This past Monday, Ned and Alex Houston arrived!
How great it is to share our time here with them. We were lucky enough to be able to get the week off from teaching next week, and are able to travel around with them while they are here.
This afternoon we are leaving for Ruhengeri, to spend a few days and go see the gorillas, however expensive it may be. We have heard it's an amazing experience and are very excited.
From there we will held to the west to Gisenyi which is on Lake Kivu. We hope to just see the town and lake and enjoy a relaxing day or two there.
We will return for a short day to Kigali and then head down south to Nyungwe Forest. Here we will take some short hikes and walks through the rainforest to see the chimps, birds, other wildlife, and enjoy being away from the city.
So far it has been very fun to have the Houston's around. They have attended both a KHS and Girimpuwhe class and seemed to enjoy them both very much, and said they were extremely impressed.
Alex had brought some CBMS student artwork with an "artist bio" attached and for our Senior 2 students, which they couldn't have been more thrilled about. American parents and students all in one day, they were exstatic.
So, they have written letters in return and drawn their own pictures for Alex to bring back to the U.S.
On the down side of things, our Senior 1 class was proving to be more than we could handle. The class consists of about 40, rowdy, unattentive and seemingly unmotivated students. We tried everything. We brought in books, we played games, we went on walks outside, however, they told us that what they want to learn is grammar, and they want us to write it on the board so they can copy it down. No fun, no interaction, just traditional Rwandan-style teaching. After many long talks with eachother, out parents, Glenn Hawkes, and the headmaster, Vincent, we decided that the class was not worth our time and energy. We are here to offer what we can, our energy and native language. The students do not seem to want to learn from us so we are longer going to be teaching the class. Although it was hard to come to terms that we weren't able to connect with all the students, we did connect with one or two who we are now working with outside of class. Giving them small extra assignments to do on their own so they can continue to work with us.
Now we are looking into working with little children at a primary school. Plans are not set, but we have a school in mind and shall be meeting with the principal in the upcoming week.
So we are figuring it out. Each day is a new day full of many surprises, ups and downs, many laughs, challenges and triumphs. We are still having fun and enjoying the warm weather, and especially our students. Our Senior 2 students are better than great, and the Girimpuwhe class couldn't be more fun. New students arrive to the Girimpuwhe class everyday, excited to learn and help eachother. It's a give-and-take relationship. We bring what we can and they always want to add input. A song, another word, or phrase, it's so great to not be the only teachers in the room. Our students are teachers too...
For those who know Troy Sooter, he has also arrived safely and currently trying to find a place to stay. We are not sure where he is staying now, but he pops in and out of the compound to say hello and what not. It was great to recieve such enthusiasm from Troy, he was so thrilled to be back in Rwanda.
So we are off into the mountains, to the land of gorillas, to connect with our closest relatives...
p.s. We have been trying to upload pictures for a post about our S2s. However the internet is being grossly slow and will not upload one picture within the hour. So bare/bear(?) with us, we're trying to get them up as soon as possible!
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
The Internet is finicky
This past Friday, we had the day off from Kabuga High School (KHS), and just were teaching at Girimpuwhe. What a great way to end the week. The Girimpuwhe class is so much fun.
Each day we start the class off with greetings. We go around in a circle saying “Hello, how are you? My name is…” Repetition is a great tool, and each day there are new students coming, so it is nice way for them to join in. Then we move onto review, which currently consists of colors, number 1-30, body parts, and shapes. Whether its our modified version of “Simon Says”, home made flashcards, or just talking and practicing, all of the students get a lot of practice, and certainly more comfortable with Sophia and I. Ward Brook Association provided sodas for everyone on Friday to congratulate everyone on a long week of hard work.
Each day we start the class off with greetings. We go around in a circle saying “Hello, how are you? My name is…” Repetition is a great tool, and each day there are new students coming, so it is nice way for them to join in. Then we move onto review, which currently consists of colors, number 1-30, body parts, and shapes. Whether its our modified version of “Simon Says”, home made flashcards, or just talking and practicing, all of the students get a lot of practice, and certainly more comfortable with Sophia and I. Ward Brook Association provided sodas for everyone on Friday to congratulate everyone on a long week of hard work.
On Saturday, we were invited to a wedding along with Erika (our Rwandan mother) and her family, Eliya and Linda (2 of her 4 brothers and sisters) and Maria or Mama Maria (Erika’s mother). We made it to the end of the ceremony which was at a church in Kanombe. Although Kanombe is not far from the compound, it took longer than one would think. Because the road to Kanombe only really goes to Kanombe, it is not looked after, and it is not paved. Therefore, the entire road is covered in massive potholes that even us Vermonter’s cringe at. The road is so bad that the minibus taxis have started driving off the side of the road, which has now made for a three-lane road. In general the paved roads are pretty decent in Rwanda. If you choose a dirt road, you will always be in for a very bumpy ride.
So the wedding was fun, very different from a traditional wedding here. The wedding was not a traditional wedding though (a traditional wedding would be held at the bride’s home, not a church). There was a lot of talking and blessing, the bride and groom signed their marriage papers and were sent out to their cars, decorated with ribbon of course, by singers and dancers on either side of them.
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The reception was held at President Habyarimana’s old estate, which is also where his plane crashed into after being shot down, which was the unofficial start of the genocide. Again, the bride and groom were led in by singing and dancing, and were poured Fanta (orange soda) in their wine glasses. Again there was a lot of singing, dancing and talking. They cut the cake under a huge stream of confetti, and then served it to their guests (passing a plate around with napkins, for each person to take a piece). The cake was good, more like sweetened bread, although the frosting tasted like the frosting we know. Instead of one big cake, there were many medium cakes shaped in squares, like baskets, and other Rwandan symbols. Erika and family did not feel like staying to the end, and it was already dark, so we headed home early. Not to the complaint of Sophia and I since we couldn’t understand a word they were saying.
The same was for Sunday, when we attended church with Erika at the Zion Temple. It was unlike anything we had seen before. Instead looking like a classic church we would know in America, it was more like a great hall, with two stories, packed with at least 1,000 people. We arrived early, and were able to hear/see the chorus (as well as others) singing and dancing. Afterwards there was a ton of talking. The total service was about 3 and half hours. Although we did have a translator, we both were guilty of zoning out from time to time.
Over the weekend we also made it into town, mumudgi, Kigali, to buy some coat hangers for our room. We found that we just didn’t have enough floor space. Going to town is always an experience. There are so many people in one small area, and that is where we see most of the other Mzungu (white people). There are so many tiny, as well as large, shops to peer into.
So we were planning on uploading this yesterday but there was a very big rainstorm and none of the cafes were functioning. The rain was so hard and heavy that we were both awake for an hour at night unable to fall asleep with the sound of the heavy rain on our tin roof. But today (Wednesday) we were up early and at KHS by 8:00am for our Senior 1 class. Since last Thursday, our class has doubled in size, about 15 to 30 students, and they are a handful! One student today brought in some very inappropriate reading material, and so we had to take him to the Head of Discipline. We aren’t sure what it is going to happen, they said they do not tolerate that sort of thing, but they are going to have a meeting with his parents. As the headmaster said, “you have only been here two weeks, how are you already taking these risks?!” Other teachers have also spoken about his disruptive behavior in their class, as well as disrupting classes that aren’t even his own. There’s one in every crowd I guess…
But our classes were good. We had our first class, and then another one after a break. We are working on Parts of Speech, nouns, verbs, adjectives, and they are getting better everyday. We have them reading very simple books, one sentence per page, and picking out the nouns, verbs, and adjectives on each page. We also had them reading aloud. With such a big class it is hard to keep everyone focused, but they do a good job for the most part.
So life continues here in Rwanda. We are learning as much as we can about everything. We try learn at least one new word a day and seem to be successful. Yesterday our new word was “Vuba” which means quickly. We can count to ten and let our minibus driver know that we want to get going. We are also learning how to deal with cockroaches and cold showers. Hopefully as time continues to pass, we’ll continue to improve. Hobe (hugs)!
(Cariste, our cook, sifting beans at the compound)
Friday, February 8, 2008
A Sample (in a jar)
Some pictures. Finally!
We will take more, post more, and make them bigger for next time. Suggestions? Things you want to see or know about? Let us know, we don't know if it's boring or not -- its just regular for us :)
Sophia after a long day of teaching waiting for the bus. KHS sits on the hill in the background
Transform your future! 800 students total - 600 boarding.
The school has a nice garden, and apparently want to start a farm also...there are cows roaming around right next door. A nice touch. Often times in town you will see a huge truck full of these cows (with horns) with one guy sitting on top watching them, making sure not to get horned.
Students relaxing during lunch. 12:30 - 2:00! If only we all had lunch breaks that long...
Fellow teachers working/preparing during one of their free blocks in the "teachers lounge"
The KHS "bell".
One of our S2 students is the time keeper, and has to leave class to go hit it, when a class is over. Some classes are 40-50 minutes, others are 1hour 40minutes - 2hours.
Our Senior 2 room. The students don't move from classroom to classroom, as in America, the teachers are the ones that do the moving. The students also take their lessons in English or french (with Kinyarwanda mixed in for sure). We are teaching the Anglophones, as opposed to the Francophone students.
View from the Senior 2 doorway. We are at the end, as it works its way up, Senior 3, 4 etc..
The Kabuga Dining hall/cafeteria/kitchen
We like to laugh...Sophia and I surely did something "American" here.
Our wonderful Senior 2 class! Still working on names...but we have most of them down.
A view of the hillside from Gisozi, a genocide just a short ride from our home. The beautiful gardens and extensive museum kept us there for hours.
The view off the patio/porch in the back of the compound. Our room is down off to the right. We usually sit on the patio in the morning and sip our tea and eat our peanut butter sandwiches. What a nice way to greet the day.
The "kitchen" Our cook Cariste is wonderful. Everyone morning we say good morning to him or Moramutze (good morning in Kinyarwanda) and all we ever get is "yego" (yes). But he is wonderful cook and no matter what time of day, always seems to be cooking!
This ones for Ned Houston.
Sophia coming out of room at the compound
We will take more, post more, and make them bigger for next time. Suggestions? Things you want to see or know about? Let us know, we don't know if it's boring or not -- its just regular for us :)
Sophia after a long day of teaching waiting for the bus. KHS sits on the hill in the background
Transform your future! 800 students total - 600 boarding.
The school has a nice garden, and apparently want to start a farm also...there are cows roaming around right next door. A nice touch. Often times in town you will see a huge truck full of these cows (with horns) with one guy sitting on top watching them, making sure not to get horned.
Students relaxing during lunch. 12:30 - 2:00! If only we all had lunch breaks that long...
Fellow teachers working/preparing during one of their free blocks in the "teachers lounge"
The KHS "bell".
One of our S2 students is the time keeper, and has to leave class to go hit it, when a class is over. Some classes are 40-50 minutes, others are 1hour 40minutes - 2hours.
Our Senior 2 room. The students don't move from classroom to classroom, as in America, the teachers are the ones that do the moving. The students also take their lessons in English or french (with Kinyarwanda mixed in for sure). We are teaching the Anglophones, as opposed to the Francophone students.
View from the Senior 2 doorway. We are at the end, as it works its way up, Senior 3, 4 etc..
The Kabuga Dining hall/cafeteria/kitchen
We like to laugh...Sophia and I surely did something "American" here.
Our wonderful Senior 2 class! Still working on names...but we have most of them down.
A view of the hillside from Gisozi, a genocide just a short ride from our home. The beautiful gardens and extensive museum kept us there for hours.
The view off the patio/porch in the back of the compound. Our room is down off to the right. We usually sit on the patio in the morning and sip our tea and eat our peanut butter sandwiches. What a nice way to greet the day.
The "kitchen" Our cook Cariste is wonderful. Everyone morning we say good morning to him or Moramutze (good morning in Kinyarwanda) and all we ever get is "yego" (yes). But he is wonderful cook and no matter what time of day, always seems to be cooking!
This ones for Ned Houston.
Sophia coming out of room at the compound
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Teaching!
We have finally gotten into the classroom!
Yesterday we had our first real day of teaching. We arrived at Kabuga High School, (KHS) in the morning, recieved our timetables (Monday-Thursday, a total of about 13-14 hours of teaching total) and were promptly thrown into the classroom and left to teach!
The only class we taught on Monday at KHS was a Senior 2 English class. The class has 13 students, aged 14-17 years old. They are good english speakers, and good writers, but they need some help with their sentance formations and grammar in general.
With no lesson planned (we figured we would just be observing on the first day), we started with introductions. Names, ages, where they are from, favorite color, class etc...
All of the students were excited to have mzungu (white people) as teachers, and students would walk by the windows and peer in in awe! But our students were quite attentive and excited, which jazzed Sophia and I for the two hours.
After trying to learn some names (some are quite unusual, but we are learning quickly) we looked through their notebooks and decided just to review what they had been learning: Grammar! Our best subject! Not! But we got through it and quickly found a grammar book after class.
But we played a game with them, with two teams forming sentances on the board, with certain verbs and tenses, and whomever finished first got a point. The students seemed to really enjoy the game and were full of enegery and competition! It was fun to watch them and help them when they needed.
Through this game we also came to find the variety of levels that the students are at. Some are very sharp, can read and write very well and understand new concepts very easily. Others are not quite as fast, and need much more help. But everyone in the classroom seems to be accepting and always willing to help other students, sometimes even too much where the student doens't get a change to try! But Sophia and I, even though it has only been two days, have gained respect from the students as teachers and they listen to us when we suggest something or ask them to wait before they shout out the answer.
After our first class at KHS we rushed off to make it to our class at the community center, Girimpuwhe at 2pm. The classes there are every Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 2-4pm.
Our class there is about 15 students, with an age range of 9 years old to 68 years old! It is such a fun class with many different personalities and backgrounds. But a common thread runs through them all; they all really want to be there and learn English, which makes our jobs much easier!
It was stressed to us that we use reading and writing as little as possible, so no one is left out if they feel they cannot read/write as well as the others. We have started with greetings, "Hello. How are you? I am fine. My name is...I am...years old. I live in..." as well as colors, and body parts (Everyone gets a kick out of the song 'head shoulders knees and toes').
Today we had another two hour class at KHS with the same Senior 2 english students! It was a blast today as we had our lesson planned out and the students were very receptive to our organization. We introduced two new tenses, Present Perfect Tense, and Past Perfect Tense! They are so quick at catching on and can create sentances using the tenses within minutes after explaining! We tried to incorporate things they were used to (i.e. We write the definition + examples on the blackboard and they copy down in their notebooks) along with our more creative techniques (thanks to our TEFL course) like creating a dialoque using the tenses between two people and acting it out for the class.
It is such a thrill to see when students catch on or have an "Ah-ha!" moment! They are so happy when they can share to the class what they have learned and it is a joy for us too!
Tomorrow we will be starting a new class at KHS, a Senior 1 English class, as well as have our Girimpuwhe Conversational class. We both are happy to have full and busy schedules that leave us tired at night but excited in the morning! We are really settling into things here, even though it has barely been a week. We recieved some treats from home (Reese's Peanut Butter Cups) which were accepted VERY well!
Although at times we miss home, and the snow, we are soaking up the sun here and are very excited about all of our classes, students, and future experiences!
I hope people are reading, please leave us some comments! We love to hear from people from home!
Yesterday we had our first real day of teaching. We arrived at Kabuga High School, (KHS) in the morning, recieved our timetables (Monday-Thursday, a total of about 13-14 hours of teaching total) and were promptly thrown into the classroom and left to teach!
The only class we taught on Monday at KHS was a Senior 2 English class. The class has 13 students, aged 14-17 years old. They are good english speakers, and good writers, but they need some help with their sentance formations and grammar in general.
With no lesson planned (we figured we would just be observing on the first day), we started with introductions. Names, ages, where they are from, favorite color, class etc...
All of the students were excited to have mzungu (white people) as teachers, and students would walk by the windows and peer in in awe! But our students were quite attentive and excited, which jazzed Sophia and I for the two hours.
After trying to learn some names (some are quite unusual, but we are learning quickly) we looked through their notebooks and decided just to review what they had been learning: Grammar! Our best subject! Not! But we got through it and quickly found a grammar book after class.
But we played a game with them, with two teams forming sentances on the board, with certain verbs and tenses, and whomever finished first got a point. The students seemed to really enjoy the game and were full of enegery and competition! It was fun to watch them and help them when they needed.
Through this game we also came to find the variety of levels that the students are at. Some are very sharp, can read and write very well and understand new concepts very easily. Others are not quite as fast, and need much more help. But everyone in the classroom seems to be accepting and always willing to help other students, sometimes even too much where the student doens't get a change to try! But Sophia and I, even though it has only been two days, have gained respect from the students as teachers and they listen to us when we suggest something or ask them to wait before they shout out the answer.
After our first class at KHS we rushed off to make it to our class at the community center, Girimpuwhe at 2pm. The classes there are every Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 2-4pm.
Our class there is about 15 students, with an age range of 9 years old to 68 years old! It is such a fun class with many different personalities and backgrounds. But a common thread runs through them all; they all really want to be there and learn English, which makes our jobs much easier!
It was stressed to us that we use reading and writing as little as possible, so no one is left out if they feel they cannot read/write as well as the others. We have started with greetings, "Hello. How are you? I am fine. My name is...I am...years old. I live in..." as well as colors, and body parts (Everyone gets a kick out of the song 'head shoulders knees and toes').
Today we had another two hour class at KHS with the same Senior 2 english students! It was a blast today as we had our lesson planned out and the students were very receptive to our organization. We introduced two new tenses, Present Perfect Tense, and Past Perfect Tense! They are so quick at catching on and can create sentances using the tenses within minutes after explaining! We tried to incorporate things they were used to (i.e. We write the definition + examples on the blackboard and they copy down in their notebooks) along with our more creative techniques (thanks to our TEFL course) like creating a dialoque using the tenses between two people and acting it out for the class.
It is such a thrill to see when students catch on or have an "Ah-ha!" moment! They are so happy when they can share to the class what they have learned and it is a joy for us too!
Tomorrow we will be starting a new class at KHS, a Senior 1 English class, as well as have our Girimpuwhe Conversational class. We both are happy to have full and busy schedules that leave us tired at night but excited in the morning! We are really settling into things here, even though it has barely been a week. We recieved some treats from home (Reese's Peanut Butter Cups) which were accepted VERY well!
Although at times we miss home, and the snow, we are soaking up the sun here and are very excited about all of our classes, students, and future experiences!
I hope people are reading, please leave us some comments! We love to hear from people from home!
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