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| At the post office Many hands make light work! |
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| My purchases at the doll's workshop in Gisenyi. |
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| Volvano in the clouds |
Monday, 29 November 2010
Even more photos!
There has been a request for more photos of me from my Granny! So here is one of me trying to do some of the traditional Rwandan dancing.
More dancing!
Friday, 26 November 2010
More photos
Tuesday, 23 November 2010
Letters from Trim!
A big hello to all,
I hope you are all keeping well. I’m reading the news on RTE.ie, looks like there is a lot going on in Ireland at the moment. It’s good to be away from listening to Morning Ireland on the drive to Drogheda!
I’m writing this as the rain beats down on the roof. A lot of the schools here have corrugated metal roofs which make it very difficult to hear when it’s raining as we found out last week during our training. The English training has started so the teachers’ holiday is over until the 24th of December. They are being trained in English as it is now the language of instruction here. It switched from French to English at the start of last year. The school year here starts in January.
I would like to say a big hello to Ms. Dully and all the girls in room 26 in St. Mary’s National School in Trim. I was delighted to receive an envelope full of letters from them. Thank you so much! I was very impressed with their lovely letter writing skills and the beautiful drawings. The other volunteers thought they were beautiful too and were especially impressed to see the Rwandan flag with all the correct colours and in correct proportions (there is more blue than yellow and green!). The girls asked some very interesting questions which I will try to answer.
1. Is it hot or cold in Rwanda?
Sometimes it is hot and sometimes it is cold. It depends on the part of the country you are in. At the weekend I was in Ruhungeri and I had to sleep in my fleece under a duvet and a blanket and the next day I got sunburnt! Where I live the weather is nice, it’s not too hot in the day and not too cold at night. At the moment we have the short rainy season so it usually rains for an hour or two a day.
2. Do the children learn the same things there as we do in Ireland?
They study English, Kinyarwanda (the language of Rwanda), Maths, Social Science and Science. They also do music and drama. They must do an exam at the end of P6 (sixth class) in order to get into secondary school. The exams are very hard.
3. Do the children speak English?
The children speak Kinyarwanda at home with their parents and with their friends. In school, the teachers must teach them through English from P4 to P6.
4. What is your favourite colour?
Red.
5. Do they do Hallowe’en in Rwanda?
No, I didn’t see any sign of Hallowe’en celebrations here except among the other volunteers that are here. We had a fancy dress party for Hallowe’en.
6. Who is your favourite singer?
Ryan Adams.
7. What is your favourite animal?
Elephants! I saw some when I was in India but I didn’t manage to see any when I was in Akagera National Park here. I was disappointed but I saw lots of other animals so that made up for it.
8. Do you like Rwanda?
I like Rwanda a lot. Here every day is an adventure; you never know what will happen next. The people are very friendly and helpful. The weather is really nice (most of the time). I think it will be a shock to me when I arrive back for Christmas to Ireland in December. The food is nice. It is nice to look out my back door and see bananas growing! I love visiting the schools and seeing the children. They are always really happy to see me.
9. Do you miss people at home?
Of course I miss people at home but I’m lucky that I can stay in touch with them through letters, phone calls and the internet. I really love to write letters home, it makes me feel like I’m talking to the person I’m writing to. If you’re lucky one will arrive to Room 26 before Christmas. Take a look at the stamps; I think the stamps here are beautiful.
10. Do you mind not having much electricity?
I’m quite lucky because I have electricity most of the time. It arrived just a month before I got here. I don’t have running water so I have to use a jug and bucket to shower and I have a latrine instead of a toilet!
11. Is the house you are staying nice?
My house is really nice. You can see a picture of it if you look at the first entry on my blog. It has 2 bedrooms, a living room, a kitchen and a bathroom. I live with another volunteer. From my house I can see people passing by most of the time. They usually pass by carrying things like water or banana leaves on their heads or the women with babies on their backs. From my back garden I can see lots of banana trees growing.
12. What size are the schools in Rwanda?
The schools in Rwanda are very big. The children go to school in 2 shifts. One half goes in the morning and the other half in the afternoon. This is because there are not enough classrooms or teachers for all of the children to go at the same time. It means that the teachers have to work very long hours!
I hope that answers all of the questions and that I haven’t left anyone’s question out. Let me know if I have and I will answer as soon as I can.
Slán,
Pauline
Monday, 22 November 2010
A selection of photos!
Hope you enjoy the photos, more to follow in the coming days!
Best wishes,
Pauline
Monday, 15 November 2010
On the road!
Hi all,
Sorry for the long delay between updates, it’s been a very busy time. I have visited all of the provinces in the last fortnight.
I spent the first week of November in Kigali for the second and final part of my in-country training. It was great to meet up with all of the other volunteers that I arrived with. We were given some more language training among other things. I’m afraid my Kinyarwanda isn’t as good as it could be but I’ve recently found a teacher so I’m hoping to make some progress soon. During the week we had the chance to do some Karaoke! The highlight was singing a Westlife song with the other Irish volunteers. On the same night we visited the Milles Collines hotel for a leaving drink with an Irish girl who was moving back to Ireland. It was a strange feeling being there, I kept thinking of the film.
The weekend after ICT2 we made the trip south to Butare. Our mission was to visit Kibeho, where the Virgin Mary is believed to have appeared from 1981 onwards (the Rwandan version of Knock if you like!). We arrived in Butare, dropped our bags off the hostel and decided to have a quick lunch before our bus. I ordered a salad as I thought this would be the quickest. Unfortunately, burgers and toasted sandwiches appeared first so 5 of us had to change our bus tickets. Next time, I’m ordering the burger! The trip was fabulous (and bumpy). After an hour we were greeted by the rest of our group and we made the short walk to the church. I will try to upload a photo of the church. As we went inside a thunderstorm started outside. From the sacristy a priest appeared and was hearing confession. I have been told of an Irish priest living in Rwanda so I was hopeful it was him. I decided since I had the chance it would be a good chance to make confession. The priest gave me the option of French or Polish so I figured it wasn’t the priest I was looking for. I hope to return to Kibeho on August 15th for the Feast of the Assumption. Apparently it’s supposed to be an amazing experience.
Last week started with some teacher training here in Ngororero. It was a lot of fun. The teachers were so enthusiastic. They are great to give up 4 days of their holidays voluntarily to do training. Two other volunteers came to help me so I had visitors on Sunday and Monday which was lovely. I love showing people around my Rwandan home. They both agreed it’s very beautiful here. I’m determined to get Ngororero into the guidebook. I think it should be branded “Ngororero-the gateway to Gisenyi”. I’ve had 4 visitors so far so I think I’m doing the Rwandan Tourist Board proud!
Tuesday, I travelled with one of the volunteers to Kigeme in the south of the country to help her to open a resource centre. It took us 4 buses to get there. We stopped on the way in Gitarama. We ordered food but unfortunately it didn’t come in time so we left some money and ran off down the road. Luckily, another kind volunteer got the food wrapped up and ran down the road after us. We had some strange looks from the fellow passengers as we tried to eat our lunch on the bus. The motorbike trip to the resource centre on Wednesday was really beautiful. I think that riding around on the back of motorbikes through the countryside of Rwanda is definitely one of my favourite things to do. The resource centre was lovely. The room had been painted and there were resource there for teachers from the local schools to borrow.
Thursday morning, I made the long trip to Ruhengheri to help another volunteer with more teacher training. I was really lucky because a kind boy flagged down a bus that brought me all the way to Kigali. I should have had to take at least 3 buses! I was so happy. The school where we were doing the training was up a hill with wonderful views of the volcanoes and the Congo! We had a wonderful day and I met some wonderful teachers.
Saturday,I had an early start. As I set me alarm for 3.45 on Friday evening I knew it would be a tiring day. 3 other volunteers and I set off for Akagera National Park in the east of Rwanda. It was a brilliant day. We spent the day driving around the park spotting the different animals. I think the giraffes were my favourite. I was amazed at how close we were allowed to get to the crocodiles and the hippos at “Hippo Beach”. There were lots of antelope, warthogs, buffalos and zebras to be seen. The drive took us along the Akagera River and we could see Tanzania. I think it’s amazing that on Friday I could see the DRC and the next day I was looking at Tanzania.
This is a very shortened version of the past couple of weeks but it past my bedtime and I’ve school in the morning! I hope you are all well and I look forward to being back in Ireland for a visit soon.
Slán,
Pauline
Sorry for the long delay between updates, it’s been a very busy time. I have visited all of the provinces in the last fortnight.
I spent the first week of November in Kigali for the second and final part of my in-country training. It was great to meet up with all of the other volunteers that I arrived with. We were given some more language training among other things. I’m afraid my Kinyarwanda isn’t as good as it could be but I’ve recently found a teacher so I’m hoping to make some progress soon. During the week we had the chance to do some Karaoke! The highlight was singing a Westlife song with the other Irish volunteers. On the same night we visited the Milles Collines hotel for a leaving drink with an Irish girl who was moving back to Ireland. It was a strange feeling being there, I kept thinking of the film.
The weekend after ICT2 we made the trip south to Butare. Our mission was to visit Kibeho, where the Virgin Mary is believed to have appeared from 1981 onwards (the Rwandan version of Knock if you like!). We arrived in Butare, dropped our bags off the hostel and decided to have a quick lunch before our bus. I ordered a salad as I thought this would be the quickest. Unfortunately, burgers and toasted sandwiches appeared first so 5 of us had to change our bus tickets. Next time, I’m ordering the burger! The trip was fabulous (and bumpy). After an hour we were greeted by the rest of our group and we made the short walk to the church. I will try to upload a photo of the church. As we went inside a thunderstorm started outside. From the sacristy a priest appeared and was hearing confession. I have been told of an Irish priest living in Rwanda so I was hopeful it was him. I decided since I had the chance it would be a good chance to make confession. The priest gave me the option of French or Polish so I figured it wasn’t the priest I was looking for. I hope to return to Kibeho on August 15th for the Feast of the Assumption. Apparently it’s supposed to be an amazing experience.
Last week started with some teacher training here in Ngororero. It was a lot of fun. The teachers were so enthusiastic. They are great to give up 4 days of their holidays voluntarily to do training. Two other volunteers came to help me so I had visitors on Sunday and Monday which was lovely. I love showing people around my Rwandan home. They both agreed it’s very beautiful here. I’m determined to get Ngororero into the guidebook. I think it should be branded “Ngororero-the gateway to Gisenyi”. I’ve had 4 visitors so far so I think I’m doing the Rwandan Tourist Board proud!
Tuesday, I travelled with one of the volunteers to Kigeme in the south of the country to help her to open a resource centre. It took us 4 buses to get there. We stopped on the way in Gitarama. We ordered food but unfortunately it didn’t come in time so we left some money and ran off down the road. Luckily, another kind volunteer got the food wrapped up and ran down the road after us. We had some strange looks from the fellow passengers as we tried to eat our lunch on the bus. The motorbike trip to the resource centre on Wednesday was really beautiful. I think that riding around on the back of motorbikes through the countryside of Rwanda is definitely one of my favourite things to do. The resource centre was lovely. The room had been painted and there were resource there for teachers from the local schools to borrow.
Thursday morning, I made the long trip to Ruhengheri to help another volunteer with more teacher training. I was really lucky because a kind boy flagged down a bus that brought me all the way to Kigali. I should have had to take at least 3 buses! I was so happy. The school where we were doing the training was up a hill with wonderful views of the volcanoes and the Congo! We had a wonderful day and I met some wonderful teachers.
Saturday,I had an early start. As I set me alarm for 3.45 on Friday evening I knew it would be a tiring day. 3 other volunteers and I set off for Akagera National Park in the east of Rwanda. It was a brilliant day. We spent the day driving around the park spotting the different animals. I think the giraffes were my favourite. I was amazed at how close we were allowed to get to the crocodiles and the hippos at “Hippo Beach”. There were lots of antelope, warthogs, buffalos and zebras to be seen. The drive took us along the Akagera River and we could see Tanzania. I think it’s amazing that on Friday I could see the DRC and the next day I was looking at Tanzania.
This is a very shortened version of the past couple of weeks but it past my bedtime and I’ve school in the morning! I hope you are all well and I look forward to being back in Ireland for a visit soon.
Slán,
Pauline
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