The Homestretch

-
It recently just hit me that I will be leaving Chapel Hill in 2 months before moving to Rwanda in June.  I've known that I was leaving since October, but now that I finally started finishing up  all the logistical things like medical appointments and vaccinations it is becoming more real than ever before.  I told my boss  that I would be leaving Duke for the Peace Corps about a month ago which was difficult but such a relief. These last few months in the states are going to be exciting as my departure date approaches but also very sad as it's getting closer to when I have to say goodbye to my family and friends.

I've lived in Chapel Hill for  almost 5 years- the longest  I've ever lived in one place. Although I don't consider it to be where I'm from it's definitely the place I call home. I've gotten so used to my life here which in one way is nice and comforting but on the other hand has made me eager for change, adventure, and a new experience. 

Until next time,
Vanessa 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Black Americanah in Rwanda

-
Image
I was inspired to write this post (well, series of ramblings) from an article I read today called  Blackness in the Peace Corps   and from the Peace Corps Black History Month initiative to hear and share the stories and experiences of PCVs around the world. In many of my previous blog posts I've mentioned in some way or another  how being a black PCV in Africa differs from the experiences of people of other races on the continent. That revelation really isn't too surprising. Oftentimes ones race influences ones experiences, with both similarities and differences encompassing them. For me, fully explaining my identity as Black/ African/ British/ American requires a long explanation of my family's heritage. If you know me personally, you've probably heard this lengthy explanation to some extent. Yes I'm American, I lived there for 18 of my 23 years of life.  But I was born in Wales, and have British citizenship. Ah yes, I'm African too. My Mom was born and
Read more

The Dirty South: Rwanda Edition!

-
Image
This week we found out our site placements, so where we will be moving to after we are officially sworn in as volunteers at the end of August! I'll be living in the Southern Province near the Burundi border in the Gisagara district  in a sector called Gikonko. I'll be working at the Gikonko Health Center and my primary job assignment will be to create programs to teach children and pregnant mothers life skills. Additionally my assignment focuses on assisting the community with hygiene, HIV/AIDS, and malaria. I'll be living in a village called Rugarama.  I am less than 3 hours away from Kigali- a 2 hour bus ride to Butare and then about a 45 minute moto ride to my village from Butare. Butare is the closest big town to me. This is where I'll be going to get the foods/ supplies that I can't find in my sector. Rumor has it that Butare has the best (and 1 of only 2)  Chinese food and ice cream places in the country! Although I was at first apprehensive about being
Read more

Senioritis

-
Image
  It’s been over a month since I’ve blogged, so here’s a much delayed post! A snippet of South Africa I visited South Africa for 10 days for a dental procedure. Although my med evac fell at an inconvenient time for me to leave site, I definitely won’t complain that I got a free trip to South Africa! Because I had a few appointments spread out over a 10 day span, I had a lot of free time. I spent the week seeing some of Pretoria, eating delicious food, taking hot showers, hanging out with some South Africa PCVs, enjoying a comfortable bed with multiple pillows!!!, visiting a family friend, eating grapes, and just enjoying my fakecation. I was hoping to be able to visit Johannesburg as well, but because of a last minute change in plans I wasn’t able to make it there this time around, but am planning to stop in South Africa as part of my COS (Close of Service) trip so I’m not too disappointed. Ndi Umunyamerika When I returned to Rwanda I was hit with a sudden case of Se
Read more