I’ve known for a while now that I wanted to work abroad, even though I only recently figured out what I want to do with my life. I studied Anthropology and Linguistics at NYU, traveled when I could, spent a semester in Ghana, and since graduating in 2012 I had been searching high and low for positions in countless NGO’s, volunteer organizations, ecotourism companies, even the Foreign Service. Nothing was working out, until last September when I applied to the Peace Corps.
Like a lot of people my age, I had heard of the Peace Corps in passing but had never really given it much thought. Young Americans heading off to teach abroad is hardly a novel concept anymore, with more organizations and programs offering that sort of position than you can count. And while I may not have been entirely sure of my future aspirations, being a teacher had never been at the top of my list. Nevertheless, I put in my application and started crossing my fingers to be placed in one of the environmental or agricultural programs run by the Peace Corps. Lo and behold, however, I received my invitation to serve in Rwanda as a secondary school teacher, leaving in September 2013. It wouldn’t have been my first choice, but the more I looked into things and now that I’m here in country, I don’t think I could have asked for better.
When most people (my former self included) think of Rwanda, all that comes to mind is the genocide that took place in 1994. It has been nearly twenty years since that tragedy, however, and the strides that Rwandans have been able to make in that time is nothing short of astonishing. Add to that the natural beauty of the country – mountains, volcanoes, rainforests, and rolling green hills as far as the eye can see – and you have a place that I am beyond lucky to be living in for the next 26 months of my life.
When you join the Peace Corps, you spend three months of training in-country before heading off to your final site. That training is where I am now, about one month into the thick of it. There are 34 volunteers in total here, each of us paired with a different Rwandan host family throughout the district of Kamonyi, a relatively short drive from the capital city of Kigali. I was placed, as were a decent number of my fellow volunteers, with a farming family in one of the many small towns within the district. Most of us have at least limited access to electricity in our homes, although running water is still, and I’m sorry in advance for the pun, a bit of a pipe dream. While this hasn’t been my first brush with bucket baths, hole-in-the-ground latrines, or hand-washing laundry, it still seems surreal to me that this is what life will look like for some time to come.
Day to day, there’s not much variation to speak of. When I’m not spending the day studying the local language of Kinyarwanda I’m listening to a lecture on Peace Corps policy, safety procedures, or the Rwandan education system. I was warned that training feels like the longest and hardest part of service and I’m always looking at the light at the end of the tunnel, but sometimes that’s easier said than done. After a couple days of complete immersion, it’s amazing what a relief it is just to hear a few simple words of English. On the other hand, however, I can’t deny that the Peace Corps approach to language training works like a dream. On my first night here in the village I sat in awkward silence with my host family, occasionally trying my hand at some cross-cultural charades to try to explain something. Now, less than a month later, I can show up to the dinner table and have a pleasant, albeit simple, conversation with my host parents.
A lot of things seem to move slowly around here, but one happy exception to the rule was the early announcement of our final site placements. Just this past week, we were each assigned to our permanent positions throughout the country and given a couple of days off to go visit and get a feel for what our actual service will look like. Since training can tend to seem a bit repetitive, this trip has been a much-needed break in the monotony of Kinyarwanda lessons and technical training. I am beyond ecstatic to announce that I will be teaching at the Kitabi College of Conservation and Environmental Management (KCCEM) in the Nyamagabe District down in the Southern Province. Although my primary job description is still teaching English, my post is incredibly different from all of the others in the country. Rather than a crowded secondary school with classes numbering around fifty young students, KCCEM caters to a small class (only around twenty students in total) of park rangers from Rwanda and the surrounding countries. In addition to teaching English, I will have my choice of any side projects that I might want to try my hand at – an especially exciting prospect given our proximity to Nyungwe National Park, a mountainous rainforest that is home to an overwhelming diversity of flora and fauna. I’m also particularly excited to be able to continue one of my hobbies from home and get involved in the large beekeeping cooperative here in the town of Kitabi.
Having finished my site visit, I know that my time in the Peace Corps will be far from the normal experience that most volunteers have. Even so, I wouldn’t change it for the world – this school is a better fit than I could have ever hoped for and I’m looking forward to making the most of every moment I have here. There will be more updates to come as I make my way through my service and I hope that you’ll all be as excited as I am to see what Rwanda has in store for me.
SCOTT JENKINS
Scott Jenkins grew up in Ridgewood, NJ and graduated from NYU in 2012 with a degree in Anthropology and Linguistics. His passion for travel, adventure, and helping others led him to apply to the Peace Corps in September of 2012. He was invited to teach in Rwanda, where he is currently serving for the next two years.