TIA (This is Africa)

As a follow up to my “Oh that’s normal” article, Emily, Connor, and I also found many things while we were in Rwanda that simply made us laugh, throw up our hands, and exclaim, “THIS IS AFRICA!” It became a resignation of our American lifestyle, an acceptance of our African lifestyle, and just a way…

“I used to beg for money, now I beg for knowledge.”

So I suppose the grass is always greener on the other side… but one can never know that until he or she has actually crossed the fence. This became a reality for us in the truest way possible this week. Sr. Anna was very generous to give Emily and me a few days off of…

Last day of school! (Well, sort of.)

After we bought our round trip tickets to Rwanda, arrived in Kigali, and started working at the school, we realized that the students were only going to be in session for five of the eight weeks of our stay. This came as a bit of a shock to us as we had expected to be…

Oh, that’s normal!

Any world traveler can expect some culture shock to a certain extent, especially when traveling to distant lands with strange languages and unfamiliar customs. Emily and I have certainly experienced our fair share of culture shock for better and for worse. The language barrier, for instance, has been extremely frustrating, and is only complicated by…

But the View is Worth It

We have been very blessed to meet some awesome friends here, and among our best friends are Simone from Bates and her Rwandan host brother Guillome. This past week and weekend were filled with some awesome adventures with the two of them! On Wednesday we went to their house to make pizza for dinner! Though…

Our Lady of Kibeho

  A few years ago I read a book called “Our Lady of Kibeho,” which was a true story of a girl who had a vision of the Virgin Mary during her secondary school years. Throughout junior high and high school I was slightly obsessed with Marian apparitions, especially places such as Medjugorie and Fatima….

Happy 4th of July!

I have always loved the 4th of July as an annual celebration to remember the sacrifices people have made for our liberty.Yet this year, the 4th of July was a once in a lifetime celebration, because we got to celebrate two holidays. Before I flew to Rwanda, I realized that I would miss the parades and…

Kwibuka Abana (Remember the Children)

  2014 is the 20th anniversary of the Rwandan genocide, and we happened to arrive in the middle of the solemn remembrance period for those who died. We landed just a few days before the last official commemorative event, which honored and remembered the children who were killed in the massive slaughter. There were programs…

Dog vs Cow

                      It’s a small world after all. Though I’m not entirely sure why, I have a tendency to run into people I know all over the world, and in this small country, thousands of miles from New England, I ran my college friend Devin, in…

Mwaramutse

We finally made it! After months of anticipation, I am finally here in Rwanda! Emily, Arron and I traveled together from Boston and arrived here three days ago. After decently long flights and a layover in Amsterdam (which was amazing, I very much appreciated the off-shore wind farms visible from the plane!) we were greeted…