Week 3 in Burundi

I made a mistake about Lake Tanganyika it is supposed to be the second deepest lake not the second biggest. Sometimes things get lost in translationJ. We went back to Lake Tanganyika on Saturday with one of the board members and their family. We went a beautiful spot and had this spot been in Canada, it would be overrun with people, but here there were very few.  We ate lunch by the lake and then the kids had a great time splashing in the lake. Ariel took us to another spot just down from us that they call Bora Bora. It was pretty posh and had many Muzungos (white people). On the way there we saw a bike towing a motor cycle. Greg and I smiled at the irony but it was Ariel who said “only in Africa”.

Greg and the kids went with our friend Moses to see his African drumming band. Moses called some of his friends together to put on a show for the kids. They even go into their traditional dress. They carry these 50 lb drums on their heads. Moses’s drumming band is the second best in Bujumbura and he travels around Africa with them.  They even let the kids have a try. People here are so generous with their time.

On Sunday Greg and I went to the English mass at the Catholic Church with one of the board members. This was the first time Greg and I went downtown without a Burundian friend. We were able to communicate with the cab driver and made it there and back with no troubles. The Catholic Church was very packed.  They did have fans running to keep it somewhat cool but the power went off several times during the service and it was very hot. The one plus for me when the power went off was the electric piano didn’t work, so you could really hear the harmony in the singing and it was amazing. The priest gave a nice sermon on compassion and it really hit a cord because sometimes I find my attitude isn’t where it should be.

We have really started to hit the grammar hard in class and I have to say I find it incredibly dry and I think the kids do too. Poor Greg has had to venture into past perfect tenses.  We hate to make them suffer, so we also play games and they love them. Their faces light up whenever we mention the word game. We like to play hangman, bingo, 20 questions and even go fish. The twins love to join in on the games. Greg takes his class to a nearby field and they play football (soccer).

Our kids get picked by and dropped off at the school and Greg and I walk. It is about a 20 minute walk, so it is not so bad in the morning but rather hot in the afternoon. We often stop at a little store and get a treat for lunch, like a cold drink. We do not have a fridge or stove at our house. We have a wonderful cook who uses coal to heat things at the back of our house. We have had fish, french fries, coleslaw, and a lot of avocados. Hanna is in heaven. Speaking of Hanna, I was worried that she would not know what to do with her fingers since she cannot text here in Africa. But not to worry, she has found a new use for her fingers and that is knitting. She is actually quite good. Perhaps she will start a new trend with teens back in Canada.

Since we do not have all the conveniences of home, we have gotten reacquainted with each other. We have been having some great family times, laughing, playing games, and talking about our experiences in Burundi so far. The twins have fun using their imagination and can entertain themselves quite well most times.  On Sunday we sat out on our veranda and we listened the sound track of the Lion King. How cool is that, listening to the Lion King in Africa!!

We were invited to a prayer meeting at the Prime Ministers house last night by one of the teachers. The Prime Minister in Burundi meets with the people every Monday night to worship and pray with the people. He never misses a Monday unless he is out of town. They asked Greg to address the crowd and introduce us. They gave us a very warm welcome. There was quite a lengthy sermon in Kirundi but a fellow next to Hanna and I translated it into English for us and gave us an English Bible.

We were able to meet up with our friend Charles’s Cousin, Martin today. Charles is a friend from Edmonton who grew up on the Congo/ Burundi border and he is the one who told us about Burundi. We had a nice visit with Martin and he will take us to an English Church on Sunday. He lives close to us but the trouble here is that there are not addresses really so you have to use landmarks to tell people where you live. Luckily we are close to a popular restaurant that most people know about.

We are now having coffee with our friends Kenny and David. They have been great about showing us around and taking care of us.      

Week 2

Our apologies for not blogging sooner, it has been problematic to get onto the internet for us. We have to go downtown to an internet café, quite a ways from our house in order to get access. I am sitting in the dark right now. We have lost power at least 3 times since we have been here so our headlamps come in handy!

On our first weekend we went to a reserve to see Hippos. We were able to see them from afar, it was quite thrilling to see them in their natural habitat. We then made our way to the Congo/Burundi border. It was very busy with people buying and selling items, there were also many people crossing the border. The kids were quite intrigued with a man cooking goat heads on a barbeque... As we drove to the Congo border we saw many bikes and it is very surprising to see the amount of cargo they are able to carry. Believe it or not they carry huge sacks of potatoes on bikes. I think the Burundians could give the Tour de France a run for its money.

After we visited the Congo border we sent to Lake Tanganyika. Many of the people here have had close calls with Hippos or Crocodiles and will no longer go in the water, which I can understand. The lake is beautiful. It is the second largest fresh water lake in the world According to the folks here. The kids had a great time building a sand castle with their new friend Arielle.

We have now almost completed our second week of school. We are starting to get the hang of it. The board members really want to focus on grammar, reading, and speaking so we are trying our best. I think people in Burundi feel an urgency to learn English. Currently they speak French and Kirundi but they are one of the last East African countries to adopt English as one of their core languages. Many Burundians feel that if English is adopted as one of their main languages it will help them in many areas including world trade.

Our family is adjusting to life in Burundi. Perhaps the Lessmeister that has adjusted the quickest is Miss Megan.  She has informed me that she now has 17 friends and she much prefers the antics in the Burundian classroom to the Canadian. When kids want to answer a question in Burundi schools, they snap their fingers and say me, me, me!!! Megan thinks this is much better than having to sit quietly with your hand up when you know the answer. She also likes to pretend that she is the teacher, she walks around the classroom of students who are at least 3 years older than her and she tries to check their work. The kids all laugh at this. Jordan has his good days and bad. He is not use to the enthusiastic play that goes on here and spends a lot of his time at recess hiding out in my class room. Erin and Hanna continue to be a big help in the classroom. As for Greg and I, we are finding it a challenge as many of the plans we came with are not really suitable for the students so we have had to start the planning all over. It does make for a busy day but we are seeing the children improve.

We have met some young Burundian teachers that have taken us under their wing and have shown us around a bit. Hanna, Erin and I went Downtown with 2 of the young teacher, Kenny and David. We toured an art gallery, we saw the market, and even went for a latte. The market was quite an experience. It is very large and you can buy just about anything there. It was very busy. Kenny and Dave are both Christians and they are quite an inspiration. They spoke to us about their lives have changed since they became a Christian and their stories are very inspiring. Both have lost their parents when they were very young and that is not uncommon here for people in their early twenties. They all speak about the evils of war and they are very thankful that they now have peace. We had great discussion about our faith and it is interesting to hear that they have the same challenges we do when it comes to having a unified church.

We want to thank all who are praying for us. The people here are really looking after us and we are falling in love with the people here.    

First week in Burundi

Our journey to Burundi began on July 6^th, 2012 at 10:30 pm and we arrived in Burundi on July 09^th at 1:00p.m. We were anxious about the trip given the length (2 overnight flights), amount of luggage (24 pieces), and what would happen when we arrived. However, we had many praying for a safe journey and that is exactly what we had.

When we arrived at the airport in Bujumbura, we experienced the warm African greetings that many friends have told us about. We were so tired from our long journey and we still had to clear customs, and collect all our luggage. Two of the board members  met us with open arms as soon as we deplaned. They helped us through security and also to collect all our luggage. Now you may be thinking why 24 pieces of luggage and that is a good question. We tried to take maximum school supplies, and we also transported a lot of school curriculum from Canada which will be used in the fall at the Burundi English School.

A Beautiful bouquet of Roses that was left for us at the house we are staying at

When we arrived at the house we were staying at we were invited to a wedding celebration of the couple that lives upstairs from us. This is one of the many celebrations that occur after the wedding and its purpose is for the groom’s family to welcome the bride into the family. The welcoming occurs primarily as singing and the singing was amazing. Erin was invited by one of the ladies to join the dancing.

Monday July 09^{th was} the first day of the Burundi English School’s summer program. This program is open to any children in Bujumbura and its purpose is to increase the children’s competency in English. The program has both Canadian and Burundian teachers and it runs for 5 weeks from 9:00 a.m. until noon. The children must pay to attend the summer school. Some children will attend the school for the entire 5 weeks and others will just come for part of it. The ages of the children that attend the school vary from 4 years to 17 years of age. We have divided the summer school into 3 classes; beginner, intermediate and advanced. The beginner class in taught by Lidia a Burundian teacher and Hanna our 14 year old, I (Carol) teach the intermediate class along with our other 3 children, Erin (10), Jordan (7) and Megan (7). I also have a Burundian teacher that assists me and this week it was Space. Greg teaches the advanced class and he was assisted by Claudia, a Burundian teacher. Perhaps the biggest challenge we have encountered is the wide range of both age and competency in English. Since we did not really know what to expect we did not know what materials would be applicable for teaching. The board members of the Burundi English School really want to focus on grammar and speaking so that is what we are trying to do.

Now I have talked about the impressive African greetings and the children embrace this as much as the adults. When they enter class they say good morning and shake your hand. It doesn’t matter if they are 4 or 17, they take the time to greet you and shake your hand and they also greet our children as well. I am very pleased with how Hanna and Erin are taking on a teacher’s assistant role and helping with the class.

Hanna and some of her students for the beginner class

 

The twins desperately want to teach as well, so I always try to get them to give an example to the class, when we are trying to teach them something. The Burundian children love playing with Jordan and Megan and they in turn love playing with them.

We have completed our first week at the Burundi English School’s summer program and although it has been a bit of a challenge, we are happy to be able to help all be it in a very small way. The children are very endearing and provide us much motivation.