I had to travel to Kigali for 2-days of meetings and of course, it was filled with good company (meeting up with fellow VSO volunteers) and GOOD food - I have been craving Indian food for AGES - and I certainly got my fix and more! So very happy :)
As with every Kigali trip, I also visited the VSO office where I was informed that I will be moving to a new home in December some time. For a while now, there have been talks of moving me should a more suitable accommodation be found - (problems include: leaking roof = flooded house every time it rains - which is often as it is the rainy season, unpainted rooms, no curtains, electric-sockets in only 2/4 rooms…) However, I'm feeling somewhat guilty as my house is far better than many people's accommodation in my village (although certainly not in comparison to other volunteers in Rwanda!) I have visited my neighbours and some do not even have ceilings (there's a roof…) My TTC colleagues share rooms with each other and do not have the luxury of escaping to a space they can call their own. I at least have a HOUSE to do that and can make as much or as little noise as I see fit. I have a 2 bedroom house to myself - and I'm soon to be moving to a 4-bed - with an inside loo! Having lived with an outdoor pit for the last 2 months, I actually think they're more convenient and dare I say it, sanitary? After all, it does not matter if there is a water shortage as I do not have to do any flushing…(too much info. perhaps?) - I do not need to spend money on bleach or other toilet accessories as I have no bowl to clean…still, I do get very excited about flushing toilets when I come across them!
So that's my new house…(if negotiations do not fall through)
And I finally took some photos of Cyahinda Centre…
The man on the right with the red coat is my night-watchman. This photo was taken at around 5am when I was waiting for my bus to Butare. My watchman carried my rucksack to the centre for me...
This is the road to my house - the building on the right is the main general shop/store. There's also a mini-bakery/cafe in there too…and that is 'The Centre.'
Still haven't quite configured the settings on my point-and-shoot to capture sunrise - I miss my DSLR!
I've become quite attached to my house and village. One of my concerns about moving to a bigger home is that VSO might want to place another volunteer in Cyahinda and therefore I will have to house-share. I know it has its perks but I'm quite used to living alone and much prefer it - but we'll cross that hurdle if/when it comes. Before I came to Rwanda I was actually expecting to be sharing with another and I got quite used to the idea (Catrin - it can still happen!) But then a couple of weeks before departure, I was told that it was just me - what an emotional roller coaster that week was. (Although I'm sure it was far more for Catrin!)
However, according to colleagues who I've discussed this with, they do not want another volunteer because they think I would become less sociable.
'May is enough here, we do not need anyone else.'
That was the response I received from one of my colleagues. It made me feel warm and fuzzy inside - I've become part of the community (or at least the TTC community) and who knows, there may be truth in their thoughts about me becoming more insular should another volunteer come. In all honesty, I'm not particularly adventurous here and my attempts at learning Kinyarwanda are poor at best but evidently whatever efforts I have made out here have been noted and appreciated. I might have a job to do as a methodology and resources advisor - but the biggest job for me has been/is to become integrated into society here - to build relationships and develop trust within the community. It's happening - a few days ago, I was returning home from work, greeting people as I walked through the centre and shaking the hands of the kids that call out, 'Maaaaaayyyyy' through their bamboo fences - as I walked past, I heard one of the adults ask 'yitwa nde?' (what's her name?) to their child, after which I heard the usual - 'Mary? Em-my? Mary?…eee…Mayeee' How can my name be so difficult to get? I guess I should be thankful I'm no longer 'muzungu.'
So small steps - progress is being made…
No comments:
Post a Comment