Tracking Gorillas

In April all of the parents at our school decided to give Michelle and I a gift certificate to go and see the gorillas. This was a pretty unexpected surprise. Even though all of the guide books say that anyone coming to Rwanda shouldn't leave without seeing the gorillas, I hadn't expected to see them because it's pretty expensive.

Michelle and I booked our trip for May 17, during the time my sister was visiting so that she could come with us. We left for the park at 4:30 in the morning and arrived at the tourist office before 7:00AM. We met our guide and the four people we'd be trekking with. They were all Rwandans, but three had been living in the states for many years and were just visiting family here in Rwanda.

It took us about 3 1/2 hours to reach the gorillas (mostly hiking up hill). We went to see the Kwitonda family which has 16 members. We were allowed to stay for an hour during which time we watched them eat, play, climb trees, pound their chests, etc. Gorillas are pretty amazing creatures. Here are a few pictures that I took of the them:

Saturday Concert

On Saturday, March 1, we all went to the first Enric Sifa concert here in Rwanda. (You may remember that Enric is the young man I've been tutoring.) The concert was held at a local church and there were several hundred people there. It was great to see him take these first steps and to hear some of the music that he's been working on. Now he is off for a tour in the United States and I'll have a few more hours each week to fill with things other than teaching.

Joining the Choir

At one of our team meetings I mentioned that I'd like more opportunities to interact with Rwandans and practice my Kinyarwanda. The Thomases suggested that I might enjoy participating in the choir. At first I was a little unsure of the idea. Even though I enjoy singing, singing in Kinyarwanda (possibly in front of the whole church) was a bit daunting. However, I decided to give it a try and showed up at my first practice. I had hoped to just observe, but that's not how guests are treated here. I was introduced and then had to go up front and give a little speech. They invited me to come to all of their practices and my name was entered in the roll book. Since then I've been trying to memorize songs (I've only gotten one down so far) and attending as many practices as I can. They haven't asked me to sing with them on Sunday yet, for which I'm very thankful. I think it may be several months more before I know enough songs to attempt that. Also, I'm still getting used to being stared at during practice as people walk by the church and notice me with my white skin; I do stick out a bit. Usually there has been someone at choir practice with enough English to translate for me. However on one or two occasions there have been miscommunication or no one has been there and I've had to try and tell from tone of voice, circumstances, and body language what might be going on. It's definitely been an interesting and educational experience.

Valentine's Week

Valentine's week was pretty busy for us. Even though Valentine's Day was on Thursday, we had our class party on Wednesday, the day that the kindergarteners join us. It was fun to hand out Valentines, eat candy and cupcakes and play games.
At the beginning of February students had decided to once again put on a Valentine's banquet for their parents. During art time they created place- mats and other decorations. Here's a picture of Michelle standing by one of the well decorated tables.




On Thursday and Friday afternoon they prepared the food. Our menu was as follows:
Drinks (water or grapefruit crystal light)
Salad
Stromboli (choice of ham or sausage)
Dipping sauce
Dessert (cookies and chocolate milkshakes)

Here is a picture of the students busily at work making and decorating cookies.

The students also prepared poems and short stories about how their parents had met. Afterwards they played recorders and bells and sang several songs they'd been working on including one song in Japanese that they'd learned from a guest speaker who taught them about Korea and Japan in January. Needless to say the parents had a great time.

Earthquake in Rwanda

We had an earthquake here last Sunday. Here's some information that Michelle wrote up for our prayer partners:

You may have heard about the earthquake that took place in Rwanda today (Feb 3). It happened around Cyangugu, which is about a six-hour drive from where we are in Kigali. The news states that at least 25 people have been killed and many others, maybe up to 200 people have been hurt. We felt the aftershocks this afternoon. We are now hearing about family members of those we know here who have been hurt. We have also heard that some churches and homes have been destroyed. There are some Friends churches in the area, but we haven’t heard yet how they have been affected. Please pray with us for the people in Rwanda who are dealing with loss and pain at this time

Celebrations

In January I was able to be part of three different celebrations. The first one was the Thomas's celebration of 10 years of ministry in Rwanda. On a Monday night we gathered with 40 - 50 friends and church leaders to celebrate the work they've accomplished since they first came in 1996. We watched videos they've made for furloughs in the states, heard people share what they've learned from the Thomases, and enjoyed a meal together.

The next celebration was an engagement party for a Rwandan couple. I didn't personally know the family, but they invited all of us "muzungus" (white people) to come to the ceremony. We arrived at 11:00 and were told that it would last until 1:00. However, the grooms family was about an hour late so it didn't end until about 3:00. There was also some misunderstanding over how the ceremony should go. The grooms family was from a more rural area and the bride's family was from Kigali. Traditionally there are four ceremonies in the wedding process, but in more urban settings the first two (gaining permission to get a bride from the family and formally asking for the specific bride) are combined into one. This led to some confusion and we never did get to see the bride. However, after the ceremony it's a tradition for them to talk over what went wrong and how it might be avoided the next time. It was interesting to hear them talk through the miscommunication so that everyone could understand what had happened and learn from it.

The third celebration was Alandra's sixth birthday. We celebrated by having one of her favorite meals, spaghetti, and chocolate cake. She got some amazing princess dresses to dress up in and some other great presents. We ended the evening with a great game of Twister. The next day we had a small party at the end of the school day and all the students gave her cards and birthday compliments. Birthdays are such fun.

So far 2008 is off to a great beginning. I look forward to seeing what else I get to celebrate this year.

First Week Back at School

Michelle and Brad arrived back from Kansas last Saturday (January 12). Chelsea Roberts also came with them to do a three month internship. School started up on the 15th, Tuesday, and Michelle did a great job getting over jet lag in time to get back to teaching.

Tuesday afternoon we had our first guest speaker of the year. Barbara Bennett is the mother of two of our students, and she spent six years in Japan and three in Korea. She shared with the students a little about what it was like to live there, taught us some about the writing systems of the two countries, and did a cooking demonstration of a type of pancake that has quite a bit of cabbage in it and can be topped with something like barbeque sauce.

Next week we will be incorporating two new students into the school one day a week. Cooper and Nissa, two of the younger Sagers, have been doing kindergarten at home with their mom, but starting next week Philip Cox will take over 3rd grade one day a week so that Michelle can work with Cooper, Nissa, and Alandra. We're all excited about welcoming them to school.

Tutoring

One of the things that helps to keep me busy, even when school is not is session, is tutoring. Since last August I've been tutoring Enric, a young Rwandan man, who is taking American high school courses on line. Sometimes it's a stretch to try to remember how to do Algebra. I'm also learning that writing essays is a much more difficult process when your first language isn't English. However, it's fun to work with someone who has such an enthusiasm for learning.

Enric is a very talented musician who has just released his first solo CD and is planning to do some concerts in the states (Oregon, Idaho, and Washington) later this year. To view his video made here in Rwanda or to hear some songs in Kinyarwanda, check out his web site at enricsifa.com

Here is some information about him from one of his web sites:
Rwandan born Eric Nshimiyumuremyi (now Enric Sifa) was orphaned by the tragic events of the 1994 genocide and its devastating impact to his country. At age nine he began to live on the streets, trying to find any way to survive. He struggled daily to get food and shelter, suffering from loneliness, abuse and hunger. On a Saturday night in 2000, Enric was severely beaten in a nightclub. That night as he lay awake in pain, he felt so miserable because he had no one to help treat his wounds. He heard a voice telling him not to return to that life. The next Sunday morning he wandered into a church. In that church, he found his passion again in music. This music was free, and the people treated him well. Enric's heart began to feel hope for the first time so he gave his heart to God. At 14 years old Enric began writing music. Today at the age of 20, Enric has composed over 60 songs in both the Kinyarwanda and English language. He has appeared on Rwandan TV and radio, performed for government dignitaries, including the president of Rwanda, and toured twice in the United States with the music group, Hindurwa. Enric's dream is to travel the world and speak about how people can make the world shine by loving each other, and sing to people about God's power to change anyone from the most hopeless circumstances.

Christmas Break

Michelle and Brad both went back to Kansas for Christmas break and the Thomases and Philip (a six-month intern from Southwest Yearly Meeting) went to Lake Kivu. That left me all alone for the holidays. But, luckily, the Bennetts invited me to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with them. They had a beautiful tree and decorations up all around the house. On Christmas Eve we went to a candle lighting service with which Barb Bennett was helping. It was all in English. It was great to sing Christmas carols with 100 or so other people.




On Christmas morning Melissa and Megan were up early, excited about opening presents. It took about 2 hours to get through them all and I enjoyed opening up gifts of tennis balls (yes, I've taken up tennis since I've been here), candy, and a beautiful print of a painting done by Barb's dad. (You can see it in this picture of the Christmas tree after present opening was finished.) Barb is an excellent cook and our Christmas feast wasn't lacking a think. She even made egg nog for us on Christmas Eve.

The next day the Bennetts set out for Uganda and graciously allowed me the run of their house. I read, slept and generally had a good time. On the 27th I left with the Sheers, co-workers of the Bennets, for Lake Kivu. I stayed in the Friend's cabin at Kumbya, swam every morning and slept and read a lot. It was a very relaxing four days. Here is a picture of some fisher men on the lake.

Some of the families also staying at Kumbya had to return early due to school starting at Rift Valley Academy on the 2nd; however, after they left, we heard about the election results in Kenya and school was postponed until things are more stable there.

On New Year's Eve I stayed with the Thomases at Kibogora where we stayed up until midnight watching movies. On the first of January, I was on my way back home to Kigali. School resumes on the 15th of January and I look forward to another week of doing very little work and generally enjoying myself. Sometimes life in Africa can be so difficult. :)

Christmas Program

On the 14th of December we had our annual Christmas program. It was entitled "Christmas Around the World" and included Christmas music in different countries' styles, information about Christmas traditions around the world and a nativity reenactment. Afterwards we enjoyed cookies the students had decorated. For the program we needed a Christmas tree, so we had one of the workers cut down one of the trees on our fence line and decorated that. Here's a picture of Michelle and I in front of it.

The last week of school we had a chess tournament (Darby and Brick tied for first place) and on the last day of school we had a present exchange and watched The Polar Express.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving
This year we had a Thanksgiving presentation on Wednesday that included turkey stories, poems and more. Here is a poem that one of the students wrote and read:

Mashed Potatoes on Thanksgiving Day

By Tegan Sager

Thanksgiving comes, but once a year.

I can’t wait for potatoes to appear.

They come on a hot steaming plate.

It would be a shame if they were late.

They are marvelous to eat,

Not to salty, not to sweet.

I’d eat them with turkey,

But not beef jerky.

Eating potatoes make me feel perky.

I wish Thanksgiving came every day,

So with my mash potatoes I could play.

Don’t sit with someone in a bad mood,

Or they will make your potatoes taste like dog food.

Eating potatoes is really fun.

I can’t stop once I’ve began.

Students also sang alto and soprano parts for two Thanksgiving songs, played recorders and made treats for our Thanksgiving "feast" of cookies and various snacks.

The next day we were invited to celebrate at the Bennett's house. About 21 people were present and we all enjoyed a real Thanksgiving feast of turkey, potatoes, gravy, pie and more. Afterwards we had a fun gift exchange and some singing.