Wednesday, March 10, 2010

first academic day

Today was our first day of didactic teaching and it went well. The residents have improved so much in knowledge, organization and ability to speak English. We kept the sessions very interactive with many questions and case discussions.

I will answer some of Richard's questions here. We are in a different apartment than last year, when we lived in a guest house with many other roommates. It was not a very good situation as there were dirty dishes in the sink and TV or radio going at all hours. The one part of the old guest house I miss is the large balcony with a breathtaking view of the hills of Kigali.

The new situation is an apartment just for CASIEF volunteers. It is very comfortable and seems to be free of rats (unlike the last place). We have three bedrooms, two bathrooms, kitchen and living/dining room. The apartment is in a working class neighbourhood. The streets are all dirt with lots of potholes and can be very dusty at times. The main street is full of shops with fruits, colourful fabrics and cell phone cards. We really enjoy walking to work and seeing all the children with their school uniforms – complete with sweaters! The walk to work is 25 minutes going down then up a hill. There is definitely no sidewalk so you walk along a dirt embankment or try to dodge the cars and motos. Nearby is a large covered market with great heaps of fruit and vegetables. We walk a lot because downtown is a further 20 minute walk from the hospital.

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