Uganda Visit

It seems weekends are when the excitement occurs.  This past weekend I ended up in Uganda and enjoyed a very fantastic visit with my brother.  We stayed in a town called Kabale, about three hours from the Rwandan border.  The Thursday evening, when we arrived, we meet up with a friend and watched the news about Libya in a local restaurant.  On Saturday we went to Lake Bunyonyi and went canoeing in a dugout canoe, a first for both of us.  The lake and surrounding hills were beautiful and we enjoyed them for longer than anticipated as we got a little turned around while on the water.  We made it back safely though tired and a little redder than when we left.  In the evening we enjoyed a tasty supper of curry with our friend.  I am very much enjoying the Rwandan food but it was nice to have a little variety.  All in all the trip went well and it was so good to catch up with Anthony and hear about his studies and life in Kampala.  It was also very interesting to see the differences in culture, although Uganda and Rwanda share a boarder they are very different countries.  I hope in the coming months I will be able to see more of Uganda.  For now I will be remaining in Musanze and enjoying life here.

A Weekend in Butare

I am now home from Butare after enjoying a wonderful weekend there.  Pam and Prince were my travelling companions for the weekend.  Friday was full of rain and we all arrived in Butare soaked through and through.  After a quick bite at Faucon, a hotel in town, we resigned to our own sleeping quarters.  I stayed at the Catholic hotel in town and splurged for the room with hot water.  Prince settled in to his new home, he is beginning university in Butare next week.  Pam resided with a pastor friend in town.  Saturday I began my day with two breakfasts.  The first restaurant I went to had no tea, but we had worked so hard to put my food order in I couldn’t bear wasting the effort.  So I took some bread at the first place then found another which served tea.  After which I walked about 2.5km down the main road to the National Museum.  The museum grounds were beautiful, unfortunately I did not bring my camera along, and the exhibits were done very well.  There were some very intricately woven baskets on display; baskets are the main arts and crafts item here.  Most are made with banana leave or papyrus.  They also had a traditional hut which visitors could walk in to and explore.  The traditional housing is very different from the traditional houses I saw in Ghana, it has been very interesting to learn the differences between the two countries.  Visually they appear similar at first; however, I am learning culturally they are quite different.  In the afternoon I visited Expo Vente which is a souvenir shop that buys from the local cooperatives.  There were many beautifully carved items as well as some bags and banana leaf pictures.  I attempted to learn more about the cooperatives which made the items but language and culture proved to be a barrier and I was not able to obtain too much information.  In the evening our traveling trio reconvened and enjoyed a lovely evening together. 

 

Sunday was the day of churches.  Prince and Pam were both in the worship team for the Sunday morning services.  I attended the English service promptly at 7:30am, then ducked out during the Kinyarwanda service so I could find some breakfast.  Pam spoke during both services; her talk in the English service was about time.  Something I have struggled to get right.  When people ask about Canada I say we are always out of time in Canada.  In honesty, part of the reason I returned to Africa is because I had time when I was in Ghana.  I was able to spend time with the kids I was teaching and talk to people in the market because my life wasn’t so scheduled.  This time around I am feeling like I have a little too much time mainly as I am not working on a project yet.  Not having my day scheduled means I get less done each day.  I hope that I will be able to find a balance between being productive and being available to the people around me.  Carrying on with Sunday, we also attended Heart of Worship in the evening.  It was a casual worship filled with young people who wanted to additional praise time on Sunday.  The service was followed by tea and fellowship. 

Monday I travelled home to Musanze, about a five hour trip.  It rained briefly but mainly when I was on buses so I managed to remain dry.  The photos included in this post are from the drive home from Butare.  Rwanda is often referred to as land of a thousand hills and it is very true, the drive took us though valleys and over mountains.  The scenery here is incredible.  The full impact does not come though in my pictures so to truly appreciate it I would recommend a visit.  

Beginning of Week Three

First I would like to apologize for my slow updates on my blog.  I no longer have wifi where I am staying which means my computer time is a little more limited.  Initially when I arrived in Musanze I was stayed with Pam, which was great.  Due to circumstances I have now moved in with a family and have been staying with them for about a week and half now.  It has been very good.  Currently there are three in the family, there is another niece (Sandra) who stays with them as well but is at boarding school until the end of the month.  There is a grandma, aunt (Mireille) and nephew (David).  David is in primary three at school and is eight years.  Mireille runs a restaurant in town and attends university by distance educations.  The family has been very welcoming to me and it has been so comforting to have a home to come back to each day.  I taught David 'go fish' the other night and after one game he became a card fanatic much like myself.

In case you thought I forgot why I have come to Rwanda I thought I should note I am continuing my search.  I have begun to process of meeting with different organizations looking for a compatible match.  This has meant some trips to Kigali and other towns.  This weekend I will be traveling to Butare to look about and see what is happening there.  In my search I have been blessed to meet so many fantastic people and hear about some incredible organizations.  It continues to amaze me how helpful everyone has been with connecting me to co operatives and organizations which are cohesive with what I can offer.  If anyone needs some reading they can check out Azizi Life and Friends Peace House, two highlight organizations of my trip so far. (http://www.azizilife.com/    http://friendspeacehouse.rw/about/)

Maison Arbara

                        

Well it seems, at least for the time being, Musanze is my new home.  Pam was kind enough to let me share her place with her for just over a week.  Monday I moved in with a Rwandan family.  There are currently three in the family I am living with, there is another niece but she is at boarding school till the end of the month.  

In between my moving about I have been spending time with a tailor and his crew in town.  Deo has welcomed me in to his shop Maison Arbara which sells custom made clothing as well as prêt a porter.  The shop is always bustling with people, and languages, but in between customers Deo shared with me some of the history of his shop.  Deo attended university for economics after working for some time he decided to switch careers and become a tailor.  He began the company in 1994 with one trundle sewing machine.  His shop has since expanded to include 18 employees in addition to himself and his wife and eight electric embroidery machines and 28 trundle sewing machines.  About eight of the trundle machines are kept in his shop the rest remain for training new employees.  Deo trains his workers himself which ensure consistency and quality of the product produced.  The shop specializes in embroidery, all of which is hand drawn on to the fabrics then free stitched by the electric machines.  Deo and his shop are a tangible symbol for me of the hard working dedicated citizens of Rwanda.  In my short time here I have found many stories of people who are strongly dedicated to creating a better future for themselves and those around them.  It continues to impress me how willing they are to share their knowledge and experience with me.  All the workers at Maison Arbara have been very kind and though various motions and my broken French they have explained how they construct the different garments.  It has been great fun getting to know all the workers at the shop and observing the shop.  I have included some pictures from my visits highlighting some of my favourite designs and some of my new friends.