Day 22

Best part of my day: an impromptu dance party to Gospel music with Jeanne and her roommate Josieanne. This was after our girly discussion about hair. Jeanne was busy taking out her extensions so that she could go to the salon on Saturday (Funny spell check note: every salon in Rwanda has a sign that says saloon. I don’t know why no one ever corrected their English but it’s a national problem. So if you are visiting Rwandan and see a million signs for saloons, they are really salons.) Jeanne assumed that I had no idea what a weave was or heard of relaxers. Rwandans truly don’t believe there are any black Americans.

They wanted to touch my hair and kept telling me how beautiful it is (picture me with the greasiest hair imaginable because I haven’t washed in three days). Beauty is different in different cultures and hair is such an important status symbol here as it is in black culture at large.

I tried to explain the shampooing ritual we need to do. I don’t think they will fully grasp it until I have them watch me wash my hair. I tried to convey just how much water it uses and how impractical it is to wash your hair all the time here. Even me saying I wash my hair twice a week here was ludicrous to them. Seven days a week is out of the question.

This is a good time to explain who people are. I think I’ve created some confusion about my coworkers because I’ve been getting some questions about it.
Claudia is my counterpart/supervisor. She is in charge of me. She works for EPR as well, mainly handling the OVCs (orphans and vulnerable children) and education sector of our program for the district. She is Rwandan. She is probably about 40 years old. She has two children – a girl and a boy. I’m not sure if she has a husband. I’m sure I will learn more as time goes on.

It goes without saying that every single person I talk about will be Rwandan. The only Americans or Westerners that I interact with are other PCVs. There are a couple small exceptions but when I mention someone, assume they are Rwandan.

Jeanne is the mental health nurse at the hospital. She will very likely be helping me with my secondary project – something involving mental health, PTSD, maybe even getting the secondary schools involved – one can dream. She is in her mid-twenties. She has two younger brothers. She is finishing up her bachelor’s degree in population studies and wants to eventually get her PhD. *In Rwanda you can be certified as a nurse by completing that track in secondary school. A bachelor’s degree is not needed. The health centers employ only nurses. Doctors are found in hospitals only. As far as I can tell, there are no private practice doctors.

Edison is the other PCV at my site. (Sorry for the acronyms – Peace Corp Volunteer=PCV; Peace Corps is famous for their acronyms. There are so many I struggle to leave out.)