All quiet on the western front...or is it???

So in recent weeks I have been a little quiet on the blog...the honest truth...well...there are really no excuses...I have been super busy though. I have been trying to put up the photos of the holiday extravaganza with the mother...but there has been something wrong...I will keep on trying though! So...where did we leave it? I had just finished the holiday with the mother and had her for an extra week...well...work really has started taking off and I have been super busy...oh...but before all of that...I have been out on the bike...jetting around the district all on my own...it is bloody amazing...after my first few trips out I decided to venture out into the unknown...I filled up the bike and headed off for an afternoon...I was gone just over an hour...and I have no idea where I was...but it was fun...there were a couple of hairy moments...one involving a log bridge and a cliff edge...I may have been going a little too fast...I didn’t realise it was a long bridge on a sharp bend at the edge of a cliff...but it was all ok...then there was a super big hill...I yet again missed 1st gear and found myself in neutral...only this time I was able to stay upright...thankfully there was an amazing view...so I just pretended I was an enthusiastic mzungu tourist appreciating the countryside...the locals did not need to know I had stalled!! I got off the bike and admired the view...but then had to figure out just how I was going to get myself out of this one as the hill was super steep and I had not yet perfected hill starts (and I still haven’t!) there was only one thing for it...I was going to have to start sideways on up the hill and then turn...I managed to get out of it and carried on on my adventure...which led me down a very narrow path...I got the fear and had to get off...push the bike to turn it around and then headed back...since then I have much more confidence, and I like to think I have a little more skill too!!! But the skill is certainly questionable...as the post office fence can verify...a few weeks ago I took a trip to Butare to buy supplies for a workshop I was running...I was feeling particularly smug as I had made it all the way there with no catastrophes...no stalling on the bridge or half way up a hill...I was doing so well...until I found myself a little confused between break and accelerate...foot (and a little hand) break V’s accelerate...who wins...you would think that it would be the breaks...but apparently not...and to my surprise...(and the surprise of the security guard and the post office fence) it is actually accelerate...so there I was...wheel first into the fence...thankfully it was made out of chicken wire so nobody (or anything) was hurt! I went about my shopping...still laughing to myself every so often...before heading back to the bike...only when I got there, there were 2 guards with the bike...one sat on the bike holding a very big gun...I thought I was in trouble...until the guard (without the gun who had been there earlier) started speaking very quickly in Kinyarwanda...pointing at me...the bike...and the fence...while laughing a lot...I am glad I amused them so much. A couple of weeks ago I had Vanessa staying at the house...she was super brave and was my first passenger...I did nearly lose her a couple of times...but the more time we were on the bike the more confident I felt and the smoother the riding was...and it was off the beaten track as I had to deliver the materials for the workshops I was running at Save Teacher Training Centre. As for work...there were 2 Global Schools Partnership workshops in Butare...which I may have already mentioned...they went very well...then another in Kigali...which also went very well...I have also been planning workshops for Save TTC...it is a secondary school which specialises in education courses...in Rwanda, to be a primary school teacher you only have to have a school leavers certificate...so there are a few TTC’s across the country which train students in teaching and methodology...I planned to work with Senior 5 and Senior 6...the last 2 years of school...with 2 days of training and making resources for each year...But before any of that could happen...there were a couple of sad farewells to be had...and of course...a little crossness...So...first thing on the Saturday morning Karen was leaving Rwanda for good and heading for a final few days in Tanzania...but before I could go to her leaving dinner...I had to head up to Save TTC where the Minister for Education was holding a meeting with all teachers from the district...I was going to head in on the bus...leaving my bags for the weekend at the bus office and then get a moto the rest of the way...seems like a nice simple plan...only when I got to the bus office...I was told that there were no buses running...when I asked why they just said that they were only for teachers...taking them up the Save TTC for the meeting...I tried to explain that I should have been there too...I am a teacher...but they were having none of it...Finally they got me on a bus at 9.20...I was on there for a couple of minutes...bags all stowed away...when the teacher sat next to me wanted to get off...I got off to ket her pass...and waited for her to come back from the office...when she got back on...she wouldn’t move up to let me back on...and they started to drive off...with all my clothes...and my laptop...I called for them to stops and they just managed to get them off the bus...before it pulled off...the teachers (unfortunately) found this very amusing...I went back into the office to see what time bus I would be able to get...It was now just gone 9.20...and I was given a ticket for 10.30...I had called my boss a couple of times...but I called him again to explain that I had a ticket for 10.30...I walked home...in a very bad mood...I had been back about 5 minutes when my phone went...it was Alexis...’Where are you?’ I explained that I had over an hour to wait so I had gone home...he had obviously been speaking with the bus company as I was on the next bus and it was waiting for me...I havenever been so cross with SOTRA...they really were about as unhelpful and as rude as possible...anyway...I dropped off my bags and got a moto to the school...only to discover that I was very late and there was no more room inside...I would have to sit outside in the bright sunshine...with no shade...listening to a speech in a language I didn’t understand...from the other side of a brick wall...GREAT...now I knew why I had gone to all this effort!!! After about 45 minutes...Alexis came out of the hall...and I was taken in...I had to sit in the front row...ON MY OWN...but one of the teachers did come and sit with me to translate...the Minister was actually very engaging and although I didn’t understand what he was saying I was captivated...there was a little bit of singing and then it was all over...when everyone was leaving the head teacher came over and said I was needed...turns out the minister wanted to talk with me and John (the guy from World Teach)...so there we had it...I had gone from not being able to get a bus...to being asked to talk with the Minister for Education...not bad for a days work...I was a little later than I had hoped I would be leaving the school...and I needed to be in Kigali...The Mayor for the district gave me a lift back to Butare and asked if I had bought my ticket...if I hadn’t...would I like to join him, some other staff and the Minister for Education for lunch? Oh the sadness...I had to say no...if I went for lunch I would be too late for a bus and miss Karen’s leaving meal...and there was no way I could do that...so I was on the bus to Kigali...The meal was lovely...and a little sad...we went for a couple of drinks after...but not too late to bed as it was Ruairi’s leaving meal on Saturday...I met up with Melanie at a cafe near Kimironko market...did a little bit of shopping and then back to Vanessa’s...glad rags on...it was time to head off...It was a lovely evening...a few drinks after...but I was not finished...Nic and I were the only ones left standing...so we decided to go dancing...and what a good decision that was...possibly the best 3000RWF I have even spent...LIVE CHEESY RWANDAN POP MUSIC!!!! Followed my an awesome DJ and a Rwandan style dance off...finally...we decided that if we didn’t leave at 3.30am...we were never going to...so home it was...and I needed all the sleep I could get as I had a very busy week coming up...Training at Save TTC and the in Nyanza...Amy came to help with the methodology and resource building for 2 days at Save TTC (Monday and Tuesday), while Antonia came for the first day to run a session on disability and inclusion...the sessions went very well...the students were amazing...inspirational...their English was incredible...there were a couple of interesting moments...but all in all it went very well...Amy came on the back of the bike...she nearly lost a leg to a wall...and then we nearly got stuck between two logs on a log bridge...but other than that...it was ok...much to the amusement of the Save bike boys...I stalled turning onto the main road...on the second day there was a little problem with the big hill back from Butare...I stalled and then couldn’t restart...we decided it would be better is Amy walked up the hill...but it was starting to get dark...I have never understood twilight...and why people think it is hard to drive in...now I do...and then add in to the mix a nice cloud of dust hovering above the road...I drove super slowly and made it home just before it got dark...Mr Ruairi had almost given up hope of us returning!!!...Wednesday and Thursday I headed for Nyanza to help Melanie and Melissa with their training...visiting the school on the Wednesday and teaching, observing and analysing model lessons on the Thursday...after three rounds...2 social studies lessons and 1 English lesson...I was pooped...Thursday evening we headed home for a couple of beers on the veranda at Melanie’s house...we had sent the guard out to get the...and I was sat next to my bag and purse...I had been to the bank earlier in the week and got some money out to pay for resources for next week’s workshop and pay Melanie back the money I had borrowed from her the previous week...thankfully I had already given her the money...because while I was in the house...using a sit down toilet (which I like to make the most) a man came into the garden from the back of the house...and took my purse...SADNESS! It had 60,000RWF (about £60) my VSO ID card and one of my bank cards from the UK...only I didn’t know which one...so they both had to be cancelled...rubbish!!!! The following week I returned to work with Senior 5...Antonia joined us again for the first day...and Melanie helped for the two days...again on the bike...on the second day we were a little late so we had to travel at the speed of light...but we were there in time...and again with no falls...scrapes...or collisions!!!...What a couple of weeks...awesome workshops...great networking...fantastic partying...and some very sad farewells...