Slippin' & Slidin'

thunder lightening and rain all morning
rains subsided but left muddy roads in their wake

Driver said "we wouldn't see any animals, they don't come out in the rain"
went out for Safari anyways
saw water bucks, buffalo, kobs, birds and then the climax - lions eating breakfast

throughout the entire ride we were slipping and sliding all over the road
Bus fishtaled severely, slide to a stop still standing upright but lying perpindicular across the dirt turned mud road blocking all potential traffic

tried to fix it, didn't work, but did move forward several feet
pushed in the mud, we were victorious
slid out again a little while later but were able to self correct
made it back muddy but empowered,
final game drive, the best of all

Border Crossing

Traveling between countries is always an adventure, however this is the first time I have driven across a border. Receiving basic instructions as we rolled to a stop just inside the first barrier, we stumbled off the bus with our "border buddies" and began the paperwork to transition over to our new home.

Encountering an empty crossing, we proceeded with ease, yet we weren't home free yet.

Climbing back on the bus and settling in for the final few hours drive to Kigali having officially entered Rwanda, our bus was stopped by an official just as we were pulling away from the border. In a concerted effort to come off as incredibly friendly tourists we all greeted him warmly and smiled brightly as he asked to see our passports, this is what he saw...



...it is a good thing he wasn't American, because our overeagerness to please certainly would have caused a complete search of the bus. Instead he waved us on, walking away with a smile.

Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader?

Making its debut early in 2007 on American tv, Are you smarter than a fifth grader? is a game show based on asking grade-school level questions to adults. Having only caught a few minutes of the show one evening shortly after it came out I always smirked at the notion, confident that I could easily win against a fifth grader.

A recent turn of events has led me to rethink that opinion...

Sitting in on the 5th grade english class at KICS one day a spelling assessment test was given to all the students and I decided to participate with them. Easily sailing through words like "go" and "think" I lasted well past the 35th round, however as the words increased in length and complexity I began to question my spellings. Stopping the class at word 50 or thereabouts, the students were eager to hear what score Miss Christina received. The teacher graciously stated that I aced the test, obviously without looking, since I am nearly certain I misspelled two of the final three words. Confusing myself with the 'i before e except after c' rule which doesn't actually hold true all of the time, I realized just how dependent on Word's spell check I truly had become.

No longer sure I am Smarter Than A Fifth Grader... but certainly more knowledgeable!

Building An Empire

Taking over the 6th grade history class for their entire unit on the Fertile Crescent, I was given the task of creating a project for them as well. At first a bit overwhelmed by the prospect, I soon found my footing in the classroom and created the Build An Empire project. I figured since we were spending most of our time learning about empires which dominated other civilizations I would give them a chance for a little global conquest of their own.

Taking over the world one imaginary country at a time...

Outfitted with the basic requirements of the project, the students were off and running with creativity taking the helm as they took all that they were learning about conquest and success to make a little history of their own. Forming their own groups they were given the responsibility of naming their own empires which produced such civilizations as Putasia and the Klaudriens. Each group also had to create a flag, map, currency, system of laws, a government structure, a religion, a language and an economy. To establish their place in history each group had to give the date and name of an existing empire they conquered and how they were able to sustain their rule.

The students really enjoyed the project and made it their own as they found new ways to expand and grow their empires.

My favorite quote from this project and my time with the 6th grade class had to be when one of the students piped up and said,

"No Miss Christina, we don't want to play a game, we want to work" - 6th grade history class.


If there was anyone capable of convincing me to become a teacher or return to KICS it would be that 6th grade class!

Subbing In

While working at KICS was undoubtedly one of the greatest experience in Rwanda thus far it also helped me discover one of the hardest jobs in the world, Subbing. Why anyone would chose to be a substitute teacher day after day is beyond me.

With a wave of illness sweeping through the school, it wasn't merely the students who were falling to its effects. Too small to have substitute teachers, KICS instead utilized Kati and I to our fullest during our time there, a taskt that neither of us minded, but returned me to my special agent status. Showing up to school each morning, it was always a surprise to find where I would be placed next.

Overall enjoying my subbing experience there were moments that were less than enjoyable as several upper level students sought to test my limits and understanding of school policy. In the end everything was ironed out, but not without a couple of close calls and frustrating moments.

Perhaps it is an acquired skill, but after having stood in their shoes I now feel bad for some of the torments we put our substitutes through... oh yes, even the good kids in school can have it out for the subs, especially the mean ones with weird names.

The Next Step

The end of college means only one thing... ultimate freedom with endless possibilities. 

As the end of my college career is rapidly coming to a close, I have been forced to face my least favorite question: "What are you going to do with the rest of your life?"

Starring that question down from afar, I have decided to reserve my answer for a time.  Also taking into consideration the fact that no plans that I have made for myself in the past 4 months have really worked out the way I expected, I am beginning to see the futility of planning out the details of the rest of my life.  Instead I am taking everyday one step at a time, knowing that what lays before will undoubtedly be the greatest adventure of my life.  

Looking ahead, I have been presented with a host of incredible opportunities and it has been a constant pull back and forth between several of them. At this point I have made preparations to stay overseas a bit longer. Taking life one step at a time, waiting on God to see what doors He opens next. Here is the plan as it stands...

Dec 12th - Program Ends in Kampala, Uganda
Dec 15th - Jan 10th Work in Mbarara, Uganda with Parental Care Ministries
Jan 11th - Feb 11th Work in Kitale, Kenya at a school and orphanage

I am so excited to see what new adventures will come next!

Life in an International School

Practicum. The best part of the Go-Ed program. 

For three and a half weeks our team was divided up into pairs and sent off throughout parts of Uganda, Ethiopia and Rwanda. I was placed as a "teachers assistant" at the Kigali International Community School (KICS) in Kigali, Rwanda. Choosing it primarily as a career building experience, I debated m decision up until arriving on campus. I had always seen myself in a career where I was working with severely impoverished people, but the more time I spend exploring the world, the more I have discovered that people of every economic background have needs and there are endless opportunities to serve. 

Meeting with the director of the school our first day a loose schedule was created for the pair of us, with Kati focusing on passion, Elementary Education, I went up to the middle and high school. After 3 days of observing at least one class with each teacher and grade, I was generously given the opportunity to take over the 1st period 6th grade history class, the 7th period high school art class and teach a smattering of classes and grades throughout the rest of my time. 

With nearly 200 students from over 3o nationalities, KICS boasts quite a unique environment for both its students and teachers. Having began in a basement in the Rwandan FHI office 4 years ago with five students and a parent overseeing the teaching, KICS has quickly erupted into a sought after institution with its anglophone instruction and American based curriculum.

Watching out the window one afternoon I saw a car from the UN, World Relief and several other NGO's arrive to pick up their children from school, just a small reminder of the work being carried out in this small country and the important need the school is meeting for this community. Taking in students from Embassies, NGOs, church work as well as Rwandan families, the school is home to a wide mix of backgrounds. 

This multi-cultural and lingual composition makes for unique experiences within the classroom. Working from a required english base, language itself is not a large barrier for understanding. However, sitting through multiple classes, it became apparent that examples are not universal. Listening to the American students explain the concept of tug-o-war to the local East Africa students during a physics problem on force was almost comical.  Math problems also seem to present their own challenges with units in miles and concern over trains departing from Chicago headed for St. Louis. Descriptions so far outside of their realm of daily understanding that they hold no significance for the majority of students. 

After spending three weeks teaching all different subjects and levels I am closer than ever to giving in to the long standing call on my life to teach. 

I could honestly see myself returning to KICS in the fall, but we will leave all future planning to God. 

Unsettled

Moments ago (okay several minutes ago) I was working away on my latest blog when I felt as though I was shaking.  Unsure if it was just me or the entire couch, I quickly rationalized that it must have only been my imagination.  

What must have been 30 seconds later the whole house was shaking and I was trembling like crazy.  Living in the Great Northwest I have lived through my fair share of earthquakes, but this was different.  Out of my element and completely unexpected it sent chills down my spine.  Failing to react, I just sat it out and then remained, paralyzed by shock.  

Scrambling through the latest news reports I have found nothing to confirm what I most vividly just experienced, leaving me to question whether it was actually a tremor of sorts, or some amazingly large vehicle.  I suppose only time will tell.

Still no reports anywhere online for Rwanda, but after talking with our host, apparently they are quite common in this area.  Glad to know I am not losing my mind!

Buenos Dias!

Why is it that after not being able to focus my mind all day enough to write a blog or email update that at 1 something in the morning it decides to be wide awake?!?!  I wish I could blame something like jet lag, but after 4 months of being away from the West Coast, I hardly feel it is fair to claim that as my reason (probably because its not).

So, if you are keeping up with the latest Time Zone count, I am currently 9 hours ahead of PST (Pacific Standard Time) on the West Coast.

At Home in Rwanda

So its been a while since I posted and I wish I could blame a poor internet connection or lack of power, but except for a few minor and temporary outages, we have been very fortunate with our housing locations.  

After wrapping up my first term of classes in Uganda a week ago Friday, I was off to Practicum on Sunday, which just so happens to be in Kigali, Rwanda.  For those of you who may not be aware, Practicum is a period of about 3.5 weeks where are team is split up to work throughout Uganda, Rwanda and Ethiopia working on various projects consisting of everything from research, to agro-forestry, to media communications and working in schools.  For my Practicum project, I am in Kigali (the capital of Rwanda) working in the Kigali International Community School, a position I am very excited for.

Rwanda, pronounced over here as 'randa or rwanda (ironically enough as it is spelt), versus the American version of Ru-wanda or Ra-wanda.  A small landlocked country that is home to over 10 million people, Rwanda reportedly hosts the densest population on the continent of Africa.  Perhaps most known in history for the Genocide in 1994, Rwanda is so much more than a series of tragic events.  Surveying the land and driving around this past week, I am more apt to think of Rwanda in regards to its title as "Land of a Thousand Hills."  

Waking up each morning I get the joy of looking out across a valley spotted with homes and winding red clay-dirt roads.  Breath taking skyscapes fill the vastness of space more often than not and I find myself continually marveling at the beauty of it all.  Quiet, slower and more orderly than life in Kampala, Kigali has brought some much needed peace that was previously allusive.  Enjoying each place as it is, I have found the adjust to our new home in Kigali rather painless.  While I don't know if it is ever a place I could live long term, it is somewhere I could see myself coming back to. 

Dear Family, Please Don't Be Shocked

For those of you who know me well I highly recommend that you take a seat and a deep breath before reading this.

For those of you who know me, but not necessarily all of my strange habits, you may or may not understand the enormity of what I am about to say.

For those of you who have merely stumbled across this blog, this probably won't make any sense, feel free to read anyways...

Something beyond words, explanation, and comprehension occurred tonight.  I really don't understand how it happened, or what came over me.  Even now I am trying to decide if it was the right decision or if I should have left it all well enough alone.

But perhaps I should elaborate... 

It all transpired over dinner.  Walking in I already knew what would await me.  6 chairs seated around an oval table with banana woven placemats, plastic cups filled with ice water and an empty white plate laid out with care for each of us.  Amazingly Normal.  But there, amongst all the familiar they stood.  Little round puffs of bread with menacing pieces of brown meat protruding from all sides.  We were having HAMBURGERS for dinner!  Of all the meals I could have dreamed up, this was only trumped for scariness by the meatloaf we had partaken of a few meals earlier (Helen, I am sure you would have loved both meals, you just know my aversion to all things beefy).  

You see, for as long as I can remember, I have refused to eat beef.  I was told that as a small child I stopped eating the stuff sometime between age two and four, caving only occasionally to my dad's homemade burgers during that time.  From then on, I was a white-meat girl only.  In fact, my color distinctions between proteins seemed to swim over to my fishy friends as well, as I refused to eat salmon, the "pink" fish.  

Yes, I know I am strange, but its what makes me so loveable!

Growing up in an Irish meat and potatoes family, I liked neither (but potatoes will have to be a different story), making meal times an interesting experience.  However, I never let it phase me and I continued in my persistence against meat, at times completely forgetting why I didn't eat the stuff, but adamantly knowing that I didn't like it.  

My beef history as memory serves...

- stopped eating the stuff sometime between age 2 and 4

-The Spring of 2001 on the 14th of April I ate beef while in Mexico, partly because I couldn't make out if it was pork or beef and mostly because I was eating with my host family and didn't want to be rude.  Taking one bite, I instantly knew it was beef and that I didn't like it.  

- one day after going through a Taco Time drive through where they mistakenly gave me ground beef instead of chicken.  

- (not beef, but close) July of 2005 I ate lamb for what is most likely the first time ever in South Africa, it then made the migration from banned to approved protein products.

- June 2008, upon entering Morocco and more specifically Africa as a whole I began to adapt a new policy with food, "Don't ask, don't want to know." There are purely times where it is better not to know what is on your plate or what you must eat with a small and a prayer (whole fish, with heads in Uganda - case in point!).  Meaning, that beef has been making scattered appearances, this does NOT mean I have converted to liking it, but my tolerance is higher.

- 3 October 2008 - A Day which will live in Infamy! ... the day Christina ate a hamburger

Please note, that while I did indeed manage to eat a hamburger, this does not mean I have converted.  Nor was I all that thrilled.  If I had to, yes, I would eat one again.  However, I would not go searching for one, I have no desire to eat another one, nor would I pay for it.  

The hamburger is still low man on the totem pole in my book of food preferences, but at least he has finally made his way back onto it. 

So there you have it, alert the media, print and save this article, this truly is a history moment!