Kamaliza's Suitcase: It flushes!

October 29, 2009

I’m not sure if the electrical tape worked or not because I haven’t turned the water back on. I will do if it’s not fixed soon but I would like to have water. How doesn’t one shower without? Well, either you don’t – which gets smelly and awkward because people stop talking to you if you smell – or you do a 1.5litre body shower. Nil is a brand of water here and the bottles are useful to store up water in case of shortages or…having to turn off you water. Basically, I can wet, wash and rinse all with 1.5 litres of water. I wonder how much my shower used at home? Either way, that’s that. I did come up with a genius invention though. Truth be told, it was borrowed from my cousin, Dee, the girl guide who showed us how to having a “tap” out of a Javex bottle. I’ve done the same thing using a Nil bottle and it involves a small hole at the bottom of a full bottle. When the tap is closed the pressure keeps the water in, when you twist the tap open the water comes out! It’s a very small, slow stream, mind you. But it works! So, that’s Dee --- and yes, Ang, I’m sure there is some science behind it but I’m a social studies teacher so I don’t really care! Ha ha!

Last night Suzanne and Jason came over for supper. Suzanne has just returned from London where her school has a partner school. We had a great meal, during a massive rain storm, Jason chased a rat out of the living room and Suzanne was able to talk to my guard, Jean, in Kinyarwanda. He needed money. And advance. He’s very honest and keeps coming to work and will pay the money back out of his next salary. Jean and his wife are both HIV positive. I believe that all seven children are too. He has had this job long before Tina even arrived here. His wife is sick and in the hospital now so he needed money for that. So tonight, Jean arrived with a bag of 3 heads of cabbage for me as a gift. He grows them himself and brought it to say thank you. This man, who has so little, and so many children and a sick wife still found it in his heart to bring me a gift. Wow. Now if only I knew what to do with so much cabbage….

Today was my meeting with my Program Manager from VSO, my boss (Victor) and Frodauld (the charge of Education). The meeting was very good although, I did find out that Victor would be leaving to take another job and Froduald is staying. I’m very happy that Frodauld is staying because he has a really good vision for education. In the afternoon I had to finalize the letter to go to teachers for a training in November. The national exams had finished. You know, at home, Provincial Achievement Tests are sent to schools and stored in a locked office or cupboard. They are “secure.” Well, Alberta Ed has nothing on Rwanda. On Monday a large army truck with a sign in the front marked “National Exam Council of Rwanda” pulled up. The exams were stored in the office in the presence of an armed police officer – and when I say armed I mean with a large machine gun!! These armed guards stay with the exams for three days, day and night, until they are returned to the district office and sent to Kigali. They take this security things seriously. I did have a good talk with Frodauld about the purpose of the exams though. Before 1994, secondary schools could be very selective about who they allowed in. Now, with standardized tests, it has evened the playing field and eliminated the opportunity to chose students based on ethnicity. I had never thought of standardized tests as serving that function but I guess it goes to the level of commitment of the Rwandan government to move forward.

I had another good French lesson where I think I’m starting to get a few things but here’s the question…WHY IN GOD’S NAME DOES FRENCH HAVE TO HAVE SO MANY VERB CONJUCATIONS???? And what exactly is Plus-que parfait? But…I’m learning. I’m getting it. Slowly. It’s actually surprising how much comes back to me from the time I took French in university. That’s another story…but basically I only passed when, during my oral final exam, when the professor asked if I would ever take French again, I promised her (crossed my heart sort of thing) that I would NEVER take another class. She gave me a pass. Barely.

Later…. October 29, 2009

A lovely man named Pascal just came to fix the water leak. You know, I have never had service this fast even in Canada. The people here have been so helpful! (Okay maybe waiting a few days with out water or electricity would be uncommon…) But Pascal came, surveyed the problem, went to the round –a-bout for the part. Came back an hour later and Voila! No more leaking tubing. Not only that….but he fixed the toilet so that it no longer runs. A while back we shut off the water because it was such a waste to let it run all the time. We were flushing it with bucket and dishwater. But now….ladies and gentlemen….it flushes!!!