My Expectations

I have been in Rwanda for a week now and I am finally getting over my jet lag of waking up at 4:30 in the morning. The people I have met so far have been amazing and I am excited for the rest of the experience. My expectations for the internship have changed and evolved slightly since I have been in the country, however the principles remain the same.

I expect to be forced to step outside of my comfort zone and work within the margins of unfamiliarity. I expect to work hard and learn new things every day. I expect that surrounded with an incredibly talented, intelligent, and diverse group of young people people we will be able to initiate changes in the educational paradigm in Rwanda that will benefit the people here for generations to come. I believe that the only way to face these challenges and tasks is to do so in a direct and explicit manner. It is through this that I hope to have a material impact on the OLPC Rwanda initiative, grow personally, and witness small changes in the short time that I am in this country. Oh, and I also expect to eventually accept that when I say "Oh yeah" in English, it means "No" in Kinyarwandan (my inability to make this change has led to many instances of miscommunication).