The spider won the fight

It has been quite an eventful week! I am moved into my house and I love it ! I have pics to share but no means of uploading them at the moment.... hopefully soon. I spent a few days getting set up, after first evicting the man squatting in the back room. An inventory of the house provided me with a mishmash of curtains, a dining room table with chairs and a couch with sofa chairs! I bought some sheets to cover the sofas and started making the most of the curtain situation. There are guard quarters in the back and I pilfered those curtains too; well almost all of them. The first curtain brought a tiny gecko into the house, no worries, he will eat the bugs for me. The second curtains are still hanging in the guard quarters on account of the fact that a very large and agile spider dropped down from them during BOTH my attempts to take them down. Now can I just add here that I have been quite fine with the beetles, grasshoppers, bedbugs and mozzies, even killed a few dust spiders during my initial clean of the house. But I draw the line at dealing with the premeditated, cunning deviant that lives in those curtains. He can keep them!

I have now cooked multiple meals on the floor of my kitchen (mostly of the oatmeal and rice cake variety) AND I did laundry. The pics will give you a better appreciation for what an accomplishment this is. I think I have a night guard lined up. On the recommendation of another expat, Antonas will get a one week trial period. He speaks French which is a bonus and he walked 4 and a half hours to meet me on Friday... and he was on time!! Now that is impressive! I am looking at getting a Kinyarwanda language tutor and possibly a part time domestic. Looking after everyday things here (like market shopping, preparing food, laundry, filtering water, cleaning house) feels like a full time job and I need to turn my attention to my real job at the District Education Office in Kamonyi. The short term plan is to send introductory letters to all the Headteachers, attend the next scheduled meeting and plan some observational school visits. Oh yeah, and locate said schools ;) Here is where it gets fun.

I kind of feel that the hardest part is behind me. The first few weeks were so unsettling and I was so nervous and worried all the time. When I thought of just how far away home was, it completely overwhelmed me. And every day there was some new and crazy situation or encounter to process. So much about living here is way outside of my comfort zone. I am sure I will adjust/adapt to it. 

One of the real highlights this week, besides the house, is that I made a new friend. He is a university student originally from the Congo and he is in a hip hop band. On Thursday, he showed me where the basketball courts were and we went to shoot hoops (with my new basketball) for about an hour ! Of course I schooled him, but I think just the act of playing around, having fun really did wonders to lift my spirits. That, and talking to Leah on the phone later that night; thanks Leah!  

Today, I feel pretty good. This is probably the result of having just spent the weekend in Kibuye with some wonderful friends. More on that next time... that blog involves recounting the tales of the Great Lake Swim, the hauntingly melodic sounds from the church, trying to keep up with the Brits vocabulary, boating in the rain, some delicious meals and captivating views. I hope everyone is well in Canada. Most of you have made an appearance on my Family Wall of Picsin the living room of my new house (from those that I brought with me) and I think of you all often. Happy Birthday Jasper and Mike! XOXO

Kigali Genocide Memorial Centre

Today I visited the Memorial Centre in Gisoko. There are no words...

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Hello friends.
So much to share. This week has been an emotional rollercoaster as one minute there's a house and next minute there isn't. Was meant to move in tomorrow, now it's next week. Today I made progress (I think) with voicing some concerns. Doesn't matter. What I'm finding is that at the end of each day, I have to answer to myself. Have I been productive today? What could I do differently? And most importantly, is my approach to these situations sustainable? The answer to the third question right now is a big: NO! I have had some trouble adjusting to the food here and working at an appropriate pace. Typically me, I'm either going full steam or not at all. Funny though, at home that works because there are certain things one can do to restore their energies- catch a movie with a friend, hit up DQ or go rollerblading. Here, the decompression techniques are much more limited. I've watched a bunch of DVDs on my laptop, done yoga in my room and been out with friends. Today- in an effort to be proactive- I bought a basketball. I used to shoot hoops in the driveway to relieve stress in high school, so I figured I could find a court and who knows, maybe show some local Rwandans my "moves". Haha. My IPOD is getting used A LOT ! I've found that in the evening, I can go for long walks listening to my music and basically tune everyone out. On the bus commute, this also comes in handy as everyone tries to strike up a conversation with the "muzungu" and it can be tiring trying to accomodate.
Funny bus story: so there seems to be varying degrees of acceptable contact between Rwandans and foreigners. Notably, they will want to touch your arm, or leg and don't ask before doing it. Apparently it's for any number of reasons: to see if your whiteness rubs off, for good luck or just pure curiosity. Rwandans themselves are very "hands on", it's not unusual to see men walking hand in hand or with their arms draped around each other. Like in Ghana, I find this kind of open affection quite charming- except when it comes to me ! Okay, back to the funny story. I'm sitting on the bus with my headphones on and a group of university-aged school girls get on. One of them, reaches over and gently takes the hair elastic out of my hair and starts running her fingers through it, seemingly amazed at the colour and thickness. (I do have great hair !!) We get into quite a lovely conversation with her friends and at the end of the 20 minute bus ride (and some exchanges in Kinyarwanda, French and English) she pays for my fare on the way off the bus. Like I said, if at first you can get over your startled reaction and enjoy the charm and warmth behind her actions, it's actually quite nice. That being said, there have been some unpleasant exchanges but I'm not going to dignify those with blog air-time.
Life here is in constant motion and the need to adapt quickly to challenging situations is a key survival skill. Sometimes at the end of the day, I sit for a minute and let my mind just process all that it's seen/heard for the day. It's quite a lot to ponder. My goals for the next few days are to get some sleep and refuel. I was charging my iPOD and camera the other day and lay down for a second thinking- I also need to recharge MY batteries.
Work is by far the best part of the trip so far. My employer seems quite keen if not a little curious about working with me. She has been helpful and communicative which I gather is not always the case when volunteers show up to work. I am the first volunteer in the Kamonyi District so I feel a huge responsibility to make a good start. I spent the day pouring over school statistics for the 20 primary schools in my 3 sectors within the Kamonyi District. The photocopier was broken so I ended up copying the information out by hand. It will be useful to have school statistics such as performance levels, numbers of boys/girls, staffing info and whether they are "groupe scolaire"/catholic/sponsored schools. The next step is to have a meeting with all the Headteachers so that my Director of Education can give me a proper introduction. I will then prepare letters to send to each school explaining exactly what my role as Primary Methodology Volunteer is and what they can gain by collaborating with me. Headteachers who are interested in participating (or becoming "model schools") will then contact the Director and I can plan school visits. Needless to say there is a "crawl, walk, run" stage here that requires some patience on my part. I want to jump right in and do QDPA with the kids ! However, there are many steps to take first; some of which might take several weeks. Another fun part is that I can't get my hands on a proper map of the sectors so another volunteer suggested I take a blank piece of paper, draw the sectors on it and add the schools to it one by one as I find them. Sounds like it's going to be a fascinating couple of weeks.
I have met some really great people working for various other NGOs. The common link within our type of jobs and the similarities in cultural backgrounds make it very easy to relate to other expats. I have heard that the Right to Play organisation is based in Kigali and I can't wait to meet some of their employees. I would love to witness them in action- it is still a longterm goal of mine to work with R2P in the field.
In other news, a friend from London emailed to say he will be in Tanzania in July. I was planning to visit Crystal (nurse VSO) in TZ anyway. This is something to look forward to for sure ! Now, the question is, should I try Kili then or just go for a visit and wait to try Kili in January or something. The hills of Rwanda are challenging me at the moment so I think perhaps some training is an order before Kili. We'll see. I think I could probably "will" myself up that mountain right now.. haha.
Okay, so this blog is becoming basically like my journal. I am not holding back, and I write what I feel at the time. For me, it's quite liberating to write in an uncensored manner, knowing full well that people will be reading it. I am making quite an effort to leave names and details of other people off my blog and to keep it positive/not critical and above all- HONEST.
Thanks for reading. Take care,
Becky

Quick Blog

Rumor of a house for me later this week.. here's hoping. Gotta go watch the Italian soap opera I am now addicted to. It's called : Tormento en el Paraiso (Storms over Paradise) and while it is achingly overdramatic it actually pales in comparison to my life right now here in Rwanda. Talk to you all soon. Would love pics from home in the mail so I can put them up on my bedroom wall once I'm in the house.
Be well,
Becky

Turn Left at That Cow!

So officially I’ve been here for three weeks. Definitely feels like it. I am finding my way around the Kigali area quite easily now using certain landmarks and yes, one of them is veering left at the house with the cow. This has been a great week so far as absolutely NOTHING has gone as expected. My friend Mark had a good quote on the subject which I’d like to share about faith:
(Alan Watts on Faith):
Faith is a state of openness or trust. To have faith is like when you trust yourself to the water. You don't grab hold of the water when you swim, because if you do you will become stiff and tight in the water, and sink. You have to relax, and the attitude of faith is the very opposite of clinging, and holding on. In other words, a person who is fanatic in matters of religion, and clings to certain ideas about the nature of God and the universe becomes a person who has no faith at all. Instead they are holding tight. But the attitude of faith is to let go, and become open to truth, whatever it might turn out to be.
Education: I am learning a fair bit more about the Rwandan Education System. As the curriculum has recently been switched to English (and most teachers have secondary level education consisting primarily of French and Kinyarwanda), you can imagine the challenges. The post-colonial methodologies contribute to the poor quality of teaching. I am incredibly glad to be working in the primary division for maximum impact. To accommodate the masses of students, there is “double shifting” meaning students attend either morning or afternoon. This seems to solve the school vs. work challenge as children can have access to education and still maintain chores at home- (not having to choose either/or). Some schools have feeding programs to encourage school attendance but they are being discouraged in part because the focus is academics and in part because they are notoriously hard to maintain. Solar energy is another priority and getting the one computer a school might have out of a box in the corner and into use is a long-term goal of the headmaster of Ecole St. Dominique (see pic). A primary methodology handbook was created by VSOs and strategies such as mindmaps, QDPA and unique seating plans are included. I’d love to give my colleagues back home a copy of this handbook- it’s got some great ideas! In a bookstore downtown, I spotted Howard Gardner’s book on Multiple Intelligences- a favorite teachers’ college guide. If it’s in the country, that’s a good start, maybe there’s hope for the theory that children need more than “talk and chalk” teaching in the future. When I toured schools last week with a ministry inspector, he spoke passionately about Rwanda’s intitiative to become a “knowledge-based economy”. The fact that Rwanda does not export sugar or coffee or gold, has no resource to speak of and low tourism, makes it necessary for Education to become the focus for their future development. Impressive strategy.
Funny anecdotes: I was in the craft shop (a co-op downtown for local artisans to sell handicrafts) and I only bought a $3 scarf. The vendor was trying to sell me much, much more but I insisted as a volunteer here for a year I could not buy anything more. He said “I hear on the radio that your country is having money problems”. Hmm, an African empathizing about the global recession in the West.
Language/ Communication Issues: Each day there is something lost in translation but I’m finding it increasingly humorous. For instance, yesterday a man said : “I issue you a good day !” and there is a construction sign that I absolutely love (and must get a picture of) that is a small triangle inside of which reads: “Mens at works”. On a more serious note, the ketchup situation here has me quite worried. I’ll order fries and ask for ketchup and the waiter will point to the white glob on my plate and say “but you have mayonnaise” and I’ll politely say “yes, I see the mayonnaise, may I also have ketchup?” to which he’ll respond “but there is mayonnaise”. I can sometimes get a watered down version of “sauce” and sometimes, if I’m really lucky- be rewarded with a bottle of Heinz (there’s no other keinz) but I have to pay 200fr for it.
Trivialities: You can’t eat or drink in public. You can’t walk on the grass. Locals call me “sistah” or “muzungu” and I often answer “mon frere” or “my name’s not muzungu it’s Rebecca”. This always produces quite a chuckle. I’m finding that I’m speaking mainly in French. I really enjoy it. I’d like to get a Kinyarwanda language tutor once I’m set up in my house but have also considered learning Kiswahili as it is the most widely spoken African language and many Rwandans are actually Congolese or Ugandan and speak Swahili over Kinyarwanda.
Guest House Visitors: Since I’ve been here at the Guest House for three weeks, I’ve seen many visitors come and go- and not without some intriguing stories. Each morning at breakfast there is a diverse group of people and in the evening if I am using the internet in the lobby, random conversations are struck- this may be prompted by the Canadian Flag sticker on my laptop. For the record, I will correct anyone (even my Director of Education during a meeting with the Mayor) if they try to call me an American ! At the guest house I have discussed the finer points of peanut butter with a British masters’ student, international politics with a Cameroonian who works in Tanzania on the genocide tribunal and been berated on the “god-complex” of most humanitarian aid-workers by a Swiss jerk.
The guest house staff have become like a second family. Erik works in the kitchen and slides around in these fancy dress shoes which may be a few sizes too big for him. He has the most charming, bright smile. Fulgence is the one whose law dissertation I witnessed at the University last week and Theo is getting married on Sunday and has invited me to the wedding! Clementina and Diana do cleaning and the night guard likes to listen to my hip-hop. They have commiserated with me when at 6am I am waiting out front for the driver and by 7:30am I reluctantly head back to my room because no one has come. I have handed them my phone on several occasions so that they can speak Kinyarwanda for me with the person on the other end who has decided not to understand my French or English! The housing plans are coming along and I think when I do leave Beausejour Guest House I will most likely plan to return a few months from now to check in on my first Rwandan friends.
Well, if you’re still reading this, kudos to you-it’s quite a long blog. I’ll plan to write more frequently and briefer entries. Remind me to tell you of my adventures this morning riding a moto for 2 hours in the freezing rain only to arrive within 3km of the school we wished to visit and find that the muddy road is washed out and we can’t make it even on foot so must turn around! I don’t know why but my reaction to these types of situations is to laugh. “Adventure’s my middle name”. Okay, last anecdote- my phone # here ends in -007 so anytime I share my number with someone,;friend, local or colleague, there is an inevitable James Bond reference. Haha.
K, if in the next few months I am not laughing at these types of experiences, (and feel like crying over them instead)- please give me a proverbial whack over the head.
Ciao for now amigos!

Baby blog

Highlights of the past few days:
Dinners, swimming, shopping, walking, laughing and chilling out -with friends.
Dancing to live music at a free concert featuring Rwandan hip-hop, reggae, rock music on Saturday night.
Attending a soccer match at Amahoro Stadium between ? (yellow jerseys) and ? (blue jerseys).
Planning for the upcoming week of work- hoping to arrange a school visit and job-shadow with other VSOs.
Found a gym complete with work-out facilities, pool and tennis courts !
Fixed the Microsoft Word problem on my computer.
Rode more motos... :)
Caught up on some sleep.
Finished my second book- the highly recommended "The Kindness of Strangers". It's stories of people who experience random acts of kindness while traveling. It has left me feeling quite inspired.
Wrote and sent 5 postcards.
*** Went to the University of Kigali to watch my Rwandan friend (he works here at the guest house) present his dissertation to earn his law degree. Presentation was in French, he passed, big celebration afterwards, campus was beautiful !
Talk soon, Becky

A preview

Hi friends,
A quick note to let you know I'll do a proper blog on the weekend. Here is a sneak peak at today's adventures:
*woke up at 5am to catch my ride to the District Office at 6am -(some guy I didn't know named Jean-Baptiste)
*visited 5 primary schools- one of which has an enrollment of 2070 kids (that's not a typo!) and only 27 teachers and 18 classrooms !!!
*our truck flipped off the side of the road and I had to climb out the top (passenger door)... this story is unbelievable and I have some great photos of who helped us lift the truck back on to the road :)
Hopefully I've peaked your interest. I had a nice Skype chat with my family tonight and I've enjoyed your facebook messages very much !
P.S. The kids here are absolutely delightful and I can't wait to start working directly with them.
PICTURES WILL BE UP SOON !!

Kamonyi in the sky !!

Today I took it upon myself to visit my village, Kamonyi, located 30km from Kigali. I took a moto to the main bus terminal (where nearly 100 buses were stationed- it was a circus!) and then caught the bus to Gitarama, which promised to let me off at Kamonyi (about halfway to Gitarama). Actually, many of the locals on the bus called to the driver to let the "muzungu" off when we neared Kamonyi. It was kinda cool. Still with me here? Then I took a moto up to the District Education Office, which was literally up, up, up a very steep hill on an unpaved road. It was in fact a 10km ride, directly up ! When I reached the top I looked out on the horizon and discovered that I was at the same level as the clouds ! I think if I do begin work here, I will acclimatize pretty quickly- which in the long run serves me well for my future Kilimanjaro trek.
I said a quick hello at the District Office- the trip was more for my benefit than theirs, and returned to Kigali. Tomorrow I will travel to Gitarama and visit with Bruce for a few days. He has promised to take me on some school visits and I am really looking forward to doing some work- even simulated work will do.
Not much else to report, so here are some random Rwandan facts.
- In 2006, Rwanda banned plastic bags. You must travel with your own bag to carry your things.
-Pedestrians do NOT have the right of way, in fact, I am not concerned with falling off a moto- more concerned about being hit by one in motion.
-Birdwatching is big here. No wonder, given each day sounds like a "Nature" CD
- The government randomly decided to make English Rwanda's language of choice recently so along with Kinyarwanda and French, people are encouraged to speak English. On my bus ride to Kamonyi, a language tape was playing.
- The main roads here are in incredibly good shape. Smooth, paved and easy to travel. I think Ontario's urban planners could take notes, as there are actually few potholes. The unpaved roads however are a different story. I was actually raised from my seat several times as I rode the moto up to Kamonyi on a dirt road.
-Shopping so far is very random. In the markets, each store seems to sell the same stuff. Lots of bags/backpacks/purses, rubber bins, flashlights, hair products and an assortment of things. In the larger shops, for example the Nakumatt (Rwanda's Walmart), there are many familiar products like Head & Shoulders and Toblerone. Even in the most remote rural areas I've seen signs for Coca-Cola. Total world domination, eh?
Anyway, I have many more trivialities to share with you, but I'm quite tired. (Fatigue is a common thread on my blog, I'm hoping that it's just an adjustment period). Hope everything is going well back in Canada.
Footnote: I have been asked on three occasions now-mostly by other expats, why Canadians always wear the symbol of Canada ? (I have a Canadian flag pin on my bag). I tried to explain that a) I am proud to be from Canada and b) I don't want to be mistaken for an American and c) even if I were at home, wearing Canadian paraphernalia is not uncommon. I guess I'd never given it much thought but it's true- we do love our Maple Leaf :) Wait until July 1st, eh?

Chillin' at Kivu

When I close my eyes, I can still see them. Hulking blue mountains, layer upon layer of hauntingly beautiful hills-a backdrop to a seamless horizon. I asked my friend "Are those clouds or mountains?" She answered "Mountains." Across the lake was a thinly veiled blue line, darker than the blue of the sky- the Congo.
(I know my pictures won't do it justice.)
The 3 hour drive to Kibuye in an 8-seater van with 16 people in it, on winding roads with a driver who uses the lowest gear going uphill to conserve fuel and then puts it in neutral as we weave down and around 45* bends- was quite the thrill ride ! On the return trip we nearly took out a cow, his shepherd and a cyclist as we veered around blind corners and were witness to no less than THREE fuel trucks overturned in ditches.
We arrived at Centre Bethanie to discover that our rooms overlooked Lake Kivu. If not for the active volcano in the distance, it could be mistaken for a cottage in the Muskokas. At night the volcano glowed a bright orange and during the day it looked like a geometric-shaped cloud-making machine as it pumped out puffs of white cottonballs from its' top shelf! We went for a swim, had breakfast and then booked a boat to Amahoro Island only to discover many other tourists there (Americans!) and a previously unmentioned 1,000 Rfr "boarding the island" fee. No thanks ! We directed the boat driver to an island just in the distance and set up camp amongst the trees and rocky ground.
Immediately, myself and two other VSOs set off "To explore!" and decided to circumnavigate the entire island ! It was a blast- in particular because the only way to do this was on foot, crawling and clamboring over the rocky shore b/c the torso of the island was too thick with brush and thorny nettles to cross. (I have to say this might be the highlight so far of my time here). We slipped in several times, had to abandon various items (like sandals and cellphones) along the way and retrieve them later by boat and had fun debating if there were any other mammals sharing this island with us (in particular VSO-eating warthogs !) The aimless, careless abandon with which we explored reminded me a little of the adrenalin rush I get when skiing out of bounds at Sunshine Village with Jay. Always a little unsure if it's a good idea, assessing the risks and ambling on anyway- good fun !!
Other firsts:
Riding a moto at night on a dirt road... in a skirt ! I'll have to get a picture of me on one of these motos so you can truly appreciate what it's like. I have to say, I really enjoy my moto rides now. It's quite freeing and adventurous. I had dinner with 7 other VSOs across town. It's been great to meet other expats. They are friendly, generous and I can tell that I will make some lasting friendships here.
The scenic drive to Kibuye gave me a lot of insight into the rural Rwanda. We drove through Kamonyi (my future placement?). Almost every inch of the countryside is cultivated. It's not uncommon to see a girl of 8 or 9 working on the hillside, digging or swinging a pickaxe at the dirt- with no adult in sight- cultivating the land. Even younger kids wander about the side of the road, children of 3 or 4- some carrying tiny versions of jerrycans. It's a wonder. Today on the city bus home (after the bus from Kibuye dropped us off), two little boys about the age of 2 boarded with a granny. Because the bus had nearly 20 people on it, granny got shuffled to the back and one kid ended up by the door and one ended up in the aisle. Neither kid cried for granny and granny didn't say anything either. Instead, whoever was nearest to each child, picked them up respectively and sat them on their knee. The bus driver's assistant even at one point, lifted one of them off the bus, to allow other passengers off and then lifted him by the arm back on the bus. It was as if each Rwandan was personally responsible for the wellbeing of these two toddlers until granny reached her stop and dismounted the bus with her two little charges. What's that expression- it takes a village to raise a child?
Well, I'm quite tired, unsure of what tomorrow holds and have this unsettling feeling of happiness warming over me right now. Is it possible that I'm enjoying Rwanda already?
'Night.