Category Archives: Learning

Learning, Rwanda

BANANA SHOPPING

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As a Brazilian, banana has been always part of my everyday life. My mum used to plant it in the garden and the harvest was usually plenty for eating, making sweets and sharing with my neighbours. So, when I saw the banana plantation in Rwanda I thought that I could have it any time I wanted.  However, the story was a little bit different. Have you ever tried to go shopping in Ruhuha?

It was Tuesday morning on my way to school when I decided to buy some bananas.  It was a market day usually when you can buy anything you want. How difficult it can be! Well, certainly you need a good knowledge of Kinyarwanda if you want to negotiate the price.

On the side of the road close to the school I saw this lady that had a supermarket basket of bananas. I was feeling confident that I could negotiate the price as I wanted to buy everything. Those bananas would make everybody very happy at lunch time as we all love banana.

So, I asked the price to the lady: Angahe?  How much?

The lady was not sure how much she should charge the bananas from me (muzungu). Waiting for a response and while she was trying to think, a man jumped in and said: Rwf 40000. Believe me, it means about £40. Disappointed I went to school and told my colleagues about my attempt to buy bananas for our lunch. They all laughed and said that it was too much. Besides, the bananas were not beautiful.

Happily we got the same amount of bananas for Rwf 500 from another vendor for our lunch.

Learning, Rwanda, Teaching

TEACHING AND LEARNING

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Take a break and the oportunity to travel to Africa. Living and working in Rwanda was an exhilarating experience I had. I lived the culture, the place and got to know the people. A piece of my heart was left with everyone I met. Open your heart, be ready to learn and get prepared to be transformed. If you think that you can make a difference and impact other people’s life, wait and see.  Above all, it will change you and your own world forever.

Learning, Reflection, Rwanda

The Iceberg Concept of Culture

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Imagine that the culture of a society is like an iceberg with some aspects that are visible above the water and  that there is a larger portion of the internal aspect that is hidden below the surface.

What does it mean?

It means that some external aspects of the culture you can easily see such as, music, cooking, dancing, dress, art and literature. Underneath the surface is the internal culture where you are going to find a variety of notions and concepts that are implicit, unconscious and subjective of knowledge.

What does Hall suggest?

That if we want to understand the internal culture of a society we have to actively participate and  live in it.

What did I find out?

When I first entered in the Rwandan culture I started to discover the underlying behaviour, beliefs, values and thought of patterns of who they are. I wanted to interact and spend time with them.

 

Learning, Rwanda

SUGAR CANE

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I have always been proud of my origins and everything that I have learned in my life. I am not afraid to try different things and there is in me intrinsically a nostalgic rural person. I like nature, animals, local crops and I have a keen interest in all these issues.  However coming from Brazil sugar cane was not strange for me. I like it and I ‘gnaw’  it like Rwandans do, from the town to most remote areas. I am fanatical for natural food.  So, when I saw a local man carrying sugar cane on his bike to sell it in the market I never hesitated – I bought one spear (about 2 metres long) as I knew exactly what to do with it.  I walked all the way from the school to my home carrying it, and I was looking forward to sharing it with my colleagues from Scotland. I ate a piece, gave a small piece to a colleague and most of it I gave to the children who were always nearby my house. That was exciting! The children loved and fought for it. My colleagues were not so keen.

DSC06221My sugar cane spear ….

DSC06230My Rwandan colleagues were always making me happy…

 

Learning, Rwanda

MY KINYARWANDA

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It is a challenge and commitment to learn a new language, but with some strategies and resources in place it is possible to  learn how to speak in Kinyarwanda.

I recommend a phrase book. It is similar to a dictionary, but for phrases. It is helpful to memorise sentences and phrases that you need daily. I call it a “survival language.” I also have an app on my phone that helps me to work on my pronunciation and get familiar with Kinyarwanda vocabulary.

However, if you want to learn how to speak in Kinyarwanda, you have to practice the language out of a book. And if you want to learn it quickly, well, you have just to start it. Practice the language everyday. With fulltime dediction the whole process will take longer than 30 days.

Learning, Reflection, Rwanda

WHILE IN RWANDA

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These are some of the questions I was asked:

1- Would you move to Rwanda?
2- Would you come back?
3- How do I know my talents?
4- How to not disappoint my family if I choose a profession that is not the one that they want me to follow?
5- How long does it take to get married in Scotland?
6- What do I have to do to go abroad?
7- What are you going to leave for us that will inspire us, that will remind us that you were here?

 

Bon voyage, Learning, Reflection

THE BIKES IN RUHUHA

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I want to dedicate some special posts for the stunning bikes that are turning heads, at least mine, on the long wide street of Ruhuha.

I love them! They are colourfully painted and decorated with meaningful words . Their owners are proud of what the bike means for them and for the community. The personalisation of the bikes is outstanding. This one is a taxi express!

DSC06162I could not stop photographing them.

DSC06167The driver is more than happy to pose for a picture. “Simba” in Swahili is Lion. Is “Tujyende Simba” Lion of Judah?

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The Hebrew word “Shalom” means peace.

DSC06161 “Mana” is God in Kinyarwanda.

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Hiace is a van used as a mini bus in Rwanda. So you can imagine what this bike can take. “Bring it on!”

DSC06169How cool this bike is!

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Learning, Reflection, Rwanda

EATING OUT

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When in Rwanda I did have quite a few opportunities to go to restaurants. However I realised that I did not have the patience to face the long waiting time to get the meal on the table. It was always easier to grab a couple of samosas in the closest shop. For this reason, many times I avoided being out for a meal. But I tried a self-service restaurant in Ruhuha. It was a quiet place to meet my colleagues and have a refreshing Fanta Citron.

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Business, Learning, Reflection, Rwanda

INDIGENOUS WAY OF BUILDING

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The rustic methods of construction with free, local materials is engineered to create simple architecture that is indigenous to the area, and which is deeply engrained in olden times.
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When I saw the local people preparing the muddy for this construction, I thought about my dad who was a builder in Brazil. Many times I saw him making the same type of muddy cake to set the bricks. And I am thinking where my dad’s knowledge came from.

This is my dad

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Learning

SWEEPING TIME

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If you happen to be an early bird like me, your eyes and ears can catch the beauty of the first hours every morning. While the birds are singing in the trees that surround GS Rango, Ruhuha, this lady is sweeping the sparkingly clean walkway with a traditional short broom. It seems that the short-stocked broom has been part of the nation and the culture for a long time.

Well,  I thought I had also to try it myself. Why not?

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