When will I, will I be famous?
on Rose Hardman (Rwanda), 16/Sep/2010 17:22, 34 days ago
Today was my first full day at work. Work starts at 8 and my‘commute’ is a five minute walk with an absolutely stunning view. You pass people working in the fields and in the local shops and many people stare at you although when you say ‘Mwaramutse’ a huge grin materialises and the staring tends to stop. If you are fortunate enough to pass some kidson your way you will hear their screams of ‘Muzungu’ all the way down the lane whilst they wave manically with both hands (and if you wave back their excited screams become so high that I’m sure dogs in the area are howling in pain!) Their screams and excitement and constant calls of ‘Muzungu’ have led me to believe that this must be what it is like to be famous- I am very glad I am not! Crossing the main road you see overloaded trucks, people carrying a large variety of objects on their heads, other commuters, moto drivers, and school children. Once across the road you have arrivedat the YWCA and work begins!I spent today reading literature and applications to gain a better understanding of the work of YWCA. I was amazed to see that in 2008 their income was approximately£300,000 yet they have numerous projects and the work they do is fantastic. Even taking into account that things are cheaper here they really do work on a tight budget!I wandered home for lunch (imagine the first paragraph but in reverse!) A jam sandwich and a chat with Julia later and I was wandering back down the lane this time saying‘Mwiriwe’ to everyone. Work finishes at 5 and I am home for 5.05- I could get used to this!This evening some local volunteers had very kindly invited the three of us (Julia, Suzanne and I) to Hotel Splendid for dinner. Julia and I took our first moto ride there. Julia’s Kinyarwanda is great so she explained that it was our first time and could they go slowly. And they definitely did go slowly- at times I felt I could have walked faster- but that was just what I needed for my first moto ride! There were seven other volunteers at the meal. Three are volunteeringwith Food for the Hungry, and four are VSO volunteers, plus me, Suzanne and Julia. It was really nice to meet them and they have invited us to a birthday party at the weekend.It appears that I may have misunderstood what our landlord told us yesterday about the lack of running water. We have two bathrooms in our house. I have been using one which has no water in the taps and toilet but does have cold water in the shower. Yesterdays shower was a noisy affair as I yelped through the freezing cold spray, shivering away. So this evening I did some investigating and found out that the other bathroom has a flushing toilet and a hot shower!! I am very glad that it was the second day that I discovered this and not the second month, or worse, the day before I’m due to leave! We still don’t have running water in any of the bathroom taps, although there is running water in the taps in the kitchen. But, judging by discussions with other volunteers, we are very spoilt having a running hot shower!