Plodding along

Hurricanes aside, things are ticking along here in Kibungo.  I am still visiting schools and working with teachers.  Most of the time is spent planning and teaching in partnership and we have also done some subject specific workshops.  The teachers are always open to trying new ideas - even when they are sceptical they will work.  In one case this week, I wanted to try a particular activity.  There was some discussion about whether P4 students would be able to cope as they are still getting used to being taught in English (P1, 2 and 3 are taught in Kinyarwanda).  So, we tried it but I had to declare the lesson a disaster by the end.  The teachers were really generous about this.  I was expecting to get some I told you sos, but what they actually said was “thank you for showing us that new method”.  They could see ways to apply it to other lessons.  It was very kind of them to be so gentle in their review of the lesson when we met to discuss afterwards.

Apart from working, I have been getting a few items of clothing made.  I love my trips to the local tailors.  They are so friendly and I am greeted with hugs and laughter and always depart with a feeling of well being and a warm happy glow.  It’s nice to have a place to go for a hug when you are far from home.  When I went to collect a couple of dresses last week, I took my camera as we had arranged that Epiphanie would bring her baby along so we could take some photos to send to a previous volunteer that we are still in touch with and the baby is named after.  Baby Christella is gorgeous.  I was a little concerned that she would take one look at me in all my whiteness and start screaming, but she didn’t.  I got lots of cuddling time and we had a good chat.  She is only eight months old but is very alert and is already saying Mama and Dada and chatting away to herself quite happily.  We took lots of pictures and I know I will really miss these ladies when I leave.   

This weekend just gone I celebrated my birthday.  I had a lovely weekend and got to celebrate by going camping to Akagera with some friends.  When we picked up the car on Friday evening we were surprised by an upgrade to a larger vehicle.  She was a beast and we named her Bertha.  Nothing was going to stop us.  We set off for the park very early on Saturday morning and took a breakfast of pineapple and bananas with us.  We enjoyed this once we arrived at the park and then set off to see what wildlife we could spot.  There were plenty of zebra and impala and water buck and buffalo.  Then we happened upon a tower of giraffes (yes!  I looked it up – that is what you call a collective of giraffes).  It started when Coral spotted just one, but then more poked out of the bushes until we could see at least 8 or 9 of them.  I love giraffes.  And I love that they are called a tower!

We continued to drive around the park in Bertha.  She served us well and we also had the music on and sang along to some top tunes – Bohemian Rhapsody, I need a hero, and plenty of other cheesy classics.  It was great fun.  The scenery was beautiful, and the road was very bumpy.  We arrived at the campsite in the early afternoon and set up our tent, got the fire going and then cracked open the box of wine and the precious box of olives.  It was so good.  The view was incredible from up on the hill of the campsite – you could see for miles over the park.  We continued our evening by cooking some food on the fire and then finished with smores.  Delicious.  And then we retired to bed.  Some of us slept better than others.  We were up early next morning and set off for the south of the park and to home.  It was such a nice way to celebrate a birthday and really quite special.

It’s back to work for the last few weeks of term – time is going fast.  Today I attended a planning meeting for some training that will be delivered to Sector Education Officers and Head Teachers.  At the end, my boss (the District Education Officer) made a speech in Kinyarwanda.  I got bits of it, but then she translated.  She was explaining that my time here is coming to an end and she was talking about all the work I had done.  I was very humbled by the thanks I received from her and the SEOs present.  It is so nice to be thanked, but also incredibly humbling...you start to wonder whether you deserve the praise you are getting.  She is a great lady to work for, and I realised as I sat in the meeting with the SEOs what a nice group of people they are.  They were engaged in the workshop and made plenty of contributions.  They suggested what they wanted to see in the training, when they wanted it to happen and where.  I think there is real potential for things to improve in the District and I hope the next volunteers start to see some real results from their efforts.