rwandans that giving or receiving gifts was definitely not expected on Christmas day. "Why would I need someone to give me things to celebrate Jesus's birth, it's His birthday, not mine."
I spent the day attending church and sharing meals with friends from school. It was a difficult day to be away from my family, but extremely interesting and humbling to see how others celebrated it.




Dec 26- Jan 1 - Trip to Uganda!
This week I traveled around Uganda with a few teacher friends from school. We left early on the 26th and took a 15 hour bus trip to Jinja. We spent a few days there, relaxing, enjoying the beautiful area, watching monkeys swing around on the trees at our hostel, oh and rafting grade 5 rapids down the Nile River! I'm going to try to post some pictures of this, but you can take my word for it when I say it was simply awesome. :)
Next we traveled down to Kampala- the capital of Uganda. They had a movie theater and a mall! It was almost like being in the states again. After spending some time there, we took a 7 hour extremely bumpy bus trip to Lake Bunyonyi. My roommate, Jodi and I sat in the back row of the bus and literally bounced up and down the entire ride. I wondered if this is how babies feel when you're hold them and bouncing them up and down... I suppose it was kind of soothing, but also a little nauseating... maybe this is why babies spit up all the time.
Anyway, something fun about taking bus rides through Uganda is what happens with the bus stops (which for some reason happens quite often). When the bus pulls over for even just a minute, it gets bombarded by people holding up fruit, corn, chapattis (similar to tortillas), and brochettes (meat kabobs). They make this food and then try to sell it to passer-byers. You can just lean out your window and buy a banana without even leaving your bus seat. It really brings a new meaning to "fast food."
Uganda was a beautiful country to visit! It was really fun to travel, but I was ready to be back in Kigali. For one thing, I was ready to get home and take a shower. Due to a lack of warm water and towel, I had only taken one shower during my trip/ I know- gross, but hey, I live in Africa! But it gets worse, we came home to find that the water was out at our house (for various reasons, this just happens sometimes). I was able to take one bucket shower the next day at my dear friend Kerry's house, but even they were having water problems. Well after a lot of strange issues with our tank, phone calls to the landlord, and workers in our yard, we now have running water again. Wahoo- I have taken 3 showers now in the course of 2 weeks.

This is Africa, folks. ...and I wouldn't trade my experiences here for anything.

I'm the one in front in the pink helmet :) 

Just Today

The last 12 hours deserves a blog post of its very own I've decided. While life here can be very different and sometimes difficult- it is certainly never dull. Today my day was filled with a school-wide olympic ceremony, a kindergarten christmas pageant, me finding myself carrying live chickens from my house to school, watching middle and high school students wrap those chickens up like presents, and then having a snowball fight in 70+ degree weather. 

Allow me to elaborate...

Being at an international school means that when they do olympics in P.E. class, then can actually represent their own countries and compete for them. The students have been doing olympic competitions in P.E. for the past few weeks and today the whole school took part in the "closing ceremonies." The whole school went out to the field across the street and gathered with the flag of their own country. The school had 13 different countries represented! They then walked together with their flag and came in to the auditorium of the church across the street. We had a big ceremony announcing the 3rd,2nd, and 1st place winners of each competition and they played the national anthem of the 1st place winner's country. It was so neat! 

Every week we have elementary chapel. Every other week chapel is lead by a different class and this week it was kindergarten's turn. We have been preparing a Christmas pageant all week to perform for our chapel today. Everyone had at least one line and had (some kind of) costume. Creating costumes wasn't very easy, but we got creative! Our angels wore fairy wings and aluminum foil halos, the wisemen (and wisewomen) wore curtains as capes- you get the idea. While they had a bit of trouble remembering where to go after they said their lines, I think my loud whispering of cues across the stage helped and they of course were just adorable. 

Something I don't think I've mentioned on my blog yet is that besides teaching kindergarten every day, I have gotten involved in being a Young Life leader with the high schoolers. Young Life is a youth program that is quite popular in the states, but also is an international program, so we have it here in Kigali. Tonight we had our Christmas club. Winter here means the temperature might get down to 65 degrees, but mostly it is just really hot all the time. So, we (the other American YL leaders and I, who have actually experienced snow) decided we wanted to give these kids a true wintery Christmas experience. So we made snow balls out of panty hoes and flour- filling them with the flour and tying knots to create snow balls (essentially flour bombs). Then we had them play capture the flag with snow balls. What made the game even more interesting is that the flags were frozen inside blocks of ice that had to melted before they could win. 

Buuuuut before the snowball fight we had another "fun" activity. We told the kids we wanted them to wrap some christmas presents we had gotten for the guards. 6 of them volunteered to be gift wrappers. Then we brought out the "gifts." They were live chickens. The students of course freaked out, but also loved it and were actually successful in wrapping them in butcher paper and yarn. And no worries- no animals were harmed in the process... but they will be very appreciated and very tasty to the guards who are receiving them. 

...All in a day's work. 

Processing in for the olympic ceremony 

Ready for chapel to start

Singing at chapel! 

Chicken at my house

Chickens in the road

Chicken in a package 

Chicken #2 in an even neater package