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Click Click Click input information click click click In Process click We started processing your application for permanent residence on February 20th.  Logout.

This is my life these days.  Following by click click password click job search click nothing.  

It seems to be an endless wait for Elson's immigration and an equally frustrating wait for jobs to be posted on the Peel website.  It was better when I only had internet connection once every two weeks, then I could forget about it.  Now I click in hope constantly.   

I have been so very busy disengaging myself from Rwanda as the time to go home draws nearer that I feel that it's worth reflecting over the things I will truly miss when I go home.  I will miss the way that my body naturally wakes up at sunrise every morning because it's pretty much the same all year long.  As frustrating as it can be, I will miss the ease with which one can just say "tomorrow" when things don't get done today.  I will miss the beautiful hills that change colours with the seasons.  I will miss being in bed when the rain comes like a train passing overhead.  I will miss volunteers who pass the night, I will miss passing the night at other volunteers' houses.  I will miss long mornings over porridge setting the world to right; being able to walk to the nearest shop, to work, to the market; making friends with people I would otherwise have never met.  I will miss speaking Kinyarwanda, East African music, hearing choirs singing in the distance, maracuja juice.  I will miss the babies and children I see everywhere and the expressions on their faces when they see me walking by.  I will miss negociating in the market, buying clothes that I probably donated to charity years ago.  I will miss the friends that I have made, both Rwandan and not.  I will miss my Rwandan family - I mean my in-laws but also my surrogate family in Rwanda (Antonia, Annemiek, Han and Mans - you have been as close as family and as dear as friends).  As I prepare to leave and feel happy to be going home, I cannot deny that leaving will be hard, really hard.  I'm not really sure how to live in Canada anymore and I'm leaving behind a lot but I will be taking many happy, sad, hilarious, touching and meaningful memories with me.

home alone

Well as of this morning I am home alone until the 19th.  Well-secured as I have guards and other staff, but alone nonetheless.  Elson has gone to Itorero training which is mandatory for all teachers in the country.  It is an initiative that is aimed at fighting against Genocidal Ideology in schools.  It'll be a lonely 3 weeks so emails and phone calls are welcome!!! ;-(

As an update on the lastminute.com... the leap of faith went badly and I'm in full reschedule mode.  Turns out the training is going to be 20 days long (some still say 10 though) and worst of all my husband has to go along, leaving me all alone and bored for the holidays. I'm hoping that they'll cancel it all last minute.

last minute . com

A long time ago Antonia gave Rwanda a different name. A name that says so much more than it's original name. She called it lastminute.com. She is a wise woman that Antonia. It was clear how appropriate a name it was when the Minister of Transport banned motorcycles in the centre of kigali effective tomorrow and then recalled the decision a week later.  It was clear the day before International Women's Day 2007 when we waited with baited breath to find out if it would be a day off.  It was decided the morning of that it would not be a day off but rather that at 10:00 am everyone would stop working in their workplaces and have a ceremony commemorating women.  It was clear at the beginning of every year when 5 days into the school year students finally showed up, noticed that there were no desks in their classrooms and the school authorities said "Right, time to move the desks into the classes!" Once again the name has proved to be descriptive as well as catchy. I was placed at the district of Muhanga to work as a teacher training, which involves (as you might imagine) organizing workshops for teachers. I was told that I should try to organize them on weekends and during the holidays so as not to disturb the functioning of schools... fine. We are coming up to 3 weeks of holidays and I thought I'd be able to whip off 2 or 3 two day trainings in that time. The second week is genocide memorial week and so I knew that it would be a no go for workshops but I went ahead and made my training calendar for the other weeks....ha! how very naive of me. About a week ago rumours started to circulate that the government was organizing a political / military training for all primary and secondary school teachers during the holidays. I said "when? for how long? who? everyone?". There was no answer to my question only impenetrable stares that seemed to say "you ask too many questions lady!" So I went around asking everyone I met about the training... this by the way is how I find information in Rwanda (lastminute.com). I never ask one person and then trust the answer a) because if someone doesn't know the answer they generally try to make one up b) information changes daily c) yes and no questions are not to be trusted because - almost universally - when a Rwanda doesn't know the answer they say yes! So I've asked every man, woman and child I know - including some I don't and have had various answers, including:

• training? what training?
• The training will last all 3 weeks
• The training will last 1 week.
• The training will last 2 weeks, the first two.
• The training will last 2 weeks, the last two.
• The training will last 10 days.
• yes
• yes
• yes
• I don't know

My most recent sources of information tell me that there was a meeting in Kigali either Wednesday or today to determine when and for how long the trainings will last. I was told by one person that it was the last week of holidays by another the first ten days. I trust the latter information slightly more and so have booked a training for the last week of holidays. A leap of faith to be sure.

 

 

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