Teacha, Teacha!

Kibuye, the Nelson of Rwanda (The similarities stop at the extremely deep lake and the hills)

So, this is where I have been living for the past week, except for a brief hiatus to Kigali for the weekend (more on that later...). I just started my second week of teaching this intensive course in analytical chemistry, which I soon realized is more like general chemistry than analytical, i.e. when I assumed that the students had taken a general chemistry course sometime in their secondary school careers, I was wrong. You know what they say about assuming... Anyways after a few hours of totally revamping my notes, I am (somehow) a mwarimu, AKA a teacher. AND as you can see, I have the internet at home! I also have HOT water, and a television that features channels such as Qatar TV, Oman TV, Saudi TV and CNN Mexico. A tad bit of a random mix if you ask me? It has been PARADISE here. The weather is wonderous, and I've had the chance to get some fresh air and see the countryside. So on my first day, I showed a slide-show of many things Canadian, and with the help of Wolfram Alpha (thanks Evan S..), I found some interesting comparisons between Rwanda and Canada/ BC:
-Rwanda could fit into BC thirty-six times!
-The population density of Rwanda is about 400 people per square kilometer. Compare that with 4 people per square kilometer in Canada..
-The median age in Canada is 40.4 years old. Rwanda's is 18.7. This discrepancy is so huuuge because of the genocide.

Anyways, then I showed them some typical Canadian landscapes and animals which resulted in many ooohs and aaahs. For some reason the same reactions came with when I showed them pictures of me and my roommates at university, and of the Manor boys... (D'Arcy, they didn't understand the apostrophe in your name. Try explaining THAT!).

I also showed them some pictures of my family, they loved my nephews and niece and asked if my mom was my sister... and if my brother was my dad (sorry Chad). I met a couple of Americans who have been in Rwanda for 2 years with the Peace Corps, and I most definitely should have used their advice of "Always tell your students you are at least 25, and that you have a fiance back home". Unfortunately this advice came AFTER my first class, where I told them I was 22 and no, I did not have a fiance. They all lauuuughedd and laughed, mostly because I'm younger than most of them and apparently I should be married by now...

Lauren as teacher?

Some other interesting things that have happened in the past little while (I can't seem to add pictures because the connection is super slow here so I'll add a bunch next week):
- I had an epiphany on Monday and realized that teaching is probably one of the best/most challenging things ever. Especially when I have to constantly switch between French and English to be understood, which is no easy feat especially with chemistry terms like 'solubility product constant' and 'tris-hydroxymethylaminomethane' (shhh, I'm not supposed to be teaching in French. The Rwandan government changed the official teaching language from French to English last year, solely because English is spoken more widely in the world. But it helps when students actually understand the content...). Following my first class, where I taught for 2 hours in the morning and 3 hours in the afternoon (exhausting), the students said "Teacha, we don't usually have class in the afternoons". SCORE! I realized quickly that afternoons off did not equal free time, and have a new found appreciation for how much preparation teachers and professors have to do. Especially since I am experiencing cramming a whole course into two weeks. Impossible is RIGHT.

- A visiting lecturer stayed in 'my' house last night as he was teaching the first year physio students. He is currently studying to get his PhD in Sports Medicine at the University of Capetown, South Africa, after attaining his BSc and Masters in Physio in Rwanda. After we got talking about life, obviously I told him about my several injuries and asked him if he is working with any sports teams right now. Turns out he is a former national football team player, and now is their team therapist. He knows the coach of my future team really well! He also works extensively with the Rwandan National Basketball Association (R-NBA? Almost as good as the NBA?). Possible perfect future career for a certain lanky man with a Kinetics degree from X..

-This weekend featured me pretending to be a legitimate laboratory associate at the East African Expo, where all of the universities and many secondary schools set up booths for students to check out. After testing people for malaria, getting an ultrasound (my medical imaging friend exclaiming "YOU'RE HAVING TWINS!" while he is on his cellphone, all professional-like. I'm NOT pregnant, don't worry, it was just a (not so) funny joke...) and measuring prospective students' blood glucose levels, of course R, C and I found time to have a beer or two with my boss and colleagues at a place called CarWash. It was my co-worker's 23rd birthday so we obviously had to celebrate in style, where else but at a place called 'SunDowner', which was not as much of a downer as one may perceive..
- I've been going for sporadic runs (my last encounter with the soccer team was less than ideal, fitness-wise), which have been a great way to pass time after work in Kibuye since there is not much else to do. It isn't uncommon for me to be running alongside giant bulls being herded from pastures to their pens. BAD IDEA wearing a red shirt. I slow down to a walk when I see these creatures with horns as long as my forearm. I also run by goats every few minutes, and they seem to stare at me just as bewildered as the local people (Are they colour blind? I guess even if they are I still stick out like a sore thumb). Children walking home from school run along with me in little bits, until the novelty of demonstrating their superior fitness and laughing at me struggling to catch my breath wears off.
- Ain't neva eaten nine eggs between three people before (please refer to Robyn's blog). Aside from my haven beside the lake in Kibuye, I think R, C and I may have found our 'special place' in Rwanda. It only makes sense that it would have a large part to do with food.


Next time I write I will have given my first exam to students, gone to my first male FIFA match (Rwanda vs. Benin), and attended my first Mutzig BeerFest. I guess it will have been Thanksgiving in Canada by then, so I wish you all a happy long weekend, and hope you all think about everything we have to be thankful for in Canada. I will post my first-impressions piece I submitted to the Nelson Daily and the Nelson Star and you will see that there is much I have figured out lately that I am extremely thankful for. I'll miss the enormous consumption of turkey/mashed potatoes/candied yams at Auntie Val and Uncle Don's, and of course the tryptophan-coma that Syd, Mairi, myself and all of the cousins suffer from after said meal.

Thank you for taking the time out of your day to read this (and by you, I mean Dad, because you're probably the only one still reading...)
xoxo Lauren (Sorry I had to, I'm going through GG withdrawal)