I apologize to those of you who have been checking out the blog over the last few days. I have been having some major difficulty getting on line lately. The server here in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda is often down, and even when it’s up I've been dealing with hardware problems. Hopefully things will be smoother from here on out.
So today was my 4th full day in the country and I am having a wonderful time. The temperature is very mild and even though it’s rainy season it only rains once a day for a short time. It does come down pretty hard though. So far I've only been into the city one time and it was pretty crazy. I really don't think I'll be able to describe it and I didn’t have my camera with me. Rwanda is the most densely populated country in Africa and Kigali is its largest city so as you may be able to imagine the people are everywhere. There are no sidewalks so everyone walks in the roads...and believe me, the pedestrian does not have the right of way! Land Cruisers rule the roads here in Africa.
First thing Thursday morning I received a tour of the school and teacher training facility as well as the on going construction. There is a volunteer project manager on site as well as a full time construction crew (local guys) so I really won't be involved in the new construction. What I will be doing is building cabinets and shelves for the existing classrooms as well as the new classrooms still under construction. The nearby church has a sweet little wood shop in the basement level that I will be using for the task. I actually started work on Friday and I can't wait to pick it up again on Monday.
The schools grounds are located on the side of a hill on the outskirts of Kigali. The fact is that almost everything in Rwanda is on the side of a hill. This country is known as the land of a thousand hills. Anyway, the operating primary school is located at the lower portion of the property while the staff and guest housing is located at the top. I've been provided a room in the guest house that is very comfortable. I have an operating kitchen in which I can prepare my own meals as well as a western style bathroom (with hot water) that I share with other guests. Its great...very nice. One thing that I've found I do enjoy is sitting on the deck in the morning drinking tea and looking out into the valley beyond. Because of the shape of the valley I'm able to hear all kinds of sounds as people prepare for the day. I think what’s neat about it is that its all sounds of people...not cars or horns or planes...just the sound of people living their lives.
There are some really neat people working on this project too...everyone has an interesting story. Jeff and his wife run Wellspring here in Rwanda...there are others who do their part back in Canada. I know Jeff through my time at Trinity Western University. Ian and his wife have committed two years in Rwanda to project manage the ongoing construction. I just met Ian, but he and Jeff met when they both attended Rift Valley Academy in Kenya growing up. I have enjoyed getting to know these guys and their wives and we seem to all get along very well. We have had dinners together, we play board games at night, and the last three days we have had the most fun playing volleyball on a makeshift sand court.
Anyway, I'll attach a few pictures below so you can see for your selves what I'm talking about. I'm sure the quality of my pictures will improve as I get out into the culture a little bit more.
So today was my 4th full day in the country and I am having a wonderful time. The temperature is very mild and even though it’s rainy season it only rains once a day for a short time. It does come down pretty hard though. So far I've only been into the city one time and it was pretty crazy. I really don't think I'll be able to describe it and I didn’t have my camera with me. Rwanda is the most densely populated country in Africa and Kigali is its largest city so as you may be able to imagine the people are everywhere. There are no sidewalks so everyone walks in the roads...and believe me, the pedestrian does not have the right of way! Land Cruisers rule the roads here in Africa.
First thing Thursday morning I received a tour of the school and teacher training facility as well as the on going construction. There is a volunteer project manager on site as well as a full time construction crew (local guys) so I really won't be involved in the new construction. What I will be doing is building cabinets and shelves for the existing classrooms as well as the new classrooms still under construction. The nearby church has a sweet little wood shop in the basement level that I will be using for the task. I actually started work on Friday and I can't wait to pick it up again on Monday.
The schools grounds are located on the side of a hill on the outskirts of Kigali. The fact is that almost everything in Rwanda is on the side of a hill. This country is known as the land of a thousand hills. Anyway, the operating primary school is located at the lower portion of the property while the staff and guest housing is located at the top. I've been provided a room in the guest house that is very comfortable. I have an operating kitchen in which I can prepare my own meals as well as a western style bathroom (with hot water) that I share with other guests. Its great...very nice. One thing that I've found I do enjoy is sitting on the deck in the morning drinking tea and looking out into the valley beyond. Because of the shape of the valley I'm able to hear all kinds of sounds as people prepare for the day. I think what’s neat about it is that its all sounds of people...not cars or horns or planes...just the sound of people living their lives.
There are some really neat people working on this project too...everyone has an interesting story. Jeff and his wife run Wellspring here in Rwanda...there are others who do their part back in Canada. I know Jeff through my time at Trinity Western University. Ian and his wife have committed two years in Rwanda to project manage the ongoing construction. I just met Ian, but he and Jeff met when they both attended Rift Valley Academy in Kenya growing up. I have enjoyed getting to know these guys and their wives and we seem to all get along very well. We have had dinners together, we play board games at night, and the last three days we have had the most fun playing volleyball on a makeshift sand court.
Anyway, I'll attach a few pictures below so you can see for your selves what I'm talking about. I'm sure the quality of my pictures will improve as I get out into the culture a little bit more.
primary school near the bottom of the valley
view of valley from the porch
the wood shop where I'll be building stuff
my bed
