Taking tonight as something of a breather - bought some bread and plan to borrow some peanut butter from David so I don't have to head out again tonight for food. Feels good to just hang out around the guesthouse, because we've been up to a lot lately.
So far, what I've enjoyed the most has been Thursday's work at the secondary school. There's a serious need for people to teach English to secondary schools - especially the poorly funded ones. The government decided three months ago that all schools would be required to "phase in" teaching of English. They're grappling to do so (the vast majority of the teachers aren't fluent), although this year the only level that is required to teach purely in English is level one of primary school. Anyway, each of the volunteers who headed out there on Thursday were guided to classes in our respective major areas, to teach short units in English. I taught English composition to my class, a class of about 40 kids around the age of thirteen. I strained to remember the five-paragraph essay format, and we did a few sample compositions - one on the United States (because they wanted to hear about the US from me,) and another on HIV/AIDS. I was the subject of laughter a few times - once when I loaded my red polo with chalk dust from my phrenetic board-writing, once when I dropped my one piece of chalk on the ground, and once when I kept teaching, not knowing that it was 5:00 - end of classes for the day. The kids were so helpful, so curious, and lots of fun. Many of them travel to the school three hours by bus to attend school, and as a result, many spend the night there each night. Looking forward to going back. The next three hours we helped some teachers with their English skills - a class which quickly devolved into a discussion of differing education systems between Rwanda and the States. More great people. A few people from our group will be going every night while we're in Kigali to work with the teachers during the evenings. Absolutely beautiful scenery around the school. It's on top of one of the 'hills' about 20 minutes outside Kigali.
Saturday we got up early and participated in Umuganda - a day in which the Rwandan government requires all citizens to participate in some kind of community-based service. We just walked down the road to see about 20-30 people working on clearing one of the clay roads. A couple of us made our best attempts to help, and our 'neighbors' were happy to have our help, though I quickly learned th value of staying out of the way when others know how to to a job better than I do. I spent most of the time gathering the cleared grass and weeds and moving it away from the street. One of the neighbors - an English teacher named Fontain - translated for us during what was essentially a town hall meeting that immediately followed the service project. It was interesting to see the sort of hybrid community-organization/local government that influences people in their daily lives, regulating things like keeping emergency numbers nearby, keeping animals in appropriate pens, and working together to ensure that the city is beautiful.
Friday is field trip day. Last week was to the memorial sites of Nyamata and Ntarama, churches where Tutsis fled to during the 1994 genocide for protection, before 10,000 and 5,000 were killed in the massacres at each, respectively. Remnants from the killings are still very evident. There isn't a lot that I can say to communicate the feeling one gets at places like those. One thing that stuck out in my mind - of many - was just the eerie quiet of Ntarama. The statistics and timelines we study are one thing, but the images and subtle (and not-so-subtle) remnants from what happened there are certainly another. I really can't do the place justice. No one can.
A lighter note. My favorite past-time remains exploring the city. Yesterday, we were able to spend some time in Nyarirambo - a burough of sorts in Kigali - where we found some DVD shops and a movie theater, but no ice cream, which we've all been craving for a few weeks now. We've figured out the mini-bus system, after one or two trips out of the way to the Nbaryugogo bus station. Kigali continues to expand as we discover more and more of it, and I'm still loving the city.
Another fun thing from this week was Wednesday night's Champions League Final match. We headed up to Amahoro Volleyball Stadium to watch the broadcast of the European Championship on the big screen with 4,000 (mostly Manchester United supporting) soccer fans. An unplanned break from the action occurred when pouring rain broke the signal. Nonetheless, the fans didn't yell and scream and throw things (like I'm afraid they might in the States). In fact, when word reached those with radio headphones on that Lionel Messi had scored the game's clinching goal, a dull roar exploded from the crowd (some of disapproval, some in delight to hear that Man U was going down). The signal came back, and I'm now aware (thanks to replay) that Lio's goal was phenomenal. Props to Barcelona for ensuring that I don't have to watch Cristiano Ronaldo lifting the Champions League Trophy for another year.
Meeting with a group that is to present a proposal to reform the UN's protocol for responding to genocide for class tomorrow. Not a small task, but one that's much easier given the parameters that the "international community" isn't mired in the mess of bureaucracy and politics that it often finds itself. Then an early night to bed probably. Looking forward to that.
