It might be cliche to do a reflection over the entire adventure that has been my Peace Corps Rwanda experience, but it's warranted. At this point everything that I do on a daily basis feels normal and generally not super strange anymore. However, I've realized when you look at everything from the outside, deciding to leave home for two whole years, live in a remote village where you have to learn a completely different language, live a whole new lifestyle, and try to do meaningful work that will last even after you leave, crazy is the word that first comes to mind. It's really difficult for people to truly understand why I would choose this path and it's in looking back now, two years later, and seeing how all the small daily things, all the people I've encountered, even for one conversation, and all the knowledge exchanges that have occurred that even I can start to truly comprehend it! As they say, "hindsight is 20/20"so I want all of you to join me on this reflection and together we can see how these past two years have not only broadened my horizons physically by moving 7000 miles from home but how my values, skills, and view of humanity has broadened.
Starting out, I was just a little baby college graduate with a biology degree and no idea what I was planning on doing with that. All I knew was that I wanted to do something worthwhile and life changing. Now getting ready to finish up here and head back for whatever the future may hold, I look back at all the projects I completed, all the people I've met and come to love, and all the lessons I've learned everyday and I can't believe they all fit into only 2 years! I feel so lucky!
Working at my health center, I've been a very lucky volunteer to have such amazing support on all of my projects. I've started 15 village hygiene clubs and started to slowly but surely see an improvement in general home hygiene. ✓ I brought a free circumcision service to my community and helped get over 500 men circumcised and more educated around reproductive health and HIV prevention. ✓ I helped implement the nutrition program at my health center that gives milk and other supplemental food for malnourished children and slowly over time I've watched the mothers start coming together as a group of there own that work together to bring the lessons they learn from us back to their families and greater community to further the fight against malnutrition. ✓ I've built permagardens in most villages and worked with the amazing community health workers to utilize them properly and start encouraging them to be built at home. Slowly we've visited more and more homes that have built either the same type of garden I taught about or different variations, but seeing the utilization of different vegetables at home, though still a work in progress as all behavior changes, is starting to increase. ✓ I had the opportunity to use soccer to teach secondary school kids about HIV and healthy living which sparked a huge interest and realization that I can use what I know and love the most, sports and exercise, to educate about another passion of mine, health. ✓ I also got to be a part of a health center that constantly sets goals to reach as many of their community members with services like HIV and TB testing, eye care, birth control, and general health education. Even though sometimes projects moved slower than I wanted or a little differently than I had originally planned, I feel as if I accomplished more than I expected I could have and it was all due to my amazing health center, specifically my counterpart Etienne. I truly wouldn't have had the experience I did if it wasn't for his unrelenting hard work and contagious smile.
With that, it truly was the people of Muyongwe who made the challenges of everyday life go away. Like I mentioned, my counterpart Etienne made work something to look forward to even on the toughest says. I had mamas throughout my village who knew me and made me fell like I was a part of the community. Being called by name rather than "muzungu" goes a long way. I had my market mama who always helped me find what I wanted and for the best price. I had my neighborhood mama who talked at full speed from the beginning, and even though even up to now I can only catch half of what she's saying because it's so fast, she took me to church on holidays and always sent her twin boys to hug me when I walked past their house. And there's Emiliene, who has been the biggest reason I've fallen in love with my home here. From the beginning she helped me find everything I needed in order to make my house comfortable, she open her home to me on a regular basis to come and visit without feeling out of place or like I'm imposing. She's welcomed me into her family like a sister where I got to watch her son grow into a happy little toddler running around, I got to be a part of multiple family ceremonies, and I spent many holidays cooking and eating with them making me feel like I was a part of something rather than an outsider. There is so much more I could say to be honest but in general, the people here in Muyongwe have shown me nothing but love, warmth, and smiles and for that I will be eternally grateful. I've learned what true selflessness means whether it be from the sacrifices mothers make for their children or how they come together to help the person in their community who needs their help the most at the time no matter what. The community here became as close to my own family as possible and this will forever be my second home,
Finally, the amount of life lessons and ways my experience will continue to influence my future are infinite. First and foremost I've learned how to have and the importance of patience in a whole new way. This doesn't mean I've mastered it by any means, but I have learned that sometimes you just have to be able to relinquish control of your life and step back for a second in order to catch your breath before continuing head first into the craziness. I mentioned this a little in my last post but another thing I've learned is I'm so young! Back in America there's always some invisible force pushing us forward into some career, down some path, or into some new stage of life that for some reason has been decided by society that that is where we need to be ASAP. I felt that invisible force a lot before going to college in college, and even at times during my service. Recently I've realized that I'm the force to be reckoned with and I want to so something that I will not only succeed in but something I am passionate about. I think that some people get really lucky and do find their true passions early on, or in something that makes them a ton of money. Well, I"m still figuring out what I want to dedicate the rest of my life to, well actually I don't want to limit myself to just one thing so, I won't be giving into any such force when I get back, I'll be blazing my own path. 
I think that the biggest takeaway (watch next month I'll have a different "biggest takeaway") but the biggest takeaway on my mind right now is we're not alone in this world. We are surrounded by people all the time. There are people who touch your life that you don't even know abut, and there are those who have been and will always be in your life but it doesn't really matter. We all need to be aware of this fact because not only are there people affecting our lives every day, but we affect he lives of so many people as well. I don't think we think about that enough. I just want to leave that one as food for thought for now because it's something I'm really thinking about as I prepare to hop back to the other side of the world here pretty soon. So, two more months to go! It's not over yet so keep following my pictures and I'll some more fun posts coming up! <3
