No Teachers? Well, very few


This has been a trying week for me.  As I have mentioned in previous posts, I serve in a boarding school where prospective primary and secondary teachers are being trained.  There are over 400 kids (Year 1, Year 2, and Year 3) at the school, and I live in the apartment that is adjacent to the girls' dorm.  There are three terms during the school year and we are coming to the end of the first in a couple of weeks.  I have yet to meet the Year 3 students as they have been doing their practicum at schools throughout Rwanda.




This past week all of the teachers were assigned a number of Year 3 students to observe.  This meant that none of them were in school.  There are still about five student teachers on campus, but for the most part, other than a class here and there, they just sit in the staff room streaming music and talking loudly in Kinyarwanda.  Hence no substitutes and kids left alone in classes. Interestingly, some of the teachers left assignments and the “class monitors” would work through the assignments.  But for other classes, it was bedlam.  And trying to teach in a classroom with no structure going on around was nearly impossible for me.  I tried, but it truly wasn’t worth the effort for most of the classes.  I have a couple of dynamic classes and I had no trouble spending time teaching English to them, but with absolutely no other teacher around, I was a bit of an anomaly.  

Water continues to be a struggle.  From what I am told over and over again, the tank outside my living space is supposed to be fed with rainwater but despite two very heavy rains, there is no water in the tank. Or at least there is no faucet that allows for it to flow out.  There are other tanks that are supplied with water from the city/county???, but recently they have been empty.  There is a HUGE tank right outside my window and I have heard the water being fed to it through a pipe, yet I have no idea where that water goes.  Funny that it is right outside my window and I cannot access its contents.  I am bewildered about the whole H2O infrastructure here and I cannot get anyone to clarify things for me.  So, I live bucket-to-bucket, if, of course, I can find a source to fill the bucket.




I have been overly preoccupied with following the situation of COVID-19 because of my living situation.  If one of the more than 200 girls gets it, my chances of contracting it are quite high.  Should I be worried?  I don’t know.  Peace Corps assures me that I will have everything I need to be safe and healthy.  And I would not be here now if I hadn’t been through a battery of medical tests ensuring that I do not have any preexisting conditions.  What I find amazing is that to date,  there are very few cases in Subsaharan Africa, especially since there are so very many Chinese building so much of the infrastructure here.  Keeping fingers crossed.



On a more exciting note, I have been invited to a wedding this weekend.  It will be my first, and perhaps only, wedding experience here in Rwanda.  I have no idea what to wear nor what to do, but I am definitely going.  Updates to follow...

"The content of this website is mine alone and does not necessarily reflect the views of the U. S. Government, the Peace Corps, nor the Rwandan Government."

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

My House at TTC

Image
As promised, here is brief glimpse at my living conditions at the Teacher Training College in Kabarore, Rwanda. Please note that when the Peace Corps staff member dropped me off here, he “oo’d” and “ah’d” claiming that I had one of the nicest spaces of any Peace Corps Volunteer here in Rwanda. The dorm is new as of last year and I am the first to live in this space. Trust me, I am grateful. My apartment is situated at one end of a dormitory. There are two separate “apartments” on each end of the girls’ dormitory with a large room in between where the girls live. Surprisingly, I hear very little through the walls, but given the sports complex (basketball court, volleyball court, and soccer field) is right outside my front door and the girls shower, lavatory and washing area are right outside my back door, there is plenty of commotion when school is not in session and on weekends. I am grateful that I have a fan and earplugs to tune things out. The students here are very
Read more

Teacher Training College at TTC

Image
It has been exactly one week since I have been at my site in Kabarore, Rwanda.  It is in the Eastern part of the country near the Akagera National Park.  I am living on the campus of a high school boarding school which was not really what I had envisioned, but I am making the most of it.  The school has provided me with a very spacious house on campus and I spend most of my time in one little room in the middle.  There is a basketball court right outside my front door and much activity at the back of the house so I just stay in the middle. I have just finished my very first week teaching at the school.  It has been a bit confusing as the teachers expected me to "teach" and I had no idea of the curriculum nor the style of teaching.  They are so very kind and understanding that we have spent the week organizing the material so that we "co-teach" in an effective manner.  I am quite exhausted at the end of the day since the day begins at 7:20 AM and ends at 5:00 PM. 
Read more

Heroes Day

Image
Last Saturday, the nation of Rwanda celebrated Heroes Day.  If you read the history of the nation of Rwanda, you will note that there have been a number of strifes over the years.  Hence there are many heroes to be recognized.  This day commemorates the many Rwandans who have served others and most importantly have lost their lives for the sake of others. My Principal, Joseph, invited me to join the community and although I was not required to do so, I wanted to be a part of the festivities. Little did I know that the festivities included being awakened at 5:30 in the AM by the 400 students for "sports".  The basketball court is right outside my front door so there was no way that I could not hear them.  I decided to join in since I already had my yoga clothes on.  In fact, it was a series of stretches very similar to those which I practice every morning.  It was a great workout for me...and for them. At 10 AM, the community gathered for a celebration that la
Read more