Burundi Drummers! Incredible

Watch these drummers at a practice... they are typical Burundi drummers and are awesome!

Welcomed into Homes and Church...

I have  been blessed with invitations now to both Anglican and Roman Catholic Church services.  Having attended the end of mourning ceremony with Emmanuel on my second weekend here, I was looking forward to attending an Anglican service,  Gabriel came  by the house to pick me up at 8 am, and we took a cab to the Cibitoke quarter which is quite  far north in the city.  I had suggested I would be fine walking, however I naively had no idea the distance involved. The church was already busy when we arrived at 8:30.  Gabriel brought me into the sacristy, where I met the priests and was warmly welcomed.  We then caught the conclusion of an infant baptism ceremony before the main service, Holy Communion, began at 9 am.

Anglican Church

The church was completely full.  The congregation was filled with all age groups, a notable difference from Canadian services.  There was an abundance of high school / university age members all of whom were clearly engaged and involved in the church community.

Lots of young people

One of the Choirs

 

There were at least a half a dozen different choirs who sang.  The music raised the roof.  Choirs of university students, women choirs, men choirs, high school student choirs, mixed choirs:  they were spectacular.  The music was uplifting and powerful.  I didn't understand a word of the service or music, but was delighted throughout.   Gabriel encouraged me to take pictures and videos which I will post as soon as the internet is strong enough to do so.

The church is poor in financial means but wealthy in its community and faith.

The Cibitoke neighbourhood is very poor.  The homes are unlike anything one would live in in Canada. People are on the streets, outside their homes, as that is where there is space.  Children litter the streets, and play with homemade soccer balls and roll bike tires with a stick.  They are dressed in the most basic of clothing, but people seem happy.  I felt a bit like the Pied Piper, as dozens of children danced around my feet as we were walking, chanting. ,  ‘Mzugo, , Bonbon!’  Some reached up to hold my hand.  This is a neighbourhood that sees very few white people, and I was a spectacle for the kids.

Walking to Gabriel's home from church

Esther, Gabriel, Yvonne and Didace



Making cassava bread ourside the doorstep



Lunch!

I have learned not to carry much cash and on Sunday I regretted this.  I had expected to walk to church and then return home, but the day unfolded differently.  First, there was the taxi ride, which was a luxury for Gabriel. I would have liked to have Bonbons for the children.  But most surprisingly, Gabriel had arranged for me to join his wife and daughter for lunch at his home.  He lives In the neighbourhood just north of Citiboke, equally poor.  He shared a delicious meal of meat, rice, greens, beans, and bananas in their living room, which was adorned with a poster of Obama and another of the African presidents.



Art on Gabriels walls

  Yvonne, his wife, and Esther, his daughter, both do not speak French or English.  Gabriel's best friend, Didace, who teaches high school English up country in a public school, joined us.  After lunch, we went to Didace’s home down the street where he had visitors there to sing for him and his wife and baby.  After that, we went to a local street bar with the singers, Didace, Yvonne, and Gabriel.  By late afternoon, I took a taxi back to my house with Gabriel and Yvonne who had not seen the BES home.  They returned I their home by bus. This was a day where I was welcomed into the real lives of Burundians, and I felt incredibly honoured.

I regretted that I did not have a small gift for the hospitality shared by Gabriel and his family. What an incredible day!

10 observations walking home on Saturday

I thought I would share some things I observed while walking home this afternoon.
1. A motorcycle drove past me, with a passenger.  The driver was very busy chatting on his cell phone.
2. A minibus, filled with passengers, was moving very slowly at the side of the road.  As I passed by, I realized one young man was pushing the bus from behind.
3. A building with one relatively small tree I front, and otherwise devoid of vegetation, with a sign: Treetop School and Nursery
4. A storefront with the sign ‘Pizza Hut’.  Clearly not the same chain.
5. A man facing a wall, on a Main Street, with a stream of liquid splashing on the wall.
6. On a hedgerow around the Burundi Bureau of Tourism, several articles of clothing laid out to dry after laundering.
7. A young lady wearing a heavy red wool cap and scarf
8. A parade of cars  adorned with bows… A wedding
9. A young man wearing a clearly recycled t-Shirt with the graphic ‘Class of 64’
10. This last one is not for the walk, but at home: the power has come and off about 50 times this evening! Eventually I deduce from Hilliare’s fiddling with power cords, that there is something wrong in this unit.  With most of the lights turned off, it is no longer turning off and on.

Weekend Adventures

It was another weekend filled with new adventures.  Just when I thought it would be very quiet, Emmanuel offered to take me to see the rock that commemorates the meeting of Stanley and Livingstone.   This is south of the city but not too far.  It is, as named, a rock.

Emmanual at the Stanley / Livingston rock

  However it is at the edge of a beautiful inspiring plain, very fertile land, not far off from Lake Tanganyika. Bujumbura is a rapidly expanding city and there are many new 'quarters' (neighbourhoods) being built to house the ever increasing population.  As I looked over the beautiful plain, there are the scars of new roads being built for new residences.

 Emmanuel said that the Belgians had protected the plain but no more.  They admittedly did not have the pressure of exploding population Ina tiny land mass.

After eating another goat kabab, we returned to the city and looked for hippos.  I saw a glimpse of one In the lake but it submerged before I could take a picture.  We returned later I the early evening but they darn animals were not cooperative.  Instead, we ate the little fish that are native to the lake.

These tiny fish were incredibly tasty! Easpceially with the Amstel...

Evening fishing on the lake.

We also drove to the order of DRC.   The road there is atrocious on the Burundi side and is being worked on slowly to bringitto the minimum status required of the Great Lake countries (Rwanda, DRC and Burundi).  The border crossing makes the crossings into Mexico look sophisticated.

Very skinny cows on the road to DRC

There are vendors on the road side, on the Burundi side, shacks which are the immigration and customs offices, and a rackety gate.  Lots of police.  We walked a cross the little creek to the DRC side where Emmanuel introduced me as a Canadian.  The DRC agent asked where my visa was.... Emmanuel suggested later that greasing the palms with a little cash would have worked too!

What surprised me was the buildings and landscape on the DRC side.  They were well constructed, clean, not filled with vendors and landscapes as cared for and maintained.  If we were to run a parallel, Burundi side was Mexico and DRC side was like the United States.

Sunday, we went to the centre of Burundi, to Gitega, to an end of mourning ceremony for Anselme's mother in law, who had passed away.  This involved a Roman Catholic church service with a bit of a memorial! and incredible singing.  It was followed with and short gathering with drinks (Amstel, coke, Fanta) and the donation of envelopes to support the costs of the whole process.   There wasa huge crowd there, and I was the only Mzugo.  (However, there was one other person with vitiligo!).

Sports Day at Jardin Publique

Because it is summer school, BES wants to make sure that students have fun times and not just be in class.  Today, parents dropped off their children at the ‘Jardin Publique’, a large open facility with lawn and basketball courts and rudimentary playground equipment.  The oldest boys did not come; I suspect they attend only to perfect their English and wish for more intensive class time.

About twenty children partook.  We played some of the same games as we play in Canada… my version of Duck Duck Goose (Duck Duck Dinosaur / Duck Duck Airplane / Duck Duck Anything) and the Dragon Train game.  These kids are very competitive and love a good game.

It was hot, and I was thankful for a kiosk that sold Coca… a bargain here at 800 francs (equivalent of about sixty cents).  Ladies were cleaning up, collecting leaves, which you see in the large bags on their heads.

Cleaning leaves a full time job

Spes, one of the teachers, tells me that last year they had 80 students in summer school.  This year it is extremely low, with only 20.  There is still hope that more will come next week.  Public school is just ending today so more may show up. 

The atmosphere as a teacher is much different here.  Lahdia left early to pray (it is Ramadan); Claudine left for her sister’s dowry.  Eric came later to school.  In truth, this is working fine with the overwhelming teacher/student ratio! 

Emmanuel drove me back to the residence. On the way, we were stopped by police as one of the politicians was to drive through and no one can be on the road when that happens.  I snuck a picture as we were stopped before Emmanuel suggested that it was a bad idea.

It is now the weekend.  Gabriel, a teacher, is taking me to church on Sunday, and tomorrow afternoon I will go to see Livingston and Stanley’s meeting place with Emmanuel. 

Football.. a universal sport

Playing my name game

They love the swings

Cafe Gourmand... A little bit of Home

I have come here to Cafe Gourmand twice...  it is a very contrasting experience.  This boulangerie and cafe would fit well into any city in North America or Europe, and the parties and coffee are exceptional.  The internet is real here and has been a blessing to allow me to update this blog.

The cafe is in the heart of Bujumbura, a very loud and bustling throbbing mob of people.  The streets are filled with tiny booths selling cell phones.  The air is thick with smoke from brazier fires throughout the city, as this is the main cooking method.  Radios play loudly in languages I don't understand.  Police with guns are scattered everywhere, or security guards.  Throngs and mobs describe the character of the streets downtown.  In the centre of this is the oasis of  the cafe.



Downtown Bujumbura from the roof od Cafe Gourmand

There are big metal gates, and the fences around it are wired with sophisticated electrical systems.  The building rises three stores above the seeming chaos on the street below.  I am sitting on the rooftop terrace, drinking an iced latte.  There are plants around me and the faux wicker furniture could have been purchased at the Bay... The waiters even speak English!  For this, I will pay about the same as I would in Canada for a coffee, an exorbitant price for Bujumbura...  3200 francs.   A thousand francs is worth about seventy cents.   I will try to add pictures of the cafe the next time I can log on!


The roof top terrrace

Security fences aounrd the gates of Cafe Gourmand

T

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 ...