I know I haven’t updated my blog but I have so many fabulous stories and pictures to share. I’m in Kibuye right now, which is a small town 3 hours outside of Kigali. The internet here is really bad so I haven’t been able to post any pictures – hence my lack of blogging. I'm going to share a bit about my experience teaching and then load a million pictures when I get back to Kigali. It's really beautiful here, I can't even describe, so I'll let the pictures speak for themselves once I get a strong enough connection to upload them onto the blog.
During grad school, I had the chance to teach and so I'm not exactly a rookie when it comes to leading a classroom. But all that experience counts for nothing out here - the dynamic is completely different in Rwanda it seems. When I was a student, you had to turn off your cell phone, listen tentatively, and definitely not laugh at your instructor. It's slightly different here - the students think my accent is funny and just start laughing aimlessly during class. Most of the time, I start wiping my face thinking I have some left over chocolate or something funny on me but I've put it together that the way I speak is the primary source of humour. So it's been a little hard to adjust to that. The students here also ask very diverse questions, which is great and has really got me thinking a lot more about the material I'm teaching (anatomy and physiology). They call me lecturer (lecturer, please enjoy your lunch; lecturer, when will we have the assignment, etc.) - it's cute and I always chuckle at the idea of being called 'lecturer'. I think it's secretly because my name is really hard to pronounce. The 'r' sound is a challenge for Rwandans to say so they tend to avoid saying my name. The language barrier is tough though and has by far been the greatest challenge when it comes to teaching. These students grew up in the French system and now they are being thrown into English for their post secondary education so I can understand why English can be so daunting for them.
The environment out here is incredible and I wish I could post some pictures. I'm on Lake Kivu so while I'm teaching students about muscle contraction and the circulatory system, the sound of waves can be heard in the background, which can be detrimental as it is very soothing and can put the students to sleep (or maybe it's me putting them to sleep?)...however, for the first time, I am feeling the effects of the altitude. I really feel out of shape here. Even walking up the hills is a challenge. You get winded pretty quickly. I guess it's good practice for my Mount Kilimanjaro climb!!!!
Anyways, I'll share more once I can get the pictures up. On Saturday, I went on a Safari and on Sunday and climbed Mount Kigali. Be prepared for some great sceneries and GIRAFFES (yes I saw giraffes in real life, best experience ever). I'll hopefully be able to post by the weekend. Stay tuned!!
Lots of love from Rwanda!
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