The Close of Service of Health 2
By Devin M Johnson
Health 2 has finally reached the denouement of the extraordinary theatre that is Peace Corps Rwanda, and it‘s time we took our bows. Whatever role we played, here we stand, squinting in the lights, hoping not to get a putrid tomato to the skull. Some will receive flowers, blubbering, eyes leaking; others will run off-stage, frenzied to wipe the makeup off and change into street clothes; still others will wait in the wings for the next performance. No matter the amalgam of circumstances has driven us to blubbe, run, or linger in the wings; we are the rare, the wily, and the few that weren‘t murdered in the plot. Cheers to us!
From February 13th- 15th, we enjoyed the comforts of Kibuye‘s beautiful Moriah Hotel as we collectively reviewed the past and prepared for the future. It had been over a year since we‘d all been together; in that year each of us had marked his or her own meandering route to navigate Peace Corps Rwanda. Still, all it took was some immodestly large poster paper, and a generous flow of handouts to remind us of how choreographed this experience really is. Despite the distinctive paths we have each taken, I was at once comforted and deflated by Peace Corps‘ methodical conference style which expressed the latent truth that the past two years were only unique because they were designed to be so.
That kind of opposing duality seems to be a consistent part of Peace Corps; time has both crept and sped, our lives are both unique and common, we can‘t wait to leave but we want to stay here forever. In that spirit we did a few exercises to see where our experiences over-lapped and where they were matchless. On poster paper written with leading superlative statements such as, 'my biggest accomplishment,‘ and 'my worst memory,' we told the stories of Health 2 in brief, fascinating memo-ries. Here are a few of them:
Things I want to forget:
The stares!!!
How selfish I was at times when it came to visiting HCN‘s
Being spat at by a stranger when my mom was visiting
Roosters
Something I will never forget:
The power of forgiveness
A lady giving birth right outside my bedroom door
Waking up at 5 am to have the Rwandan army come in and search my house
My biggest accomplishment:
Not ETing!!!
Making true friends with HCN‘s
Learning sign language
Something I’ve learned:
You can‘t change people who don‘t want to change
Human nature is the same everywhere
Be kind to people even when they‘re not kind to you; laugh with them when they laugh at you
Funniest Moment:
Walking in on a sheep eating out of the frying pan in my house
Mixing up the Kinyarwanda words for "hyena" and "diarrhea" at a dinner party
Peanuts not the male reproductive organ
Doglet
What I liked best:
After two years still being amazed by how beautiful it is, and that I‘m living in Africa!
Used clothes shopping
When people say "Uri umunyarwandakazi"
What I’d like to take home:
A trash soccer ball
Drawings from my kids; "To Wamahoro my rove!"
Pictures of my community
Biggest challenge I overcame:
Complacency
Keeping my identity while integrating
Treating others with compassion even when I‘m treated poorly
This exercise was one of the most fun and enlightening experiences of the whole COS conference and indeed of all formulaic Peace Corps sharing exercises. It was only eclipsed by an informal session we held on the last night. Sonya
made superlatives for each of us ranging from "most likely to start their own NGO," to "most likely to become a cartoon character." Afterwards we planned a team building activity that had been suggested to us by some Zambia PCV‘s. Everyone
having chosen the name of another PCV out of a hat, we prepared some small anecdote, or memory to tell about them. At first this plan met with plenty of grumbling and petulance; "what if I can‘t think of anything?" "What if I get someone I‘m not really friends with?" The story teller and his or her subject were featured at the front of the room, and then everyone was allowed to toss in their own memories. Once the ball got rolling, it quickly dissolved into effusive public displays of emotion. It reminded me of an article I recently read from the Onion entitled "Female Friends Spend Raucous Night Validating the Living Shi* Out of Each Other."
Peace Corps, like any great theatre, elicits a wide range of both personal and universal emotional and intellectual experiences. In my private theatre, sometimes I feel like I played the role of lineless female villager; dressed as
a school-marm, I mimed gossip in the back-ground- "hssttt pshhta ta" *caricatured smile, indignant gesticulation.* But no matter the role we played, we‘ve all earned the right to stand and take our bows; every element of the play has been
essential. Indeed great art often involves formula, because the important themes in life can‘t and won‘t change; love, loss, truth and the immutability of history. I hope none of us regrets this wild experience, because we can‘t take it back.
That kind of opposing duality seems to be a consistent part of Peace Corps; time has both crept and sped, our lives are both unique and common, we can‘t wait to leave but we want to stay here forever. In that spirit we did a few exercises to see where our experiences over-lapped and where they were matchless. On poster paper written with leading superlative statements such as, 'my biggest accomplishment,‘ and 'my worst memory,' we told the stories of Health 2 in brief, fascinating memo-ries. Here are a few of them:
Things I want to forget:
The stares!!!
How selfish I was at times when it came to visiting HCN‘s
Being spat at by a stranger when my mom was visiting
Roosters
Something I will never forget:
The power of forgiveness
A lady giving birth right outside my bedroom door
Waking up at 5 am to have the Rwandan army come in and search my house
My biggest accomplishment:
Not ETing!!!
Making true friends with HCN‘s
Learning sign language
Something I’ve learned:
You can‘t change people who don‘t want to change
Human nature is the same everywhere
Be kind to people even when they‘re not kind to you; laugh with them when they laugh at you
Funniest Moment:
Walking in on a sheep eating out of the frying pan in my house
Mixing up the Kinyarwanda words for "hyena" and "diarrhea" at a dinner party
Peanuts not the male reproductive organ
Doglet
What I liked best:
After two years still being amazed by how beautiful it is, and that I‘m living in Africa!
Used clothes shopping
When people say "Uri umunyarwandakazi"
What I’d like to take home:
A trash soccer ball
Drawings from my kids; "To Wamahoro my rove!"
Pictures of my community
Biggest challenge I overcame:
Complacency
Keeping my identity while integrating
Treating others with compassion even when I‘m treated poorly
This exercise was one of the most fun and enlightening experiences of the whole COS conference and indeed of all formulaic Peace Corps sharing exercises. It was only eclipsed by an informal session we held on the last night. Sonya
made superlatives for each of us ranging from "most likely to start their own NGO," to "most likely to become a cartoon character." Afterwards we planned a team building activity that had been suggested to us by some Zambia PCV‘s. Everyone
having chosen the name of another PCV out of a hat, we prepared some small anecdote, or memory to tell about them. At first this plan met with plenty of grumbling and petulance; "what if I can‘t think of anything?" "What if I get someone I‘m not really friends with?" The story teller and his or her subject were featured at the front of the room, and then everyone was allowed to toss in their own memories. Once the ball got rolling, it quickly dissolved into effusive public displays of emotion. It reminded me of an article I recently read from the Onion entitled "Female Friends Spend Raucous Night Validating the Living Shi* Out of Each Other."
Peace Corps, like any great theatre, elicits a wide range of both personal and universal emotional and intellectual experiences. In my private theatre, sometimes I feel like I played the role of lineless female villager; dressed as
a school-marm, I mimed gossip in the back-ground- "hssttt pshhta ta" *caricatured smile, indignant gesticulation.* But no matter the role we played, we‘ve all earned the right to stand and take our bows; every element of the play has been
essential. Indeed great art often involves formula, because the important themes in life can‘t and won‘t change; love, loss, truth and the immutability of history. I hope none of us regrets this wild experience, because we can‘t take it back.