Est-Fest weekend

This weekend began when Judy arrived at Kibungo bus-park on Friday evening.  We walked back to the house and caught up on news and then decided that rather than go to an aerobics class, we would go for a beer and some food.  So off we went to St Joseph’s to sit in the garden, outside the aerobics class, and eat and drink.  After this we returned to the house to do some final preparation on our costumes for the next day.  This was aided greatly by the bottle of wine Judy had brought with her and soon we were knee deep in rice sacks and markers and Judy was beginning to turn herself the nice shade of smurf blue that she would nurture for the weekend.

The next morning we got up early to go for a run.  We began running along a track at the back of some of the houses, getting much encouragement and bewildered stares as we went.  We then decided to head down into one of the valleys north of the town.  So off we went, plunging down a very steep and narrow, but well-worn track.  After a few minutes we bumped into the inevitable crowd of children.  They joined us, of course and were screeching with laughter.  They were all barefoot and sure footed.  We ran for 5 minutes or so and they seemed like they were going to stay with us.  I wanted to double-check we would be able to cross the valley floor and come up on the other side, so we asked the kids, and they confirmed there was a road at the other side.  It appeared they were coming with us.  So, on we ran.  They began some kind of chant as we ran – the answer to which was “yay!”.  Judy and I did, of course, join in.  The children were all quite young, and probably none of them was older than 11 or 12.  The leader of the pack had a pair of sunglasses.  A lens was missing but he carried on.

There was one very small boy running near me.  He was maybe 5 years old.  He seemed to be the scape goat and kept on getting shoved into hedges and whacked in the face by the others in their efforts to pass him.  He was incredibly determined and each time he picked himself up and carried on running.  As we ran we continued to be encouraged by people working on the fields in the valley.  It was also possible to hear their laughter echoing around the valley.  We came to a point in our run where there was a narrow ditch to cross.  The agile children all did this with ease, but the small boy was last and he just missed the opposite bank and slid down into a load of mud, dropping precious coins from his pocket.  He picked up the money but looked quite forlorn and as though he may eventually give in to some tears of frustration.  Seeing this, our group leader came over and took him by the hand and ran along with him.  At the next ditch, he took off his sunglasses and put them on a clump of grass.  He sat the other boy down and began to wash his legs and feet to get the dirt off.  And then we were off.  A minimum of fuss, but really caring!

Heading back up the other side of the valley was very hard work (for me) and I had to beg for mercy and walk for a while.  We continued uphill for quite some time and every so often we would run a bit and then walk a bit.  We came to a junction at one point and our group of runners turned and said goodbye and went off in another direction, waving as they went.  It was so nice to run with them and they seemed to enjoy it but they really made our day!

Once we managed to get home and had a wash we went to the market for shopping.  This was the usual fun of chatting to people and doing a little haggling.  We were quite weighed down with bags on our return and I had bought a large cooking pot.  About 5mins from my house we met a group of three girls.  They said good morning and then one opened her arms wide and hugged each of us.  Her two friends followed.  Before I knew it, she had taken the pot from my arms and it was on her head and she insisted on carrying it for me.  I told her she didn’t have to, but given the two other bags I had on my shoulders, I was quite pleased.  I spent some time trying to talk to them about where they were going.  They had a fairly long walk home ahead of them, so when we reached my house we thanked them very much, wished them a safe journey and sent them off with some bananas we had got at the market.  

Playing "melange" in front of the snake slaying
lady with my nice outfit on!

As for the rest of the day...it was a whirl of food preparation and final touches for the Est-Fest party that Jen and I were hosting.  Several helpers arrived to help with food prep and we made a lovely Thai curry and some snacks such as salsa and humus to have with chapattis.  By about 6pm we had many party-goers in the house and everyone had been great sports and had made a rice sack outfit.  We all looked ridiculous, but it felt quite normal at the time.  I managed to wear my bridal outfit all night, although I did lose my veil at some point.  It looked like it had snowed in the house due to the amount of rice sack bits on the floor and this has taken some cleaning up.  In fact, I think I will be finding bits of rice sack until the day I leave.  We had dancing and eating and drinking and game playing and lots of laughter and merriment.  There was also a local artist there who had brought some of his paintings with him, so a few of us bought some of his work, knowing the money was going to a very good cause and the orphans KB worked with would benefit.  It was a really nice evening and a great way to say goodbye to Jen, who will sadly be leaving in a month. 

Physical Education - Rwandan Style

Over the last year of visiting schools, I have witnessed a few sports activities.  It is certainly a little different here...there are no fancy gymnasiums or changing facilities.  The outside areas of schools are not carefully organised with running tracks and netball courts and football fields and cricket greens which are lovingly tended throughout the hot dry months.  No, you will nearly always find a field.  But it will be bumpy and uneven. It will most likely have a volleyball net across it and sometimes you even see football goal posts fashioned out of local materials.  Many children bring their own ball to school.  These are made by inflating a condom and then wrapping banana leaves and twine around the outside to make it sturdy.

PE is not a subject on the curriculum. There is a lesson called COCA (which is basically cultural and physical education).  And during this, it is sometimes possible to see children doing sport.  They may also do crafts or singing.  When it comes to preparing for a PE lesson, there is no traipsing to the changing rooms to change into suitable attire for physical activity.  Children just do it in whatever they have worn to school (for girls – usually a blue dress and for boys – usually yellow/beige shorts and shirt).  Most children wear very simple plastic shoes.  These are often shed for the duration of this lesson with children preferring to run barefoot (I tried it – I was a baby about it and it hurt my feet too much).  Or – more bizarrely – children who run in their welly boots (well...it was raining in the morning, so that is what they have worn to school).  I have also seen children running whilst clutching their precious school bag to their chest – there is are certainly no changing room pegs to hang it up on.

Most recently, I have seen children in many schools preparing for a relay race (maybe there is going to be Sports Day soon?).  This has been great fun to watch.  The class are divided into two lines and stand at either end of the field.  The child at the top of the line is given a stick.  They must run up to the opposite end of the field, around the opposing team and back to the starting point where they hand over the stick/baton to the next student who repeats.  The teams run against each other and the excitement is immense – especially when a runner over-takes someone from the opposing team.  There is little difference at this time to any school around the world.  Children are jumping and cheering and screaming for their team to win.

In contrast to this I have seen some competitive sport between schools.  This seems to be rather more serious.  Teams arrive to the school in kit.  The example I was present at was on a day when I was meant to be observing lessons.  I had begun to do this in partnership with the Head Teacher.  During the second lesson he was very distracted by his mobile and had to leave to take some calls.  At the end of the lesson I discovered that this was because the opposition were on their way.  Once they arrived, lessons were cancelled and the entire school came out to cheer.  This did seem a little unfair for the opposition who had no cheering crowd, but it was very entertaining for me.  A group of students were on the volleyball pitch.  Everyone is crowded around the edge as the lines are drawn in the dust with a stick.  One crowd of girls is staring at me, rather than the game.  I am glad to know I still hold interest.  The team are wearing smart trainers and official gear.  They look quite the business.  The game is lively and at one point, our team begin making gestures on the ground to indicate that they are wiping the floor with the opposition.  The teachers whip up the crowd and there is singing and clapping and stomping.  We stand in clouds of dust.  The game is over and our win is celebrated with much whooping, stomping, cheering and dancing and we all head to the soccer field.  Want a good view?  Climb a tree.  Once again, a section of the crowd are content just to watch me, but I am not really doing anything of interest other than cheering on our team.  I am flanked on all sides by small, inquisitive people.  They dare each other to reach out and touch my skin.  My arm hair fascinates them.  They all ask the same questions; “What is your name?” (this most often comes out as “What is my name”), “How old are you?”, “Where are you from?”.  I answer these questions a hundred times and try asking a few of my own.  I get giggles in response.

We get back to the game.  The girls are playing football.  Our team are good, but the grass is so long I cannot see where the ball is half the time.  The crowd are still enjoying the sport and the opposition are doing their best amidst the screaming and cheering from our supporters.  Out of the dust clouds, my moto appears and it is home time.  I enjoyed watching the sport.  It is not so different to at home.  The technical gear may be less shiny and grand, but the atmosphere is great and everyone is enjoying it – and surely that should be what it is all about.