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Dispatch #1 from Rwanda
Hello all or Bonjour I suppose I should say....
Hope this finds all of you well. It's Saturday here in Butare and I've taken the liberty of coming to school to use the computer lab here (there is a cybercafe in town but it took me an hour to send two emails the other day). So I've let myself into the lab (and a couple of students have followed...how many North American students do you know that go to school on a Saturday?) so that I could give you all the latest.
Well, it's already been week one and it really has gone quickly. I think I'm settling in quite well. Actually switched my room at the hotel yesterday and went from a dark 2-room suite to a lovely little one-room with a balconey with a glorious view over the valley below. There's a mosque a couple buildings down so I hear the muezzin calling faithful to prayer 5
times a day...reminds me of my days in the Middle East...it's actually quite comforting. So I'm very happy with my new room, tho there seem to be a few more creepy crawlies than in the previous one (those of you who know me, know I'm just a tad squeamish) o well. But I'm very happy with my new home! I've put up a couple snapshots from home and will try to get some little chairs for the balcony. There's also a pool at the hotel so that is quite nice as well, and a pool
bar.
Butare is a dusty little town (that ubiquitous red
earth that one finds all over Africa). There's one
main street with people walking on either side, many
barefoot, many with bundles on their heads, lots of
kamikaze bicycle, taxis, and then cars and trucks which
I've been told actually aim for the whiteys, or
muzungo, as we're called here, just for sport. So far
I've been fortunate and actually look forward to my
little jaunts down the road during the day. Am still
struggling with the diesel and oil fumes, but at least
I"m not retching now!! Some of the kids still grab my
arm, begging for money....I can't help but feel guilty
when I tell them no.
I live about a 10 minute walk from the university and 10
minutes the other way from the center of town. I've
found the grocery stores and yesterday did a recon
mission of the market. There's not much to choose from
at the stores, but I did manage to get some sweetish
muffin things and a whole kilo wheel of gouda (yes, I
could, and probably will, live on bread and cheese).
Thank god, there's a lot of fresh fruit here as well.
The pineapple is so juicy and sweet, the bananas are
little chubby finger bananas. The papaya drizzled with
fresh lime is fab also. Fruit and coffee has become
my breakfast of choice! I've eaten out several times
and the food has been very good. They're big on
tilapia (fish) here and we had whole (I mean eyeballs
and everything) grilled -- absolutely delicious!
Yesteerday had curry shrimp which was also good, so
am not suffering in that department.
So, school begins Monday. Not really sure what to
expect. My classes have already been changed, but
that's cool. I'll likely teach 2 courses at the
beginning of the semester then 2 at the end. In
between I'll also do some training for TV and Radio
Rwanda, apparently they've already been bugging my
contact Ines asking when I'll be in Kigali. There are
a couple other organizations I've made contact with so
we'll see what happens. For the Knight Fellows:
I'm really glad I've had this week to get
oriented without any pressing business..so as was
mentioned at orientation give yourself at least a week
to get situated. Also, learn as much language as
possible so you don't feel totally isolated. My French
is rusty, but it's definitely coming back and thank
god I've got it...it would have been a disaster to
come here with no French!
I'm also fortunate in that there are a number of
visiting faculty from around the world, so I'm not
isolated in that sense. I also have CNN in my room and
my little hand-crank shortwave radio (fellows, this is
a must) so together these keep me sane and in touch
with the outside world.
My spirits are high and I'm very excited to be having
this adventure. It's such an incredible
place, beautiful green hills with terraces and lush
vegetation, all the while belying the country's
violent history. Am still trying to understand it all
and i'm sure I will be till the day I leave.
That's it for now....
Michelle
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