Week 2 - School visits

Our first school visit did not go well. As I mentioned previously, only the main roads in Rwanda are good. The rest are dirt tracks, poorly maintained and with rickety log bridges to cross. Our taxi driver was rather determined. Unfortunately our taxi was less so and ended up sliding off a log bridge into a ditch! Within a few minutes the whole village had come to see what was happening and lifted the car back onto the road. Now, Mr Taxi was very determined and crossed another two of these bridged before getting stuck. By this time we had to call it off and opted to visit our car share partners school which actually turned out for the best. I saw a mixture of Primary lessons and was pleased to see the teachers attempting to use some of the techniques we had shared. Our coaching conversations went relatively well although, again, we struggled with the language barrier. These teachers were so keen to learn and share ideas and had a real desire to understand the theory behind the techniques. Working with them was a truly humbling experience. Considering we weren't even supposed to be at that school, we were welcomed with open arms, hugs, songs and huge smiles. The head teacher proudly showed me around his school and showed a real interest in our project and how we could ensure it's longevity. By the time the taxi came to take us back, my passion for teaching had been reignited. I was full of new ideas and so excited to get back into the classroom.

Mr taxi, clearly still feeling guilt about the morning now tried to get us to the original school. Unfortunately it did not go well. The other road was still being constructed. No problem - we will just drive under the digger! Eventually we reached a bridge which was simply too narrow for a car and at this point we had to insist he turned around and took us home. We were parked across a road and, rather embarrassingly, a wedding party was coming. The poor bride had to walk in the mud on the edge of the road whilst Mr Taxi attempted to turn around. Mzungu!

The following day, everyone was up early excited to see their other schools. I knew mine was on the main road so felt more confident of a successful day. However, that day was a special day for Rwandans. It was the inauguration of President Kagame and it had been decided that morning that schools would not open so children could watch or listen to the ceremony. This gave us a spontaneous day off and additional planning time which is always useful.

The weekend saw the third and fourth day of conference. For these sessions I moved groups and actually got to work with the teachers I had observed on Thursday which turned out well. They worked hard, had a lot of laughs and showed a much improved skill set. During the closing ceremony all teachers were presented with a certificate and it was with a great sense of pride that I saw both of my groups at the front smiling and waving. I could not have asked for better groups. So inspirational.