September 17 , 2005
(This was posted September 29. Sorry!)
It surrounds me, yet the Rwandans have a smiles on their faces. As I listen to my shortwave radio, I hear about it on all the newscasts esp. because of the UN meeting in New York where the Millenium goals set 5 years ago are being discussed. When I go to stores in the village the produce available changes all the time. All the dry goods are in see-through, no name plastic bags, in small quantities - Flour, salt sugar, etc. A type of super market grocery store isfound only in the larger cities and they are also stocked sparingly. The produce there, while more interesting, is pricy. I think I will splurge however on a box of dry oats so I can make some porridge and maybe try my hand at some granola bars this coming week. (Yes, all on a kerosene stove!)
Earlier this morning I was visited by my friend Jacqueline for the third time. She speaks only Kinyarwandan, looks ageless but probably in her 30's and extremely poor. Last time she was here she explained with gestures that she wants to clean up (i.e. weed) my garden. I had already given her some food when she came the other 2 times and I appreciate the fact that she wants to do something in return. I have to be careful. I am already now paying 2 people on my 120,000 RWfrs salary and she could be the third. Through the bishop's 12 year old daughter, Charlotte, there was some translating going on this morning. In spite of my saying, I thought she should wait because the ground is still way too hard, she has started anyway. I have already prepared a bag of carrots, tomato and an onion. I do not have that much food in the house.
Back from getting bread in the village. Got two buns for Jacqueline and her bag of veggies. She was not a happy camper. I know she prefers to have money but I am hesitant. J managed to gesture she wanted soap to wash her ragged skirt and top. So, I emptied some soap powder in an old water bottle and gave her an end of a bar of soap.
Language is a barrier here. I feel a bit uncomfortable with Jacqueline. She did a good job, but I have to feel my way as to how much I should be giving because I will be here a long time and do not want to give the wrong impression. She is sweet and could certainly use a good wash and some new clothes. I need time however to figure out how best to help her. The other two people in my service are Claudine, a wonderful young woman who keeps the tiny house sparkling clean and cooks pretty tasty meals. Sylvain is here the weekend nights as a security guard. There is a little room inside a door beside the front door where he has a bed and a chair. Not sure yet how much I will be paying him, but hope to find this out later today when I go to Butare to compare notes with other muzungus.
Another poverty moment: In Butare, Geert ( a young Belgian volunteer)and I are walking side by side. We have just bought some sweet buns at the Lebanese supermarket and he pulls them out of the plastic bag to eat one, but it falls on the pavement. At the same moment a woman approaches us begging for food. Dilemma: do we pick up the bun that rolled on the street and give it to her, do we give her a bun out of the plastic bag (there is only one for each of the 4 of us) or do we just walk on and assume she will pick the bun up from the street. We did the latter and she picked it up as we saw when we discreetly turned around. Not the best feeling, not the Samaritan way, but yes there are beggars in Butare and they really are hungry. We have taken to travelling with bananas or plain bread and hand those out when people ask for money or food.
Thursday, September 29, 2005
Thursday, September 08, 2005
Tuesday September 6
Tuesday September 6
Spoke to Michelle today for the first time. Long overdue. I won’t say it was good to hear her voice. It sounded strange and far away. Definitely good to talk however and hear the news and tell my latest. I guess I miss most telling people about my day. It’s not loneliness yet, just very quiet. Looking forward to my radio – that I bought in Kigali and will get in a box with other stuff this weekend when I meet friends in Butare and get on the internet to send some emails. It’s 6:40 and the power has just gone off. I didn’t notice it because someone had just come to the door and introduced himself. He knew Doutsen who lived here before. It was on when I came home but off most of the day at the office. So we have had a total of one and a half hours since last night. I did charge my batteries but figure I should invest in a rechargeable lamp. Just cannot read by candle light and kerosene lamp. Yesterday and today was the monthly meeting of all the priests in the Gikongoro district. At lunch today, walking back to work, one of the parish priests here in Kigeme told me that I was expected to introduce myself at 4 pm and had I been told about this? Well I hadn’t and Eusélie came in at 2:45 and told me at around three that I was expected at the meeting. I then pumped her for about 5 Kinyarwanda phrases of welcome which I practised and delivered at 4. I got a round of applause. There was time for questions and I underwent a gruelling session, first about my personal life, then my children, did I have a husband and then about my views on homosexuality and divorce. One of the priests had to translate to Kinyarwandan because they did not all understand me. Knowing full well the African churches’ stand on these issues, I asked if I could be honest and they all nodded. I stated my beliefs, my tolerance, that I had friends who were in homosexual relationships and that this has been the case in all my adult life – starting in Holland in the early seventies. They were curious to know how I could marry my Christian faith with my views regarding homosexuality and divorce, given what it says in the Bible. I painted a picture of North American and western culture : many cultures, many influences and that some protestant churches do not interpret the Bible as literally in all its teachings; that within these churches there are varying opinions and that we do not all agree on all things. I tried to explain that Christians are involved in homosexual relationships and still strive to live as good Christians. I was also asked that, given the views I have, how would I deal with these issues in the classroom, given they were accepted in my culture. Here I could give the VSO answer which is that I am here to share my background and culture with theirs, not impose it and then my own answer, that I would never talk to a classroom of young people in the way I had spoken to them, that young people need information and then need to make up their own mind and that I spoke to them honestly only because they assured me I could be honest. Well the whole thing lasted 45 min and I was not quite expecting the number of direct questions. It does concur however with the general curiosity of all Rwandans. They want to know everything about us, from the west, even in the street when they talk with you. Hard to know how I came across, but Bishop Augustin assured me my honesty was appreciated and that now everyone knows where I stand. I hope I won’t regret today!!!
Spoke to Michelle today for the first time. Long overdue. I won’t say it was good to hear her voice. It sounded strange and far away. Definitely good to talk however and hear the news and tell my latest. I guess I miss most telling people about my day. It’s not loneliness yet, just very quiet. Looking forward to my radio – that I bought in Kigali and will get in a box with other stuff this weekend when I meet friends in Butare and get on the internet to send some emails. It’s 6:40 and the power has just gone off. I didn’t notice it because someone had just come to the door and introduced himself. He knew Doutsen who lived here before. It was on when I came home but off most of the day at the office. So we have had a total of one and a half hours since last night. I did charge my batteries but figure I should invest in a rechargeable lamp. Just cannot read by candle light and kerosene lamp. Yesterday and today was the monthly meeting of all the priests in the Gikongoro district. At lunch today, walking back to work, one of the parish priests here in Kigeme told me that I was expected to introduce myself at 4 pm and had I been told about this? Well I hadn’t and Eusélie came in at 2:45 and told me at around three that I was expected at the meeting. I then pumped her for about 5 Kinyarwanda phrases of welcome which I practised and delivered at 4. I got a round of applause. There was time for questions and I underwent a gruelling session, first about my personal life, then my children, did I have a husband and then about my views on homosexuality and divorce. One of the priests had to translate to Kinyarwandan because they did not all understand me. Knowing full well the African churches’ stand on these issues, I asked if I could be honest and they all nodded. I stated my beliefs, my tolerance, that I had friends who were in homosexual relationships and that this has been the case in all my adult life – starting in Holland in the early seventies. They were curious to know how I could marry my Christian faith with my views regarding homosexuality and divorce, given what it says in the Bible. I painted a picture of North American and western culture : many cultures, many influences and that some protestant churches do not interpret the Bible as literally in all its teachings; that within these churches there are varying opinions and that we do not all agree on all things. I tried to explain that Christians are involved in homosexual relationships and still strive to live as good Christians. I was also asked that, given the views I have, how would I deal with these issues in the classroom, given they were accepted in my culture. Here I could give the VSO answer which is that I am here to share my background and culture with theirs, not impose it and then my own answer, that I would never talk to a classroom of young people in the way I had spoken to them, that young people need information and then need to make up their own mind and that I spoke to them honestly only because they assured me I could be honest. Well the whole thing lasted 45 min and I was not quite expecting the number of direct questions. It does concur however with the general curiosity of all Rwandans. They want to know everything about us, from the west, even in the street when they talk with you. Hard to know how I came across, but Bishop Augustin assured me my honesty was appreciated and that now everyone knows where I stand. I hope I won’t regret today!!!
Tuesday September 6
Tuesday September 6
Spoke to Michelle today for the first time. Long overdue. I won’t say it was good to hear her voice. It sounded strange and far away. Definitely good to talk however and hear the news and tell my latest. I guess I miss most telling people about my day. It’s not loneliness yet, just very quiet. Looking forward to my radio – that I bought in Kigali and will get in a box with other stuff this weekend when I meet friends in Butare and get on the internet to send some emails. It’s 6:40 and the power has just gone off. I didn’t notice it because someone had just come to the door and introduced himself. He knew Doutsen who lived here before. It was on when I came home but off most of the day at the office. So we have had a total of one and a half hours since last night. I did charge my batteries but figure I should invest in a rechargeable lamp. Just cannot read by candle light and kerosene lamp. Yesterday and today was the monthly meeting of all the priests in the Gikongoro district. At lunch today, walking back to work, one of the parish priests here in Kigeme told me that I was expected to introduce myself at 4 pm and had I been told about this? Well I hadn’t and Eusélie came in at 2:45 and told me at around three that I was expected at the meeting. I then pumped her for about 5 Kinyarwanda phrases of welcome which I practised and delivered at 4. I got a round of applause. There was time for questions and I underwent a gruelling session, first about my personal life, then my children, did I have a husband and then about my views on homosexuality and divorce. One of the priests had to translate to Kinyarwandan because they did not all understand me. Knowing full well the African churches’ stand on these issues, I asked if I could be honest and they all nodded. I stated my beliefs, my tolerance, that I had friends who were in homosexual relationships and that this has been the case in all my adult life – starting in Holland in the early seventies. They were curious to know how I could marry my Christian faith with my views regarding homosexuality and divorce, given what it says in the Bible. I painted a picture of North American and western culture : many cultures, many influences and that some protestant churches do not interpret the Bible as literally in all its teachings; that within these churches there are varying opinions and that we do not all agree on all things. I tried to explain that Christians are involved in homosexual relationships and still strive to live as good Christians. I was also asked that, given the views I have, how would I deal with these issues in the classroom, given they were accepted in my culture. Here I could give the VSO answer which is that I am here to share my background and culture with theirs, not impose it and then my own answer, that I would never talk to a classroom of young people in the way I had spoken to them, that young people need information and then need to make up their own mind and that I spoke to them honestly only because they assured me I could be honest. Well the whole thing lasted 45 min and I was not quite expecting the number of direct questions. It does concur however with the general curiosity of all Rwandans. They want to know everything about us, from the west, even in the street when they talk with you. Hard to know how I came across, but Bishop Augustin assured me my honesty was appreciated and that now everyone knows where I stand. I hope I won’t regret today!!!
Spoke to Michelle today for the first time. Long overdue. I won’t say it was good to hear her voice. It sounded strange and far away. Definitely good to talk however and hear the news and tell my latest. I guess I miss most telling people about my day. It’s not loneliness yet, just very quiet. Looking forward to my radio – that I bought in Kigali and will get in a box with other stuff this weekend when I meet friends in Butare and get on the internet to send some emails. It’s 6:40 and the power has just gone off. I didn’t notice it because someone had just come to the door and introduced himself. He knew Doutsen who lived here before. It was on when I came home but off most of the day at the office. So we have had a total of one and a half hours since last night. I did charge my batteries but figure I should invest in a rechargeable lamp. Just cannot read by candle light and kerosene lamp. Yesterday and today was the monthly meeting of all the priests in the Gikongoro district. At lunch today, walking back to work, one of the parish priests here in Kigeme told me that I was expected to introduce myself at 4 pm and had I been told about this? Well I hadn’t and Eusélie came in at 2:45 and told me at around three that I was expected at the meeting. I then pumped her for about 5 Kinyarwanda phrases of welcome which I practised and delivered at 4. I got a round of applause. There was time for questions and I underwent a gruelling session, first about my personal life, then my children, did I have a husband and then about my views on homosexuality and divorce. One of the priests had to translate to Kinyarwandan because they did not all understand me. Knowing full well the African churches’ stand on these issues, I asked if I could be honest and they all nodded. I stated my beliefs, my tolerance, that I had friends who were in homosexual relationships and that this has been the case in all my adult life – starting in Holland in the early seventies. They were curious to know how I could marry my Christian faith with my views regarding homosexuality and divorce, given what it says in the Bible. I painted a picture of North American and western culture : many cultures, many influences and that some protestant churches do not interpret the Bible as literally in all its teachings; that within these churches there are varying opinions and that we do not all agree on all things. I tried to explain that Christians are involved in homosexual relationships and still strive to live as good Christians. I was also asked that, given the views I have, how would I deal with these issues in the classroom, given they were accepted in my culture. Here I could give the VSO answer which is that I am here to share my background and culture with theirs, not impose it and then my own answer, that I would never talk to a classroom of young people in the way I had spoken to them, that young people need information and then need to make up their own mind and that I spoke to them honestly only because they assured me I could be honest. Well the whole thing lasted 45 min and I was not quite expecting the number of direct questions. It does concur however with the general curiosity of all Rwandans. They want to know everything about us, from the west, even in the street when they talk with you. Hard to know how I came across, but Bishop Augustin assured me my honesty was appreciated and that now everyone knows where I stand. I hope I won’t regret today!!!
September 3
A city of hills with quite a bit of green, but also red soil and dust as this is the dry season. There are people everywhere, mostly moving about on foot. Children in school uniforms walking to and from school, boys and men standing around, little children running after us and calling us ‘muzungo’. There are small shops every few houses it seems. On the hillside where our compound is, the houses vary from very minimal to reasonably well kempt. Most Rwandans who work in offices have a phone in hand. They are smartly dressed – the men with cleanly pressed shirts and pants, the women with colourful dresses and skirts. The major shopping area is relatively small with some bigger shops, lots of pharmacies, internet cafes, phone shops, banks, travel agents, clothing shops etc. Yours truly may not be elegantly dressed, but she does have a phone in hand. She will be a pro in the use of Michelle’s phone from France especially when she gets the hang of text messaging.
The neighbourhood with the government buildings, is elegant, clean and with beautifully paved roads. There are some elegant hotels and an impressive bank building of the BCDI bank where I will open account next week, but in my Gikongoro province branch not here in Kigali. On the various hillsides the array of dwellings is very mixed: mostly small, simply constructed houses with a yard of some sort. People move around on foot or public taxi. The latter are much more organized than in say Sumatra or even Lima, Peru. There are also motorcycles and cars and some bicycles, although the hills make that a hard way to move around. The other night we took a real taxi home from the restaurant. The driver took a shortcut down a steep road which was not paved and more like a track than a road, with huge ruts. The car was an ordinary one and with four rather heavy people (I was the lightest) I was surprised we made it down. Such a road would be impossible to use in the rainy season. Moving around this city, one gets a sense of organization or control. There are three layers of control around the city: the community security force (volunteers), the police and the military.
We have been to a few bars in the area of the compound after the dinner hour. Here there are absolutely no tourists. There are very few women to be seen in these establishments. The odd one would be young and always with a male companion. It appears, and I had read this before I left, that women have family obligations in the evening whether they are married or not. The volunteers here find this an obstacle in having social contact with female colleagues after working hours.
Speaking of volunteers, there are about 30 of us in Rwanda with VSO. They are mostly between 24 and 34 with the exception of Antonia Eastman (from Wales) and me. She will be living in Butare, about 1 hr from where I am. I think we will get on well together. There are moments when I feel somewhat ‘older’, but on the whole these young people are very friendly and try to be inclusive. There is a preponderance of women volunteers, but I had already observed this in the training sessions.
Today I was in Kigali, (pronounced [Chigali] and was taken by a volunteer to see the MINEDUC, the Min of Education building. I will probably go there to attend meetings at one time or another. We also dropped by a volunteer, François, from Montreal, who works for a National Organization that tries to coordinate all efforts to work with and educate Rwandan children who have disabilities (hearing/vision impaired, but also physical and mental disabilities). In the afternoon, we went to spend our 100,000 RWfrs on equipment for our houses. This is about 170 US$. I bought sheets, towels, a blanket ,pots, jerry cans (plastic for water), broom, buckets, wash basins, glasses, cups plates cutlery, knives etc. etc. I felt like I was a student again, buying cheap stuff for my student room. There will be a lot more I will have to buy. I may splurge to buy a buta gas two burner stove. In the meantime it will be a kerosene stove (supplied by VSO) that I will use for cooking and heating water. I am perturbed to be without a radio. I meant to get one in Toronto and never got to it. Did not find a suitable one in Kigali today and it will be the only way to stay in touch with the rest of the world. I will have another try before leaving on Saturday afternoon.
The electricity issue is a big one. It’s 10 pm and I have light in my room, but this has been an exception since I am here. Mostly the electricity is off and this means darkness everywhere. I have realized it is treacherous walking outside after dark because you cannot see all the potholes. Every time the power is on I find myself charging batteries, cell phone or the laptop. (I have had to interrupt this writing session as the power did go out last night around 10:15)
I have met some Rwandans already- there are 6 who work in the programme office and who have given some workshops or who have helped us fill out forms. They are polite, friendly and quite easy to communicate with. On Friday, I will meet my employer. We will spend the day getting to know each other as we attend briefings given by the people in the –program office.
Later this afternoon I will be off to Kigali again to look around, perhaps enter this blog and then touch base with Maurits and Tine, who live here and who are friends of Pim and Ineke. I am looking forward to getting their perspective on Rwanda, as they have been here for a while. Maybe I can find a radio and a power bar. I am kind of obsessed with power and electricity. Next entry will be from Kigeme, via Butare, where the internet café is. Cheers.
The neighbourhood with the government buildings, is elegant, clean and with beautifully paved roads. There are some elegant hotels and an impressive bank building of the BCDI bank where I will open account next week, but in my Gikongoro province branch not here in Kigali. On the various hillsides the array of dwellings is very mixed: mostly small, simply constructed houses with a yard of some sort. People move around on foot or public taxi. The latter are much more organized than in say Sumatra or even Lima, Peru. There are also motorcycles and cars and some bicycles, although the hills make that a hard way to move around. The other night we took a real taxi home from the restaurant. The driver took a shortcut down a steep road which was not paved and more like a track than a road, with huge ruts. The car was an ordinary one and with four rather heavy people (I was the lightest) I was surprised we made it down. Such a road would be impossible to use in the rainy season. Moving around this city, one gets a sense of organization or control. There are three layers of control around the city: the community security force (volunteers), the police and the military.
We have been to a few bars in the area of the compound after the dinner hour. Here there are absolutely no tourists. There are very few women to be seen in these establishments. The odd one would be young and always with a male companion. It appears, and I had read this before I left, that women have family obligations in the evening whether they are married or not. The volunteers here find this an obstacle in having social contact with female colleagues after working hours.
Speaking of volunteers, there are about 30 of us in Rwanda with VSO. They are mostly between 24 and 34 with the exception of Antonia Eastman (from Wales) and me. She will be living in Butare, about 1 hr from where I am. I think we will get on well together. There are moments when I feel somewhat ‘older’, but on the whole these young people are very friendly and try to be inclusive. There is a preponderance of women volunteers, but I had already observed this in the training sessions.
Today I was in Kigali, (pronounced [Chigali] and was taken by a volunteer to see the MINEDUC, the Min of Education building. I will probably go there to attend meetings at one time or another. We also dropped by a volunteer, François, from Montreal, who works for a National Organization that tries to coordinate all efforts to work with and educate Rwandan children who have disabilities (hearing/vision impaired, but also physical and mental disabilities). In the afternoon, we went to spend our 100,000 RWfrs on equipment for our houses. This is about 170 US$. I bought sheets, towels, a blanket ,pots, jerry cans (plastic for water), broom, buckets, wash basins, glasses, cups plates cutlery, knives etc. etc. I felt like I was a student again, buying cheap stuff for my student room. There will be a lot more I will have to buy. I may splurge to buy a buta gas two burner stove. In the meantime it will be a kerosene stove (supplied by VSO) that I will use for cooking and heating water. I am perturbed to be without a radio. I meant to get one in Toronto and never got to it. Did not find a suitable one in Kigali today and it will be the only way to stay in touch with the rest of the world. I will have another try before leaving on Saturday afternoon.
The electricity issue is a big one. It’s 10 pm and I have light in my room, but this has been an exception since I am here. Mostly the electricity is off and this means darkness everywhere. I have realized it is treacherous walking outside after dark because you cannot see all the potholes. Every time the power is on I find myself charging batteries, cell phone or the laptop. (I have had to interrupt this writing session as the power did go out last night around 10:15)
I have met some Rwandans already- there are 6 who work in the programme office and who have given some workshops or who have helped us fill out forms. They are polite, friendly and quite easy to communicate with. On Friday, I will meet my employer. We will spend the day getting to know each other as we attend briefings given by the people in the –program office.
Later this afternoon I will be off to Kigali again to look around, perhaps enter this blog and then touch base with Maurits and Tine, who live here and who are friends of Pim and Ineke. I am looking forward to getting their perspective on Rwanda, as they have been here for a while. Maybe I can find a radio and a power bar. I am kind of obsessed with power and electricity. Next entry will be from Kigeme, via Butare, where the internet café is. Cheers.
Kigali August 30 First Impressions
A city of hills with quite a bit of green, but also red soil and dust as this is the dry season. There are people everywhere, mostly moving about on foot. Children in school uniforms walking to and from school, boys and men standing around, little children running after us and calling us ‘muzungo’. There are small shops every few houses it seems. On the hillside where our compound is, the houses vary from very minimal to reasonably well kempt. Most Rwandans who work in offices have a phone in hand. They are smartly dressed – the men with cleanly pressed shirts and pants, the women with colourful dresses and skirts. The major shopping area is relatively small with some bigger shops, lots of pharmacies, internet cafes, phone shops, banks, travel agents, clothing shops etc. Yours truly may not be elegantly dressed, but she does have a phone in hand. She will be a pro in the use of Michelle’s phone from France especially when she gets the hang of text messaging.
The neighbourhood with the government buildings, is elegant, clean and with beautifully paved roads. There are some elegant hotels and an impressive bank building of the BCDI bank where I will open account next week, but in my Gikongoro province branch not here in Kigali. On the various hillsides the array of dwellings is very mixed: mostly small, simply constructed houses with a yard of some sort. People move around on foot or public taxi. The latter are much more organized than in say Sumatra or even Lima, Peru. There are also motorcycles and cars and some bicycles, although the hills make that a hard way to move around. The other night we took a real taxi home from the restaurant. The driver took a shortcut down a steep road which was not paved and more like a track than a road, with huge ruts. The car was an ordinary one and with four rather heavy people (I was the lightest) I was surprised we made it down. Such a road would be impossible to use in the rainy season. Moving around this city, one gets a sense of organization or control. There are three layers of control around the city: the community security force (volunteers), the police and the military.
We have been to a few bars in the area of the compound after the dinner hour. Here there are absolutely no tourists. There are very few women to be seen in these establishments. The odd one would be young and always with a male companion. It appears, and I had read this before I left, that women have family obligations in the evening whether they are married or not. The volunteers here find this an obstacle in having social contact with female colleagues after working hours.
Speaking of volunteers, there are about 30 of us in Rwanda with VSO. They are mostly between 24 and 34 with the exception of Antonia Eastman (from Wales) and me. She will be living in Butare, about 1 hr from where I am. I think we will get on well together. There are moments when I feel somewhat ‘older’, but on the whole these young people are very friendly and try to be inclusive. There is a preponderance of women volunteers, but I had already observed this in the training sessions.
Today I was in Kigali, (pronounced [Chigali] and was taken by a volunteer to see the MINEDUC, the Min of Education building. I will probably go there to attend meetings at one time or another. We also dropped by a volunteer, François, from Montreal, who works for a National Organization that tries to coordinate all efforts to work with and educate Rwandan children who have disabilities (hearing/vision impaired, but also physical and mental disabilities). In the afternoon, we went to spend our 100,000 RWfrs on equipment for our houses. This is about 170 US$. I bought sheets, towels, a blanket ,pots, jerry cans (plastic for water), broom, buckets, wash basins, glasses, cups plates cutlery, knives etc. etc. I felt like I was a student again, buying cheap stuff for my student room. There will be a lot more I will have to buy. I may splurge to buy a buta gas two burner stove. In the meantime it will be a kerosene stove (supplied by VSO) that I will use for cooking and heating water. I am perturbed to be without a radio. I meant to get one in Toronto and never got to it. Did not find a suitable one in Kigali today and it will be the only way to stay in touch with the rest of the world. I will have another try before leaving on Saturday afternoon.
The electricity issue is a big one. It’s 10 pm and I have light in my room, but this has been an exception since I am here. Mostly the electricity is off and this means darkness everywhere. I have realized it is treacherous walking outside after dark because you cannot see all the potholes. Every time the power is on I find myself charging batteries, cell phone or the laptop. (I have had to interrupt this writing session as the power did go out last night around 10:15)
I have met some Rwandans already- there are 6 who work in the programme office and who have given some workshops or who have helped us fill out forms. They are polite, friendly and quite easy to communicate with. On Friday, I will meet my employer. We will spend the day getting to know each other as we attend briefings given by the people in the –program office.
Later this afternoon I will be off to Kigali again to look around, perhaps enter this blog and then touch base with Maurits and Tine, who live here and who are friends of Pim and Ineke. I am looking forward to getting their perspective on Rwanda, as they have been here for a while. Maybe I can find a radio and a power bar. I am kind of obsessed with power and electricity. Next entry will be from Kigeme, via Butare, where the internet café is. Cheers.
The neighbourhood with the government buildings, is elegant, clean and with beautifully paved roads. There are some elegant hotels and an impressive bank building of the BCDI bank where I will open account next week, but in my Gikongoro province branch not here in Kigali. On the various hillsides the array of dwellings is very mixed: mostly small, simply constructed houses with a yard of some sort. People move around on foot or public taxi. The latter are much more organized than in say Sumatra or even Lima, Peru. There are also motorcycles and cars and some bicycles, although the hills make that a hard way to move around. The other night we took a real taxi home from the restaurant. The driver took a shortcut down a steep road which was not paved and more like a track than a road, with huge ruts. The car was an ordinary one and with four rather heavy people (I was the lightest) I was surprised we made it down. Such a road would be impossible to use in the rainy season. Moving around this city, one gets a sense of organization or control. There are three layers of control around the city: the community security force (volunteers), the police and the military.
We have been to a few bars in the area of the compound after the dinner hour. Here there are absolutely no tourists. There are very few women to be seen in these establishments. The odd one would be young and always with a male companion. It appears, and I had read this before I left, that women have family obligations in the evening whether they are married or not. The volunteers here find this an obstacle in having social contact with female colleagues after working hours.
Speaking of volunteers, there are about 30 of us in Rwanda with VSO. They are mostly between 24 and 34 with the exception of Antonia Eastman (from Wales) and me. She will be living in Butare, about 1 hr from where I am. I think we will get on well together. There are moments when I feel somewhat ‘older’, but on the whole these young people are very friendly and try to be inclusive. There is a preponderance of women volunteers, but I had already observed this in the training sessions.
Today I was in Kigali, (pronounced [Chigali] and was taken by a volunteer to see the MINEDUC, the Min of Education building. I will probably go there to attend meetings at one time or another. We also dropped by a volunteer, François, from Montreal, who works for a National Organization that tries to coordinate all efforts to work with and educate Rwandan children who have disabilities (hearing/vision impaired, but also physical and mental disabilities). In the afternoon, we went to spend our 100,000 RWfrs on equipment for our houses. This is about 170 US$. I bought sheets, towels, a blanket ,pots, jerry cans (plastic for water), broom, buckets, wash basins, glasses, cups plates cutlery, knives etc. etc. I felt like I was a student again, buying cheap stuff for my student room. There will be a lot more I will have to buy. I may splurge to buy a buta gas two burner stove. In the meantime it will be a kerosene stove (supplied by VSO) that I will use for cooking and heating water. I am perturbed to be without a radio. I meant to get one in Toronto and never got to it. Did not find a suitable one in Kigali today and it will be the only way to stay in touch with the rest of the world. I will have another try before leaving on Saturday afternoon.
The electricity issue is a big one. It’s 10 pm and I have light in my room, but this has been an exception since I am here. Mostly the electricity is off and this means darkness everywhere. I have realized it is treacherous walking outside after dark because you cannot see all the potholes. Every time the power is on I find myself charging batteries, cell phone or the laptop. (I have had to interrupt this writing session as the power did go out last night around 10:15)
I have met some Rwandans already- there are 6 who work in the programme office and who have given some workshops or who have helped us fill out forms. They are polite, friendly and quite easy to communicate with. On Friday, I will meet my employer. We will spend the day getting to know each other as we attend briefings given by the people in the –program office.
Later this afternoon I will be off to Kigali again to look around, perhaps enter this blog and then touch base with Maurits and Tine, who live here and who are friends of Pim and Ineke. I am looking forward to getting their perspective on Rwanda, as they have been here for a while. Maybe I can find a radio and a power bar. I am kind of obsessed with power and electricity. Next entry will be from Kigeme, via Butare, where the internet café is. Cheers.
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