Saturday 5th September 2009
Today was supposed to be a productive day, followed by a relaxing afternoon beautifying myself in preparation of the ‘VSO Family Dinner’. However, this was not to be the case...after another Kinyarwanda lesson, I decided that it was time to venture out on my own. So I walked to the bus stop to get the bus into town (I was also looking forward to having a little bit of time, just on my own) I was impressed that I was able to get the bus with relative ease and was even able to say bus in Kinyarwanda (bisi) to explain that I didn’t need a taxi as I was getting the bus into town. The bus is 180 Rwandan Francs, which is about 20p. I know that at the moment all of these prices seem really cheap but the reality of a volunteer allowance, although more than generous, compares little with a teachers salary in the UK. So...I got the bus into the city, and managed to find the shopping centre. My phone and Rwandan SIM will still not accept messages from the UK (but you can all still text my old number!) so I went into the MTN shop, they said there was nothing wrong, so it just looks like something I am going to have to live with! I was just about to head to the supermarket, Nakamat, when I bumped into Julie, another new volunteer and we then shopped and lunched together. I did try to find new pants as I only have 2 pairs with me, due to the lost suitcase! However, I draw the line at paying 5,800RF (£6) for 2 pairs of synthetic granny pants! I also had a look at the clothes, and no matter how desperate I am, I will not pay £32 for a top, which was yet again synthetic, and from a SUPERMARKET!!! I have decided that the way forward, if my clothes don’t turn up, is to either buy from the markets (clothes shipped over from UK charity shops) or to have the clothes made which is relatively cheap! Basically, my trip to the city was not very productive and seemed to take up a lot of time I didn’t have! I did some internetting an d tried (and failed) to skype and headed back to the guest house...again finding my way on the bus! Needless to say, my morning of ‘space’ did not go quite to plan! We arrived back with just enough time to have a shower and get dressed before heading off for the family dinner. The evening started with team building activities, followed by some incredible, traditional Rwandan dancing. It really was amazing!!! After everyone had finished eating the dancers came back and danced again, this time getting the audience to come and dance too...I did not get up to dance, although I do regret that decision a little bit now...I will just have to make an extra effort next time! At about 10.30 it was decided that we would head into the city to a club, by the name of BCK, where a live Reggae band were playing. The venue was small and dimly lit, and had a nice mix of people...lots of volunteers, others from Europe, America, Australia, etc and local Rwandans. After initially not wanting to dance and standing at the side, the night was danced away, and I finally fell into bed at 1.40am (I know that this is awfully early by my usual standards, but here that was very late indeed!)