Kigali Wedding

It was pretty cool. For all you Rwanda RPCVs and current PCVs, the wedding was held at St. Paul's this last Saturday. The first reception was held at the garden in 'Car Wash.' The second reception was held at the house her and her husband are renting in Kigali. The receptions had traditional dancers, Rwandan Pop-Singers (Kamichi was there and sang a few songs before he had his radio broadcast), and plenty of food and beer. Do-Do is working on getting her Visa so she can move with her husband to Europe, where he works. Congratulations, you two!

Pictures from Top to Bottom:

Tradional female Rwandan dance.

Tradional male Rwandan dance.

My date, UMUTONI Solange.

Wedding Season

June, July, and August are big months for weddings here. Because of my work schedule, however, I have not been able to attend any myself. I have made time to go to one wedding, however. Saturday I will be attending the wedding of Do-Do. Do-Do and I have been friends for a while now; I met her through Brandon and Crissy when we were all stationed in Rwamagana together. It should be a good time.

I have been invited to teach English at an organization called Caritas Wednesdays and Fridays from 2pm-5pm. I had my first class yesterday. It was great. Got to run. More to come.

Grenade Attack

There was a grenade attack on Tuesday night at the market I live near. I was teaching near my house at the time, so I was a safe distance from the situation. I don't know how many were injured or killed. I do know that the market was closed Wednesday morning. I asked a close friend why he thought it happened. He said that there are angry militia men living across the border in the DRC. These guys fled Rwanda after the RPF took Rwanda in 1994, ending the genocide. He said it was the first attack he had ever seen in Kamembe. He assumes that they staged this attack to upset the peace and security in the area.

Still No Pictures of the House

Honestly, I keep forgetting/putting it off. There really isn't to much to see anyway. I still don't have furniture, so its just a bunch of empty rooms - not very exciting.

The volunteers in my region met at my house for the 4th of July and we had a small party and meeting. It was cool. Other than that, nothing exciting has been happening really. I have been getting to know the community and the volunteers in my region, which has been great. I started an English club that meets Tuesday and Thursday nights. The attendance isn't what I want it to be, but its new and it may take a while to catch on.

Sorry I haven't written more; I just haven't been in the writting mood lately.

Alive and Cleaning

Another pictureless entry...sorry. I moved into my new house last week and I have been cleaning it like crazy. Once I get it furnished, I will be sure to post pics; the house is great, it is just empty. Ha!

Everything is going well here. The volunteers in my region have been visiting to help clean the house and show me around Kamembe. Everyone has been very welcoming. My big project for this next week, besides finding furniture, is finding some work in the community. Wish me luck. I'll keep you posted on how my search goes.

Next Week

My days in Kigali are numbered. I just got word the other day that next week I will be moving into my new home/office in Kamembe. Tomorrow I will start getting everything together for the big move. So excited!

Today there is a marathon in Kigali. MANY Peace Corps Rwanda staff and volunteers are running. I am not feeling well, so I stayed behind; I don't have the energy to be part of the cheer squad. We all had a party last night to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Peace Corps and to load up on carbs for the race; I had been working these past couple of days to get everything together for it. I have been running around so much...this morning I just didn't have any energy left in me. The party went well, though, so that was nice.

Good luck, runners!

Mail Call!

Check out the Mail Call! section. I added some items to my wish list. I should be moved into my new house by the end of the month, so feel free to start sending packages and letters again. ALL house-warming gifts will be accepted and appreciated. Thank you all in advance.
God Bless!