As mentioned in my previous post, I am no longer a PCV in Rwanda. So if you are looking for a post about life there, this is not it. However, the story about how I came to leave Rwanda and how perfectly timed it was with my future life plans merits telling, so here it is.
I quit Peace Corps on a Tuesday morning which was a national holiday, I took a moto taxi out of my school at 5am and didn't look back. By 11am I had arrived PC's Kigali headquarters where I first had to alert my boss that I was quitting by calling it thru her window - she wanted to know why I was in Kigali without permission - in the middle of her morning meeting. Off to a great start. Once a PCV resigns they have 72 hours to process the paperwork and get you out of country - due to the holiday I got an extra 24ish hours. But here's the part where things get crazy:
In December shortly after moving into my permanent site I had a serious security situation where a coworker of mine was harassing me in the middle of the night, while the whole thing was being sorted out I stayed in Kigali for a few nights. I was naturally upset and decided to send in a few law school apps to the schools that had sent me fee waivers (i took the LSAT before graduating college) just as a safety net. For some added security I also sent in app to my top choice school, American in DC, figuring it wasn't so bad to pay for one application. After the security issue was resolved I returned to my site and figured I could defer an enrollment if I got in. I was accepted to one law school and waitlisted at American, so I put myself on the waitlist just to see how things shook out and applied for a deferment at the second. The morning after I arrived in Kigali I was still waitlisted and hadn't heard a decision on my deferment request. I called the first school to see if I could still be accepted into this years class, which they gladly agreed to if I sent in a deposit in 72 hours - turns out I had decided to resign the week law schools were selecting their waitlist candidates. I held off sending the deposit figuring it would be easier to send once I was in the USA (which was now less than 72 hours away). That same afternoon American emailed me saying they were filling their waitlist spots and asking if I was still interested in a place, when I answered in the affirmative I got an email to send in a deposit immediately. Both the first and second email contained a 24 hour time limit to respond before the offer expired. If i was in my village I wouldn't have even seen the emails in time!! With 24 hours to go before my flight I wired the money to American and officially secured my spot in their class of 2015. American even runs a program on educating local students on the Rwandan genocide, that you know I'm going to get involved in somehow. I found an apartment a few days after getting home. It was a friend of my aunt's who was willing to give me a short term summer lease. I signed the lease site unseen. Later when i typed the address into google maps I was shocked and amused to see that the Rwandan embassy to the United states is on the same block!! I can't wait to greet the guards in Kinyarwanda. So the moral of this rambling tale is that I see that as the last positive omen, out of many, demonstrating that this was the best decision for me personally and professionally. I move tomorrow! Wish me luck! nta komeza (i am going forward)
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