How is this for cashing in on a trend? Must have got the idea from the neighbour!!
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.
THURSDAY
Strange day. Emile from MINEDUC turned up in the office even though the school visits were supposed to be Wednesday and Friday (or so Alexis had told me). I had NOT dressed appropriately for visiting school and was buried deep in my work so I figured I’d head out with them the following day instead (Alfred: big mistake, as some of you may be sensing already). Day was pretty ordinary, English class had a big crowd for once – trying to get their heads around how English can use the present tense to express the future (‘I am going to see my friends tomorrow’ and so on). Cooked a big curry for dinner, partly to use up the carrots and other vegetables as I am off tomorrow for the weekend – those split peas and lentils were a good investment! Carrots, onions, peppers, potatoes, yellow split peas, mild madras curry powder, chilli powder, garlic salt, salt and pepper – very tasty though I should have cooked the split peas for a little longer!
(Alfred: he left out the best part of the day, partly because he is a bit embarrassed! Given that he was going away on Friday and had been a lazy sod all week and had done no laundry, he realised he better do a blitz that afternoon. As he left the house he called over to Alexandré ‘Ndashaka amazi’ – I need water and indicated his shirt. Alexandré nodded and off Ruairí went. When he got home (and he swears this was unintentional) Alexandré has misunderstood the instructions and had washed everything! An enormous pile of laundry, including sheets, and all spotless. Since he is obviously good at this (and somehow Ruairí has convinced himself without a shred of supporting evidence that he ENJOYS doing it, he intends letting him do the laundry from now on! Any chance he might pay him a bit more? He is considering it!)
FRIDAY
One of those days! Everyone has them in Rwanda from time to time (sometimes a lot more frequently!) but this one was pretty good. As I was going to visit schools I got up especially early, put on my good suit, packed my camera (VSO Ireland are setting up their own website and, as well as asking me to write a piece on ‘A Day in the Life of a Volunteer’ in both English and Irish, had asked for a few photos of me working) and arrived at work just before seven. The girl said that she didn’t have the key to the office and I would have to wait until the Director arrived. And so I waited. And waited. At 0745 I fired off texts to Alexis and Francois asking what was going on. No answer. By nine I figured out there was something up and managed to get Alexis on the phone. He told me a) the visits had been Wednesday and Thursday (another last-minute change) b) Francois had gone off for the day and accidentally taken the only key to the office with him c) He was in the District Office and if I wanted to get some work done, the best thing was to wander over and see if I could find a home anywhere.
So over I went and camped in the big hall as usual, did some statistics, ate the rest of the curry for lunch and then went back for my English class. Amy was coming down on her motorbike from Kigeme (about an hour to an hour and a half) and figured on picking me up around four to head back up. Anyway, no one but no one was in the mood for an English class. Irène did turn up, Bellancille came and told me she was up to her ears for an important meeting the next day, Françoise was – as ever – glad of any opportunity not to come and Augustin and Odette were ensconced in her office far more interested in each other than in anything I might have to offer. Amy had actually turned up at this stage so I decided to hell with it and called it off (with special words of thanks to Irène for turning up – maybe she thinks I am more likely to marry her if she is punctual and you should have seen the glare she gave Amy when she arrived!).
We stopped by my house so Amy could see it and have a quick Cup-A-Soup (thank you Jennifer and Mammy and Máirín) and off we headed, around 1630 or so. Got through Butare and headed west for Gikongoro. After about 10k or so the bike began to feel a bit wobbly – puncture!! So I rang my moto driver Déo who was in Butare. He grabbed a mechanic and put him on the pillion and drove up to us. When the mechanic removed the tube, it was clear there was no way of repairing it, so Déo and I drove down to Butare to buy a new one. First shop was closed, the second shop was being minded by the owner’s wife who refused to sell us anything until he returned as she didn’t know what anything cost. Eventually we found a shop, got the tune and headed back. By the time the mechanic replaced the tube and reassembled the rear wheel it was getting quite dark! But thank God Déo was around (Alfred: Geddit?! Déo Gratias is his name? Subtle one that, Ruairí) or I’m not sure what we would have done!
So off we went and it was soon pitch black. Then the fog descended. Then it became clear the headlights weren’t working properly and a) would only work at all on full beams which bounced right back off the fog at us and b) every time Amy used the rear brake the headlight dimmed or went out. Also, in Rwanda, at night people walk in the middle of the road to make sure they don’t fall into the ditches (Alfred: and of course, as for Kigali ... ah well, never mind, spilt milk and all that). It was pretty hair-raising and all I had to do was sit on the back while Amy did all the hard work. Luckily, even though she hasn’t been driving a bike for long, she is a born motorcyclist and it didn’t even faze her when two policemen suddenly appeared out of the gloom and stopped us in Gikongoro!
We got to her place eventually, bought beer and stowed the bike away in the Diocesan Office and then ate and kind of collapsed! Claudine had left some of her fabulous soup and that, the beers and a quick vegetable stir-fry Amy threw together mended our tattered nerves.
SATURDAY
Saturday was a really really great day, the most positive contrast imaginable to Friday morning! We got up reasonably early, had scrambled eggs on toast (!) for breakfast and then got a bus to Butare – only had to wait a few minutes. The bus wasn’t too full at first but then stopped to pick up an entire wedding party of eleven, meaning there were 24 on the bus which is the biggest number I have ever seen. The convoyer (Alfred: think old-fashioned conductor on a Dublin bus) made a few people get off so the bridesmaids had good seats and didn’t ruin their dresses and then crammed (and I mean crammed) everyone back on. We called down to the Motel Ineza (which has been done up even more!) and checked Amy in. Meanwhile I had gone to the Post Office and found a whole PILE of stuff! My mother had sent me loads more seeds (I don’t know how much land she thinks I have: I think I’ll have to rent part of Tiga’s garden in Butare) – coriander, carrots, six kinds of peppers, parsley and I forget what else (Alfred: just so you know, he is writing this in the District Office after his English class – he’s not quite so lazy as to be unable to get up and walk the metre or so to the dresser!). There were a load of Economists and Guardian Weeklys and a book from my friend Éamon in Ireland, Half a Yellow Sun which I have been dying to read for ages (her first book Purple Hibiscus was absolutely stunning!) as well as loads of French newspaper cuttings on various Rwanda-related themes. Bonanza!
Then off to the market where Amy bought vegetables and I bought some garlic and then to the Hotel Faucon to watch Chelsea beat Aston Villa. Andy joined us for the match as did Hayley who was coming to Butare for the weekend with Amy and Heloise. Then Tiga turned up also and Tiga and Andy and I ended up getting a lift back to Gikongoro with South African John, the guy who was throwing the party and had come down to Butare to buy stuff.
I met John a few weeks ago at Tiga’s birthday party. He is an engineer who is working on a dam project here since 2008 (see picture of John in my blog entry with all the pictures of Tiga’s party, about two weeks ago). John lost both his arms in an electrocution accident when he was younger but that hasn’t stopped him! He has a nice big house in Gikongoro and this was a kind of house-warming (his housemate had moved out/been sacked and now he could actually invite people around again!). And he has a dog!!! A gorgeous dog called Shadow and – even better and I could hardly contain myself – she recently had six puppies which are at the aimlessly-stumbling-around-and-falling-asleep-on-your-foot/lap/face/whatever stage. Joe Walk had come over from Nyamasheke and Soraya had come from Gitarama so it was a really really nice evening. Beer and South African stew cooked in a poiki (not sure how to spell that – traditional cast iron pot on three legs just as you would have seen in any Irish cottage in the west of Ireland until recently and then poker until the wee hours. We were hoping that Tariq and Hassan from Matar were going to join us but they didn’t show (Tariq told me Sunday that they had a crowd of Americans eating in the restaurant and they didn’t finish until 2330!).
SUNDAY
Back down to Butare with Tiga and had breakfast in her place (actually it was Andy’s lunch left over from the previous day!). We had a long chat (mostly about politics which I feel I haven’t talked about in ages) and then I called Déo to head back to Gisagara.
As some of you may remember, the students in the local secondary school had written a play for me and today is when they were performing it! I arrived at 1430 and chatted to Enock while the kids set up. The big hall wasn’t available so all 700 students (or most of them at least) were crammed into a long classroom with noise levels that ... well, to be fair, they were actually quite quiet in the circumstances, even though it was hard for them to see or hear anything a lot of the time! I was sitting at a table at the front to the side of what I thought would be the acting and dancing area but, in fact, they performed everything in front of and TO me! I had brought my video camera and filmed everything but there is no way my modem can handle video uploads so here are a few stills to illustrate the afternoon's events (captures from video so some are a little blurred).
The items were as follows:
1. A welcoming speech by the Deputy Headmaster (actually now the Acting Headmaster as the previous headmaster vanished off to Spain to do an MA without telling anyone) and another speech by Innocent, the chairman of the English club in the school.
2. A dance routine by five traditional dancers
3. The first scene of ‘The Wages of Sin are Death’
4. A comedy sketch set in a Geography class
5. The second scene of ‘The Wages of Sin are Death’
6. A comedy sketch involving an amazing bird that can answer questions and dance.
7. The third scene of ‘The Wages of Sin are Death’
8. A male group singing ‘I Believe in Angels’
(Alfred: I just love the guy at the back with the invisible microphone!)
9. The final scene of ‘The Wages of Sin are Death’
10. A short play entitled ‘Life’ – a series of short sketches involving a happily-married couple, a boy who thinks his girlfriend is going to dump him, three female schoolfriends and another couple who may or may not have problems (I couldn’t make it out!).
11. A speech by me (not filmed, mercifully)
12. A final dance routine as a finale in which I was forced to join!!
(Alfred: Emmm, has anyone pondered the psychology of someone who actually posts photos like this of THEMSELVES for everyone to see? I mean, has the man no shame, no capability for embarrassment? Be thankful he couldn't upload the actual video of this ......)
The pictures will give some idea. The ‘Life’ play was maybe the most interesting – it is intended to be a work in progress and, after each performance, the students will be asked to give ideas on how they think the plot should develop. All of this was done in English only and was the first major production by the new English club that Enock has set up. They are now writing a new play which they hope to tour around other secondary schools in the district.
It was a really great afternoon and then the Deputy Headmaster, Enock and a few other teachers took me for drinks before I finally staggered off home!
The audience
My friend Enock who started the club.
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