Tuesday 24 March 2009
Friday 20 March 2009
T.I.A. People!
Well it's the end of week 3 and I'm starting to walk differently! We have all developed an African wiggle and are becoming generally much more laid back. Last weekend I took a MOTORBIKE! I wasn't so sure about it but it was hilariously good fun - I'm now the proud owner of a burn blister style scar from when I was getting off the thing! I feel sooo cool! YEO! I also went to my first African football match - the Rwandese Army team APR against some team from Egypt... the final score was 0-0 but it was still really exciting with all the music and singing!! LOVED that!
On Sunday I went to Church, the music was amazing and people were getting up from their seats and dancing on the stage together. It's the kind of experience everyone should have, no matter what your belief system is, I don't think anyone could resist getting caught up in that kind of passion and raw enthusiasm.
Teaching has been a bit sporadic lately - one of the schools Suz and I were teaching in seems to not really want us around close to exam time, which I can kind of understand because if I was a teacher there I wouldn't want the kids getting overwhelmed with lots of new information and generally being distracted by the white chicks in town. So now the new plan is we teach in the school run by the pastor from Monday-Thursday and we are going to be helping the teachers of that school with their English during the school holidays. Next week we are going to be starting at 10am so you know what that means! Sleeping in to 7:15 rather than the usual 6:15!!! BABY!!
The novelty has started to wear off with the older children. They have started acting up and generally being cheeky little gits so it has called for us employing all the old teacher tactics of dirty looks, "Oh so have you finished?!" and picking on the worst ones to answer the toughest questions! THANK YOU, BLOOMFIELD! I still love you!
With the little ones, the novelty most certainly has not worn off! The children get a morning break at 9:30am and that is when they crowd round me and Suzi for 15 minutes so we can't move until their breaktime is over... that never ceases to amaze me, I don't think there would be anyone I would have rather stared at for 15 minutes than have fun with my friends!
We had another huge storm the other day - fork lightning, sheet lightning, INSANE rain! We all took photos and videos of it so you can check it out as soon as I can get them uploaded on here. Despite the storms I think I can safely say you may even notice a change in my colour by the time I get home! I find that I am now wearing my jumper and my jacket much more often - how climatised am I!
We went to another market this week and it was so much easier than the first time! We are a lot more used to the staring and the MAZUNGU calls now, we can barter prices down and just push people off and keep walking when they try to grab at us. I think the fact that Gahanga (where the schools are) is so much more rural than where we are living, we are kind of taking being the FREAKS in town more in our stride and we are not taking any crap from anyone! I still haven't actually bought anything though, so I think a shopping trip this weekend is in order!
It also seems like every other white person we see here (and that's only ever at our little Italian restaurant) is South African! So I have been practising my accent so I'm hoping it is pretty much perfect by June! I might even try out the bit of Afrikaans Fran taught me! ;)
My birthday is coming up pretty soon and I think it is going to be a day of mixed emotions. I am really going to find it hard not being with my Mum and Dad that day, and being able to do something with all my friends, but I know it will still be a birthday to always remember because it will be so different and I am so looking forward to doing something special with everyone I love when I get home.
Oh the other thing I need to let you know is that my phone SUCKS. I can't top up my UK sim in Rwanda for some reason, and I don't know why but I can't seem to receive texts from most people to my Rwandese number! The result is me feeling VERY cut off from all my chums I am used to talking to all the time! So the only way I can keep in contact with most of you is via email, so if you'd send me something to read for next Friday I would love you more than life itself. A social butterfly like myself is not built for this solitary existence!
In conclusion, things are still going really well here and I am starting to feel really comfortable with the culture and way of life. Our motto for living in Rwanda is simply T.I.A. - This Is Africa! When the power goes out 5 times a day, when there is nothing but men's aerobics on television, when people are burping farting all over us while getting waaaayyyy too close in the taxis - we say T... I... A!!!
Love you all!!!
Email me please! :(
Lonely Lisa! *sigh* ;)
On Sunday I went to Church, the music was amazing and people were getting up from their seats and dancing on the stage together. It's the kind of experience everyone should have, no matter what your belief system is, I don't think anyone could resist getting caught up in that kind of passion and raw enthusiasm.
Teaching has been a bit sporadic lately - one of the schools Suz and I were teaching in seems to not really want us around close to exam time, which I can kind of understand because if I was a teacher there I wouldn't want the kids getting overwhelmed with lots of new information and generally being distracted by the white chicks in town. So now the new plan is we teach in the school run by the pastor from Monday-Thursday and we are going to be helping the teachers of that school with their English during the school holidays. Next week we are going to be starting at 10am so you know what that means! Sleeping in to 7:15 rather than the usual 6:15!!! BABY!!
The novelty has started to wear off with the older children. They have started acting up and generally being cheeky little gits so it has called for us employing all the old teacher tactics of dirty looks, "Oh so have you finished?!" and picking on the worst ones to answer the toughest questions! THANK YOU, BLOOMFIELD! I still love you!
With the little ones, the novelty most certainly has not worn off! The children get a morning break at 9:30am and that is when they crowd round me and Suzi for 15 minutes so we can't move until their breaktime is over... that never ceases to amaze me, I don't think there would be anyone I would have rather stared at for 15 minutes than have fun with my friends!
We had another huge storm the other day - fork lightning, sheet lightning, INSANE rain! We all took photos and videos of it so you can check it out as soon as I can get them uploaded on here. Despite the storms I think I can safely say you may even notice a change in my colour by the time I get home! I find that I am now wearing my jumper and my jacket much more often - how climatised am I!
We went to another market this week and it was so much easier than the first time! We are a lot more used to the staring and the MAZUNGU calls now, we can barter prices down and just push people off and keep walking when they try to grab at us. I think the fact that Gahanga (where the schools are) is so much more rural than where we are living, we are kind of taking being the FREAKS in town more in our stride and we are not taking any crap from anyone! I still haven't actually bought anything though, so I think a shopping trip this weekend is in order!
It also seems like every other white person we see here (and that's only ever at our little Italian restaurant) is South African! So I have been practising my accent so I'm hoping it is pretty much perfect by June! I might even try out the bit of Afrikaans Fran taught me! ;)
My birthday is coming up pretty soon and I think it is going to be a day of mixed emotions. I am really going to find it hard not being with my Mum and Dad that day, and being able to do something with all my friends, but I know it will still be a birthday to always remember because it will be so different and I am so looking forward to doing something special with everyone I love when I get home.
Oh the other thing I need to let you know is that my phone SUCKS. I can't top up my UK sim in Rwanda for some reason, and I don't know why but I can't seem to receive texts from most people to my Rwandese number! The result is me feeling VERY cut off from all my chums I am used to talking to all the time! So the only way I can keep in contact with most of you is via email, so if you'd send me something to read for next Friday I would love you more than life itself. A social butterfly like myself is not built for this solitary existence!
In conclusion, things are still going really well here and I am starting to feel really comfortable with the culture and way of life. Our motto for living in Rwanda is simply T.I.A. - This Is Africa! When the power goes out 5 times a day, when there is nothing but men's aerobics on television, when people are burping farting all over us while getting waaaayyyy too close in the taxis - we say T... I... A!!!
Love you all!!!
Email me please! :(
Lonely Lisa! *sigh* ;)
Friday 13 March 2009
Pineapples are not the only fruit in Rwanda...
Hey everyone! Well it's the end of our second week in Kigali and it's been a busy one! We have done a lot more teaching this week - P1 right up to P6. We have sorted out our working hours though finally so we are only working between the hours of 8:45-13:00, but it still means getting up at 6am! BOKE!
Bad news first, I suppose - this week I got the news that I didn't get a place for the PGCE at Queen's this year, so I have to come up with a new plan! Maybe I'll be a nuclear physicist, a jazz musician, or maybe just some hobo sittng outside the City Hall drinking wine in a bag... can I come live with you???? On second thought, maybe I'll just hang around the Merchant when I get home and have a look for that Arab Sheik of my dreams!
Teaching-wise we have been having a ball. The children are so sweet and have started holding hands with us and giving us hugs as we are leaving at the end of the day. The older ones are so funny aswell, yesterday we cut out some pictures from magazines for one of our P6 lessons and one of them showed a guy and girl holding hands - that was met by verrry embarrassed laughter from the whole class.... it is bizarre because two guys will walk around holding hands ALL THE TIME, but girls are not allowed to do that together, and men and women would never hold hands with each other on the street here. It is sweet that friends do that here, but I don't know why it only applies to two guys! Something to share with us, fellas???? ;)
Since my last post I have eaten goat! I've got to tell you - it is DELISH! I'll definitely be having that again soon! I've also been continuing to sample the delights of Rwanda beer in the form of Primus... I intend to sample a bit more of that this weekend!
We had the craziest storm a couple of days ago. Suzi and I were on our way back from work getting the two mad bums-in-our-faces taxis and then DOWNPOUR! With the kind of roads we have here, we were not a pretty sight (and we have pictures to prove it!) When we were near the house we heard the loudest thunder ever - there were two big African guys walking near us and one of them just SHREIKED! That made us feel a bit braver... :)
Apart from a couple of isolated downpours the weather has been really beautiful... I MAY even be getting a tan! Then again, the "tan" I see is normally only visible to myself, but I live in hope dear friends!
I'm also getting a bit more used to the language of Kinyarwanda - not enough to have any kind of conversation but enough to bring hysterical amusement to the people in the village near the school who think we are just about the most hilarious creatures ever.
Another thing I am getting used to is a lessened sense of personal hygiene. It's pretty much impossible to stay clean because as soon as you step outside the dirt just sees feet and promptly jumps on them. We'll have to get out of the way of minger-mentality when we get home, but we may be bringing a whole new clashing fashion trend a la Rwanda!
I think I can now safely say that Rwanda is a lot different from what I expected. The people are not as extroverted as the people in Ghana, a lot of them are pretty confused as to why a bunch of white girls would want to come here, but they are also really appreciative and welcoming.
I also finished reading "Tuesdays with Morrie" this week - I cried every two or three pages up until the last, but it was FABULOUS. I thoroughly recommend it to anyone and every single one of you! I know that little trinket of info is not exactly Rwanda-based, but I loved it so much I had to throw it in!
Since last time we also had our first market experiences - pretty crazy! A lot of people see us and just see giant dollar signs so they can be quite persistant! It's been hard when we've had to deal with children begging on the street, too... I don't think we'll ever really get used to it, but there are times when we do have to separate ourselves a bit because there is just so much poverty, and getting emotional about it doesn't really help anyone, but that's easier said than done.
One of my goals for next week is to do more African things! There is a stadium close to us and it would be great to watch a football match or something there. Another thing I'm surprised at though is that football is not a huge thing here... they are into volleyball though! Who knew! Although there are loads of Arsenal stickers on taxis and stuff like that, so funny!
Well I have to dash but I love you all and I will update you on my adventures again very soon!!!
CIAO!
XXXX
Bad news first, I suppose - this week I got the news that I didn't get a place for the PGCE at Queen's this year, so I have to come up with a new plan! Maybe I'll be a nuclear physicist, a jazz musician, or maybe just some hobo sittng outside the City Hall drinking wine in a bag... can I come live with you???? On second thought, maybe I'll just hang around the Merchant when I get home and have a look for that Arab Sheik of my dreams!
Teaching-wise we have been having a ball. The children are so sweet and have started holding hands with us and giving us hugs as we are leaving at the end of the day. The older ones are so funny aswell, yesterday we cut out some pictures from magazines for one of our P6 lessons and one of them showed a guy and girl holding hands - that was met by verrry embarrassed laughter from the whole class.... it is bizarre because two guys will walk around holding hands ALL THE TIME, but girls are not allowed to do that together, and men and women would never hold hands with each other on the street here. It is sweet that friends do that here, but I don't know why it only applies to two guys! Something to share with us, fellas???? ;)
Since my last post I have eaten goat! I've got to tell you - it is DELISH! I'll definitely be having that again soon! I've also been continuing to sample the delights of Rwanda beer in the form of Primus... I intend to sample a bit more of that this weekend!
We had the craziest storm a couple of days ago. Suzi and I were on our way back from work getting the two mad bums-in-our-faces taxis and then DOWNPOUR! With the kind of roads we have here, we were not a pretty sight (and we have pictures to prove it!) When we were near the house we heard the loudest thunder ever - there were two big African guys walking near us and one of them just SHREIKED! That made us feel a bit braver... :)
Apart from a couple of isolated downpours the weather has been really beautiful... I MAY even be getting a tan! Then again, the "tan" I see is normally only visible to myself, but I live in hope dear friends!
I'm also getting a bit more used to the language of Kinyarwanda - not enough to have any kind of conversation but enough to bring hysterical amusement to the people in the village near the school who think we are just about the most hilarious creatures ever.
Another thing I am getting used to is a lessened sense of personal hygiene. It's pretty much impossible to stay clean because as soon as you step outside the dirt just sees feet and promptly jumps on them. We'll have to get out of the way of minger-mentality when we get home, but we may be bringing a whole new clashing fashion trend a la Rwanda!
I think I can now safely say that Rwanda is a lot different from what I expected. The people are not as extroverted as the people in Ghana, a lot of them are pretty confused as to why a bunch of white girls would want to come here, but they are also really appreciative and welcoming.
I also finished reading "Tuesdays with Morrie" this week - I cried every two or three pages up until the last, but it was FABULOUS. I thoroughly recommend it to anyone and every single one of you! I know that little trinket of info is not exactly Rwanda-based, but I loved it so much I had to throw it in!
Since last time we also had our first market experiences - pretty crazy! A lot of people see us and just see giant dollar signs so they can be quite persistant! It's been hard when we've had to deal with children begging on the street, too... I don't think we'll ever really get used to it, but there are times when we do have to separate ourselves a bit because there is just so much poverty, and getting emotional about it doesn't really help anyone, but that's easier said than done.
One of my goals for next week is to do more African things! There is a stadium close to us and it would be great to watch a football match or something there. Another thing I'm surprised at though is that football is not a huge thing here... they are into volleyball though! Who knew! Although there are loads of Arsenal stickers on taxis and stuff like that, so funny!
Well I have to dash but I love you all and I will update you on my adventures again very soon!!!
CIAO!
XXXX
Friday 6 March 2009
Muraho from Rwanda!
Hello everyone! It's almost hard to know where to begin this blog because it feels like sooo much has happened over the last week! We flew out on Friday and from almost the beginning it was pretty eventful because our flight to Kenya was pretty star-studded! A bunch of celebrities are doing a Kilimanjaro climb for Comic Relief so it was pretty hilarious (but also highly embarrassing) seeing people going nuts over seeing Cheryl Cole, Gary Barlow, Denise Van Outen, Chris Moyles, etc. etc. However my opinion of Ronan Keating is FOREVER changed because just as I was about to hand in my boarding card I heard this huge "OUT OF THE WAY! MAKE ROOM PLEASE!" and it was some woman bringing in Ronan bloody Keating LATE! The git bumped into me and nudged right in front! FSBs haunt me wherever I go!!!!! haha.
The journey felt pretty long anyway, and we had a bit of a sleep in Kenya airport floor... also waited around where all the celebrities were for a bit, Cheryl Cole's loud Geordie accent is ANNOYING when you're exhausted, my friends! WHY-AYE MAN!
When we eventually arrived in Kigali we went straight to the guesthouse and sleptttt... then we had a bit of a walk around just to get our bearings. There are some little mini supermarkets and plenty of internet cafes but I think we are just going to stick to using the computers here at the FVA office because they have wireless.
On Monday we had orientation and we went to visit the Genocide Memorial. It was really harrowing, I don't think we could have been emotionally prepared for it at all. It's so hard to believe that most of the people I meet here are survivors of that... it has really made me think so much. We then had a tour of Kigali in a little taxi (which is an experience unique to Africa... it brings you probably pretty close to death, but it is hilarious!!!) By the end of Monday I feel like the three of us really bonded a lot, so all in all, great day! :)
On Tuesday we got our Rwandan sim cards! We also got driven to our new jobs and I got a pretty big fright because when I was ready to leave I had to call the director and he said he would send a car... I managed to get into the wrong car! I asked and the driver said Justus had sent him so when I found out this was some random car I was pretty scared! I had to be rescued by the actual FVA driver but thankfully nothing bad happened!
As a result of the ENCOUNTER and the fact that Suzi was going to be expected to teach English to the women in GBV, we are now going to be teaching together... so neither of us will be travelling alone to Gahanga and she can get some teaching experience. Not sure whether we will move to do more of the GBV program next month while the schools are off, we'll see!
We've now been to both schools together... we totally love Gahanga II - the headmaster is an Anglican pastor and he says he is now our Rwandan father! CUTE! We have also done the taxi experience on our own and have dealt with the staring and people making fun of us "muzungus" or however the flip you spell it... we are getting soooo sick of that already but we are brave now, starting to stare back!
We've been going to a lovely little Italian restaurant a little while away, it is lovely... although two nights ago we ordered a bruschetta between us and halfway through realised we were eating raw tomatoes in Africa!!! No problems yet though - thank goodness, because we share one very small bathroom!!!!
The food has been better than expected but up until last night it was beef, beans and rice for every meal... last night we had tilapia which was yum!
Not too many creepy crawlies, we've had a few cockroaches and we have a rat called Frank who likes to wake Martine up in the night... but we're all one big happy family! lol.
I think I have mentioned pretty much everything... I'll be back sometime during the wake to update you on all the adventures and happenings!
Love and kisses from Rwanda!
xxxxxxxxx
The journey felt pretty long anyway, and we had a bit of a sleep in Kenya airport floor... also waited around where all the celebrities were for a bit, Cheryl Cole's loud Geordie accent is ANNOYING when you're exhausted, my friends! WHY-AYE MAN!
When we eventually arrived in Kigali we went straight to the guesthouse and sleptttt... then we had a bit of a walk around just to get our bearings. There are some little mini supermarkets and plenty of internet cafes but I think we are just going to stick to using the computers here at the FVA office because they have wireless.
On Monday we had orientation and we went to visit the Genocide Memorial. It was really harrowing, I don't think we could have been emotionally prepared for it at all. It's so hard to believe that most of the people I meet here are survivors of that... it has really made me think so much. We then had a tour of Kigali in a little taxi (which is an experience unique to Africa... it brings you probably pretty close to death, but it is hilarious!!!) By the end of Monday I feel like the three of us really bonded a lot, so all in all, great day! :)
On Tuesday we got our Rwandan sim cards! We also got driven to our new jobs and I got a pretty big fright because when I was ready to leave I had to call the director and he said he would send a car... I managed to get into the wrong car! I asked and the driver said Justus had sent him so when I found out this was some random car I was pretty scared! I had to be rescued by the actual FVA driver but thankfully nothing bad happened!
As a result of the ENCOUNTER and the fact that Suzi was going to be expected to teach English to the women in GBV, we are now going to be teaching together... so neither of us will be travelling alone to Gahanga and she can get some teaching experience. Not sure whether we will move to do more of the GBV program next month while the schools are off, we'll see!
We've now been to both schools together... we totally love Gahanga II - the headmaster is an Anglican pastor and he says he is now our Rwandan father! CUTE! We have also done the taxi experience on our own and have dealt with the staring and people making fun of us "muzungus" or however the flip you spell it... we are getting soooo sick of that already but we are brave now, starting to stare back!
We've been going to a lovely little Italian restaurant a little while away, it is lovely... although two nights ago we ordered a bruschetta between us and halfway through realised we were eating raw tomatoes in Africa!!! No problems yet though - thank goodness, because we share one very small bathroom!!!!
The food has been better than expected but up until last night it was beef, beans and rice for every meal... last night we had tilapia which was yum!
Not too many creepy crawlies, we've had a few cockroaches and we have a rat called Frank who likes to wake Martine up in the night... but we're all one big happy family! lol.
I think I have mentioned pretty much everything... I'll be back sometime during the wake to update you on all the adventures and happenings!
Love and kisses from Rwanda!
xxxxxxxxx
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