What a Week!!

This time last week I left my lovely friends and family in the UK, not knowing what lay ahead. You will be pleased to know that I have already made new friends here and we have been working things through together. For the 10 days that I am in Kigali I have a great room mate - the danger is that we chat long into the night instead of getting much needed sleep!

There have been so many new experiences this week, it's hard to pick out just a few, but here goes:

'Mwaramutse' 'Amakuru?' 'Ni Mesa'

>>> it means Good morning, how are you, I'm very well

So, we've had Kinyarwanda lessons every morning and I have learnt quite a lot more than this! I'm enjoying the lessons and have tried out some phrases with the kind people around here. I've also learnt how to light a Kerosene stove, how to get on a bus, pay my fare and shop in the market - if you enjoy bartering you would love it here!

Yesterday we went to the Genocide Memorial Centre, as you can imagine it was very moving, but it is important to understand what happened and some of the reasons why it happened. We don't need to talk about it with our friends here but it helps me to understand how wonderful Rwandans are - they have survived this atrocity and are working together to build their country. Below is a photo of the Memorial Gardens and a beautiful peaceful walkway leading to the wall of names of victims.

I have started to notice the bird calls here and can't wait to get to my home and put up my National Trust bird clock on my kitchen wall!!(Thanks, Phil!)

Don't forget to keep in touch, but remember that the blog is a public space, so you can send an e-mail instead or write to me on Facebook. xx

Guest House in Kigali

Just been chattin with Tricia...she was outside her guest house in Kigali. This is where she will be spending the next 10 days with the other British VSO volunteers while they have their initial training. She is sharing a room with a woman from the group. They have mosquito nets up and are settling in today including making a right mess with their unpacking! She has had omelet and fruit for breakfast and coleslaw/fried eggplant for lunch!

The weather is bright, warm, and a bit sticky! I saw a couple of locals walking past and they looked very cheerful/smiley. So we can look forward to hearing more from Trish about the people she is meeting. I suspect you will get slightly more riveting updates from Tricia when she is able to post on here but at the moment her connection is slightly wobbly! Tomorrow (Monday 17th Jan) is the first day of training, so watch this space for more news!