Wednesday, December 9, 2009

October 15, 2009: Thursday in Rwanda

Good evening from Rwanda! Today was another incredible day in The Land of 1,000 Hills. We have been in Gashora for 4 days now, but every time we ride into town (twice a day), the kids coming running from their houses to the side of the road yelling "Muzungu!" In Kinyarwanda, it means white person. I suspect we have ridden past the same kids several times, but it never gets old for them or us. 5 of us spent the day in the classroom, myself included. We continued teaching the teachers how to use Word and Excel. The math teachers and the principal were particularly interested in Excel. The thought of using "tables" to document students "marks" and to maintain budgets is fascinating to them. Who would have thought we would be using a true slate chalkboard to demonstrate tables and formulas for Excel.
Oh yeah, the teachers don't speak a lot of English. Their main language is Kinyarwanda, a few speak French. It's difficult teaching technology in English, but when you share a limited common language, it adds another level of excitement! The other 6 members of the group spent the day at the construction site working on the "foundation" for the basketball court. We will hopefully mix the concrete tomorrow, meaning the court will be ready for a grand opening next Thursday. In Africa, pouring the concrete doesn't mean backing in a big cement truck mixer. It's all by hand, every last bit. It will be a fun and exciting experience!

The lights in the dining area are starting to flicker, so our time with electricity and Internet is running out. Till next time!

DWC Volunteer Participant
Ryan Douglas

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