You'll never walk alone
on Rose Hardman (Rwanda), 17/Sep/2010 19:19, 34 days ago
There was a gecko in our office today. I got very excited and tried to point it out to my colleague. He is obviously used to the sudden appearance of a gecko though as he thought I was signalling towards the window, which was banging in the wind, and closed it! I’m sure I’ll be used to them soon as well!My colleagues took me for dinner this evening to welcome me to the office. It was great to have the opportunity to speak to them when everyone was less busy and it was really nice of them to organise it. Speaking to other volunteers, it sounds like I am very lucky with the level of support I have received from my colleagues and employer.VSO have told us not to walk alone after dark, even though Rwanda is a very safe country. Unfortunately it turns dark at 6pm every evening so we are quite constrained in what we can do. I still don’t know my address (the address system is not as simple as it is in the UK) so getting a moto all the way home is difficult. Luckily my colleagues gave me a lift home after dinner so I didn’t have to worry about it this evening; however I imagine this is going to be frustrating in the future. VSO are not being overcautious however, as my colleagues also told me not to walk alone. Apparently it is because it is generally believed that Muzungus have money and so in the unlikely event that someone is robbed it is going to be the lone Muzungu!