Kinyarwanda

Mwiriweho, amakuru yawe?

VSO have something called the Volzone, which is a database of information on each of the countries they work in. There's a section for pre-departure volunteers to learn about the volunteering strategies, political and cultural aspects, and language of their destinations.

When I get to Rwanda I should get some language training, although I’m arriving at a different time to most of the volunteers who will get there in September. Hopefully, I will still get some Kinyarwanda lessons, and there are some online modules I have to get to grips with first. The modules aren't too bad - just learning to speak and listen rather than the grammatical structure of the language, but it's quite different to English. I have real trouble retaining vocabulary. My pronunciation isn't generally too bad, if only I could remember the words in the first place :op

I remember trying to learn a little Yoruba once. That was easier as I managed to get books and tapes from a university department and there were online resources. Kinyarwanda seems to be very short on resources and I have found no online sites yet. However, I have joined an online language exchange and found a Kinyarwanda teacher in Kigali who wants to improve his English, although he's already very good. Hopefully we can practice on Skype before I get out there, and then I’ll already know at least one person in the city :)

I've also been chatting to one of the volunteers over there, who is coming back in September. Hopefully we'll have a chance to meet up. She's been there for a year as a YfD (Youth for Development) volunteer. These seem to be like one-year volunteering posts for gap year students as she's halfway through her degree at the moment. Apparently, another YfD also went for the job I’ve got, so I feel a bit bad as that now means they are coming home :(

We've also been having an interesting discussion about the anti-malarials. I went to do some dreading for a friend in Bath yesterday, and her housemate had also been with VSO to South Africa. I’ve talked to about four or five people now about their experiences on the medication, and it hasn't been inspiring. 

My preference is for Mefloquine (Larium) because you only have to take it once a week instead of every day. The problem is that it can cause serious psychological problems and everyone I’ve spoken to who took it changed to Doxycycline. Some suffered severe depression, claustrophobia, and one even had a seizure! It mucks up your neurochemistry quite badly and has been linked to suicides! The only one who I spoke to (friend's housemate) who didn't report horrific side effects, said she experienced really crazy dreams. 

The problem is that the other option, Doxycycline, is an antibiotic and can lead to sun sensitivity (i.e. burning easily), and someone said it gives them occasional stomach upsets. Plus taking antibiotics for a prologued length of time is not recommended. Apparently, both medications are only really recommended for up to six months, so two years could have pretty bad effects. This is something I need to talk to my doctor about. Several of the volunteers out there that I’ve spoken to said that they didn't take anything - that they started off taking them but, due to the side effects, they stop. Now they just take extra precaution not to get bitten.

It's something I need to talk over more with a doctor and give some thought to. One volunteer said that the side effects of Mefloquine made life absolutely miserable until she stopped taking it, and that it stays in the blood a long time. They said that one volunteer was still experiencing side effects a year after stopping taking it.

Aaaanyway, shan't worry about it yet. I've just started feeling better after the cholera vaccine. It's the only one I’ve had a bad reaction to, and the only one I had to take orally. It comes with a sachet of Alker-Seltzer type powder which you put in a glass of water. It fizzes up and you add a small vial of liquid (the vaccine), stir, and down. It tastes foul - sickly sweet because of the powder. It also gave me a slight stomach upset for a couple of days and I felt quite down :( 

Seem to be okay now, although I do have another dose to take in a couple of weeks.

Enough whinging though. Cholera itself would be much worse!

Urabeho x