Major in Education

June 22, 2019

I have been home for about a week. Not one day goes by that I do not think about my trip to Rwanda. I miss it there! Every experience was bitter sweet. I am so happy to have been able to experience everything that Rwanda had to offer. I hope to one day go back to not only visit but to teach there. It is a dream that I hope comes true. The people that I met on this trip were amazing, funny jokes, inside jokes, karaoke, and deep conversations. This was an experience I will forever be blessed to have had!

June 13, 2019

It is coming down to the last couple of days. I am just thinking about so much. What I have learned about myself, what I have learned about my own environment, what I want to change, and forgiveness. This afternoon Drew asked the village three question. What are you proud of? What will you take back with you? And Something you learned? I a proud of coming out of my shell, I was shy at first but I learned that being shy is okay but sometimes it is okay to take that lead. It is okay to be free and show people that silly person that I keep trapped up inside. I will take story based learning back with me. I will use it in my classroom when I become a teacher, I will take back the things I learned and share it. I learned that one should always have hope and to work towards forgiveness. I learned that the people of Rwanda have been through so much. Some losing some family members, and others losing their whole family, and they still continue to live their lives with hope and live by forgiveness. Those questions really hit me because the trip is coming to an end . I did not come to Rwanda with any expectations, this trip has changed me in ways I cannot explain. I just want my actions and my behavior to show the positive affect that Rwanda had on me as a person and on my future career as a teacher!

June 12, 2019

OMG, trekking was no joke. It was amazing to see the Chimpanzees but I don’t know if I could do it again. LOL. After trekking we all went to a museum that was on our way back to Kigali. It was very interesting, they also had a gift shop that I brought some beautiful things from. Today was a crazy day but another memorable day.

June 11, 2019

I have not slept but we are on our way to go Chimpanzee trekking. I am so excited!!!

June 10, 2019

Today we got to visit the three schools that the teachers we trained work at. We observed how the teachers incorperated story based learning into their lessons. Each school did really well, I truly enjoyed experiencing this! In the second school we visited Lisa and I served the class together in whichbthe teacher finished her lesson early so we got to interact with the students and play with them. It was so much fun. It was a breath taking experience. I cannot wait to be a teacher!!!!

June 7, 2019

Today I got to experience the life of a Rwandan woman. Let me tell you, it is not as easy as they make it look. A 20 minute walk to get a gallon of water turned into a 40 minute walk back to the house. Before I get into that I want to tell you all about the energy and love that was received from the women as soon as the village and I got off the bus. Three kisses on the cheeks, a hand shake and a beautiful smile from all the ladies there. After everyone was greeted we all went to the house of one of the ladies and they told us about themselves. Many of them had a husband and kids. They told us about how they joined Azizi life and their journey. After they had your girl peeling potatoes, something I despise doing at home, but I most definitely enjoyed it here! After that is when we all went to fetch water, this was the hardest thing I had to do since I got here. The walk was not easy and I definitely need to go to the gym when I go back home. A little while after fetching the water a couple of us went to go turn the soil in one of the fields, it was so much fun but a lot of hard work. I commend the women and men that are out there everyday from sunrise too sundown. We then went on to cut some of the leaves that we gathered and carried on our heads. It was so much fun I really enjoyed doing this part it was different! When we were done feeding the leaves to one of the ladies cow and sheep we went back to the house to eat a delicious meal and to just all talk. They asked us questions and allowed us to ask them questions. They were very open, more open than I expected them to be. After we had the choice to either weave a ball or a bracelet and of course I chose a ball, which was difficult to make but was very beautiful when I was done making it! To end the event we had a dance completion which I was really enjoyed I released my inner dancer once again. It was a fun 2 minutes dancing with some of the members from the village and some of the women from Azizi life. This experience was breath taking, tiring but so amazing. This is an experience I will always have and cherish!

Today we also got to meet Mama for the first time. She is AMAZING and filled with so much energy and her personality is big enough to fill a room. She has an incredible sense of humor and has so many incredible stories to share. Her story was my favorite, I love what she does for the children and how much she truly loves them! We got to have dinner with her and some of her kids which is how I got to meet the wonderful John. He is an amazing boy who is in the 5th grade. He is so nice and we had the best conversation which ended in me being called “Lazy, Lazy,Lazy” He was a pleasure to meet. I believe John is one person from this trip I will never forget. WHAT ANOTHER AMAZING DAY!!!!!!!

June 5, 2019

After today I am certain that teaching is the profession for me. I loved doing story based learning with the young boys today. Their imaginations run so deep. My group made a barber shop machine. This blew my mind away. One of the boys instructed me to be the razor and was the cord to the razor while another boy added to the machine and grabbed my hand to pretend to be a barber. I was so blown away by how much they enjoyed the games we played, how they really put words into their bodies and expressed them so vividly! After working with the young boys we went on a tour of the school, they don’t have much but they do all they can to provide those boys with a place to live and the best education they can give them. At the end of the tour they showed us some of the art work done by some of the previous boys that lived there and some current boys. One painting stuck out to me in particular that symbolized hope. I had to buy it to bring home with me. I think I'll pack it and bring it to college with me to remind me of everything the people in Rwanda went through and if they can still manage to have hope, so can I!

June 4, 2019

Today I exposed my inner dancer to the village. It was amazing! I had so much fun learning new dance moves while getting to sweat and laugh with my village members ! I played on the drum and added my own little twist with my hips! Remarkable experience. We had dinner at a restaurant called the Hut. Oh My The Food Was DELICIOUS! It was really spicy but still so good. For dessert I had ice cream which I did not like so much but I was still overly impressed by main course. What a DAY!!!!!!!

June 3, 2019

Today was a full, wonderful and sad day!

We started off exchanging our money, I was so fascinated at the color, texture and how their money had apes on one side and baskets on the other. Which is very different from American money which has presidents. Their money has things that symbolize their country, unlike America with money that has the faces of our previous presidents. After, we went to Nyamirambo Women Center, this center was founded by women to help women. They teach women English and provide many with jobs some being tour guides and others sew things that are sold at their store which is right across the street from their center (I brought a beautiful book bag).This was so powerful to me, that women out here want to help others build themselves, this mindset is something I want to bring back. I want to teach my students that uplifting one another is a must. After we heard a little about their history we went on a walking tour. I could not stop smiling Rwanda is beautiful! We visited places where some may get their vegetables and others ingredients for cooking.

After visiting Nyamirambo Women Center we went to Kigali Genocide Memorial. My heart broke in half after I was done walking through the memorial. To kill so many innocent people, CHILDREN, I could not wrap my head around how someone can bash a child's head into a wall, kill a child with a machete, but to kill a child period! This part of the trip was eye opening because the people of Rwanda believe so much in forgiveness. They have forgiven the people that killed their family members which is something I don't think I could do. The view in Rwanda is so beautiful, priceless and words just cannot describe the beauty that my eyes witness nor the pain that I felt today. I am so honored to be here!!!

We went to another genocide memorial today. At first I was okay, the outside gate was broken from the grenade thrown at it so that the soldiers could get in. As I looked up I saw bullet holes on the outside awning. When I walked in I continued to see bullet holes, I began to see blood on the walls and poles. I looked to my left to see a statue of Mary. These people came to a church that they believed would keep them safe, especially their children. When I looked down on the benches I saw more children's clothes than anything. These babies didn’t have a chance to grow to experience the world, to walk, or talk before theirs lives were taken away from them. Inside the church there are stairs going down that led to a small room they built that was made to preserve some of the skulls and bones of the people that died in the church. My heart stoke as u saw broken skulls from clubs and machetes. Below the skulls was a casket of a young lady who in 1994 was 26. She was raped before she was killed with a sharpened stick that was entered through her vagina and exited her skull. To be raped is brutal and to be killed with a stick... it broke my heart. I began to take deep breaths to stop myself from crying. As we exited the church there is a small memorial in the back where they put to rest over 45,000 people. As a took my first step down I was okay it was the last step as I looked at a picture of a beautiful young lady that was placed on top on the casket is when I could no longer hold my tears back. These people did not deserve this. People did not deserve to lose their loved ones, people did not deserve to have their lives cut short. I looked back at Molly with a pool full of tears in my eyes. She whispered, “ It’s okay” I proceeded to keep going down, the caskets were open with the bones being visible. My heart could not handle it, how could someone take the life of so many? What have them the right to kill these people? Why? I ran back outside to breathe and to cry. Cry because this happened to these people. Cry because I was overwhelmed but honored to have been able to experience this. Also cry because I realized how grateful I am to have my family, to live with both my parents, and to have my wonderful brother and sister in my life and to still have grandparents... overall I was heartbroken but very much thankful. In the background of my thoughts I heard children laughing and screaming, I watched them and smiled for a while. It was incredible that this country has gone through so much and is still happy and filled with joy. Lila came over to me and we walked to the gate where the kids were hanging on the gate. “Muzungu” they laughed and pointed at us. They waved and blew us kisses. These kids are the future! This was a beautiful experience, very hard and heart breaking but beautiful. The group all grieved in different way but this experience did touch us all and I believe will have a big impact on our futures.

June 2, 2019

I am finally here and I am beyond excited. Excited for the things I will learn, the new food I will try, getting to know my AFvillage better and absorbing every thing I can from this beautiful place. The plane ride was crazy for a person who’s first time it was flying. But the result of being able to see the red dirt, smelling the fresh air and all the trees and mountains was worth the 23 hours or travel time. I still have no expectations for this trip. I only have expectations for myself which is to be open minded, and open hearted.

MAY 28, 2019

Four Days Away!

I am beyond excited to be traveling to Rwanda this upcoming June, I think about it everyday, I am even counting down the days until I leave (14days) ! I am not traveling to Rwanda with any expectations, I am going there to teach as well as learn new things and new values. The village has been coming together to prepare every other Friday, it has been so much fun building bonds and getting to know new people! I have learned different ways to greet people, how to control my body language and breathing. I have also learned many activities that the village will be teaching when we go to Rwanda as well as activities I can use throughout my career as a teacher. I am so excited to use what I learned and to be traveling, you would think by now I would have packed but I haven't. I will soon when I get back home. I cannot wait to have this experience this is going to be remarkable!!!!!!

2019 Rwanda Delegation: Imani Smiley Herring