Hey, guess what?
Alright, so.........I'm going to Africa in December.
Rwanda to be more exact.
It's kind of a long story, but since you clicked this I'm going to presume that you are at least mildly curious about how this came to be, so read on if you'd like the story. If not, you have my permission to skip to the bottom and I will not think less of you. :)
I guess I should start at the beginning so it makes more sense later. For those of you who know me it kind of goes without saying that I've wanted to go to Africa since forever. Movies like the Lion King coming out at the age of 7 did not help this yearning. However, Africa is kind of like one of those things you dream about but don't actually think will ever feasibly happen for you, so you just kind of push it to the back of your mind, right? Right.
Needless to say I was surprised when I graduated from university and the very next day I woke up with Africa on the brain and could NOT get the idea out of my head for the life of me. All I could do was think about how badly I wanted to go...keep in mind I'd not thought about this dream of mine for years and years. Now this was back in July and at the time I didn't have a job, money, or was even sure about where I was going to be living in a week...so after a day or two of rebuking myself I finally pushed the idea back to where it had sat for years.
Cut to a few weeks later where I'm sitting in church with my parents. I had just recently acquired a job teaching at a public elementary school (which is an odd story in and of itself but that would make this journal even longer) and I was, as usual, doodling on the announcement sheet during the sermon. A practice I have engaged in since I was quite young; I have drawers full of years of these drawing-plastered sheets to prove it. You should know then that it is unusual for me to actually read the words I'm drawing over, but I happened to that morning. And an announcement about a kids camp in Rwanda caught my eye. This is in and of itself unusual because this is not a church that regularly does things overseas like that.
I couldn't help but remember my obsession with going to Africa a few weeks prior and read on...afterall, I had a job and a place to live now, so why not? Buuuut it was a two week trip and the dates were December 26-Janurary 10. I had to teach in January, it would be the first week back from winter break. Soooo a no-go.
The very next week I am passing the communion plate only realize that the person who came in late and sat next to me is a girl I work with at the school (which is close to an hour away from this church, btw). I had NO idea she went there and so we start talking afterward and it just happens to come up that she's thinking about going on the Rwanda trip.
...say what?
Turns out they are letting teachers go for just the first week if it interferes with classes. I should also mention that she is a paraprofessional like me (yes, I'm not an actual teacher, though I really am in every sense of the word. I just don't get paid like one) and therefore is under all the same requirements as I am. And she's going. All of my excuses are now gone.
So I'm sitting there in my head thinking, "well....guess I'm going to Rwanda!"
And that's that. It has all happened very suddenly and I've currently got this grand scheme to work in an international art project/trade while I'm there between the kids I work with here and the ones I'll be working with over there. So far my idea is to make friendship bracelets (which, if you know anything about recent Rwandan history this could prove to be a very meaningful symbol for some of these kids) and I'm SUPER excited about how eye-opening this could potentially be for my students. Especially since the theme for my class is Global Community and the theme for the school is the Power of One....so, um, yeah. This fits in nicely.
Oh, and also I've gone to a few meetings about the trip since deciding to go and the guy leading the trip mentioned something about trying to schedule in a safari............................................................................................
....................and, um, I shouldn't have to tell you how much that would basically make my life. Seriously. An African safari? That one tops my bucket list. A photo safari of course...but augh! I'm trying not to get my hopes up since it was just an idea, but seriously...I think my heart, in all seriousness, really did skip a beat when he said that. I don't know if you know this, but Rwanda is home to one of the last wild populations of lowland gorillas....not to mention loads of other rare and awesome species. If I could get a chance to actually do that......*die*
That aside, I am also super stoked about actually getting to experience another culture in a non-touristy fashion. I will be living in Kigali for two weeks not only helping to put on a day camp for the local kids, but also working with the community and actually being a part of Rwandan daily life. How amazing is that? I never in a million years thought I'd have the opportunity to see how people live somewhere else on this planet. How incredible, I still have trouble wrapping my brain around it at times.
My biggest worry right now is funding. So far the bill sits at around $2700 total and while that isn't bad, it's still far beyond what I get paid at the end of the month and the money is due at the beginning of November. We tried to do a group fundraiser car wash a few days ago but it failed rather humorously so we are scratching our heads for ideas. Anyone have any suggestions?
I'm thinking I'll probably just have to raise the money on my own but I am at a loss as to what to do for this. I don't have much time at all these days so I was thinking maybe quick commissions? Or maybe designing a T-shirt and selling it to raise money? Or a raffle? Would anyone out there be interested in any of these options? Or have any of you had success in other ways raising money for things?
Rwanda to be more exact.
It's kind of a long story, but since you clicked this I'm going to presume that you are at least mildly curious about how this came to be, so read on if you'd like the story. If not, you have my permission to skip to the bottom and I will not think less of you. :)
I guess I should start at the beginning so it makes more sense later. For those of you who know me it kind of goes without saying that I've wanted to go to Africa since forever. Movies like the Lion King coming out at the age of 7 did not help this yearning. However, Africa is kind of like one of those things you dream about but don't actually think will ever feasibly happen for you, so you just kind of push it to the back of your mind, right? Right.
Needless to say I was surprised when I graduated from university and the very next day I woke up with Africa on the brain and could NOT get the idea out of my head for the life of me. All I could do was think about how badly I wanted to go...keep in mind I'd not thought about this dream of mine for years and years. Now this was back in July and at the time I didn't have a job, money, or was even sure about where I was going to be living in a week...so after a day or two of rebuking myself I finally pushed the idea back to where it had sat for years.
Cut to a few weeks later where I'm sitting in church with my parents. I had just recently acquired a job teaching at a public elementary school (which is an odd story in and of itself but that would make this journal even longer) and I was, as usual, doodling on the announcement sheet during the sermon. A practice I have engaged in since I was quite young; I have drawers full of years of these drawing-plastered sheets to prove it. You should know then that it is unusual for me to actually read the words I'm drawing over, but I happened to that morning. And an announcement about a kids camp in Rwanda caught my eye. This is in and of itself unusual because this is not a church that regularly does things overseas like that.
I couldn't help but remember my obsession with going to Africa a few weeks prior and read on...afterall, I had a job and a place to live now, so why not? Buuuut it was a two week trip and the dates were December 26-Janurary 10. I had to teach in January, it would be the first week back from winter break. Soooo a no-go.
The very next week I am passing the communion plate only realize that the person who came in late and sat next to me is a girl I work with at the school (which is close to an hour away from this church, btw). I had NO idea she went there and so we start talking afterward and it just happens to come up that she's thinking about going on the Rwanda trip.
...say what?
Turns out they are letting teachers go for just the first week if it interferes with classes. I should also mention that she is a paraprofessional like me (yes, I'm not an actual teacher, though I really am in every sense of the word. I just don't get paid like one) and therefore is under all the same requirements as I am. And she's going. All of my excuses are now gone.
So I'm sitting there in my head thinking, "well....guess I'm going to Rwanda!"
And that's that. It has all happened very suddenly and I've currently got this grand scheme to work in an international art project/trade while I'm there between the kids I work with here and the ones I'll be working with over there. So far my idea is to make friendship bracelets (which, if you know anything about recent Rwandan history this could prove to be a very meaningful symbol for some of these kids) and I'm SUPER excited about how eye-opening this could potentially be for my students. Especially since the theme for my class is Global Community and the theme for the school is the Power of One....so, um, yeah. This fits in nicely.
Oh, and also I've gone to a few meetings about the trip since deciding to go and the guy leading the trip mentioned something about trying to schedule in a safari............................................................................................
....................and, um, I shouldn't have to tell you how much that would basically make my life. Seriously. An African safari? That one tops my bucket list. A photo safari of course...but augh! I'm trying not to get my hopes up since it was just an idea, but seriously...I think my heart, in all seriousness, really did skip a beat when he said that. I don't know if you know this, but Rwanda is home to one of the last wild populations of lowland gorillas....not to mention loads of other rare and awesome species. If I could get a chance to actually do that......*die*
That aside, I am also super stoked about actually getting to experience another culture in a non-touristy fashion. I will be living in Kigali for two weeks not only helping to put on a day camp for the local kids, but also working with the community and actually being a part of Rwandan daily life. How amazing is that? I never in a million years thought I'd have the opportunity to see how people live somewhere else on this planet. How incredible, I still have trouble wrapping my brain around it at times.
My biggest worry right now is funding. So far the bill sits at around $2700 total and while that isn't bad, it's still far beyond what I get paid at the end of the month and the money is due at the beginning of November. We tried to do a group fundraiser car wash a few days ago but it failed rather humorously so we are scratching our heads for ideas. Anyone have any suggestions?
I'm thinking I'll probably just have to raise the money on my own but I am at a loss as to what to do for this. I don't have much time at all these days so I was thinking maybe quick commissions? Or maybe designing a T-shirt and selling it to raise money? Or a raffle? Would anyone out there be interested in any of these options? Or have any of you had success in other ways raising money for things?