Updates

I am writing this blog at 1am on a Tuesday night because I cannot sleep so I thought I might as well do something constructive :) Since we returned from Rwanda, things have been moving pretty fast. Here are some key points to update you on what has been going on:

- We finally got moved into our new apartment in the same complex. We now have a roomy 3 bedroom. Our 2 classmates have joined us so now there are 5 women living together and the 2 guys in our program have an apartment near us. 5 women and one bathroom might seem like an impossible situation for many to handle but so for it has been working out just fine. We have managed not to get on each others’ nerves and when we need a break or need to get away, we have other friends we can visit.

- We also started classes this past week. Our first class is International Law taught by a lawyer that used to work for the Tribunal and our ex-supervisor at the UN. This class is proving to be very challenging as he expects us to think like lawyers and is surprised by the lack of knowledge we have about the topic, despite having previously taken classes in International Law. Eunice and I gave a presentation on the first week of class to which he responded, “that was good expect you should have included this, this, this and this but you were the first ones to go so hopefully the rest will get better.” We knew we were going to be the guinea pigs for this project that we only had 2 days to prepare for but I am thankful that we got it out of the way. We still have a paper to write and an exam to prepare for in addition to all the reading he has given us so I was glad that this is one less things to worry about.

- Eunice, Melissa and I have been continuing to do morning devotions and pray together. We even had “church” service at our house on Sunday because it was raining really hard (1^st time we have seen that much rain since we have been here) and we could not get a ride. We pray and help support each other and I feel that we have created a deeper sense of fellowship, accountability and community through this time together which helps us to cope with things we cannot control.

- One of those things that we cannot control is a situation that happened today. Eunice and I were leaving work at about 6:30pm and despite warnings time and time again not to walk home after dark, we ignored our instincts and did it anyway. Just as we were debating whether we should take a dala dala home, a guy ran up and grabbed Eunice’s purse and took off into the woods (just like people told us they would do). We stood there in shock and some people stopped and replied “pole” as they often say here, “sorry”. Thankfully we were not hurt and from past experience we do not carry much on us so Eunice did not lose anything valuable. We were a little shaken up though (this is evident by the fact that both of us are up at this hour). For some reason, this incident seems to be bothering me more than the incident at the restaurant, which was much more of a scary situation for me. One thing that is really bothering me is wondering why this happened and I am starting to question God, whereas I do not feel I did that with the incident at the restaurant. I also feel angry that this happened to Eunice. Not that I wanted it to happen to anyone else, but those that know her, know that she is one of the most kind, selfless, and caring people that you will ever meet. I am also angry that this is just the norm here and that you have to live your life with this being the norm. Writing the blog about Rwanda right before this though also helps me to put it in perspective. Living in a society where muggings are the norm is a lot better than living in a society where genocide was the norm. I am still trying to process everything and understand how I am feeling which I think it will take some time.