Burundi English School... First days

Our first day was quite eventful with a total of only 7 children arriving. There were more teachers than students!  Apparently the information about the program had not been communicated well, but the Burundi teachers spent the day on the phone and today, Tuesday, tripled the number.


Monday all the children were working with me..  Tuesday we split into three rooms.  My room had 10 students ranging from grade 3 to 11, and from minimal English to quite fluent.  Some of the children were BES students and some came from public school.  In reality, my room had two groups based on skill level.  We did some story telling, some paired reading, some card cames, some outdoor games and mainly worked on conversation skills.  By today, Wednesday, there were 18 students, and a few more registered for tomorrow.

Internet is scarce.   The school uses a local NGO next door and so it is reliant on their availability. I have been trying to use that but even when there is a connection, e email may not work.    It costs more to have internet than to have an extra teacher.  The residence has no internet either.  Right ow I am in Cafe Gourmand down town, a very European location and I a drinking a smoothie!  

It is extremes xtremely quiet for me.  Emmanuel will pick me up at 8:30 and return me to the residence at 12:30.  Lunch is there fore, and then I am free until the next morning with no one to talk to.  Lots of reading.  I walked quite far today to come here to use the internet and enjoy a smoothie.

I will try and share some pictures on this blog post but need to publish it first.  Each time Ivette ride to add a picture using this iPad, the internet crashes, so I want to get the post up first, then I will move to the computer.  Hopefully I will not run out of battery!

Friends and family... I so enjoy your emails and comments.  Thanks for keeping in touch.  Each morning, as I arrive at BES, I anxiously open email hoping for a note.  Keep them coming!

Playing What time is it Mr Wolf?

Jessa is wearing my 'Story Hat': When it is put on your head you must tell me a story...

Making words.. the more advanced students are making crosswords.

Bujumbura : Unbelievable first day....

I'm here!  After a 26 hour combination of flights, I have arrived with all my luggage intact.   Amazing.  No missed connections.

I am staying at a little hotel until Sunday when the house  becomes available.  Emmanuel, the deputy principal, picked me up Friday evening  and settled me in the hotel with all my belongings.

Fancy room

 

He suggested that he was attending a dowry payment with 2 other teachers today, Saturday, and asked if I would join them.  Of course, I was all for it, not really knowing what  that meant.

Emmanuel picked me up at 8:30 for a tour of the school and a short view of the city.   I was able to change my money which is now in the Hundred thousands of something....  I haven't wrapped my head around this currency yet.  We picked up Claudine, Gabriel and .... Headed to the countryside. The 60 km trip opened my eyes to Burundi.

 

There are people everywhere.  Driving through the remotest road where the craters in the road are mini grand canyons, where there are no dwellings in sight, there are people along the road every where, walking, bicycling, carrying heavy loads on there heads.  There are children on the roadsides everywhere.  Most women are in traditional dress. Most men are not.  Young children are load bearing, bringing vegetables or other goods to sell at the nearest market or roadside stand.  The country is so heavily populated.  The first part of our journey was paved, the second half was dirt.

 

Red dirt. Red dust. Red pot holes.  Prince Edward Island does not hold a candle to Burundi red soil.  Dry, dry, dry yet still the hills and fields remain green.  It has not rained in three months.  Emmanuel says there is fear of famine in parts of the country.  This is the dry season but it began a month early.

We stopped for a beer and kebab on the way...

Grilled goat and banana... soooo delicious!

The dowry ceremony is very significant here, and it was a huge honour to be invited.  Eric, another teacher from the school, will be married August 11, and this ceremony was a big deal.  It was at the bride's family home, and there were well over 100 people there.

Weall waited outside the fence until the bride's family invited us in to a large tarped and curtained open air seating area.

 

 

 

Amstel or Fanta were served and the the fathers basically bargained with each other for the bride. When the deal was done, the bride arrived and the ceremony continued with proof of an empty middle finger and then the engagement ring could be put on! Food was served to everyone, the families had special honey wine sipped through traditional straws, and there were more speeches.

The teaches told me that some young men in Burundi can not get married because they cannot arrange a dowry. They were surprised that we do not have a dowry in Canada.

It was 8 pm before we got back to Bujumbura and already dark.  People are all on the streets and socializing is the norm. It was a wonderufl day with wonderful hosts.

Sunset through dust covered windows.

Gabriel and  Claudine



Claudine and ...

End of Summer around Gullak (Part 2)

We rented a car in Gullak, the little town that we spent a relaxing week in, and did some touring.

 Ephesus was beyond incredible.  There are no words to describe how massive a restoration this is.  Despite  a scorching hot summer day, we walked for hours. 

And then we took a ferry and spent a day in Kos, Greece.

We had a blast riding around the island

Lay around on the beach

Just a little nervous!



Back in Istanbul... how the garbage is collected.... the little bin hides a huge underground compartment!



Milos, our last excursion and a wonderful colourful market:

 

End of Summer on the Aegean Sea... 2013

After a glorious week in Instanbul, Wendy, Kamil, Steve and I relocated to the Bodrum peninsula.  We ate.

I cooked.  It was a lovely 2 bedroom apartment with everything I needed.

And we ate fish.  And more fish.

And I cooked some more.

And ate out some more, with very funny waiters who were not camera shy!

Lots of white homes on rolling hills

A boat tour

Complete with sea swims!

Lots of Tuborg and Efes.