Marion in Rwanda tells me that it is actually very difficult to buy any decent clothes in Kigali, so I hit the Dundrum Shopping Centre yesterday to kit myself out. Cotton/Linen blend, my sister Máirín says, is the best for a hot climate where you can't iron: hang it up right and it will dry wrinkle-free. So - a few shirts, a jacket (that's linen and dry-clean only, but again wash carefully in COLD water and hang and it'll be fine) and loads of socks!
Spent a chunk of Thursday in Dublin Airport talking to the British Midlands person on the desk about an increased weight allowance. She was really helpful and spent ages arguing with Head Office on the phone and was finally able to get the three of us an increase from 23kg to 33kg. I'll probably still be overweight (€10.50 per kg surcharge!) but it's still cheaper than ending up with stuff I might need in Rwanda!
If you would like to contribute to my fundraising for VSO, please visit my site at www.mycharity.ie/event/ruairi and a huge 'Thank You' to all those who have already contributed!!
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Waiting!!!
Had a great week or two chilling out in Munich and Prague. I had gone to Bristol last month to see my sister Maria and three of her four children (sorry I missed you Sam - enjoy Portugal!) and my sister Máirín and brother Aindriú came over to Munich to join me and my other brother Brian for a little farewell party. Then I went to Prague to see my sister-in-law Dana and her three daughters Rút, Marketa and Sara and am now back in Munich where my cousin Elias has arrived to visit from New Delhi (via Montpellier).
Have now decided to make as few clothes purchases as possible here and to buy stuff in Kigali instead. One reason is that while I have a 46kg weight allowance for London-Kigali, I only have 23kg for Dublin-London. I hope to persuade BMI when I get back to Dublin to allow us some extra but, if I end up having to pay extra I need to keep the weight down as much as possible. I also have a terrible habit of packing too much at the best of times!!! I also got an email from the volunteer I will be sharing with in Gisagara (Tina) - her first question was who is bringing the Scrabble set! I was tempted to email her back and ask what Scrabble was but I resisted. Hope she plays by the Chambers Dictionary rules but it's about as good an omen as you can ask for!
Got bitten by something in Prague and my arm swelled up like an aubergine - from ONE bite!! What's going to happen when I get to Rwanda?? Maybe I need to stock up on antihistamines.
It was really strange waking up this morning knowing that everyone else was going to be in school and, for the first time in 25 years, I wasn't. Have a great urge to GO rather than hanging around here, but I suppose that is natural. There are still a few things I need to clear up in Dublin before I leave - bank, insurance, fund-raising and so on. The fund-raising kind of ground to a semi-halt over the summer but it might pick up again now that school is back.
Anyway, back to Dublin tomorrow for final preparations and then OFF WE GO!!
Here are links to two other blogs by people who are or have been working in Rwanda - gives you a really good idea of what it is like working there, good and bad!
http://murahorwanda.blogspot.com/2007/08/rwanda-blog-update.html is by a Salvation Army volunteer working on a housing project.
http://heathenblogging.blogspot.com/ is by a serving VSO volunteer who is working (among other things) on developing a Rwandan sign language.
If you would like to contribute to my fundraising for VSO, please visit my site at www.mycharity.ie/event/ruairi and a huge 'Thank You' to all those who have already contributed!!
Have now decided to make as few clothes purchases as possible here and to buy stuff in Kigali instead. One reason is that while I have a 46kg weight allowance for London-Kigali, I only have 23kg for Dublin-London. I hope to persuade BMI when I get back to Dublin to allow us some extra but, if I end up having to pay extra I need to keep the weight down as much as possible. I also have a terrible habit of packing too much at the best of times!!! I also got an email from the volunteer I will be sharing with in Gisagara (Tina) - her first question was who is bringing the Scrabble set! I was tempted to email her back and ask what Scrabble was but I resisted. Hope she plays by the Chambers Dictionary rules but it's about as good an omen as you can ask for!
Got bitten by something in Prague and my arm swelled up like an aubergine - from ONE bite!! What's going to happen when I get to Rwanda?? Maybe I need to stock up on antihistamines.
It was really strange waking up this morning knowing that everyone else was going to be in school and, for the first time in 25 years, I wasn't. Have a great urge to GO rather than hanging around here, but I suppose that is natural. There are still a few things I need to clear up in Dublin before I leave - bank, insurance, fund-raising and so on. The fund-raising kind of ground to a semi-halt over the summer but it might pick up again now that school is back.
Anyway, back to Dublin tomorrow for final preparations and then OFF WE GO!!
Here are links to two other blogs by people who are or have been working in Rwanda - gives you a really good idea of what it is like working there, good and bad!
http://murahorwanda.blogspot.com/2007/08/rwanda-blog-update.html is by a Salvation Army volunteer working on a housing project.
http://heathenblogging.blogspot.com/ is by a serving VSO volunteer who is working (among other things) on developing a Rwandan sign language.
If you would like to contribute to my fundraising for VSO, please visit my site at www.mycharity.ie/event/ruairi and a huge 'Thank You' to all those who have already contributed!!
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Accommodation!!
My passport turned up and I have arrived in my brother's place in Munich safe and sound. It's not quite as wet here as in Ireland but it's quite cold! I just got an email telling me my accommodation in Rwanda will have neither running water nor electricity, so I may need to rethink some of the items I am bringing with me!
If you would like to contribute to my fundraising for VSO, please visit my site at www.mycharity.ie/event/ruairi and a huge 'Thank You' to all those who have already contributed!!
If you would like to contribute to my fundraising for VSO, please visit my site at www.mycharity.ie/event/ruairi and a huge 'Thank You' to all those who have already contributed!!
Monday, August 11, 2008
Countdown begins!
So, all the training is now over and the final countdown has begun! I am heading off to Germany on Thursday 14th August so I have to pack everything I need for Rwanda and for Germany and figure out how to manage the overlapping items.
The training in Birmingham was absolutely fantastic: there was a P2V course (Preparing to Volunteer) which I did quite a while ago but on 16th-20th July I did a SKWID (SKills for Working In Development) course which was probably the best training I have ever done in my life. Then I did a Teacher Development Course 1st - 5th August - that was tougher and maybe not as relevant to the actual job I'll be doing in Rwanda but, again, I learned a huge amount.
I have been getting quite a few emails from volunteers already in Rwanda which has been very helpful and there is a VSO Rwanda group on Facebook - reading all the previous discussions and messages has been very illuminating! My main concern now is exactly what clothes to bring as I gather I will need to dress quite formally a lot of the time (meetings, school visits etc). I figure I'll bring enough to start with and then buy stuff in Kigali when I get there. My other main concern is that my passport is still in the Rwandan Embassy in London and I need it for a Thursday morning flight!!
If you would like to contribute to my fundraising for VSO, please visit my site at www.mycharity.ie/event/ruairi and a huge 'Thank You' to all those who have already contributed!!
The training in Birmingham was absolutely fantastic: there was a P2V course (Preparing to Volunteer) which I did quite a while ago but on 16th-20th July I did a SKWID (SKills for Working In Development) course which was probably the best training I have ever done in my life. Then I did a Teacher Development Course 1st - 5th August - that was tougher and maybe not as relevant to the actual job I'll be doing in Rwanda but, again, I learned a huge amount.
I have been getting quite a few emails from volunteers already in Rwanda which has been very helpful and there is a VSO Rwanda group on Facebook - reading all the previous discussions and messages has been very illuminating! My main concern now is exactly what clothes to bring as I gather I will need to dress quite formally a lot of the time (meetings, school visits etc). I figure I'll bring enough to start with and then buy stuff in Kigali when I get there. My other main concern is that my passport is still in the Rwandan Embassy in London and I need it for a Thursday morning flight!!
If you would like to contribute to my fundraising for VSO, please visit my site at www.mycharity.ie/event/ruairi and a huge 'Thank You' to all those who have already contributed!!
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