Midterms

Light workload this week as the students were taking their CATs, or midterms.  I mostly relaxed, proctoring some exams here and there. 

Tuesday morning I did an English lesson with Sr. Constance.  We did some reading of an article about the latest in the battle against AIDS, which was in a copy of The Economist I bought in Kigali for 3,000 francs.  The article was advanced for her skill level, but was a good starting place to seek understanding and jump off into a few concepts, like spoken numbers (first, second) reporting on charts, and verb tenses used to describe the situation.

I also worked with Nathan on making papersifted fibers from a bucket of water on to a screen, then added a layer of apyrus and wings and wings and wings of the rainbugs, then finished with a second layer of fiber. 

The students invited me to join “sports” and I played soccer for awhile, leaving the game to go get the ball from the other side of the fence.  The girls stopped the game for me until I told them to start again, even though it was a hike to get back around.  I then joined some girls who were stretching and showed then, on a whim, Simon Says.  They are so very obedient.  It was hard to tell if I had just burst in unwelcome and held them hostage or interrupted their otherwise mundane moment with a novelty.

Tuesday night Sande invited the whole gang out to Savanah.  We were seated out on the lawn around two tables moved there especially for our big group, missing out on the sort of tiki pagodas this time, but with an incredible view of the full moon.  In conversation, we asked Sande about how nice the girls are to each other.  Insightfully, he explained that they are extremely cautious, particularly in how they treat one another, and in particular, they refrain from teasing each other because of any physical characteristics—all because of the genocide.

Laura and I went running on Wednesday morning.  We went up the hill near where Sande lives and turned out to the main road.  We passed the school I visited with Andrew and Nathan last week and a bunch of kids followed us!  It was a little hilarious, because clearly they found us completely absurd. 

Later, I washed a load of laundry by hand for the first time.  Ouela, one of the two “house girls” with whom I often laugh and smile and try to exchange words in our respective languages, seemed displeased with my progress.  I wasn’t sure at first whether it was because I suck at scrubbing or what.  Washing machine? She asked.  Yego. (Yes).  In the end, I think her concern was that I didn’t have enough soap.  Oh well.  The clothes are clean enough for me, though I don’t love hand-washing.  It is really quite labor-intensive, and I’m a little insecure about my wringing skills.  Won’t it rip, or at least stretch, the fabrics? 

The sisters came by for a wonderful farewell dinner for Andrew and Nathan.  We said grace before and after the meal (I got to sing the Lord is Good to Me) for the end one, and had pasta/salad and plantains and potatoes and meat and even cake!  Dessert is a rarity; this was my first here, unless not counting pineapple, which is a pretty standard last course. 

On Thursday I videotaped an incredible black beetle that was in the sink outside when I went to fill a wash bucket.  I swear the thing was two inches long and as round as a lady bug.  It was like a tank!  

I have been practicing my Kinyarwanda, especially while I proctor exams.  For one, I wrote up on the board the start time and the stop time, along with the current time.  As I studied, I erased “Time now” and wrote, “ni gihe ki?” which means “What time is it?”  The girls giggled, appreciative of my attempt to learn their language, and then went back to their work. 

On Thursday, I went along for the ride to Kigali to bid Andrew and Nathan bon voyage.  We will miss their fun, relaxed presence.  They left behind some great art materials to do with the girls, plus a skype date with a professor and her young students in Korea!

Also in Kigali, Sr. Juvenal visited a primary school taught by the Benebikiras and Laura and I took a tour of the school with Celeste, the school secretary for headmistress Sr. Ana Beata, who was apparently the first Benebikira sister to some to study in Boston.  I recognized her from a picture hanging in the third floor dining room at the Paraclete. 

On Friday, after classes ended, during “sports,” I pulled out the paints and half-finished globes for the students to work on.  We have some really nice-looking ones by now with bright colors.