Wednesday 23rd December 2009
So...with only one day to go until Christmas...there is a certain lack of festive feeling...with one Christmas card and no advent calendar...I was feeling a little less than festive...I would whole heartedly like to say that that was about to change as I leapt from my bed and opened my curtains to glorious morning sunshine...only I am not that lucky...and when I woke on Wednesday morning...it was not by the sun shining in through the gaps in my curtains...but by the rain hammering on my roof...at 5.30am due to the mass of rain clouds hanging around in the area...I ate by breakfast in candle light...it was still pretty dark inside...and I was trying to put off the shower from hell for as long as possible...To be honest...had I been in the UK it would have been perfect Christmas weather and would have gone down a lot better had I firstly been in England and secondly had I not had to go outside to shower! As the morning plodded on a lot faster than I had hoped...I finally managed to open the back door and make my way down the steps in the cold, cold rain to have my shower...only when I get there I remembered that with Ruairi not being at the house...I had to get the bucket to stand in...by this point I wondered if I was ever going to cheer up in time for Christmas...but I trundled back through the rain and into the house to get the bowl...and then back out again for the shower...I was cold and wet before I had even made it to the bucket of cold water! Anyway...I was to get the bus at 7am and didn’t want to be late...so there I was with my bags packed...I was finally ready...and travelling reasonably light for me...my camera bag, rucksack and holdall...the holdall being virtually empty as I knew I had 3 small parcels to collect from the post office and would need somewhere to put them! By 6.50am it was still raining but I was worried I would need to walk slowly, so as to avoid falling over in the mud and it was still raining...booooo!!!! Off I went...and before I had made it all the way into town...I spotted the bus...I thought it was just doing to usual rounds and trips up nad down the village looking for passengers before heading off...there I stood...wet...bedraggled...resembling a rather soggy something or other...anyway...I opened the door and shouted Butare....only to be met with laughter...as I had not managed to recognise any of the staff working at the district (including my boss!) until it was too late...but as it was raining I got on the bus to the office anyway and then moved seats to sit at the front for the onward journey. Thankfully the bus took less time than I had thought and I was at the post office well before 8am...only I didn’t seem to be able to remember the code to check the box...but the very nice man at the post office checked for me...(until now I thought that they had everyone’s codes and that was how the mail got in...turns out...there is a hole in the back!!!) He came back with a couple of very nice cards...with lovely letters inside...and an advent calendar card!!! Then he came over with 3 parcels...all slightly larger than I was expecting and then he went back and got another 5!!! I have never seen so many parcels...4 of them were Christmas presents from the family...but the rest were lovely surprises!!! I was glad to have the spare room in my holdall...and it really was needed...there was so much!!! The man at the post office asked whether in future I could go every week to collect my parcels rather than letting them build up...the cheek!!! But...with all the gifts...my Christmas cheer was restored!!! Finally...over and hour later and after a lot of signing, unpacking and rearranging...I was able to go to the bank...but there was a huge queue and it showed no signs of moving anywhere...there was a problem with the power and the computer systems...but they assured me it would soon be fixed...I waited for a while...but I had already missed the 9am bus to Giterama and didn’t want to miss the 10am bus too...I had to leave them my VSO card to photocopy while I went to get some shopping and then get my bus ticket...I was at the bus station...getting on the bus when I remembered that my card was still at the bank...thankfully I had just enough time to get it and buy a bottle of water...on the bus I was sat with a nun...who told me when to get off..I slept most of the way there...now...when it is not Christmas getting to Kibuye is reasonably simple...but this being me...it was not going to run smoothly! When I got to the ticket office and asked for a ticket...the man made some sort of hand action...apparently here it means no...but I didn’t understand and this resulted in him looking at me like I was stupid and saying ‘no tickets today’...oh crap it...I wondered around for a bit...with all my bags and finally managed to find a bus company who would take me to Kibuye...the only problem being...I would have to wait until 3pm...and it was only 11.20am...So...O stood outside for a while before being told that I was not to stand there as it was in the sun and I didn’t have anything on my head and I was made to sit on a bench for the next 3 and a half hours...there was much staring and begging and by the time the bus eventually turned up...I was worse than cross and all my festive spirit had been sucked out of me! As the bus pulled up I spotted the smiling faces of Julie and her mum...and I sat next to them for the remainder of my journey...on the one chair that no one every wants to sit on, on the straightest of roads...least of all the winding road to Kibuye...but I made it there in one piece...and thankfully found a very nice teacher from the Congo who walked me to the end of the road for Home Saint Jean, the guesthouse where I was staying...once there...I tucked into a pre-Christmas primus and relaxed!
So...with only one day to go until Christmas...there is a certain lack of festive feeling...with one Christmas card and no advent calendar...I was feeling a little less than festive...I would whole heartedly like to say that that was about to change as I leapt from my bed and opened my curtains to glorious morning sunshine...only I am not that lucky...and when I woke on Wednesday morning...it was not by the sun shining in through the gaps in my curtains...but by the rain hammering on my roof...at 5.30am due to the mass of rain clouds hanging around in the area...I ate by breakfast in candle light...it was still pretty dark inside...and I was trying to put off the shower from hell for as long as possible...To be honest...had I been in the UK it would have been perfect Christmas weather and would have gone down a lot better had I firstly been in England and secondly had I not had to go outside to shower! As the morning plodded on a lot faster than I had hoped...I finally managed to open the back door and make my way down the steps in the cold, cold rain to have my shower...only when I get there I remembered that with Ruairi not being at the house...I had to get the bucket to stand in...by this point I wondered if I was ever going to cheer up in time for Christmas...but I trundled back through the rain and into the house to get the bowl...and then back out again for the shower...I was cold and wet before I had even made it to the bucket of cold water! Anyway...I was to get the bus at 7am and didn’t want to be late...so there I was with my bags packed...I was finally ready...and travelling reasonably light for me...my camera bag, rucksack and holdall...the holdall being virtually empty as I knew I had 3 small parcels to collect from the post office and would need somewhere to put them! By 6.50am it was still raining but I was worried I would need to walk slowly, so as to avoid falling over in the mud and it was still raining...booooo!!!! Off I went...and before I had made it all the way into town...I spotted the bus...I thought it was just doing to usual rounds and trips up nad down the village looking for passengers before heading off...there I stood...wet...bedraggled...resembling a rather soggy something or other...anyway...I opened the door and shouted Butare....only to be met with laughter...as I had not managed to recognise any of the staff working at the district (including my boss!) until it was too late...but as it was raining I got on the bus to the office anyway and then moved seats to sit at the front for the onward journey. Thankfully the bus took less time than I had thought and I was at the post office well before 8am...only I didn’t seem to be able to remember the code to check the box...but the very nice man at the post office checked for me...(until now I thought that they had everyone’s codes and that was how the mail got in...turns out...there is a hole in the back!!!) He came back with a couple of very nice cards...with lovely letters inside...and an advent calendar card!!! Then he came over with 3 parcels...all slightly larger than I was expecting and then he went back and got another 5!!! I have never seen so many parcels...4 of them were Christmas presents from the family...but the rest were lovely surprises!!! I was glad to have the spare room in my holdall...and it really was needed...there was so much!!! The man at the post office asked whether in future I could go every week to collect my parcels rather than letting them build up...the cheek!!! But...with all the gifts...my Christmas cheer was restored!!! Finally...over and hour later and after a lot of signing, unpacking and rearranging...I was able to go to the bank...but there was a huge queue and it showed no signs of moving anywhere...there was a problem with the power and the computer systems...but they assured me it would soon be fixed...I waited for a while...but I had already missed the 9am bus to Giterama and didn’t want to miss the 10am bus too...I had to leave them my VSO card to photocopy while I went to get some shopping and then get my bus ticket...I was at the bus station...getting on the bus when I remembered that my card was still at the bank...thankfully I had just enough time to get it and buy a bottle of water...on the bus I was sat with a nun...who told me when to get off..I slept most of the way there...now...when it is not Christmas getting to Kibuye is reasonably simple...but this being me...it was not going to run smoothly! When I got to the ticket office and asked for a ticket...the man made some sort of hand action...apparently here it means no...but I didn’t understand and this resulted in him looking at me like I was stupid and saying ‘no tickets today’...oh crap it...I wondered around for a bit...with all my bags and finally managed to find a bus company who would take me to Kibuye...the only problem being...I would have to wait until 3pm...and it was only 11.20am...So...O stood outside for a while before being told that I was not to stand there as it was in the sun and I didn’t have anything on my head and I was made to sit on a bench for the next 3 and a half hours...there was much staring and begging and by the time the bus eventually turned up...I was worse than cross and all my festive spirit had been sucked out of me! As the bus pulled up I spotted the smiling faces of Julie and her mum...and I sat next to them for the remainder of my journey...on the one chair that no one every wants to sit on, on the straightest of roads...least of all the winding road to Kibuye...but I made it there in one piece...and thankfully found a very nice teacher from the Congo who walked me to the end of the road for Home Saint Jean, the guesthouse where I was staying...once there...I tucked into a pre-Christmas primus and relaxed!
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