Hello everyone, and welcome to my blog of my experience as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Rwanda. My adventure will begin on October 19, 2010 with a couple of days of staging in a yet-to-be-revealed U.S. city. Then, I'll be off to Africa, where I'll participate in culture and language training, as well as training designed to prepare me for my job as a Math Teacher in secondary schools. The primary language I'll be learning is Kinyarwanda, which is spoken by everyone in Rwanda, but I will be teaching in English, and will likely find myself using French on a day-to-day basis as well.
My intent with this blog is to help facilitate the Peace Corps' goal of fostering a better understanding by Americans of other cultures. It will also serve to some degree as a communication tool, mostly in that I will be able to update my address and other contact information in one place rather than sending out a bunch of e-mails. As far as personal communication, I intend to write e-mails and letters, and I encourage you to do the same (I love getting mail). My e-mail address will remain the same, and I will be posting my mailing address in a sidebar on the blog.
Hopefully, this can become a bit of a reader-driven project, so if anyone would like more information about a particular aspect of Rwandan culture, or perhaps just some Kinyarwanda vocabulary, I welcome the posting of comments to direct my blog.
I do not know how often I will post due to the possibility that I will not have easy access to the Internet, but I hope to post updates at least once per month.
Once again, muharo, and I hope you enjoy learning about Rwanda, The Land of a Thousand Hills.
Hi Matthew. I'm really looking forward to reading about your adventures and learning more about Rwanda.
ReplyDeleteI also love the posting of your Picasa pictures at the bottom, especially the "pink" face :)
Hi Matthew, What an adventure you are about to begin. We look forward to your posts and will keep you close in our hearts and prayers!
ReplyDeleteLove you, Aunt Susan and Uncle Phil
Welcome Matthew. My wife and I are also headed to Rwanda on Oct. 19th. We look forward to meeting you and getting to know everyone over the next 2 years. Its going to be quite an advendute. Only 29 more days to go!!
ReplyDeleteMy daughter has been there 7 months now with the previous health group. You are in for the experience of your life.
ReplyDeleteMatthew, just wanted to drop a line and say hi. I will also be in your training group. In fact, We seem to have exactly the same invite. Less than a month! looking forward to it all!
ReplyDelete-Shawn
shawngrund@blogspot.com
Im a Peace Corps Volunteer in Namibia. Im about to finish my service here and we wanna do some traveling. We plan to be in Rwanda some time after mid January. Were wondering if you could answer a few questions for us.
ReplyDeleteWe dont have many leads.
What are the best things to do in Rwanda?
How much are Visas? Is there any special process we need to know about when buying them?
Generally how much do food and travel cost?
Can you free hike, or is that too dangerous? If not what are the general forms of travel, combi, bus, trains, something else?
Where are the best places to stay?
What else should we know?
How many volunteers are there?
We would appreciate any help you could give us. Please write me back at natebloss@gmail.com if you have time.
Thanks,
Nate
Hi Matthew, welcome aboard! I'm a PCV currently in Rwanda. Check out the Facebook group for some packing suggestions, etc. -- "Peace Corps Rwanda - Education Invitees 2010"
ReplyDeleteHappy preparing!
Julie Ann
Darling, I've read your blog with great interest. I'm pleased that it appears you will have a good support group in the Peace Corps. That's reassuring. Can't wait for your next installment!
ReplyDeleteSorry. I think I used the wrong preposition when I wrote to you in French. Ah, well. I don't actually 'study' French. I just have fun in my French conversation class. Your Granny is an intellectual lightweight.
Lots and lots of love,
Granny
Granny
hey Matthew,I see it is 64 degrees where you're at, it is snowing and cold here in the big city of Glenrock. I miss you. Hope you are having a good time and everything is going well for you. Love Grandpa
ReplyDelete