Send Me To Rwanda!

So another day of work. I have been in a really down mood lately... that's because I'm been homesick and missing my basic amenities. It is hard sometimes being so hot at night because there is no AC. And sometimes I just want to get in my car and drive to McDonalds and put no effort in to make food. Sometimes I just want to have a car in general, and not have to rely on public transportation or my tired feet. I will tell you one thing though, my legs are so strong!! Rwanda's "thousand" hills has made them BEAST. I do love it here, don't get me wrong. I just am homesick. It was bound to happen at some point that I would get into a funk. It's Valentines Day this weekend too and it makes me sad that I can't spend it with my fiance. I really miss him a lot. And then our 1 year anniversary is on Feb. 28, so I'm missing out on that too. Oh well I guess. But I do have some fun things planned the next few weeks that will hopefully get my mind off everything. For instance, today Taima and I are going to town AGAIN to get our clothes. Last time they weren't ready. So pictures to soon follow. Then this weekend I am spending time with her and we're going to a Rwandan wedding. Then next weekend my roommate and I are going on our whitewater rafting trip in Uganda. So stoked about that one. Ah can't wait...it is going to be so crazy!

And I just realized today that both my graduation ceremony and wedding are exactly 3 months apart on the 14th (of May and August). That's really cute. I'm so excited about those events as well! <3

Anyways, Andrew, if you're reading this... I love you and miss you dearly. Thank you for taking so much time out of your day to talk to me and be there for me when I need you there. I feel really blessed to be marrying you. You're an amazing person and anyone that has you in their life is lucky. I love you so much. You're my best friend.

So the past few days it's been very rainy in Rwanda. As a matter of fact, it rained for about 4 hours last night... that's probably the longest that its rained for since I've been here. The days have been very typical... just a lot of working and nothing much else. I did go to the Quiz Night last night at Sol E Luna. It was alright. We came in third place. Not too bad. Tonight I am going with my co-worker to town and we are picking up our custom-made outfits. I had a traditional African dress and shirt made and she had a suit made for her graduation. I'm very excited to put it on and show you guys pictures. We are also going to a wedding this weekend so I might wear the shirt with some black pants. We will see. She wants me to wear the dress but I don't think that I want to attract any more attention to me. I already get enough attention for my skin color. I don't need to give them another reason to stare. Haha. Anyways, that's all for now.

My day went pretty much as expected. I did laundry, dishes, and went to the gym. Then headed to dinner at Chez Robert and had a big and filling buffet dinner. Then met up with Sonia and some other friends at Heaven to watch a free movie. We saw The Informant with Matt Damon. It was okay. Not really all that great but hey, I saw a movie in Rwanda. I am now heading to bed. I'm super beat and homesick. I miss my fiance.

So I guess it's been almost a week since I've posted an update. I've been super busy with work! I really don't have too many exciting things to say, either. My week has gone well...got the outline of my handbook done, so I'm on track. It is a lot of work though, don't let me fool you. I am writing a whole handbook myself from scratch. It is a lot of responsibility, which I am very grateful for, but a lot of work as well. It's hard trying to get to know the people of Rwanda and be out doing fun things when there is so much work, and it is my priority. But I knew that coming here, so no big deal.

I do have some exciting news... Sonia and I made reservations to go whitewater rafting on the Nile River in Uganda on February 21!!!!!!!!! She has never been out of Rwanda and obviously I haven't either. We are leaving on Saturday morning, we then take a 20 hour bus ride to Kampala. We spend the night in Kampala and wake up the next morning to shuttle to Jinja (where the Nile is). We whitewater raft all day and stay the night in Jinja at their campsite. I get a hot shower, FINALLY!! Then we wake up the next day and explore a little more of Uganda and stay the night in Kampala. Then we take a bus back to Rwanda (20 hours again), and arrive and pass out! Next day, we work at 8 Am. But it will all be worth it... we are so excited and I can't wait to post pictures! We have had a few friends who have done it and they have said nothing but great stuff about it.

So today is Saturday, so its officially laundry day. I also think that I might hit up the gym and sauna. I haven't been in 3 days, so I need to go. Need to get toned for that wedding of mine (not that the hills here aren't enough already).

Oh yeah, I also forgot to mention that I went to this restaurant called HEAVEN last night. It is thought to have the best views of Kigali and it was VERY good. Very pricey though. I was glad I got to go because we ran into a lot of people that we knew there, which is always fun. Tons of muzungus in one place!

So I better get going on that laundry. It will be dark in like 7 hours so I need to do it now so they have time to dry. <3

PS Today marks 1 month exactly that I have been out of the US