The Very Best of Friends
on Blog From Beyond (Rwanda), 19/Aug/2009 15:24, 34 days ago
Well, given the amount of complaining I've been doing in my last few posts, it would be easy to get the impression that I'm not in a good mood. Actually, the opposite. As I was explaining to a friend here, being British I was born complaining and we've made it into something of an art form ;) Whereas the actions which lead to a complaint are frustrating and upsetting, complaining itself is cathartic and, on occasions, even enjoyable.I am actually extremely happy to be back in Rwanda. I've had an absolutely lovely time the past few days.It began at the airport. The guy at customs was absolutely lovely and smiley, welcomed me back in Kinya. Bumped into my Programme Manager who was also returning from holiday, then got a wonderful taxi driver called Better, who turned out to be a relative of one of the VSO staff. He was the nicest guy in the world and so kind. He charged me 7,000 to get all the way home when other taxis at the airport charge 5,000 just to get to Chez Lando up the road! I think asking in Kinya helped smooth the way - a little language goes a long way. But it was excellent of him to charge such a fair price straight off.We had a great chat on the way, discussing the weather, what's going on in the world, this that and everything. If anyone's looking for a reliable English-speaking taxi driver in Rwanda, give him a call: 07885 68860 - he really is brilliant.I slept like a log Saturday night and on Sunday I went for lunch at Sola Luna with Giudi, Cathryn and Martine - we used up the entire afternoon eating pizza and chatting. It was wonderful, all my favourite people together, laughing and having a good time. Really was the nicest welcome-back I could have wished for :)Just getting back into the swing of things at the moment. Finalising funding for teacher training of Sign Language tutors, starting the first trial of the Foundation curriculum I wrote before I left. Really exciting times.Some officials from VSO London and East Africa are visiting the Deaf Association office tomorrow and on Friday there's a VSO Disability Working Group with Cris from MINALOC coming to talk about the Social Protection Policy and how it links to Disability, he's a really nice guy and it's always a pleasure to see him.All good stuff.I've only got about eight weeks to go - two months - before my placement's up. Thus far the job scene has been fairly non-forthcoming so I've re-applied to VSO. Would absolutely love to take a short-term contract in Mongolia on Secure Livelihoods.Essentially, being back taught me a few things. Firstly, it's the highest unemployment since 1995 and I don't cope well on the dole. Last time I tried I felt so demoralised I burst into tears and left.So, thinking about it logically it makes far more sense to take another placement. This will allow me to expand my CV outside of the Disability Sector and into income generation and sustainable income, which is what really interests me, and also get a better standard of living than I would trying to survive off£70 a month in the UK.When the job market finally does take off again, at least I'll be able to show that I've been working in a relevant field whilst at the same time doing a bit more travelling, which is always nice.So, assuming no brilliant, well paid and interesting jobs suddenly fall out of the sky, that seems to be the direction I'm leaning in.In other news, my house smells really bad. My worst nightmares have been realised - haven't got any running water. House isn't set-up for that so I'm extremely economical with my jerry cans - essentially water only goes down the toilet after I've bathed in it, washed my hair and several pairs of undies. The water in one of the toilets has completely evaporated in my absence, leaving a foul-smelling gunk at the bottom which occasionally wafts through the thin walls. There was no water when I left for the UK either so the toilets weren't fully flushed. Nice.Ho hum. Such is life.I'm feeling extremely relaxed, moreso than I was in the UK actually - think because it's my home turf, my house, my work - everything's familiar. Plus I'm feeling extremely laid-back with the added insight that actually, the UK can be just as rude and frustrating as any other country on earth. Think about it, over the past two years I've had a swipe at Electrogaz and MTN. In the past month of being in the UK I've had a swipe at British Airways, Co-op bank and London Transport.Still, the food, wine, running water and lack of 'mzungu' does make up for quite a bit.Then again, in Rwanda, the pace of life, friends and motos make up for a lot too.It really was wonderful being on a moto again - I do love those.And I have to say, I reckon people in the UK look at each other just as much. I felt a bit out-of-place a few times. Here you know you're different and people stare directly at you, but in the UK - because it's so rude to stare - people kind of flick sideways glances at you a lot. Anyone else noticed that? I never did before. Maybe I'm paranoid.Lies sent me a link shortly after I got there regardingRe-Entry Syndromeexperienced by overseas aid workers going back to their native countries. Also called 'reverse culture shock'. I have to say, I definitely noted a couple of symptoms.Initial feeling of euphoria. Which I didn't realise I was feeling until it suddenly wore off.Frustration and lack of desire to try and communicate to people because of a perceived lack of interest.Frustration with the amount of hedonism going on - excuse meMaybelline, but what the f*ck is 'comfortable lipstick'!? When the hell did you ever wear an uncomfortable lipstick? (dumb advert on TV)Thankfully I was surrounded by lovely friends like Graeme and Cassie, and Dad and Marilyn visited last year so were dead chilled-out about it. Jo and Pierre knew exactly what I was feeling, both having been through it.It wasn't too pronounced and actually I have quite a good ability to switch off and adapt to where I am. Amanda, Martine and Cathryn had all prepped me really well on what to expect before I left so it wasn't a complete surprise.But I do feel good being back, even if it is only to wind-down to leaving again. It's made me doubly sure I don't want to go back to the UK yet. I'm just not that in love with it right now. Which is funny, because if I hadn't been born there I probably wouldn't have had all the opportunities that've lead to me being able to travel so freely. So acknowledged, there are many wonderful things about it. But hopefully it'll always be there so I might as well have some adventures in the meantime.In news, news. Saw this today. What a lovely step in the right direction. Rwanda Police Authority should be really proud of themselves:Rwanda: Police to Enhance Citizen Participation: Rwanda National Police have opened their doors for the public to both criticise and compliment the force where necessary in a new effort to enhance service delivery.Disclaimer: all views written on this blog are my own and are not necessarily representative of VSO.