It's high time to start blogging! I'm sorry for the delay in getting this started, and hope you will bear with me as I figure out the kind of sharing that's appropriate and not annoying. ;) It's my first blog and suddenly I feel nervous because someone out there might read it! It'll probably be just a few of you, but still!! :)
So....I(KR) am actually in Kigali, Rwanda!(KR) :) Yea!! I got here on Monday after two very full travel days and an inauspicious arrival...Is it bad that I was dodging vomit on the tarmac as I walked to Rwandan customs? It wasn't mine, just a guy in front of me experiencing some serious belly trauma.
I decided not to read into it, but take it as the simple possibility that the man ate too many waffles at the Addis Ababa airport( they were HUGE and covered with whipped cream....)
Anyway...I was greeted by the amazing Susan, who basically runs the Rwandan office of Open a Door(OAD), a SF based non-profit that helps young Rwandan women apply for college scholarships in the U.S. OAD is the reason I am here, getting ready to teach SAT/TOEFL and Writing to the newest group of OAD young women. I am really beyond excited and seeing Susan in person after I'd heard so many wonderful things about her was so great!
But, quickly, back to the airport...Greeting me along with Susan was Sheba, who will be one of my students this summer. She was assigned to 'help me get around' on my first day.... and I'm sure now is wondering how I will ever teach them effectively. She witnessed me getting on the back of a moto taxi and wrapping my arms around the driver, thinking that was what you do. Well, apparently it's not, and the startled driver told me pretty quickly, "Eh, Eh, EH, Miss!! You put your hands behind, on the hold!" Oh. Then he laughed the entire rest of the ride, and every time we stopped at a light he would share the story with anyone who was stopped too and they would all laugh/scream hysterically. They were going back and forth between English and the local language Kinyarwanda, and I was imagining they were saying, "she was hugging me! manhandling me!" ;) ) Sheba got to witness that. And also when I accidentally gave someone a 5,000 bill instead of 500(they look so much alike!)... All that to say, the first day was a blur, and in spite of the mishaps I was glad to have a guide....More to come!
So....I(KR) am actually in Kigali, Rwanda!(KR) :) Yea!! I got here on Monday after two very full travel days and an inauspicious arrival...Is it bad that I was dodging vomit on the tarmac as I walked to Rwandan customs? It wasn't mine, just a guy in front of me experiencing some serious belly trauma.
I decided not to read into it, but take it as the simple possibility that the man ate too many waffles at the Addis Ababa airport( they were HUGE and covered with whipped cream....)
Anyway...I was greeted by the amazing Susan, who basically runs the Rwandan office of Open a Door(OAD), a SF based non-profit that helps young Rwandan women apply for college scholarships in the U.S. OAD is the reason I am here, getting ready to teach SAT/TOEFL and Writing to the newest group of OAD young women. I am really beyond excited and seeing Susan in person after I'd heard so many wonderful things about her was so great!
But, quickly, back to the airport...Greeting me along with Susan was Sheba, who will be one of my students this summer. She was assigned to 'help me get around' on my first day.... and I'm sure now is wondering how I will ever teach them effectively. She witnessed me getting on the back of a moto taxi and wrapping my arms around the driver, thinking that was what you do. Well, apparently it's not, and the startled driver told me pretty quickly, "Eh, Eh, EH, Miss!! You put your hands behind, on the hold!" Oh. Then he laughed the entire rest of the ride, and every time we stopped at a light he would share the story with anyone who was stopped too and they would all laugh/scream hysterically. They were going back and forth between English and the local language Kinyarwanda, and I was imagining they were saying, "she was hugging me! manhandling me!" ;) ) Sheba got to witness that. And also when I accidentally gave someone a 5,000 bill instead of 500(they look so much alike!)... All that to say, the first day was a blur, and in spite of the mishaps I was glad to have a guide....More to come!
Sounds like you are off to an amazing and entertaining start! I imagine you will keep many of the Rwandans laughing in your tenure there, similar to how you keep us laughing back here in California. Miss you already! xo
ReplyDeleteGreat post, Kitty. Unlike waffles in Addis Ababa, there's no such thing as too much Kruffles in Rwanda. Keep writin'!
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