Leave

This post is going to be a little self-reflection, not really the typical "here's-what-I've-been-doing-in-Africa."  So, if you don't care to listen to my rambling, I hope this encourages you. 

The following in a excerpt from Through Painted Deserts by Donald Miller. He posted this today on his blog, and it just really touches upon a lot of the things I have been thinking about during my time here in Arusha.  I think this post was meant for me.  Here is the blog post.  Enjoy, maybe it will speak to you too.

"Here is something I found to be true: you don’t start processing death until you turn thirty. I live in visions, for instance, and they are cast out some fifty years, and just now, just last year I realized my visions were cast too far, they were out beyond my life span. It frightened me to think of it, that I passed up an early marriage or children to write these silly books, that I bought the lie that the academic life had to be separate from relational experience, as though God only wanted us to learn cognitive ideas, as if the heart of a man were only created to resonate with movies. No, life cannot be understood flat on a page. It has to be lived; a person has to get out of his head, has to fall in love, has to memorize poems, has to jump off bridges into rivers, has to stand in an empty desert and whisper sonnets under his breath:

I’ll tell you how the sun rose

A ribbon at a time . . .

It’s a living book, this life; it folds out in a million settings, cast with a billion beautiful characters, and it is almost over for you. It doesn’t matter how old you are; it is coming to a close quickly, and soon the credits will roll and all your friends will fold out of your funeral and drive back to their homes in cold and still and silence. And they will make a fire and pour some wine and think about how you once were . . . and feel a kind of sickness at the idea you never again will be.

So soon you will be in that part of the book where you are holding the bulk of the pages in your left hand, and only a thin wisp of the story in your right. You will know by the page count, not by the narrative, that the Author is wrapping things up. You begin to mourn its ending, and want to pace yourself slowly toward its closure, knowing the last lines will speak of something beautiful, of the end of something long and earned, and you hope the thing closes out like last breaths, like whispers about how much and who the characters have come to love, and how authentic the sentiments feel when they have earned a hundred pages of qualification.

And so my prayer is that your story will have involved some leaving and some coming home, some summer and some winter, some roses blooming out like children in a play. My hope is your story will be about changing, about getting something beautiful born inside of you, about learning to love a woman or a man, about learning to love a child, about moving yourself around water, around mountains, around friends, about learning to love others more than we love ourselves, about learning oneness as a way of understanding God.

We get one story, you and I, and one story alone. God has established the elements, the setting and the climax and the resolution. It would be a crime not to venture out, wouldn’t it?
It might be time for you to go. It might be time to change, to shine out.

I want to repeat one word for you:

Leave.

Roll the word around on your tongue for a bit. It is a beautiful word, isn’t it? So strong and forceful, the way you have always wanted to be. And you will not be alone. You have never been alone. Don’t worry. Everything will still be here when you get back. It is you who will have changed."

I have struggled with the idea of creating my own story since I read Donald's book, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years a few years ago.  With the nudge from his beautifully written prose, I continually ask myself, "Am I living a good story?"  I have to admit, living in Arusha has not been the easiest thing.  I have realized since my time abroad how dependent I am on certain people in my life; I count on them to affirm me, make me feel important, and define my worth.  Now while I am not saying it isn't important to have great people in your life who do these things for you, I have come to realize that in the end, I have to be strong enough on my own, bold in my endeavours, and love myself regardless of what others say or do. I have to be confident in who I am.  I have to be unafraid to write a good story. 

I'm thankful that I am writing a story that involves some coming and going. 

My story involves hanging out with eighteen incredible children in Nepal, playing with kids in a low-income neighborhood in Wingate, North Carolina.  A part of my story is about spending countless lazy afternoons on the lake with my family, and hiking the Natural Bridge in Kentucky with some of my best friends.  My story involves praying with one of my best friends before she walks down the aisle to a man who makes her happier than I have ever seen her.  My story involves laughing so hard, I cry.

I'm thankful my story includes friends who drive to my moot court competition just to be there, even though they have no idea what I will be talking about for twenty minutes.  I can never thank this group of crazy-wonderful chracters who unconditionally love me, through all my mistakes and messes, who call me out when I need some accountability and cheer me on when I triumph.  I'm grateful my story showcases a family of amazing individuals who collectively believe in me and my abilities, even when I sometimes don't see my own potential, and encourages me to do anything and everything I could ever set out to do. 

I'm glad I am writing a new chapter.  A chapter about leaving...

I'm thankful that by the grace of God, I left Kentucky, my little bubble, for this internship and experience.  I have seen beautiful sunrises and sunsets, mountains, and lakes; I have witnesses the beautiful scene of grace and reconciliation in Rwanda during my time there; I have been accepted into an international family of young people who are going to do incredible things with their lives, things that will change the world; and I have felt myself grow in ways I never imagined. 

My prayer is that there will be other opportunities to leave, whether that be physically leaving some place or the opportunity to close one door and step through another.  I want to continue to learn and build authentic, real relationships with the people in my life.  I hope that I am able to see only good in others, to love unconditionally and without judgment.  And most of all, I am truly grateful that leaving is never easy.  This strange step involves not only the boldness to go into the unknown, but the ability to let go in faith that regardless of how far I go, it's never alone. 

I'm thankful for a beautiful reminder this morning, the gentle nudge to live life to the fullest, to be a part of a beautiful story.

Korean Food in Africa

All in all, this was another lazy week/weekend in Arusha.  Two of my housemates were gone this weekend.  Kris went to Lake Victoria, the second largest lake in the world, to explore.  Faith went on safari.  They both were gone all weekend, not to return until Tuesday.  So it was Jane, Katariina, and myself in Arusha this weekend. 

Thursday night is generally the night to go out in Arusha.  The popular "mzungu" (foreigner) spot on Thursday night is a dance club/bar/restaurant called Via Via.  It has become one of my favorite spots in Arusha.  During the average day, one can sit in the outdoor restaurant and enjoy delicious salads and cold drinks; but on Thursday night, this place is radically transformed into the most exciting nightlife spot in Arusha.  It has an outdoor dance floor, live DJ, tons of local dancers who "battle" on the dance floor, two bars, and a huge bonfire with lots of seating.  On Thursday, I went out to eat with some of my housemates and fellow intern friends.  We ate at a local Chinese place called the "Dragon Pearl" which in our opinion is the best in town.  After Chinese, it wasn't quite time to head to Via Via as the festivities don't kick off until around midnight, so we decided to head to Mt. Meru Hotel (yes, the fancy one) and enjoy some dessert and wine.  The group ordered a mint chocolate sundae, and two warm-chocolate tarts with ice cream, both of which were amazing.  We also ordered a couple of bottles of wine, and enjoyed each others company.  At around midnight, we headed to Via Via.  Our group stayed until around 4 a.m.  I've never been a fan of the "dance club" in the US; however, at Via Via, I am a dancing fool!  I love dancing under the African stars, there is just something about it, it feels really special. 

On Friday, I decided it was finally time to purchase my hiking boots for Mt. Kilimanjaro.  I knew I needed to get some so I could start wearing them around, getting them worn in so I won't kill my feet during the climb.  I found a great pair for around $70, and my size was the only size left.  Apparently, I was meant to own these boots.  Jane and I also shopped around at some of the stores in the little shopping complex.  There was a bookstore, and some beautiful souvenirs stores that had some fantastic Masai beaded jewelry.  That night, we met up with some others at the restaurant called "The Blue Heron." It is very nice restaurant in Arusha with lovely outdoor seating in a garden.  We enjoyed some fresh pizzas and desserts.  After that, we decided to watch "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" which was hilarious.  All in all, a very low-key night, but very fun. 

Saturday was an exciting day.  One of the interns here is Korean, and his family lives here in Arusha as missionaries.  He invited a group of interns over to his home to enjoy some homemade Korean food with his family.  He picked us up in Arusha and took us wayyyy outside of the city to a Bible college.  His father is a Methodist pastor, and the family has lived in Africa for many many years.  It was such a treat to have a home cooked meal and to be inside a home with a family.  It was such a fun day, getting to know some of the interns who work in other parts of the Tribunal and try some new food!  Overall, Korean food gets an A+ in my book.  It was delicious.  I hope to find a Korean restaurant back in Cincinnati, but I'm positive it will not live up to this!  All of the veggies were grown on location; all the cheese was produced on location; and all of the meat was raised on location.  Talk about some fresh, good-for-the-soul food.  After we had dinner, we we were treated to a tour of the Bible College.  Below are some pictures from the day...

Before...

After...oh geeze.

Little walk to see the landscape which include lots of livestock and nice gardens.

Mt. Meru.  The second highest peak in Tanzania (second to Mt. Kilimanjaro)

Some of our veggies were grown here.  Yum.

On Sunday, Jane and I decided to be dedicated gym-goers, and went to the gym at the Tribunal first thing in the morning.  We worked out for about an hour.  I am trying to do a lot of running as well as squats, lunges, and calve raises to get fit for all that climbing I'll be doing in December on Kilimanjaro.  We decided to go to a cute little bistro called Picasso Cafe.  It has great soups, sandwiches, salads, and wraps.  I had a sweet-chili chicken wrap with avocado and finished with a little bit of cheesecake.  Dessert seems to be a prominent theme in my life these days.  Katariina, Jane, and I went back to the house for a little HBO movie watching.  Unfortunately, Twilight was on, but we were thankful for power/electricity and an opportunity to lay around on the couches, so Twilight it was.  Eric, the son of the family who manages our property, came over in the afternoon to ask if he and the security guard could watch a football match on our TV.  There was a big game: Manchester United v. Manchester City.  It was hilarious to hear the two bicker back and forth about this match (Eric was for Manchester City and the security guard was cheering for Manchester United).  It sounded like any group of guys yelling at a college game in the US, and it was very entertaining. 

Well, I am back at work today.  I have a lot to do this week to get ready for my Mom's visit.  I have to finish some safari planning and get some tours set up for her so she can explore a little of Arusha while I am at work.  I cannot believe she gets here on Saturday!  It's crazy to think that after she leaves, I will only have 3 weeks left of my internship, a week of climbing Mt. Kili, then I head to Dar/Zanzibar for the study abroad program, and then home!  Time is going by so quickly!

Lazy Weekend

Not much to report on the African homefront this week.  Last weekend was spent literally doing nothing, which was a nice break from my previous weekends of travel to, from and around Rwanda.  Three of my housemates went to Zanzibar for a long weekend, so the house was very quiet with only two of us remaining  here in Arusha. 

On Firday night, I was a dedicated UK basketball fan and stayed up to watch Big Blue Madness.  I took a little nap until Big Blue Madness started, and then watched it live via online streaming.  I was up till almost 4:30 a.m.  However, it was amazing and totally worth it.  My goodness, this team is going to be incredible.  I love that we have fresh, new talent, but some returning favorites of mine (Miller and Lamb).  I am expecting great things from this team, and am hoping it is the team that brings home the 8th National Championship!  Wow, I get so excited when I think about basketball starting in the bluegrass.  Although I must admit, it did make me quite homesick this weekend.  It makes me miss my family especially since UK basketball is something my family and I watch together. 

On Saturday night, I went out with a friend and tried a new restaurant called Khan's BBQ.  It is a very interesting restaurant as it is a auto-parts store by day and restaurant at night.  Literally, in the evening, the owner rolls out a few grills, sets up a "buffet" style table full of delicious salads, and starts grilling meat (lamb, beef, or chicken) and naan (Indian bread).  It was so good!  Without any trouble, my friend and I ate an ENTIRE chicken between the two of us.  They put some kind of Indian spice rub on the chicken, and it was truly fantastic.  While I do get tired of the food here sometimes, I know once I return home I am going to miss the unique types of foods I have been able to try while here in Tanzania.  After dinner, we headed to the fancy hotel to get some ice cream.  I have the biggest sweet tooth, and have discovered the best ice cream in town comes from the best hotel in town (naturally).  I ordered something different from my typical chocolate milk shake, and opted for the chocolate-mint sundae.  It was basically five scoops of mint and chocolate swirl ice cream with chocolate sauce.  Oh. My. Gosh.  It was out of this world! 

On Sunday, I layed around all day and read "Persuasion" by Jane Austen.  I am trying to read a lot while I am here because I have the time unlike during semesters at school.  Thus far, I have read: Room, One Day, The Street Lawyer, and about 130 pages of Atlast Shrugged (had to stop, needed a break, it's very heavy reading), and now Persuasion.  We are almost out of books between the five of us at the white house.  Although, I know of a legal officer who has a great collection of books (have already been scooping out future reads), and she said I could borrow a book anytime.  So no worries, there is plenty of good books that will keep me occupied!

In other news, my mom will be here in 10 days!  I can't wait.  I have been busy planning our safari, and I know she is going to love it.  We are going to be visitng Taragire National Park, Ngorangora Crater Convervatory Park, and Seregeti National Park.  We are also going to do some shopping, sightseeing and eating around Arusha.  Drive to see Mt. Kilimanjaro (hopefully there will be no clouds).  She is going to visit the ICTR and hopefully sit in court for a litte while.  And I am sending her on a coffee plantation visit.  Needless to say, she is going to be very tired after her stay in Tanzania. 

Oh, and my Dad, brother and Mom all let me know last night that we have UK SEASON BASKETBALL TICKETS FOR THE 2011-2012 SEASON!  Best. News. Ever.  I can't wait to get back home and head to Rupp Arena. 

GO CATS, much love from Tanzania. 

Surprise Birthday Party

Upon my return from Rwanda, I was surprised by my housemates and other friends by a birthday party.  I was told that we would be going out for my birthday dinner at around 8:00 p.m.  All of my housemates except one joined.  The housemate who did not come to eat is Jewish and had to have dinner before sundown (Jewish holiday).  Therefore, she decided to stay back.  I went along with the others, completely oblivious to the possibility of a top-secret birthday party in the works.  We went to a wonderful Indian restaurant called Vama, and enjoyed a long, relaxing meal.  Afterward, we made our way back to the house.  One of my housemates sent a text, letting the group at the house know we were on our way.  We arrived at the house, and pulled through the gate.  I was so surprised to see tons of people and big, pink balloons everywhere!  I had been gone for a week from Arusha, and was so happy to see all of my fellow intern friends. 

My housemates and friend did fabulous; there were balloons, a big "happy birthday" banner, party masks, and chocolate birthday cake (!!!!!) which was out of this world.  As a birthday present, my housemates had bought me some beverages for the night and some pieces of fudge.  I enjoyed seeing everyone and getting to celebrate my birthday with so many wonderful friends.  I feel super thankful to be a part of this internship group, and very lucky to have such a wonderful community of friends here in Arusha.  This birthday was definitely one of my most memorable birthdays, and I'm sure that will always be the case. 

Here are some pictures from the party!

White House Ladies...I LOVE my housemates!

Chocolate/Chocolate Cake! Per-fect-ion!

Making a wish

Overall, it was a great 24th birthday!

Rwanda Adventures (Part II)

So I need to finish wrapping up my sightseeing in Rwanda. 

On Tuesday and Wednesday, I traveled to Gisenyi, which is in the western part of Rwanda, about 2 km from the DRC and Goma the capital of DRC.  The town is located right on Lake Kivu, which is beautiful.  I was able to travel around with investigators and attorneys interviewing witnesses for my case.  It was interesting to meet witnesses, and hear their story.  I also got to see the crime scenes from my case.  After seeing this area, I know that my work will be more interesting as I am able to imagine these places in my head as I am doing work back at the ICTR. 




Lake Kivu

 

On Thursday, October 6, my birthday, I decided to go and visit one of the church memorials about 30 km outside of Kigali.  The church was located in the town of Nyamata.  It was definitely an adventure just to get to Nyamata.  I had to take a moto-taxi to the huge bus park, which upon seeing the picture below, you will understand the overwhelming feeling of trying to find the one bus to Nyamata, it is essentially like finding a needle in a haystack.  Anyways, after a few minutes of searching, a stranger, who noticed I was definitely a foreigner with no idea where I was going, helped me find the correct bus.  I paid about $1.50 for the 45 minute ride, and was dropped off in the middle of nowhere.  Rwandans speak French as a second language, so it is hard to find people who speak English.  A moto-taxi driver stopped after I waved him down, and for about 10 minutes, using hand gestures, English, and lots of pointing to my guidebook, we were finally about to get an understanding that I wanted to get to the Nyamata Memorial and that I wanted him to drive me there on his motorcycle.  This Memorial was very different from the other two I had visited earlier in the week; however, this one was just as powerful.  It was left basically the same after the Tutsi were killed at the church, so there were hundreds of piles of clothing laying around on the long wooden pews.  As a religious person myself, I found it unbearably sad that such tragedy happened in a church.  These people had flocked to this central symbol of hope in their community only to find themselves trapped and brutally murdered.  There were also mass graves there, and I believe it is believed that about 10,000 people died within the walls the confines of the church. 

The Bus Station...where approximately 1 million buses are parked.

Nyatama Church Memorial (outside of Kigali)

After visiting the church, I found a bus and made my way back to Kigali.  I went to a souvenir shop to find some postcards, then I went to a really great coffee shop/cafe.  At the cafe, I ran into another intern who had been in Rwanda for the week on a site visit.  He and I had lunch together and walked around the city for a while.  We also made plans to meet up later that evening to go out for a proper "birthday" dinner.  We decided on Ethiopian food as I had heard there was a fantastic Ethiopian place in town, and the other intern had never tried Ethiopian before.  Dinner was wonderful; there was so much food.  I even got a birthday song from the owner; it was a very weird/random song, but a birthday song nonetheless and very nice of him to sing for me.  After dinner, I went back to the hotel and got some sleep.  I was exhausted and had to make a early flight the next morning.




My 24th Birthday Dinner...it was fantastic. 

 

Overall, I loved Rwanda.  It was beautiful, green, lush, and a nice break from dusty, little Arusha.  I think it was wonderful to get to see some of the sights, and definitely helped me understand the genocide/my work more.  I had a wonderful time visiting, and the people of Rwanda are incredible.

Rwanda Adventures (Part I)

Since arriving back in East Africa, I knew one adventure that needed to happen during my time here was a trip to Rwanda.  Luckily, as an intern in Office of the Prosecutor, some interns are lucky enough to be allowed to join attorneys and investigators to do a "mission."  This usually entails meeting with witnesses, visiting crime scenes, and collecting other relevant information to assist in the indictment/trial.  I was told by my supervisor that I could attend a mission in Rwanda.  Therefore, I arrived in Rwanda last Friday, September 30, and will be leaving on Friday, October 7. 

Last weekend, two of my roommates, another OTP intern, and I did some sightseeing around Kigali and Rwanda.  On Saturday, Jane and I decided to go to Butare and visit the Gikongoro Genocide Memorial.  This village is very small and would be forgettable if not for the horrors that took place here during the genocide.  The memorial is an old technical college.  During the genocide, refugees flocked here in the hopes of protection.  This was very hard to see, and it is one of the most powerful genocide memorials as hundreds of bodies have been exhumed, preserved with powdered lime, and appear exactly as they did when killed.  As our travel book stated, "Gikongoro can be overwhelming, and not everyone can stomach it for more than a few minutes; it is however, another poignant reminder to all of us of what came to pass here, and why it must never be allowed to happen again."  As an ICTR intern, it was something Jane and I both felt we needed to see and experience.  We read and work on the genocide for hours every day; however, I was only seven years old when the genocide happened.  I have no recollection of hearing about it on the news.  Sometimes I feel very detached from what happened here, and this was a powerful reminder of why I wanted to do this internship.  We had to take a 2.5 hr bus ride to Butare, then a 30 minute bus ride to Gikongoro, and then a 2.5 km motor-taxi ride to the Memorial.  I am deathly afraid of motorcycles, so I took a picture of me on it, just to prove that I did it.  Here are some pictures of Butare and our day at the Memorial....



Jane and I after visiting the memorial




Riding a moto-taxi, maybe the most exciting/scary thing I've done in Africa thus far!




Gikongora Memorial

 On Sunday, we met up with some other interns from the ICTR to visit the sights in Kigali.  We went to the Kigali Genocide Memorial which is where the remains of around 250,000 Tutsi people are buried.  It was a very interesting exhibit.  Upstairs after leaving the Rwandan genocide section, there was an exhibit on all the genocides that have happened all over the world.  I appreciated the opportunity to learn more about genocide in general and about all the genocides that have happened all over the world.  On a plaque at the genocide memorial, I read a quote that really moved me, the quote said, " When they said 'never again' after the holocaust, was it meant for some people and not for others," said by Rwandan Apollon Katahizi, who survived the genocide.  Again, it was a powerful experience to see the memorial and try to imagine how scary it was to be here during that short time in 1994.  After seeing the Kigali Genocide Memorial, we went to the Belgian Solider Memorial.  This site commemorates the place where 10 Belgian soldiers were killed trying to protect the "moderate" Hutu Prime Minister Agathe Uwilingiyimana.  This was one of the first acts committed at the beginning of the genocide as Hutu extremists killed not only Tutsi but Hutu moderates or Tutsi sympathizers.  We ended our day at Hotel des Mille Collines, the hotel portrayed in the movie Hotel Rwanda.  Paul Rusesabagina, the manager of the hotel, opened the hotel, allowing Tutsi refugees shelter in the hotel during the genocide.  He managed to bribe the Interahamwe militia with money and alcohol, which allowed him to provide food/water and safety to Tutsi inside the hotel.  It was crazy to get drinks poolside and know that in 1994 this was such a significant place.  I ended up staying in this hotel a few nights later as a birthday present from my parents.  And during that night, I ended up getting a taxi to the supermarket to get some snacks for the rest of the week.  My taxi driver told me that he was one of the Tutsi refugees that took shelter in the Mille Collines.  He was just a small boy, but because of Paul Rusesabagina's sacrifice, he and his immediate family all survived the genocide.  Now, many years later, the taxi driver sits outside the Hotel on a daily basis giving rides to tourists, telling his story.  Very powerful.  Here are some pictures from that busy day. 

Kigali Memorial Centre

One of many mass graves on site.

Belgian Memorial--bullet holes where the soldiers were killed.

Rwandan and Belgian Flag

THE Hotel Rwanda

I am still in Rwanda, and plan on spending the day tomorrow (my 24th birthday!) seeing two more memorials, doing some shopping, and getting a pedicure at a fancy hotel in Kigali.  I will head back to Arusha on Friday morning.  I will try and update the blog again before I leave to finish telling about my trip here in Rwanda.  Hope you enjoy the blog, I feel like I could have written so much more, and maybe once I get back to Arusha and have more time to reflect upon my time here, I will.  Much love from Rwanda!

Second-Hand Clothing Market

I apologize for being so late with blogs.  These next few blogs will be filling you in on the past couple of weeks.

On the weekend of  September 23-25 (two weekends ago), my roommates and I joined a legal officer on a little shopping excursion.  We went to a used-clothing market about 30 minutes outside of Arusha.  It was crazy!  There were HUGE piles of clothing everywhere.  The goal was to dig and dig and dig until you found something you liked.  Amanda, the legal officer, we joined for the day, told us if we found something we liked that wouldn't fit, we could take it to a tailor in town and get it fixed for less than $3.  I didn't buy too much, I was just trying to wrap my head around the madness of the market.  All in all, I found a cute top for $1, an Ann Taylor skirt for $2, and two pieces of fabric.  I printed a picture of a dress off a website, and took it to a seamstress, she will be making a dress for me.  The fabric cost around $5, and having the dress made to fit me perfectly cost around $20.  I am super excited to see how it turns out, I will post a picture as soon as I get it back.  I had the dress made with the brown fabric.  I think it will be very nice.  Overall, it was a fantastic day, exploring the marketplace outside of Arusha.  Now that I know what to expect, I can't wait to go back and dig in. 



Jane, Katariina, and I also decided to spend a few dollars on some fantastic, beautiful dresses.  Actually, these are quite possibly the ugliest dresses I have ever seen, but we needed some new threads for our party we were throwing that Saturday night.  So we each paid around $2 for these gorgeous finds.  After a while, we did a wardrobe change, and graced the guest with our presence (in these dresses).  We got a lot of good laughs.  I am sure this dress will be used on multiple occasions for more laughs.


Okay, so that was our "fashion weekend" in Arusha.  I'll post other fabulous second-hand market finds as I discover them!