BBHCS

A link to consider...

Just like I included Jake's link to the blog because it was so interesting, I thought you all might like to see what a friend of mine is writing on his blog, so have included the link here: http://pichehainsworth-inrwanada.blogspot.com/

I think you may find it especially interesting as he is someone more of you age and this will give you another prespective on spending time in Rwanda.  I hope you enjoy and I know he loves to get lots of comments on his entries so comment away.

Have a super day and let me know if the letters from your friends here in Rwanda have arrived.  By the way thank you a gain for the fundraising and I am also wondering when your last day of school is.  Have a great day!

You All Rock!!

Many, many thanks to the fabulous students at BBHCS for taking time on this past weekend to raise funds for people half a world away from you!  I am very pleased to be acquainted with young people such as yourselves who are not only interested in people in other places, but are also proactive in helping to work for equality and empowerment of others.  Your generosity inspires me to step outside of my comfort zone and to ask other to go to the blog I am maintain, read the current post on donating the price of a cup of coffee, and to make that donation.

I also am really impressed with your comments concerning education and its goals and focus.  They will indeed help to continue to inform my training here and my own practice as an educator.  I am currently in the capital city of Kigali for an education conference and will meet with students tomorrow to ask them what the current state of education in Rwanda is and what they hope it to be in the future.  I will share your ideas with them and also relay theirs to you.  Have a super day and again many thanks!

Very Exciting! 

When I arrived at this classroom in Nyagihunika I was so surprised and pleased to see your bios displayed and their letters in response finished. The teacher here is great!  He made sure the students responded to one of you personally and they would indeed like to be your pen pals.  I was looking through the letters and they are really thoughtful and well written.  I took a picture of each student and will try to figure out the best way to get both the letters and the photos to you.  I may just try sending the photos via the internet as mail is a bit tricky from here. 

I think you will find a lot of your questions answered by these students about what they like about school, but I did ask around about traditional meals in Rwanda and was told meals with millet, sorghum, or cassava are some of the most traditional, when I asked about dessert they sort of just looked at me like I had asked a silly question, telling me that desert is not part of the Rwandan diet and in fact it makes me realize that I eat very few sweets here as there just aren't any around.  Have a great day and I will try to get the letters in the post soon!



Some of your penpals



Your bios in Rwanda!

Good Questions!

As I look at your questions again I am really impressed with them.  It is fun to be asked such practical and thoughtful questions.  I have answered most of your questions, but am begging off of two as I hope to find the time to answer them more fully at a later date on the main page of the blog.  I have not answered the student questions as I plan to take a survey of the students I will visit this week.  Should be a good survey as I will visit eight different schools this week and most schools have an average of 1,300 students.  If only I really could ask them all!  Have a super day and I hope the answers are of interest to you. 



Eating with some teachers



What kind of food do you like to eat there?  To be honest there are too many nights that I eat what I often eat at home…popcorn.  It is not a traditional food by any means and I can only buy it in the capital city, but it is usually what I have the energy to “cook”.  When others are cooking for me I eat beans, potatoes, cassava, green bananas in a tomato sauce, corn, millet, cassava, spinach, or some other vegetable.  Rwandan food is very basic in general, with very little spice or added sauce.  In terms of fruit there are loads of bananas, green oranges (the first time I saw a teacher showing one to a class and teaching it as an orange I thought she had mixed it up with a lime, but no…it is an orange), limes, passion fruit, mangos, avocado, papaya, and pineapples.  In fact, I have an avocado tree in my yard, and my neighbors have a pineapple crop they just harvested.  What it difficult to get are apples or tasty citrus fruit.  



Charcoal cook stove



While I am not a good example of how people eat or cook I can tell you that because only around ten percent of the population currently have electricity most people cook on a charcoal stove (see picture) and make a lot of one pot meals.   I would say that overall rice, sweet potatoes, potatoes (what they can Irish potatoes), cassava, milk, and goat meat are the staples of the diet.

What are your biggest fears?  Good question.  While I tend not to be a person who dwells too much on what others may consider to be “scary” I did initially have a bit of apprehension to be in a place that had been so recently devastated by events that most of us can not even imagine.  I think I was worried to be witness to the pain and anguish that may still be carried over from the genocide.  Therefore, what has been especially interesting to me is the degree to which the people of Rwanda have made the effort to attempt to move on from the events of 1994 and try to heal the wounds and scars of the past, actively seeking to right wrongs and work towards a kind of reconciliation.  I think we all can learn a lot from these honest attempts to look at a hurtful and ugly past and try to move beyond it.

Will you get another dress made?  I did get another dress made and in fact got two dresses and a pair of pants made by Mama Anna.  As with the first dress it was a bit of a journey to choose the fabric, explain to Mama Anna what I wanted, and endure the fittings along with the side long glances at my designs and less than perfect model figure.  While I was really happy with the two dresses I had made, the pair of pants I had made can only be described as a complete and utter failure.  They are an absolutely beautifully made pair of ugly pants.  As my sisters and sister-in-laws pointed out pants are hard and the demise of many a “Project Runway,” contestant, and the blame is all mine as for some reason I thought that I should choose brown corduroy for my fabric…I can only blame a bit of heat exhaustion at the time for that unfashionable choice.



Local swimming hole



What is the water quality like there?  Water is interesting and something I hope to write about more at another time.  However, I will say briefly, that while my water is basically good although I still boil and filter the water I drink.  Also, while I have the rare privilege in Rwanda of having running water in my house (the bathroom sink and a shower) it is also a bit of hit or miss affair and goes out for days at a time.  Therefore, I have a bucket and a large jeri can full at all times in order to be prepared for these water outages.

 
What is the main religion? Does it affect the day to day life of the people of Rwanda? Really an excellent question!  Rwanda is predominantly Christian with I believe about five percent of the population being Muslim and a small percent holding what are called traditional religious beliefs.  Religion does indeed affect daily life here, and I am sorry to say another topic that I would like to do justice to at a later date.  I hope you don’t mind.  Ntakibazo?  (No problem: NAHkeyBAzoh)



Fabulous Crew at BBHCS



How Far Is It?   

Good work BBHCS!  The actual estimated distance from Madison, Wisconsin to Kigali, Rwanda is 7778 theoretical air miles according to timeanddate.com.  Looks like Timber and Jackson took the best guesses.  Well done.  Todd, you were a respectable third.



Kagasa, Rwanda April 25, 2011



What a lot of great questions, however, this evening I am at home busy working on a presentation for local schools on the importance of girls’ education around the world for the Global Education Action Week that begins this Sunday.  One of the most interesting websites I found while looking for more information was Girl Effect.  Check it out if you get a chance.  However, I thought I would answer at least one question and get back to the rest this weekend.  Ntakibazo?

The Weather

It seems that as you posted your guesses and questions it was snowing in Birchwood.  Wow!  Here in Nyamata at just 2 degrees south of the equator we stay at a balmy 80 degrees throughout much of the year.  The lowest temperature I have seen here is 73 degrees, while the highest was around 95 degrees.  Nyamata is known for being the lowest, hottest place in Rwanda, but by African standards I think it would be considered quite temperate.  Being this close to the equator also means that the days are just about the same length all year.  Getting light at around 6 a.m. and getting dark around 6:30 p.m.  It is currently the coolest, wettest part of the year with a nice afternoon shower most days.  People tell me that July is really hot and dusty, so I guess I have that to...look forward to?



East Glacier, Montana April 25th, 2011

To give some perspective I have attached two photos taken on the same day.  The first is of my husband fishing near our home in Montana, and the other of some students reading for International Book Week with their teacher at about 8:00 a.m. outside their classroom.  It was early morning and it was already hot, while my husband was out on the ice after skiing into the lake.  Which do you prefer? 

Well, back to work on my presentation.  Wish me luck!



Welcome BBHCS!!!

The Serengeti



 

Market day in Loshoto



Greetings Birchwood!  What an honor and a privilege it is to welcome you to your page of the Rwanda blog.  I am sorry for the delay in getting this started, but as you will see from the main page of the blog I just got back from a trip in Tanzania and am currently working on moving to another home in Nyamata.  I am looking forward to working with you and anticipate lots of good questions, input, and connections.  I would love to post a photo of your class on the blog so that folks can get a look at the wonderful students that you are.  Also let me know if you have any questions or ideas you would like to pursue.  Have a super day and I hope that spring has finally made its way, your way. 

Challenge Question: Without looking it up, how far (miles) do you think it is from Rwanda to Wisconsin?