Monday, June 22, 2009
VSO
Anna Maceachern of VSO-Canada, I have tried to email you but it bounces back. Here is my address: rebeccajyoung@live.com. Send me a message :)
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Blessings be counted !
Hi friends,
I am feeling short of words today so I'm going to start with some quotes.
"Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace, and gratitude."
Denis Waitley
"I am grateful for what I am and have. My thanksgiving is perpetual... O how I laugh when I think of my vague indefinite riches. No run on my bank can drain it for my wealth is not possession but enjoyment."
Henry David Thoreau
I have had an eventful week. Chimp trekking was quite an adventure.. a really great group of friends and as they say it's the "journey not the destination" that matters most. The logistics of actually getting into the forest- including having the guesthouse reservations fall through on the day and our driver lock the keys in the car and leaving at 2am to begin hiking at 5:30am and riding 3 hours on the flatbed of a pickup truck and being stopped by a police check and stumbling through really dense tropical forest and being bitten by army ants and paying the entrance fee of someone who has a green card even though I don't have mine yet (yay discount!) and seeing monkeys but only up by the road after we had hiked for 3 hours in the valley looking for them- was far more fun than the actual monkey sightings (of which there were very few by the way).
My school visits continue to be delightful. I would love to share the professional side of things with my teacher colleagues back in London. I'm sure they would find it equally fascinating and also have some wonderful suggestions. When I get a little daunted by the task ahead, I try to picture one of my schools with a classroom full of didactic materials and lessons being taught with eager student participation and complete knowledge acquisition. I picture this happening about 6 months from now. Yup, I'm probably being far too idealistic but one can hope.
I forgot to mention that I have acquired a guitar !! I remember my friends advising me on this decision pre-Rwanda (as I really wanted to bring one from home) and wouldn't you know it- the prison in Gitarama makes guitars and I now own one ! It is pretty hard to tune and play but I just like the soulful feel that a guitar gives to the house. Terry, your harmonica is also a favorite memento of mine.
In other news, I wanted to share with you how loved I feel. I know that sounds a little cheesy but I don't care. When you are halfway around the world, far from the people who know you best and who you can usually depend on, it can make you feel a little vulnerable. So, there is a group of people here that I have affectionately called "my surrogate family". This includes a new roommate (who works with an Italian NGO and has a wicked sense of humor), a new nightguard (a sweet guy named Emmanuel), a domestic (the ever-dedicated Delphine) and an assortment of expats who have been very kind, caring and thoughtful. I am very grateful for their presence. On top of this, I am becoming well acquainted with my neighbours. They make the walk to and from home a joy. Often, the little ones will come running up and hug me, all smiles. There are maybe a dozen children and I am trying to learn all their names. Jean-Paul is the smallest (less than a year) and he looks at me with these big brown eyes- melts the heart. Ariel and her sister are my direct neighbours and they kick ball around with me or throw the Frisbee. (For the record, before I even bought a can opener or other kitchen essentials, I had bought a soccerball, a basketball and a Frisbee. Where are my priorities??) I have even played "Flinch" with the boys- with hilarious reactions.. makes me think of my old classes back at PAFI. Rosa is always in a pretty little dress, some of the smaller kids and/or girls often get excluded from play because the older ones dominate however the boys got a little lesson in "never underestimate a muzungu's soccer skills" as I stripped the ball off the 12 year old and made his friends keel over laughing. Funny thing is, after work and on weekends, I'm often hanging around in my Adidas splashpants and a t-shirt. This prompts the ladies of the neighbourhood to inquire "Are you going to do sport?". How do I tell them that, no, these are my comfy clothes and that I won't be in skirts/dresses except for Sunday church clothes?
Well, as I lean out the window of the Internet cafe, the sun is setting a hot pink in the distance. There is music playing (as there usually is in downtown Gitarama) and I am off to "muzungu" dinner, our regular Sunday gathering of expats. I'm not sure what the week holds, there is always so much I want to share with everyone but by the time I get in front of the computer, my mind is blank. I am missing people from home a little bit. I have called a few of you for very brief conversations which has been really nice and I will get skype set up here soon, I hope. For all my teacher friends, best of luck with the final push to summer. I'm excited for you guys, because I know how nice the feeling is of having completed another school year. I hope everyone has good summer plans ahead, even if it is just a hammock and a book- well earned rest. I hope everyone's little ones are doing well- would love to hear stories of how Gaby and Isaac and Tess, etc are. Keep in touch. My new address here is P.O. Box 155 Gitarama Rwanda. I have sent a few postcards, hopefully they find you well.
Each day I take a moment to myself and remember how lucky I am to be here and to have the support of family and friends. I know that not everyone can have an adventure like this. I am certain that on my 90th birthday, I will reflect upon the fact that at 32 years old I went to live in Rwanda for a year. Today I am counting my blessings... and they are many.
I am feeling short of words today so I'm going to start with some quotes.
"Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace, and gratitude."
Denis Waitley
"I am grateful for what I am and have. My thanksgiving is perpetual... O how I laugh when I think of my vague indefinite riches. No run on my bank can drain it for my wealth is not possession but enjoyment."
Henry David Thoreau
I have had an eventful week. Chimp trekking was quite an adventure.. a really great group of friends and as they say it's the "journey not the destination" that matters most. The logistics of actually getting into the forest- including having the guesthouse reservations fall through on the day and our driver lock the keys in the car and leaving at 2am to begin hiking at 5:30am and riding 3 hours on the flatbed of a pickup truck and being stopped by a police check and stumbling through really dense tropical forest and being bitten by army ants and paying the entrance fee of someone who has a green card even though I don't have mine yet (yay discount!) and seeing monkeys but only up by the road after we had hiked for 3 hours in the valley looking for them- was far more fun than the actual monkey sightings (of which there were very few by the way).
My school visits continue to be delightful. I would love to share the professional side of things with my teacher colleagues back in London. I'm sure they would find it equally fascinating and also have some wonderful suggestions. When I get a little daunted by the task ahead, I try to picture one of my schools with a classroom full of didactic materials and lessons being taught with eager student participation and complete knowledge acquisition. I picture this happening about 6 months from now. Yup, I'm probably being far too idealistic but one can hope.
I forgot to mention that I have acquired a guitar !! I remember my friends advising me on this decision pre-Rwanda (as I really wanted to bring one from home) and wouldn't you know it- the prison in Gitarama makes guitars and I now own one ! It is pretty hard to tune and play but I just like the soulful feel that a guitar gives to the house. Terry, your harmonica is also a favorite memento of mine.
In other news, I wanted to share with you how loved I feel. I know that sounds a little cheesy but I don't care. When you are halfway around the world, far from the people who know you best and who you can usually depend on, it can make you feel a little vulnerable. So, there is a group of people here that I have affectionately called "my surrogate family". This includes a new roommate (who works with an Italian NGO and has a wicked sense of humor), a new nightguard (a sweet guy named Emmanuel), a domestic (the ever-dedicated Delphine) and an assortment of expats who have been very kind, caring and thoughtful. I am very grateful for their presence. On top of this, I am becoming well acquainted with my neighbours. They make the walk to and from home a joy. Often, the little ones will come running up and hug me, all smiles. There are maybe a dozen children and I am trying to learn all their names. Jean-Paul is the smallest (less than a year) and he looks at me with these big brown eyes- melts the heart. Ariel and her sister are my direct neighbours and they kick ball around with me or throw the Frisbee. (For the record, before I even bought a can opener or other kitchen essentials, I had bought a soccerball, a basketball and a Frisbee. Where are my priorities??) I have even played "Flinch" with the boys- with hilarious reactions.. makes me think of my old classes back at PAFI. Rosa is always in a pretty little dress, some of the smaller kids and/or girls often get excluded from play because the older ones dominate however the boys got a little lesson in "never underestimate a muzungu's soccer skills" as I stripped the ball off the 12 year old and made his friends keel over laughing. Funny thing is, after work and on weekends, I'm often hanging around in my Adidas splashpants and a t-shirt. This prompts the ladies of the neighbourhood to inquire "Are you going to do sport?". How do I tell them that, no, these are my comfy clothes and that I won't be in skirts/dresses except for Sunday church clothes?
Well, as I lean out the window of the Internet cafe, the sun is setting a hot pink in the distance. There is music playing (as there usually is in downtown Gitarama) and I am off to "muzungu" dinner, our regular Sunday gathering of expats. I'm not sure what the week holds, there is always so much I want to share with everyone but by the time I get in front of the computer, my mind is blank. I am missing people from home a little bit. I have called a few of you for very brief conversations which has been really nice and I will get skype set up here soon, I hope. For all my teacher friends, best of luck with the final push to summer. I'm excited for you guys, because I know how nice the feeling is of having completed another school year. I hope everyone has good summer plans ahead, even if it is just a hammock and a book- well earned rest. I hope everyone's little ones are doing well- would love to hear stories of how Gaby and Isaac and Tess, etc are. Keep in touch. My new address here is P.O. Box 155 Gitarama Rwanda. I have sent a few postcards, hopefully they find you well.
Each day I take a moment to myself and remember how lucky I am to be here and to have the support of family and friends. I know that not everyone can have an adventure like this. I am certain that on my 90th birthday, I will reflect upon the fact that at 32 years old I went to live in Rwanda for a year. Today I am counting my blessings... and they are many.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Sweetness Follows
This blog will be done in R.E.M. form (as in the song "It's the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine") so that I can squish as many stories into the small space as possible. The blog title is inspired by the inevitability here that after one bad experience, a positive one follows.
In the past week, since my last blog, I've learned that it only takes a Rwandan 3.5 minutes to change a flat tire on a bus, the sound of a tire popping is like a gunshot, when you kill a few little spiders in your house a big Mafia spider shows up to taunt you and then sneaks back down the drain after a few missed shoe hits, when wearing a skirt on a moto your legs accumulate dirt shrapnel wounds, the bus drivers give each other secret hand signals to alert when there's a police check, said police checks are random and can either last a minute or 20, a green lollipop that a girl on the bus buys for you is extra sweet, a melange is the quickest thing to order at the restaurant and consists of pasta, rice, fries, beans, spinach and unidentified meat- portions of which are much too big to finish, firing a nightguard is unpleasant, my neighbour the hiphop artist gave me his CD- it's not bad, the universal law of childhood is to behave blissfully unaware of your future challenges and in Rwanda to smile/hug strangers every afternoon on their way home from work, this much I know is true- there is nothing, NOTHING sweeter than the 2 year old boy who comes running down my path to hug my knees each afternoon, Rolos and ricecakes on the bus ride home from Kigali are worth sneaking even if it violates some appropriate "code" Rwandans have about not eating in public, having 5 employees at District Office stare jaws agape as I type is really funny (I am a wicked fast typer, but nonetheless), hot water is overrated I actually LOVE my cold showers, having an eight year old boy respond with "blahblahblah" when I tried to speak Kinyarwanda with him is also amusing, watching the children at Mama's orphanage give Sunday service is heartwrenchingly beautiful; little David is by far the "scene-stealer" as he toddles from one lap to the other and last Sunday I watched a 12 year old boy look after a sleeping 3 year old with such tenderness- 12 year olds at home (atleast the ones I've met) don't have that compassion in them, having a women breastfeed her baby beside me on the bus can be forgiven because his little hand was wrapped around my pinkie finger and he had a cherubic face, sitting through a 7 and 1/2 hour staff meeting in Kinyarwanda might be the most challenging thing I do this week, oh besides trying to buy vegetables on the hill- which apparently isn't just a gathering of a few hundred random Rwandans as I first thought- it's actually where you buy your vegetables, my pet gecko Bill now has a lady friend gecko Sally- both are welcome if they continue to keep the flies/mozzies away, you have to knock on the window if you want to be let off the bus, was asked if I was a francophone and I answered no "anglophone with french tendencies", went all the way to Kamonyi (bus and moto one hour) to discover the power was out and couldn't get any work done so went back down to main road and caught bus to Kigali and then back (an hour bus) to Gitarama at day's end- that was my Monday!! only met 3 crazy men this week (that's an average low), talked politics with a guy from Guinea at dinner, met a cow named "Peace" who was irritable on account of they just inseminated her- or so said the Headteacher, oh yeah and someone I work with (who will remain anonymous) has the voice and demeanor of King Julien from the Madagascar movies- cannot keep a straight face around this man and he is quite important in Kamonyi ! Oh dear ! And finally, watching Monty Python's Meaning of Life projected onto the wall of your own living room which is full of new friends from England, Australia, USA, the Phillipines, Italy and Ireland (Belgian was absent) is AWESOME !!!
Miss you guys, hope all is well at home. Off to forage for dinner now and hope the water is back on when I get home (it's off for some unknown reason).
Be well- Becky
In the past week, since my last blog, I've learned that it only takes a Rwandan 3.5 minutes to change a flat tire on a bus, the sound of a tire popping is like a gunshot, when you kill a few little spiders in your house a big Mafia spider shows up to taunt you and then sneaks back down the drain after a few missed shoe hits, when wearing a skirt on a moto your legs accumulate dirt shrapnel wounds, the bus drivers give each other secret hand signals to alert when there's a police check, said police checks are random and can either last a minute or 20, a green lollipop that a girl on the bus buys for you is extra sweet, a melange is the quickest thing to order at the restaurant and consists of pasta, rice, fries, beans, spinach and unidentified meat- portions of which are much too big to finish, firing a nightguard is unpleasant, my neighbour the hiphop artist gave me his CD- it's not bad, the universal law of childhood is to behave blissfully unaware of your future challenges and in Rwanda to smile/hug strangers every afternoon on their way home from work, this much I know is true- there is nothing, NOTHING sweeter than the 2 year old boy who comes running down my path to hug my knees each afternoon, Rolos and ricecakes on the bus ride home from Kigali are worth sneaking even if it violates some appropriate "code" Rwandans have about not eating in public, having 5 employees at District Office stare jaws agape as I type is really funny (I am a wicked fast typer, but nonetheless), hot water is overrated I actually LOVE my cold showers, having an eight year old boy respond with "blahblahblah" when I tried to speak Kinyarwanda with him is also amusing, watching the children at Mama's orphanage give Sunday service is heartwrenchingly beautiful; little David is by far the "scene-stealer" as he toddles from one lap to the other and last Sunday I watched a 12 year old boy look after a sleeping 3 year old with such tenderness- 12 year olds at home (atleast the ones I've met) don't have that compassion in them, having a women breastfeed her baby beside me on the bus can be forgiven because his little hand was wrapped around my pinkie finger and he had a cherubic face, sitting through a 7 and 1/2 hour staff meeting in Kinyarwanda might be the most challenging thing I do this week, oh besides trying to buy vegetables on the hill- which apparently isn't just a gathering of a few hundred random Rwandans as I first thought- it's actually where you buy your vegetables, my pet gecko Bill now has a lady friend gecko Sally- both are welcome if they continue to keep the flies/mozzies away, you have to knock on the window if you want to be let off the bus, was asked if I was a francophone and I answered no "anglophone with french tendencies", went all the way to Kamonyi (bus and moto one hour) to discover the power was out and couldn't get any work done so went back down to main road and caught bus to Kigali and then back (an hour bus) to Gitarama at day's end- that was my Monday!! only met 3 crazy men this week (that's an average low), talked politics with a guy from Guinea at dinner, met a cow named "Peace" who was irritable on account of they just inseminated her- or so said the Headteacher, oh yeah and someone I work with (who will remain anonymous) has the voice and demeanor of King Julien from the Madagascar movies- cannot keep a straight face around this man and he is quite important in Kamonyi ! Oh dear ! And finally, watching Monty Python's Meaning of Life projected onto the wall of your own living room which is full of new friends from England, Australia, USA, the Phillipines, Italy and Ireland (Belgian was absent) is AWESOME !!!
Miss you guys, hope all is well at home. Off to forage for dinner now and hope the water is back on when I get home (it's off for some unknown reason).
Be well- Becky
Sunday, May 31, 2009
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
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Kigali Genocide Memorial Centre
Today I visited the Memorial Centre in Gisoko. There are no words...
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
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
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
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
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
Be well,
Becky
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
.JPG)
.JPG)
