My House

I've been in Rwanda for close to a month now (I can't believe it's been that long already) so it's about time I start to show you pictures of where I live and work.  I won't include pictures of the school just yet because I'm finishing up a slideshow with pictures and videos from the party for the 57th anniversary of the school's founding and once it's done, I'll put it on YouTube and include the link on the blog.  So for now, here is my house.

The outside of the house from the north side.  Sisters live through the door at the end of the sidewalk on the left.

The view from the kitchen doorway.  You can see the bedroom doors; the left one leads to my room.

The view from the front door, which is unseen on my left

My room with my princess/tent bed.  Some nights I feel like I'm camping, complete with my headlamp to read with the light out.  To the left is my cabinet for clothes and valuable possessions.  To the right are two selves on the floor for books.

This shows part of what I call my "wall of joy."  A few days ago I was feeling a little low after a prayer group in Kinyarwanda and French and I found myself longing for people and groups that are comfortable and that I'm close to.  So I started putting photos of you all on my wall (the project isn't finished) and now it's my wall of joy.  I stand looking at the pictures and I remember all the good times I had with you and the love we share.  It makes me joyful.

This is the sink room, as you can see.  The door leads to Rita's room.

Jumping to the other side of the house, here is our kitchen.  The silver thing on the left is our water filter.  We boil, let it cool, and then filter.  We have two stoves, one gas and the other electric, but only the top coil works in the oven.  The fridge is smaller than those in the States and it's behind me.

Here is our humble bathroom.  Toilet in the first door on the left and shower in the background on the left.  No hot water.  I've started taking cold showers instead of heating up water and doing the sponge bath thing.  The first dousing with cold water is terrible, but after turning it off and soaping up, the second dousing isn't bad.

Lastly, the browner, elevated soil is my future garden.  I still have to create the rows.  Seeds should go in this week now that it rains almost every day, usually at night.  The wall to the left is the chapel. 

As you can see from the pictures, the house is quite nice.  The bathroom reminds me of a bathroom that would be found in a barn or camp building, but it works.