Beginnings: Education 3
By Sara Gaul
After a long three months of preservice training, the Education 3 group finally took the oath on December 15 to serve in Rwanda for the next two years. Some of us have dreamed of this since childhood and some decided to apply during college, but it is now a reality. As part of this new group, I am happy to say that we are officially Peace Corps Volunteers.
During our swearin at U.S. Ambassador Don Koran’s house in Kigali, we munched on an American style buffet with meatballs, pizza, guacamole and a massive cake. On the Ambassador’s sprawling porch with cushioned furniture, we conversed with Peace Corps staff, current volunteers and Rwandan government officials. We marveled at his Christmas tree, complete with ornaments and garland. But what our life consisted of a few days ago seems so far from reach now. In our own homes across Rwanda, we replaced the Ambassador’s Christmas tree with smaller fiber optic versions, if any tree at all. We are lucky to have any piece of furniture, even if it comes without cushions. Instead of a porch, we have muddy compounds. Or we have just a single room to ourselves.
We knew the Kigali life could not last forever, and to complete our service we had to eventually step out on our own. Like with college graduation, we have the initial panic moment of “What do I do now?” and we spend a few days to dote upon our past. Maybe we no longer have the help of Mama wanjye or an umukozi, but we do have the knowledge of what we learned during training to guide us. And we have the security and comfort of our own house when we get too overwhelmed.
Armed with basic conversational skills in Kinyarwanda thanks to our phenomenal LCFs, we will begin integrating into our new communities. After practicing English and ICT lessons during model school, we will teach Rwandan students in our own schools. Although we were anxious to leave training and excited to become Volunteers, Kamonyi District had become our safe haven. We knew we were only a short walk from each other if we needed help. We knew the best shop owners, who were more than happy to make us a crepe or an omelet.
Now, we must reestablish ourselves, and this time we must do it alone. But this is the Peace Corps experience; it is what we signed up to do. Our new communities are excited for our help and we are anxious to learn from them. We are as ready as we can be for the challenges of serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer.
During our swearin at U.S. Ambassador Don Koran’s house in Kigali, we munched on an American style buffet with meatballs, pizza, guacamole and a massive cake. On the Ambassador’s sprawling porch with cushioned furniture, we conversed with Peace Corps staff, current volunteers and Rwandan government officials. We marveled at his Christmas tree, complete with ornaments and garland. But what our life consisted of a few days ago seems so far from reach now. In our own homes across Rwanda, we replaced the Ambassador’s Christmas tree with smaller fiber optic versions, if any tree at all. We are lucky to have any piece of furniture, even if it comes without cushions. Instead of a porch, we have muddy compounds. Or we have just a single room to ourselves.
We knew the Kigali life could not last forever, and to complete our service we had to eventually step out on our own. Like with college graduation, we have the initial panic moment of “What do I do now?” and we spend a few days to dote upon our past. Maybe we no longer have the help of Mama wanjye or an umukozi, but we do have the knowledge of what we learned during training to guide us. And we have the security and comfort of our own house when we get too overwhelmed.
Armed with basic conversational skills in Kinyarwanda thanks to our phenomenal LCFs, we will begin integrating into our new communities. After practicing English and ICT lessons during model school, we will teach Rwandan students in our own schools. Although we were anxious to leave training and excited to become Volunteers, Kamonyi District had become our safe haven. We knew we were only a short walk from each other if we needed help. We knew the best shop owners, who were more than happy to make us a crepe or an omelet.
Now, we must reestablish ourselves, and this time we must do it alone. But this is the Peace Corps experience; it is what we signed up to do. Our new communities are excited for our help and we are anxious to learn from them. We are as ready as we can be for the challenges of serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer.