Highs and Lows and the end of September.

(Les and I made salsa today. The onions made us get super teary eyed)

(On our way to Trev and Brooke's wedding. This was our first reception all together)

This is me starting to scrapbook Africa. With over 1000 pictures I figured I should probably get started.

This week was a great one! Here’s what went down:



HIGHS
· Sunday was spent with Brock. I ate dinner over at his mom’s house with the family. She is an amazing cook and I love going over there. I finally got cute Emrie to talk to me when we played after dinner!
· I FINALLY found the perfect lamp shade for my Eiffel Tower lamp! It’s been sitting there since the middle of last semester without one. Not only did I get the lamp sitch taken care of but I was able to get new red, black and cream colored towels for my bathroom and I got the Paris poster and shelf all hung up.
· I was given a hug by both Helen and Nick who are in my reading group that I work with everyday. Reading is a challenge for these little kids and I expect a lot from them, so it’s nice to know that they still like me after all that. I love that kids love you no matter what!
· Thursday I gave the “wedding haircut” to my awesome friend Trevor. I met him freshmen year and we’ve been great friends since then. I can’t believe he’s married! I wish him much luck.



LOWS
· Wednesday I realized that I had this MASSIVE assignment due the next day that we had had weeks to work on. I totally forgot about it! So guess what that means? Wednesday night was spent at the computer lab. Seriously, I was there from 8:45-1:30 in the morning. One of these days I’ll get on top of things and not have to pull all nighters-but I’m guessing I won’t learn my lesson until AFTER school is over for me.
· The next day in class we peer edited our assignments. The girl editing mine and I both had questions so we asked for help from the teacher. I told him what I did on my assignment and asked if I did it correct. He proceeded to tell me to stop trying to impress him and make him think that I’m all creative. I walked away feeling like an idiot with a realization that it’s teacher’s like him who make me want to be a GOOD teacher who actually helps students and makes them feel good.
· I missed the Africa benefit concert. I heard it was great and that the slideshow is amazing. Whitney, I still want to show you all the pictures and one of the girls from the trip made a slideshow that she’s mailing to me this week, so I’ll have to show you soon!
· All week long I’ve been missing Africa like crazy. I’m looking into different things I could do there next summer. Anyone want to go with?





So all in all it's been a good one. Next weekend Brock is coming up to Logan to visit and i'm super excited for that so i'm looking forward to this week! I can't believe it's almost October. Where does time go?

Hotel Rwanda

Rwanda- There was once genocide there. That may be all the information that others know about this country.

What do I know about Rwanda? I know that of the ten different countries I’ve traveled to, it’s on my list of most beautiful countries in the world. I know that it was once a country filled with hate and anguish. I know that as I left that country I felt like there was a part of me that changed.

Last night I watched the Movie Hotel Rwanda with some friends for the first time. Having seen and experienced firsthand made the movie even more meaningful. As I lay watching it, sobbing my eyes out, I felt many of the same feelings I felt as I visited the country to learn of their past. I thought about how sad it is that I can watch this movie and then when it’s over turn it off, walk away, and I don’t have to think about it anymore- how easy it is for me, but not so easy for the people whose reality this was/is. I don’t have to worry about being hurt or even picked on for the color of my skin or the tribe that I’m from. Thinking all this made me realize that Rwanda was what I wanted to write about for this week’s Africa post.

As I was spending my time in Rwanda I couldn’t help but look at the people surrounding me and wonder, “What was their part in the genocide? Did they lose family members? Friends? Did they do their best to help others, or were they some that kept that hate going? Were they almost killed, or did they participate in the killing?”

First, we visited the Kigali memorial centre. It's purpose is to pay recognition to those who lost their lives, but also to educate others so that they are aware of what a genocide is, where they have taken place, and how to prevent them from happening in the future. While there I learned more about a genocide then I have ever learned about them in my life. There was a section dedicated to the children in Rwanda who died. It had a few facts about their lives: what they liked to do, how old they were, where they were from. Then it showed a picture of them and had how they died and what their last words were. It was devastating to see.

Then we went to the Mill Colline Hotel. We were able to hear the story of a man who lived in the Hotel the entire time. His wife had their first son in the hotel.

While we were in Rwanda we drove about four hours to see a school where a major event happened. It went a little like this: In 1994 when the Tutsi’s needed help, they called upon their government. The government promised them help if they could just gather themselves together at this school. What they really had in mind, however, was to starve the people for two weeks so that they were so weak they couldn’t fight back, and then come in and kill all of them. That’s exactly what they did too. Of the many many people that were there, only three survived. I was able to meet two of them.

As I walked from room to room in the school where so many lives had been taken, just looking at the remains, I had a million thoughts running through my head. No longer was Rwanda that one place where the movie Hotel Rwanda was filmed. All of a sudden it was a place where many INNOCENT lives had been taken. It was a place where anger once ruled the hearts of many.

As I looked at the preserved bodies with the pearl necklace or ring, or t-shirt still on them I wondered what that person felt like as he/she was kept in the room to starve. I wondered what their life was like before the genocide, what happened to their family, what kinds of things did they like to do? I felt a deep sadness in me, one that is impossible to describe. I felt a mixture of shock, fear, sadness, confusion, anger, love, patriotism, gratefulness, and hope. Shock: that something so terrible could happen. That so many people could be so consumed with hatred that they would do something like that. Fear: that something like that can/may happen again. Sadness: for all the lives torn apart and destroyed. Confusion: as to where all that hatred came from. Anger: for the amount of devastation these people caused. For the lack of help that the people of Rwanda received from the rest of the world. Love: for the people of Rwanda who gave their lives to save others. For the people in my life whom I know will not betray my trust. Patriotism: for my country. For the place that I am fortunate enough to be able to live in. For the presidents who care for our country. For the people who fight for our country. For the protection we receive. Gratefulness: for the life I am able to lead. Hope: for the future.

As I heard the personal testimonies from two of the survivors, I felt a small amount of their sadness and pain. I looked at the dent in the man’s head from the bullet wound and wondered what his life was like right now. I wondered if he thought of the genocide every single day of his life. I wondered if he still had nightmares about it. I wondered if he could or had ever learned to forgive the people that hurt him. I wondered if I would be able to forgive those people, had the same thing happened to me.

Like so many other times in Africa I was humbled. I learned another one of those, “your life is not so bad” lessons.

The BEST surprise ever! (and the new blog idea)

I have a feeling that this particular blog will embarrass Brock a little, but I have to do it! Last

Thursday I was busy just going about my day as usual. I had just gotten home from my practicum in Smithfield and was busy making lunch before class. Michelle came in and we were talking for a little bit. I told her how excited I was that I was going to see Brock the next day (Friday). She kinda acted a little weird for a second. Then, Les came in and we all talked for a second. Out of nowhere they both got up and went back to their rooms and closed their doors. Then, the doorbell rang. I called from the kitchen for the person to come in, but nobody came. Then I went to answer it. I opened the door and was shocked when I saw Brock standing at the door with my favorite flowers! I ran out and gave him a giant hug and then told him at least 100 times that I couldn't believe he was there! It was awesome and really just made my whole week! Les, Michelle and Brock did a great job keeping it a secret because I honestly had NO idea anything like that would happen. For those of you who were wondering, Brock works for his dad's piano moving company and had to do a move up in Logan so he was already planning on coming anyway, but I absolutely LOVED the surprise! Isn't he so cute?

* I feel really bad turning my Africa blog into a blog about life....I don't know why, so I decided that I'm going to try and post one regular blog a week and then maybe one blog about something from Africa that I didn't write about when I was there. If you think that's a lame idea and you don't care about Africa then let me know, but at least I won't feel so bad if I do that AND maybe it will help me remember some things about it that I have already forgotten.

Africa remains......

David and Lindsi being their crazy selves!

This is some of the girls at the party at the Sullivan's. It was so exciting seeing everyone. Seriously, I couldn't take the huge smile off my face! Everyone looked so nice with make-up, their hair done, and clothes that weren't completely covered in dirt. We were the party poopers of the group because we didn't want to swim.

A few weekends ago Emily decided to come up to visit her brother. We were so glad she came so we made her come hang out with us too! Then, DJ decided to come up and it just turned into a freakin awesome africa party at the good ol' Logan demolition derby. It was so good to see all of the friends, and it was a great preview for the Sullivan party this last weekend!