At this point I have been in Rwanda three days and am slowly learning peoples’ names, Rwandan habits, and the daily routine.  People are desperately trying to teach me Kinyarwanda and I am desperately trying to learn.  Soon one of the nuns will start lessons for me and Marcella, the other American at the school.  But for now we are making do with impromptu lessons and learning a few words at a time.

My items are all unpacked.  I’m quite impressed with the home where I live.  It is on campus and much larger than I expected, with a very roomy living room, dining room and kitchen. Two nuns and two lay staff members live there along with us. Even the bedrooms, which you can see above, are simple but are as large as an American bedroom.  However, the bed is thinner than even a twin bed (The blue netting around the bed is a mosquito net to help prevent Malaria.  Although there are screens on all the windows, the doors are often left open during the day.)

When I arrived on Thursday the Senior 2 (8^th grade) and Senior 3 (9^th grade) girls had already started their semester and my first class was spent reading aloud a poem to demonstrate proper English pronunciation.  The English teacher was very eager to use us in his class and to learn from us.  At the end of class he asked the girls if they had any questions for us and they impulsively wanted us to sing or dance.  I’m still unsure if this was to make fun of white girl dances or they truly wanted to see what we would do.  I used the truthful excuse that I was sick and did not have much of a voice, but honestly anyone who knows me knows that I am not musically inclined at all and they will be hard pressed to convince me to dance or sing even without a cold.

Today was move in day for the Senior 1 (7^th grade) girls.  All of these girls and their families seemed very excited to be here and with good reason as it is a great honor and privilege to come.  The school is ranked as the best school in the country according to the exam scores last year. 

A special thing about Maranyundo is students of all socioeconomic statuses have the opportunity to come if they are accepted.  Those families who are unable to afford the tuition or supplies are funded by American donations.  The education comes with certain obligations for the girls to their family and community.  Rwandans know that sending a son or daughter away for school (almost all secondary schools are boarding schools) will yield a long term benefit for the entire community.

As compared to my experience in Egypt and Ghana, where the cars seemed very outdated, I was surprised by the cars that are in Rwanda.  Most are actually pretty modern!  Among the affluent there is the same sense of responsibility to community and it is frowned upon to drive your own car when you could hire a driver and provide a job for someone.  Even at the school there is a sense of responsibility among the students.  Each Senior 1 girl is assigned a ‘mother’ from the Senior 2 girls who lives with her and helps her around the schools.