Lazy Morning and Disability Meeting

Antonia

Aaaaaah, luxury. I lounged in bed for aaages. Woke naturally at seven, but dozed after that – blissful.

Had my first VSO Disability meeting this morning. A chance for all the volunteers working in that sector to get together and discuss news, offer support, and develop strategy. It was really useful. We had a guest speaker, Ester Nandudu, from ADRA (Adventist Development and Relief Agency). They’re a huge organisation operating in 123 countries worldwide!

After that, the best part of all – I got fed :op Not just a snatched samosa or a peanut butter sarny, but a whole plate full of food, just for me! We went for melange at a bar next to my house. It was heavenly. Food never tasted so good!

I had to dash home after though, to save my washing as the heavens opened and a storm rolled in. When the rain eased up, I wandered back to the VSO office and Antonia gave me two Sign Language dictionaries: one from Uganda, the other Zaire (now the DRC) – that makes a start on my resource library! :)

Went into town from there to check on buses. There’s five of us going to Gahini - not Gisenyi! I’m still crap at geography here :op North East, not North West! We leave tomorrow to see Paula, but tomorrow morning is a special day: umuganda. Once a month, everything closes down for a morning and the whole country does community service! Nice idea, but it can really cause problems if you have to be somewhere because the buses don’t run.

I went to check whether we needed to book, then headed to the internet café until it got dark. Hit the bus station at peak rush-hour, but was glad to do it. Hadn’t been on a bus on my own there since the ordeal. Like getting on a horse after a fall, I needed to do it. 

I wandered up and down, but all the buses were choka and going the wrong way. Then a miracle happened. This tall, dark, beautiful man called out Kimironko (Chi-me-ron-go) which is the main bus stop near mine, and pointed to the end of the row where a completely empty bus was sitting! I couldn’t believe my luck – the ancestors were definitely looking over my shoulder that evening :op

Further uplifted by the drive home. This country really does have its moments. Sitting on a bisi (bus) listening to African radio and driving through Kigali – there’s something about it that makes you smile. Think Last King of Scotland when he first arrives in Africa – that bus, that music... that’s kind of that feeling. 

For the first time today, walking around town, I really felt like I was starting to feel at home. Like when you’re learning to drive and everything’s going so fast you don’t feel in control, then all of a sudden the world slows down and you realise you’ve slotted into place. It’ll take a while yet, but something definitely felt different today for a little while.

There’s a wonderful full moon at the moment. Last night, I looked up and there was a huge ring around it, like a halo. Really looking forward to seeing some more of the country. It’s about a two hour bus ride to Gahini (Ga-hee-nee) so plenty of time to stare out at the world. I’m unashamedly going to act like a tourist and take a few discrete photographs.