Friday 28th and Saturday 29th November: Days Eighty-Three and Eighty-Four in Rwanda

Please note that VSO is in no way connected with or responsible for the content, comments and observations in this blog: these are solely my own in a personal capacity.



FRIDAY
Woke up 0345 when my guard decided to switch his radio on for some early morning gospel lectures (or something like that). Then woke up properly at 0530 when he started sweeping up outside my bedroom window. Need to have SERIOUS chat about this. I got up and went out to him and indicated he should turn down the radio. He turned it off and acted like he was afraid he was about to be fired. A happy medium is all I am asking for - I really need to start learning Kinyarwandan!! (Alfred: given that the sound of birdsong is deafening by about 0530, maybe Ruairí should just try getting up! That's probably why Alexandré does and the radio is to drown out the sound of the BLOODY BIRDS!).



Anyway, got to the office around 0705 and I was the last in!! Everyone was there and all smartly turned out for the District inspection. I tried to keep out of the way as there was nothing I could do to help. When the bigwigs all arrived (13 of them and only one woman) we all trooped into the big hall for the 'meeting'. It is like an amphitheatre so we are all sitting on chairs on the steps while the big-wigs are down below us. Everyone was REALLY nervous (read previous blog for more details on why!).

The way it worked was this (and for those of my colleagues who have just survived - I hope - a Whole School Inspection, you might want to contemplate this way of doing it): the bigwig said a few general words of welcome (much briefer than most I have to say). Then he announces which departments are going to be examined and on which aspects (Vice-Mayor for Social and Cultural Affairs, Good Governance Dept, Sport & Youth and whatever). They then have half an hour to go and grab all the documentation they need and everyone meets back in the hall.

Each person being examined takes the floor in turn and gets questions fired at them, which they have to answer and provide the appropriate documentation to back up their reply (budget report, schedule, receipt, statistical breakdown, whatever). Some were very calm. some were amazingly flustered. Overall it seemed to go very well and all seemed both happy and relieved when it was over. It was all in Kinyarwanda of course but Alexis Bigira, the chargé for education, sat beside me the whole time and explained what was going on, which was really good of him.

When it finished, everyone vanished off for lunch and I thought that would be the end of it. But as I worked away on my statistics lo and behold! everyone actually did appear back after lunch and got right back down to work again! Overall, it was a pretty impressive performance by my new colleagues and I was glad I decided to attend the thing. The results of the competition will be announced on December 28th by President Kagame himself - really important stuff!

Francois had asked me if I had any gin in the house as he would like a quick drink after work!! He had actually escaped being examined but he was probably quite worried as he is so new in the job! So I headed home at 1530, met him on the road so he gave me a lift home. Enoch, the Ugandan teacher who does the classes with me (mentioned at length in last Saturday's blog) also turned up at that point - he wanted to bring me to his local beside his school. So we had a quick gin to celebrate and headed off there. Francois took Enoch on his bike and I headed off on foot. En route I met a) Kenneth, a plumber and Ugandan friend of Enoch's b) the local carpenter who knew I had called in the previous day but didn't know what I wanted - Kenneth explained that I might need some furniture made and I would get back to him c) the local Catholic parish priest d) Eric, a primary school teacher from Kibirizi.

Enoch's local is far nicer than either of the pubs I had been in so far but they don't cook food (last Saturday's bar does a goat brochette and half a baked potato for only 300RWF, though Vestine the barmaid does talk an awful lot and in an amazingly loud voice!). Francois stayed for one drink and then headed off but nor before dropping another bombshell in a casual by-the-way fashion - he is taking three weeks' leave starting .... right now! He hoped I would be able to find something to do during that time!! This is what drives me mad about Francois - lovely guy and all that but has he no idea? Luckliy I was able to counter - earlier I had received a text from Amy Parker saying that they might need another teacher in Butare for the British Council training course for teaching English to teachers from the Teacher Training Colleges. I had kicked to touch because I felt I should ask Francois first in case he had any plans for me during that time!!! Ha ha ha ha!


Enoch and I stayed for ages - he is a really nice guy with a background in history and geography. We talked about Rwanda and how it might or might not change in the future, its strengths and weaknesses and compared it to the political and cultural situations in Uganda and the Congo, as well as Ireland for that matter (more on that anon). Then he said that the restaurant did serve fish! I said great let's go for it. The guy brought out plates and cutlery, and then four small tins of pilchards - exactly the same kind I had had for dinner a few nights ago!! Not quite what I wa expecting but, as with the other night, they are actually very tasty.

Then Enoch insisted on paying for everything as I had done so the previous Saturday which was good of him and pretty unusual here - every other time I have been out (including with my boss) Rwandans have expected me to pay for everything out of my presumed-to-be bottomless muzungu pockets. Then he walked me all the way home even though the local is beside his apartment (which was just as well as it was pitch black and my torch was only working fitfully). Nice evening but it was quite late and I have umuganda tomorrow!

SATURDAY
So much for umuganda! Woke up 0530 (I am taking Alfred's advice - might as well get up early seeing as the birds will force me to get up about 15 minutes after Alexandré anyway) and tried to get out of bed. My left leg showed a marked disinclination to accompany the rest of my body, or did so in a lethargic, not very enthusiastic kind of way. Something had bitten me, either on my way home or in the bed, on the back of the left knee and it was really swollen and red. Walking around helped a little but only a little. So when Jean-Claude turned up to collect me, I had to cry off. Felt such an idiot after having made such a big deal of how I was going to do it! Not a good start to the day.

Washed my Chelsea shirt lovingly and hung it out in the gloom and mist to 'dry' - wet and humid today, not good drying conditions (Alfred: it got better later) and then did three solid hours of French grammar!! Yeah! C'est époustouflant!! Then Antoine arrived to put the finishing touches to the generator, install the 13 amp fuse and fix a few of the switches. He did all that and then I did a great thing - I boiled the kettle and made coffee! Best coffee I ever tasted. Mind you the kettle took AGES because the generator just isn't able to handle a 2000W appliance but it struggles manfully.

Then things got even better. John Simpson, the British Council guy, rang me and said they did want me to come and work but not necessarily as a teacher. He has to go back to Kigali so he needs someone to keep an eye on the whole course, troubleshoot generally, help organise the assessments, create an additional eighth class if extra students turn up, fill in for absent teachers and so on. Just like my old job - brilliant. So I will be moving to Butare for two weeks, working properly every day and doing something I know I can do - that'll be nice. Otherwise it would have been three weeks of terminal boredom trying to come up with things to do here. Luckily Antoine was still here so I got him to explain to Alexandré what was happening so he wouldn't wonder where I had disappeared off to!!

The rest of the day was spent reading, listening to music, doing a little more French, emailing my doctor in Ireland for advice about my leg (very prompt reply, thanks Paul!) and trying to text Amy about the Butare thing but my calls wouldn't go through (Alfred: idiot had no credit, didn't think to check that obvious answer until that night!). Turned on the generator later and recharged my laptop (takes about 70 minutes to fully charge it and then it's good for about 2 hours) and then made a pot of tea!!! Enoch called in to borrow my Barack Obama book to read while I am away and I gave him my most recent Economist as well.

I suspect Alexandré's reservations about the generator are to do with the noise. It is VERY loud and you have to leave the door of the storeroom open so the fumes don't build up. I think he was afraid that I would have it on all the time or late at night (he knows I stay up much later than him) but I think he is OK now and it means he can recharge his own phone as well!!!

So dinner was my last tin of tuna and all but two slices of bread (those are for breakfast tomorrow) and then it's off to the delights of Butare (once I have collected my laundry which had better be ready or I am in real trouble for workclothes!). Manchester derby kicks off 1530 my time followed by Chelsea-Arsenal - oh yeah! Gonna be two good days in a row!



Keep those comments and emails coming - it is really nice to hear from people who are reading this (even just so I know someone is!!). You can comment at the bottom of each blog or email me at roheithir@gmail.com