PLaying Catch-Up

Wow...Sorry...it's been way too long. Here are the last 3 posts that should have been up months ago

End of School
So the end of school is rapidly approaching. I really gotten used to the teaching schedule and the many different students. I am starting to have some really great relationship with some of my students and i am really invested in them. I really want them to succeed and have a chance at finding a job after they finish here.
I have been really encouraged by some of my students, and quite dissapointed by others. Some students just don't really have the drive or focus much in my class. I know some of them just don't understand me or computers in general, so I try to give them the benefit of the doubt. Other students have really surprised me at there eagerness to learn. There is one student in particular that I am really inspired by. His name in Vedaste and he is one of the "inshuti" here at the center (the center sponsors him and helps him eat and live here in Gatenga...although he is not one of the boys that boards here). At the beinning of the second semester I just saw that he was not participating...and not learning much. I talked with him a bit and saw an improvement. Unfortunately on the midterm quiz, he was cheating...or letting others cheat. I let him make up the quiz and he did really well. From then on he really did his best and I saw great improvement. I am happy to say that for the exam, he was the top student. I really hope he continues to study hard with the new volunteers coming to continue teaching. He's been doing really well at AutoCAD and if he continues with it, I think we would be able to find a good job in Kigali working as a drafter. I hope to stay in touch with him and maintain our friendship. I will miss him.
Overall the end of the second semester when pretty well. I really began to realize I will truely miss these students. A part of me really wishes I would still be here to help them further and get them to a point where I feel they could find a job with ease...but I know it's time for me to move on.

Brothers Arrival
Just as exams finished, my brother arrived in Rwanda. I was really great to see him, although I'm not sure he completely recongized me with my changing appearance. Just seeing someone from my family, which normally I see so often...was really nice. It was great just being able to share my world here. It's hard to explain, but I feel like things like this just really just have to see to really understand. Pictures and stories just don't do it all.
The first week we spent relaxed at the center. It was cool seeing Ben meet many of my friends here at the center. Family is very important here, so many people were very eager to great my brother and talk with him. After relaxing, we got moving and took a very long, quite uncomfortable bus ride to Kampala, Uganda. We quickly continued to Jinja which is near Lake Victoria where to Nile River starts. Here we spent the night and then continue on to Mbale where we spent the next 4 days climbing Mt. Elgon. The trek was very steep (4321 meters) and over 80 km, long. At the end we were very spent and spent the night facing a large waterfall. After treking, we went back to Jinja to do a little white water rafting. It was still awesome the second time around. After rafting we continued on to Murchusin falls to see a few african animals. We were quite lucky and got a chance to see many animals including crocs, elephant, giraffs, a male lion, along with a female lion with 2 cubs and a day-old kill. After this we finally headed back to Rwanda. It was a great trip in Uganda but we were very happy to get back to our home in Rwanda.
The last week was also quite nice but relatively uneventful. Besides doing a little craft shopping, Ben very generously bought a goat. We greatfully had it slaughtered and cut into chunks and BBQ the meat. It was a great evening. I had a great time with my brother and I am really happy he came out. I know he had a lot on his plate and is probably still recovering from it all!
My Departure...Coming Soon!