Midterms Week

On Sunday I totally rocked.

I woke up, chatted with The Man for a nice while, practiced some yoga, baked some bread, read some, and wrote some of my plans.

The Man and I have been talking about the future. Who knows what's going to happen in the future?! I know, I know...it's silly to think we can plan it all. But regardless, we are planning. I am excited with the glorious future I could have with him. It could be very difficult, but we're talking about ideas, plans, travels, and all kinds of wonderful thoughts.

Umuganda Day

So yesterday I woke up with my phone not working and my modem turned off completely.

Imagine my panic when, at 6:45am on a Saturday, I find myself completely incapable of contacting the outside world. No Skype chat with The Man to jumpstart my day. No phone calls just in case I need to. No nothing. My roommates were still asleep (OF COURSE! Because who else would be dense enough to get up at the crack of dawn on a Saturday?!), and none of them heard my desperate mewing at their closed doors, hoping to find a functioning phone and/or working modem stick.

I wept quietly in my room for a while, until I finally resolved to nap for a few more hours, and then head to the Tigo store in a few hours when it opened.

When I went to the Tigo store, everything worked perfectly fine. Was I crazy?! How did these things work now? I SWEAR they weren't working a few hours ago!!

A Week of Mini-Urban Adventures

This week I've been preparing for midterms, so I have been running pretty ragged to make sure I get everything done and squared away in order to have a smooth next week. Let's recap, though, since last Sunday!

Sunday started off gloriously with napping and snuggling with Edgar. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Edgar, he is my wonderful, kind, and very soft stuffed bunny rabbit. I bought him for myself for Christmas, and I am so glad I did. He feels just like a chinchilla (oh, how I love my soft things), and he keeps me company at night. I might feel like a child a little bit, sleeping with a stuffed animal and all, but the comforts of having something to hold while in bed in a foreign country has really been comforting. Say what you will - I am not ashamed!

Rains Down in Africa

Durban, South Africa - a place to dream about?

I so am enjoying these relaxing weekends where I lay around, read a bit, write a bit, and chat with The Man and my family and friends. There really is nothing like a weekend where you can sleep in, lounge about, nap a bit, watch a little bit of the BBC, and nap some more, to make you feel more charged to the upcoming week.

Sadly, we were supposed to go to Musanze this weekend with a hotel near school, however last minute they had to postpone the trip until next week, if at all. I was so looking forward to getting out and seeing what there is to see in this tropical area. But alas, the Universe has other plans for me in that regard, I guess. I was going to try to book a quick day trip to Akagera National Park (which is essentially Rwanda's side of the Serengeti), but it was just too jumbled up and last minute. So I will begin my plans today, methinks. It's time to go out and see this brave new world.

But for now, I will write, and read, and write some more. And maybe nap later.

Valentine Soba

So I've a new laptop! Well, sort of. One of the newer friends I made here in Kigali (she's the one from Singapore) is moving on Saturday, and she had an old laptop lying around. She let me pay about $100 for the laptop, and I am so grateful for it. Sure, it's slow, but with The Man on email and Skype, he's helping me pare out some programs and defrag the thing so I have more space and speed. I'm hopeful. Oh, and did I mention that on the keys are Thai characters? Wonderful!

Why is it that as soon as I make friends I like here, they are all halfway out the door from Rwanda? It seems common right now that I meet expats I like and they all say "Oh, but I've only a month left here." It's saddening, and a bit frustrating, I'll admit.

Bits and Bobs from the Weekend

So let's see...another few days without writing. And a few things happening. I think bullets are easiest, but I'll try to aim for brief paragraphs. Don't consider it a "flowing" blog - it's really more of a splatter of thoughts here and there and everywhere.

We fired the maid. Already. Two weeks in and she's gone. But we have a new one, methinks, coming here tomorrow. Long story short, but the cleaning lady (aka maid) didn't actually clean. We don't know what she was doing, really. Well, she did wash our clothes. But everything else was for the dogs. And then she burned Denise's brand new dress with an iron, and that was that.

On Liking My Students

I, for the most part, love my students. They may have a hard time sometime, and sometimes they are completely ridiculous and disobedient and I want to scream at the top of my lungs...but for the most part, I really like them.

Yesterday I had a meeting at a big higher institute here with the Vice Rector of Academics, so I could talk about IT (partly for me and my class, partly for The Man). I had to go just after classes ended, so I was leaving around the time the students were scattering out. As I was walking out to the road, I hear my name being shouted behind me. One of my students, Queen, was running up behind me. "I want to walk with you, Ms. Kim!" So we walked and talked. Small talk, mostly, but it was nice.

As we were walking, we were coming to a treacherous area on the road - the dirt road slopes dramatically and is all sandy and slippery. Normally I'm in my hiking boots, so I don't mind, but today I was looking nice in my work slippers. I had a feeling of dread as we walked towards the slope, and I start to whimper.