quick apologetic update :)

Faithful blog readers -

I really haven't forgotten about you, I promise. I have a ton of great photos to post, but alas they are stuck on my camera. Something is wrong with my software on my computer that enables them to transfer. So, be patient! Photos soon!

Life is really good here. My time is spent on a multitude of things: teaching, walking up and down hills, watching beautiful sunrises and sunsets, making models of habitats out of found objects with my students, experimenting with cooking, seeing the kids and staff at New Hope Homes once or twice a week, learning Kinyarwanda, meeting new friends, playing guitar, riding motos, yoga class, and the list goes on.... but you are probably tired from one that long!

More soon, I promise. It will be in the form of pictures. :)

Much love! And please, email me if you'd like to skype. Our internet is down at the house, but its working at the school. I'd love to talk with you.

I'm going to warn you ahead of time that this post will have no pictures. I honestly haven't pulled out the camera this week, much to my dismay. I've been incredibly busy getting my classroom and lesson plans ready as well as settling into housing, meeting people, handwashing clothes, cooking, and the list goes on! The artistic bug inside of me is nagging, however, so look for pretty photos soon!

Perhaps the most entertaining story of the past week was on a trip to Kibeho with the kids and Donna from New Hope Homes. Donna has a sincere and amazing connection with a nun who lives in Kibeho, a small town high up on a mountain in the southern part of Rwanda. This place is one of a few in the world that the Catholic church has deemed holy - a place where Mary has been seen in visions and prophecies. The woman who saw her as a school girl in the 1980s is still there, praying for and ministering to people. Now that the background is done... here's the story:

We visited Kibeho and went to mass there last Sunday. I took the kids to a nearby restaurant for lunch and we learned that instead of eating there, we needed to get back home ASAP so our lunch was quickly shoveled into to go containers and we were, pedal to the metal, cruising back through the mountains. Did I say the roads in Rwanda are amazing? They are, but they are still very windy, and can get bumpy in places. Combine these roads with children's full bellies and you get yes, you guessed it, some rather unpleasant sounds, smells, and sights. I don't think I've ever seen --I'm going to say it, puke-- in so many ziploc bags before. It was actually really funny. I'm glad I have a strong stomach. :)

So after the puking was done, we get pulled over. The situation was solved a few hours later, but in the meantime our car is having a lot of trouble starting. Thank goodness I burned my foot, because I had a roll of medical tape with me. The driver used my tape to keep the chords connected to the battery and secured it down with a big rock. It was ingenious. I was very impressed.

Eventually, we made it home and I was able to catch some sleep. But I'm pretty sure its not possible to travel anywhere without at least a little entertainment. :)

Donuts!

Good morning from Kigali! I am officially one week into life here in Rwanda. Its been a great week. I’m settling in well. The highlight of the week was visiting the kids at New Hope Homes.They are as beautiful, smart, and loving as ever. On Saturday I brought donuts, a rarity here in Kigali. Here is Fabiola, Kayitesi, and Alice digging in:

More later! Miss you all.