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In Doha, Qatar Airport

Well, first thing I want to comment on is how quick the internet is here. Seriously... writting this blog post is going to be so fast. But anyways, I have already been home for about two weeks now, but I wanted to write one last blog to finish up this series of posts. It has been, as I expected, difficult and happy to be home again. I have loved being home with my family and seeing friends. However, I miss ... just the every day beauties found in Rwanda. From the sun, to walking on dirt roads, to African tea, to our house staff, to my friends, to ... well I could go on for a while. Although I miss it, I am overwhelmed with thankfulness for being able to have spent my last four months in Rwanda, Africa. Honestly, if you ever have the chance, or even if you don't think you have the chance, but you could make the chance... well you basically should just go to Africa (more specifically Rwanda). It will be challenging, emotional, heart-breaking, encouragaing, joy-filled... and so much more.

Our last few weeks in Rwanda were great. We had a cookie-contest/Christmas party, which ended with lots of embarresing photos and sickened stomachs from an overload of sugar, but it was fun. We also had final presentations and exams which kept us busy. Then in our last few days in Kigali, we had debrief sessions with the Go-Ed director, Michael. These sessions were extremely helpful in preparing us for transitioning back to North America. Even after being home for a couple weeks, I still find myself processing through what I learned in Rwanda, and how I've found that my perspective on life has changed. I hope to never stop processing the difficult things, and then in turn, spending my energy encouraging social justice, loving others through Christ's love, and continuing to educate myself on world issues that will never be easy to solve. I want to encourage you to do the same. I have never been more passionate about the fact that every person deserves the same amount of opportunity, respect and love. Unfortunately in our world, this will probably never happen until Jesus returns and brings justice, but it is something we can all strive for.

If you've been reading through these posts, I am thankful for you. Thank you for taking the time to hear what I have to say, and my thoughts and emotions while being in Rwanda. I have been encouraged by your support and prayers, it has ment so much to me.
In Christ,
Kassi

Praying with everyone before Thanksgiving Dinner

After our Africa Oral Literature presentation, we attempted at doing a Rwandan dance

Me and one of the house staff, Janet, one of the sweetest ladies I know.

Me and Aidah, our cook.

Packing our bags, about ready to leave Kigali

Doha, Qatar Airport

Crazy what technology can do nowadays, flying half way across the world!

Safari Adventure

Hands down, Safari was one of the best experiences in Rwanda so far. It was such a great experience. We started off the day on Friday morning, leaving Kigali at 6 am. We arrived at the game park at around 9 am, and spent the whole day driving around a watching animals. Then around 5pm, we arrived at the campsite. We settled down by a campfire, with delicious soup that our cook Aidah made. She was able to come with us on Safari, which was a blast because she is a riot. She is a joy filled, crazy, Ugandan women that has been working for Go-Ed for the past 6 years or so. Because it was her first safari she made some pretty hilarious comments, including "Baboons are going to come and eat me first, because my tent is closest!" So glad she was able to come. Here are just some pictures to show our crazy adventure. Definitely a weekend I will never forget, it was great to experience one of our last weekends, with beautiful animals and crazy people. 

Another great day was Monday, because we got to celebrate Thanksgiving here with about 40 people that came to the house. We had soooo much good food, including goat, rabbit and chicken. It was so nice to fellowship with the people who visited, and eat food, and just relax. Then go crazy cleaning dishes, and drinking coffee. It was a wonderful day. Now that Thanksgiving is officially over for us, we have started listening to Christmas music, and making Christmas crafts. It has been interesting being here though, without the normal holiday cheer, so I'm definitely looking forward to that when we get home.

We only have 9 more days left in Kigali... I don't know what to make of this. I know the time will fly by as well because we have lots of projects and homework assignments to finish up. Anyways, this is a quick post because I'm supposed to be writing a paper.. 

So, Enjoy pictures:) 

We were so fortunate to see Elephants, apparently there are only a few elephants in the park we visited! 

Sarah, Steph and I standing on our Safari bus

Hippos!

I love Giraffes

Our campsite

Watching the Sunrise with Sarah

Group Photo

Beauty Found in African Culture

Just one of many aspects of beauty found in Africa

I'm currently writing this blog post at Hotel Chez Lando in their restaurant. It is absolutely beautiful. I only discovered this place the other day, because it is so hidden from the main road. & since I've discovered it, I have been coming here almost every other day to do homework since the internet is so much better here than at the house. This weekend marked the last three weeks we have left in Kigali. This is so bittersweet, I'm excited to see my family and friends, but I'm going to miss the people here, the friends I've made and the community. I don't think I will ever be ready to say goodbye to them. 

It has been great taking our last two classes and learning even more about the culture here and why many Africans are the way they are. Africa has such a rich history, and we are fortunate enough to be learning just the surface of the community around us. Initially arriving in Kigali, Rwanda it was easy to notice the differences by the way things looked and how people talked. However, the differences that are rooted in tradition and religion go much deeper than mere observation. Living in a different country can be difficult because of that, because the culture can be so vastly different than your own. I have realized there are differences here even with the concept of time, and how Africans view time. Many things have become more westernized within the last century, however, there are still many differences that are beautiful in there own way. There are things that I wish would change such as gender roles and certain religious beliefs, but by studying the past it is obvious these views cannot be changed by force. It comes down to creating relationships and building from that. We have also learned a lot about this aspect in terms of our faith. A lot of people have been turned off from Christianity because it was forced on them and not shown in a loving way, however, there is so much grace and love offered in Christianity and being in a relationship with Jesus. This is a common trend in America also, and it is sad to see people being negatively affected by other Christians, including myself.

It has also been interesting learning about traditional African religion. The main aspect of the many religions is how it encompasses a person in every aspect of their life. So often with Christianity it is only represented on Sundays at church, which is why many Africans have a difficult time converting, because it is viewed commonly as a "religion" that does not encompass a person holistically. This is a concept we've been discussing a lot in our classes and has really intrigued me. This is what I love about different cultures, you learn things that you can translate to your own life about how to live a life more glorifying to God. If you ever get the chance to learn about African culture you should!

To give a quick summary of this week, I have just been hanging out with the other Go-Ed students and staying busy with school work. Thankfully over the weekend and these past weeks, we have been able to get out and have some fun, which included going to a hotel and listening to live music, going to the Rwandan's national soccer game, going to an art gallery, and spending time with some friends in Rwamagana at the lake. We've been trying to maximize our time here while at the same time balancing our school work. We are trying to bust out homework this week because we are going on a Safari this weekend! We are all so excited, & we are also celebrating thanksgiving on Monday and having a huge feast with lots of friends! Can't wait. It seems surreal that we will be leaving soon, but I'm praying we will all be able to enjoy our last weeks here and when the time comes being able to say goodbye. 

Here are some pictures from the last few weeks, 

Celebrating halloween at the house, me and Danah were scary nurses

Having coffee with our friend Adi at Bourbon 

We got to go to a Rwandan wedding! So different. This is Bekah, Lindsay, Me and Danah before the wedding

The wedding was almost 4 hours long, this is how I felt about that

Traditional dancing at the wedding

I've been missing peppermint lattes so I found a new solution

Our hair gets a bit crazy here, so this is me cutting Danah's hair

Got to visit Urburanga Art gallery the other day, such beautiful art

Spent the evening at Hotel Des Mille Collins, such a fun night with the Go-Ed students (me and Cosette)

Me and Lindsay 

Last Week of Practicum

Us nursing students with our cook Jado, saying goodbye. We will miss the guest house staff!

This is a sad post. Mainly because I am writing it after practicum is over and I’m sad it has come to a close so quickly. However, it is always a good sign when you are sad to leave some place because it means you were able to enjoy the place you are leaving. Saying goodbye is never easy, especially to the friends we’ve made in Rwamagana. There has been the nursing students, nurses, doctors, soccer friends, and the house friends that we’ve had the privilege of getting to know over this past month. They have simply been a blessing to each of us and I’m so thankful for this experience to get to know such wonderful people.

The last week at the hospital was great, continued observations and helping out. There were some highlights, which included watching Lindsay assistanting with a C-section! Me being able to help with the new borns, and just observing and chatting with the nurses was also fun. I can’t wait to be a nurse !  In our final week we made sure to hang out with all of our friends, so we got to hang out with a few Doctors one night and just chat with them, we also got to spend time with some of our friends at their houses which was really nice. The friends we made in Rwamagana were so hospitable and we were invited for lunch a few times at their houses. The friends we made that worked in the Laboratory at the hospital also had a combined going away and birthday party for one of the guys, the night before we left. Each time their was such great food and conversation and fellowship. We also went to a few dance parties with our friends we made at the Laboratory at the hospital. That was also a blast. There was a concert in Rwamagana that we got to go to, and there was lots of dancing. Rwandans are great dancers! 

Ok story time about Lindsay helping with the C-Section...

So that day I decided I wanted to spend the whole day in the "theater" or the surgery room. However, I got there in the morning and they were going to be checking out a guys leg that was really infected and I got there after he had local anesthetic and they were just taking out the surgery tools... I wasn't able to understand fully what was going to happen so I texted Lindsay and told her to get her butt over there because if they were going to amputate his leg I didn't want to be there alone watching. So she came, and they ended up just scraping at the infection to check to see if he needed it to be amputated or not... it was still pretty gross but not as bad as anticipated. But while we were in the surgery room, there was a c-section women that came in for surgery.. and the doctor was joking with us asking if we wanted to assist. I immediately said no, I didn't want to be apart of injuring a newborn haha, but Lindsay agreed to it. I think we both thought that she would just be the third helper in the surgery and be passing surgical tools and such, but after she was dressed in her sterile scrubs we realized she was the only other assistant besides the doctor! I was pretty nervous for her, but the doctor and Lindsay were both confident so that was good. But to conclude, she did a wonderful job assisting, the baby was totally fine, and Lindsay got to help get the baby out and then suturing the women back up. It was so fun to watch her do all of this and take videos and pictures! I also got to then take the baby from the doctor as he pulled the baby out and then do all the nursing stuff for the baby which was fun, because then me and Lindsay got to help with this delivery together and everything went smoothly so that was a bonus :)

Lindsay assisting with the C-section! Crazy

One of the babies I got to take care of post delivery ( aka the baby Lindsay helped deliver! )

There is so much to say about the last week of practicum, I miss it so much. But more stories will have to be shared in person because there is just too much to write and the memories are so dear to me. I was challenged during my time at practicum so allow the Lord to open my eyes to difficult things and the hardship that many face daily in Rwanda. But I wouldn't have it any other way, I am so thankful for the experience the Lord blessed us with. It was also wonderful getting to know the other nursing students I went with much better, and becoming close friends. And now we are back in Kigali with the whole group, and it has been great seeing everyone again. Today is Halloween so we are having a dress up party which will be fun! Tomorrow I believe we are starting classes, or it may be friday (sometimes we don't find things out until last minute :) it is africa, it happens.

Gaspard taking my blood to be tested, I wanted to know how the patients felt, not fun. I hate needles...

 Besides working with the patients we also got to work in the laboratory for a few days, which was cool. We got to understand better the tropical diseases that are very common here and understand how they test for these diseases and what is actually going on in the body. The guys that worked in the lab, were really cool and became so of our very close friends. 

Vedaste working in the lab!

Some friends we made through our dear friend Mask

Eating lunch at Masks

Me and Mask- one of the friends we met at the soccer friend.  

Hanging out with our friend Emmanuel, was so kind to invite us over for lunch.

Just a cow in the middle of the road. 

Took a walk to the more rural parts of Rwamagana, and found beautiful scenery, couldn't help but take pictures

Me and Danah

The market in Rwamagana, so many awesome used clothes for so cheap!

Sweet girl I got to dance with at our going away/birthday party

Watching Mask and Adi playing soccer 

The women I got to help with. She had her finger amputated and I got to dress her wounds. This was after she was discharged, glad she is doing better, she is such a sweet lady.

Saying goodbye to the staff at our house, not fun.

Saying goodbye to the staff at the house was difficult. They were so sweet and took such good care of us. We stayed at a Christian guest house where they cooked food for us, cleaned our rooms and were our security. It was such a blessing to get to know them over the past month.

This marks the end of practicum, now it is time to look forward to the last 5 weeks we have in Rwanda!