Hello everyone! So much has happened in the past two months, my words will undoubtedly fail to express the moments I have spent here in Rwanda, but I hope at least these words will keep us connected though the distance between us endures.
This weekend was full of surprises. On Friday shortly after dusk, one of the directors of my school, ISAE, (the Higher Institute of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry, French Abbrev.) tapped on my glass door while I was practicing "A Day in the Life" on guitar. He invited me to go to Kigali and watch Rwanda compete against Burkina Faso--one of the only 3 nations in Africa I've been to--in the Under-17 African Championship. I hadn't thought about the game at all and had been planning a Saturday of bucket laundry and leisure reading, but as he sat in my cold, concrete living room I realized that there was fun to be had.
We made the 2.5 hour drive to the capital from our natural haven at the base of the national volcano park and soon found ourselves at the jampacked gates of Amahoro (Peace) Stadium with no tickets--the impulsive wailing of vuvuzelas and anticipation surrounding us. Unfortunately, we quickly realized there were no tickets available, that we had made the trek for not. Then, just like a caravan of officials, a caravan of officials drove up to the gates. We pressed ourselves against the steel bars of the makeshift roadblock, positioning ourselves for what would be at least a glimmer of hope of entering. Guards--some in suits, most dressed in camo and brandishing automatic rifles--told us to stay back as we edged our way close, shifting among the swelling crowd.
Though his attempts to coerce the lead guard failed again and again, without warning, the lead security officer opened the gate ajar, pointed to two people and they pushed their way through and onto the grounds, then another, then the director! But just as it looked like the impossible had happened, the gate shut. "My colleague, my colleague! He's with me!" In a rushed blur of pushing and running I had breached the gate, joined my superior and we made a mad dash for the field, beaming because somehow we had managed the impossible. We rushed through security, then sprinted past the ticket takers and as we climbed the slab steps up, the roar of the crowd beckoned like a siren's call, but a lot more like a large group of excited people.
Rwanda played a hardfought match, but ultimately lost 2-1. The disappointment was palpable because after going down 0-1, Rwanda equalized in the second half and the sea of Blue, Yellow, and Green waving flags and chanting in unison, everyone in that stadium was urging Rwanda to victory, everyone seemed to believe. Though Rwanda lost, I saw President Kagame on the jumbo-tron. The crowd went absolutely wild when he entered the stadium and took his seat. The man has a staggering level of popular support.
So, all in all, not too bad for the price of admission.
Saturday morning I went for a run at a stadium adjacent to the campus. While there, a few young boys gathered and started playing soccer. When I finished my last lap around the field, I ran over to them and asked if I could play. We spent about 2 hours playing a version of monkey in the middle with a rolled up ball of plastic bags held together with twine. The kids were hilarious. For those of you that know, I'm not the best soccer player, but my skills were decent compared to 8 year olds--just needed to find some opponents at my level, haha.
Most of them had ripped clothes, no shoes, and brimming smiles--I wonder how many millions of children fit that description and how many will fit that description 50 years from now. At one point I was in the center trying to steal the ball, which was passed to one of the kids. I had tried to anticipate it being passed and made a sprint towards him. As the ball touched his feet he looked up at me with the biggest eyes you could imagine, made an about face, and sprinted for his life. As I got to the ball and stopped we all started laughing and the little guy joined in too when he realized I was never actually going to slide tackle him, haha. Pretty adorable.
That's a taste of my life here and not the worst weekend I've had. Until next time...
This weekend was full of surprises. On Friday shortly after dusk, one of the directors of my school, ISAE, (the Higher Institute of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry, French Abbrev.) tapped on my glass door while I was practicing "A Day in the Life" on guitar. He invited me to go to Kigali and watch Rwanda compete against Burkina Faso--one of the only 3 nations in Africa I've been to--in the Under-17 African Championship. I hadn't thought about the game at all and had been planning a Saturday of bucket laundry and leisure reading, but as he sat in my cold, concrete living room I realized that there was fun to be had.
We made the 2.5 hour drive to the capital from our natural haven at the base of the national volcano park and soon found ourselves at the jampacked gates of Amahoro (Peace) Stadium with no tickets--the impulsive wailing of vuvuzelas and anticipation surrounding us. Unfortunately, we quickly realized there were no tickets available, that we had made the trek for not. Then, just like a caravan of officials, a caravan of officials drove up to the gates. We pressed ourselves against the steel bars of the makeshift roadblock, positioning ourselves for what would be at least a glimmer of hope of entering. Guards--some in suits, most dressed in camo and brandishing automatic rifles--told us to stay back as we edged our way close, shifting among the swelling crowd.
Though his attempts to coerce the lead guard failed again and again, without warning, the lead security officer opened the gate ajar, pointed to two people and they pushed their way through and onto the grounds, then another, then the director! But just as it looked like the impossible had happened, the gate shut. "My colleague, my colleague! He's with me!" In a rushed blur of pushing and running I had breached the gate, joined my superior and we made a mad dash for the field, beaming because somehow we had managed the impossible. We rushed through security, then sprinted past the ticket takers and as we climbed the slab steps up, the roar of the crowd beckoned like a siren's call, but a lot more like a large group of excited people.
Rwanda played a hardfought match, but ultimately lost 2-1. The disappointment was palpable because after going down 0-1, Rwanda equalized in the second half and the sea of Blue, Yellow, and Green waving flags and chanting in unison, everyone in that stadium was urging Rwanda to victory, everyone seemed to believe. Though Rwanda lost, I saw President Kagame on the jumbo-tron. The crowd went absolutely wild when he entered the stadium and took his seat. The man has a staggering level of popular support.
So, all in all, not too bad for the price of admission.
Saturday morning I went for a run at a stadium adjacent to the campus. While there, a few young boys gathered and started playing soccer. When I finished my last lap around the field, I ran over to them and asked if I could play. We spent about 2 hours playing a version of monkey in the middle with a rolled up ball of plastic bags held together with twine. The kids were hilarious. For those of you that know, I'm not the best soccer player, but my skills were decent compared to 8 year olds--just needed to find some opponents at my level, haha.
Most of them had ripped clothes, no shoes, and brimming smiles--I wonder how many millions of children fit that description and how many will fit that description 50 years from now. At one point I was in the center trying to steal the ball, which was passed to one of the kids. I had tried to anticipate it being passed and made a sprint towards him. As the ball touched his feet he looked up at me with the biggest eyes you could imagine, made an about face, and sprinted for his life. As I got to the ball and stopped we all started laughing and the little guy joined in too when he realized I was never actually going to slide tackle him, haha. Pretty adorable.
That's a taste of my life here and not the worst weekend I've had. Until next time...
this sounds wonderful!!! i am excited for you mi amigo, you're doing wonderful things, making moves in the world and educating yourself in the classroom of life. do it big, and don't forget to have your pitbull soundtrack always playing in the back of your mind! haha :)
ReplyDelete-iny beans
This was a cool post man. Good luck on the rest of your time there!
ReplyDelete-Sid
"I'm not the best soccer player, but my skills were decent compared to 8 year olds" Those 8-year-olds will surpass your skill level one day soon if you don't keep up. I'd be feeling the pressure right now if I were you.
ReplyDeleteSounds like you're having a blast!
-Kwakerz