Bugarama

A couple of days ago I went to the hot springs in Bugarama, Cyangugu with Solange and one of her friends. Bugarama is very hot! Though I was on the border of Burundi and the DRC, I felt like I was in Tanzania. The water was really hot too; seriously, you could boil an egg. The springs themselves were large; in fact, one guy was swimming in one. It was a nice little park and much better than the hot springs in Gisenyi.

On another note, the conference we hosted earlier this month was a hit. The kids gave great performances and shared a wealth of information. Forgot my camera, so no pics.

I bought a modem the other day. I was getting sick of the internet cafes in town. The machines weren't the best and, on some days, the power would surge like every 10 minutes and reboot the computer. It was, therefore, very difficult for me work on anything for an extended period of time. Anyway, I got this modem so I can work from home now. The speed isn't great, but MTN, the service provider, is doing this promotion where you pay about $1.50 for roughly two days of unlimited internet connectivity. So far so good.

Banda

Things are going well. I am teaching Mondays and Tuesdays from 5pm-7pm at a community health organization. I am also teaching Wednesdays and Fridays from 2pm-5pm at Caritas, a Catholic organization that also does a lot of work for the Cyangugu area. I am teaching English and health; my students are all adults, which I enjoy.

Part of my position as PCVL in Rwanda is to visit volunteers in the Cyangugu area. Lately I have been making a weekly trek to a town called Mushaka to help a volunteer paint a 'World Map' at a school near her house. She is almost finished and it looks great. I'll post some pics when the project is complete. She also wants to paint a map of Rwanda and a map of the human body. These are all projects to help the students learn a bit more about themselves and the world around them.

This Saturday there is an HIV/AIDS conference that the education volunteers in the region are hosting. They have asked me to MC and give a presentation about the disease, how it harms people, how it is transmitted, and how it can be prevented. The conference will be all day and the audience will be about 60 secondary school (high school) students from four different schools. Each school is also doing a skit about HIV/AIDS education/prevention. I get to be a judge. It should be a great time. I'll get pics from that too, if possible.

I also made a visit to a village, located in Nyungwe Forest, called Banda last month. A couple of volunteers are stationed out there and they hosted or regional meeting last month. (Every month the volunteers in Cyangugu meet up for an afternoon, day, or weekend to exchange ideas and hang out.) The pics here are from Banda.

Kigali Wedding

It was pretty cool. For all you Rwanda RPCVs and current PCVs, the wedding was held at St. Paul's this last Saturday. The first reception was held at the garden in 'Car Wash.' The second reception was held at the house her and her husband are renting in Kigali. The receptions had traditional dancers, Rwandan Pop-Singers (Kamichi was there and sang a few songs before he had his radio broadcast), and plenty of food and beer. Do-Do is working on getting her Visa so she can move with her husband to Europe, where he works. Congratulations, you two!

Pictures from Top to Bottom:

Tradional female Rwandan dance.

Tradional male Rwandan dance.

My date, UMUTONI Solange.

Wedding Season

June, July, and August are big months for weddings here. Because of my work schedule, however, I have not been able to attend any myself. I have made time to go to one wedding, however. Saturday I will be attending the wedding of Do-Do. Do-Do and I have been friends for a while now; I met her through Brandon and Crissy when we were all stationed in Rwamagana together. It should be a good time.

I have been invited to teach English at an organization called Caritas Wednesdays and Fridays from 2pm-5pm. I had my first class yesterday. It was great. Got to run. More to come.

Grenade Attack

There was a grenade attack on Tuesday night at the market I live near. I was teaching near my house at the time, so I was a safe distance from the situation. I don't know how many were injured or killed. I do know that the market was closed Wednesday morning. I asked a close friend why he thought it happened. He said that there are angry militia men living across the border in the DRC. These guys fled Rwanda after the RPF took Rwanda in 1994, ending the genocide. He said it was the first attack he had ever seen in Kamembe. He assumes that they staged this attack to upset the peace and security in the area.

Still No Pictures of the House

Honestly, I keep forgetting/putting it off. There really isn't to much to see anyway. I still don't have furniture, so its just a bunch of empty rooms - not very exciting.

The volunteers in my region met at my house for the 4th of July and we had a small party and meeting. It was cool. Other than that, nothing exciting has been happening really. I have been getting to know the community and the volunteers in my region, which has been great. I started an English club that meets Tuesday and Thursday nights. The attendance isn't what I want it to be, but its new and it may take a while to catch on.

Sorry I haven't written more; I just haven't been in the writting mood lately.

Alive and Cleaning

Another pictureless entry...sorry. I moved into my new house last week and I have been cleaning it like crazy. Once I get it furnished, I will be sure to post pics; the house is great, it is just empty. Ha!

Everything is going well here. The volunteers in my region have been visiting to help clean the house and show me around Kamembe. Everyone has been very welcoming. My big project for this next week, besides finding furniture, is finding some work in the community. Wish me luck. I'll keep you posted on how my search goes.