Saturday, November 21, 2009
Is this the beginning....
of a plague?? I sure hope not. :-) But...for the last 2 days, it seems like the locust are trying to overtake us! Haha. No, but seriously, it's rather disturbing. My kids warned me they come out at the end of October, mid-November when rainy season is at its peak, but I've never seen anything like it. It's a combination of cool, gross, and just plain weird! They are everywhere. Most are tiny locusts, a little longer than your index finger, but some are as big as hotdogs! (I don't know why I just had hotdogs on my mind! Maybe its cause my dad just said he was going to eat at Lee's. Mmm!) The worst is when you are trying to use the bathroom in peace, and they are all over the wall and their little black, beady eyes are rolling around in their head and staring at you. Or when they're all over your classroom windows, so when you go to close the window when you leave, you accidentally smoosh one of them in the window, and locust guts fall in your room. It's just delightful. I'm only joking. I tried to get a picture of a giant one, but it was in the grass, and was camouflaged. When I get a good picture, I'll post it. But until then, let's just pray that Pharoah lets the people go! :-)
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Rwanda vs. Zambia
Today was an exciting Saturday! First, Anna Lee and I found this tiny, hidden shop that sells different kinds of food, and as we were browsing the aisles looking for treasures, I looked up and saw a golden bag of Teddy Grahams! (They were really golden, because they were the honey flavored ones.) We both shrieked. It is hilarious the little things that bring you joy living in a foreign country. :-) Of course, when we examined the bag, they weren't the "true" Teddy Grahams, but they still brought us joy. From what we could tell from the package, they were a "Global Brand" of Teddy Grahams, originally produced in Scottsdale, Arizona, then shipped and packaged in India, then on to Rwanda. I don't understand it all , but I was happy I found them on the shelf at Ndolis today. They look weird though..flat bears with big eyes. They look like alien Teddy Grahams and they taste a little funny, but I'm not complaining. Ok, enough about food!
The second reason our Saturday was exciting was I got to attend an international football match between Rwanda and Zambia! We're called the Amavubi, which means Wasps. Before I tell you about the match, I have to tell you about our rat race all around Kigali, trying to find tickets! We were told by our guard and many others that we needed to buy tickets early since it was an international match, because the roads would close later on for the President coming. So we hopped on a moto at 10 this morning and went to the stadium to purchase tickets for everyone. When we got there our moto driver said that we weren't going to be able to buy tickets at the stadium because they didn't sell them there until right before the game started. He told us that government was bad in that way, and that is why there were always stampedes to get in the game right beforehand. Very comforting information! So he takes us down the road to a tiny Rwandatel shack that is supposed to sell tickets. No tickets. We pay our moto driver and he drives away. We went to another Rwandatel shack. No tickets. They send us back to the stadium. It took us about 15 minutes in the blazing sun, then we arrive and the gate police tell us no tickets. Finally a nice man tells us to walk back down the way we just came from to a hotel called Chez Lando where they sell tickets. We walked the 15 minutes back down the road, and finally found the entrance to the hotel, hidden behind a wall of ivy. We walk in, confused and went to reception. Of course the reception lady looked even more confused when we told her we wanted to buy tickets for the game. She sent us to the bar, where we found some men watching a football game on thier small tv. I just knew they would direct us to the right place! They told us to cross the street and go to Ndoli's market (where I found the fake Teddy Grahams), and they assured us we could buy tickets there. We cross over, and of course find people shopping for produce, meat, milk. We come up in there and ask the lady for football tickets, and she looks at us like we are crazy. We are so tired by now, but just laugh at each other and say in unison, "TIA," which means "This is Africa!" We talk about "Tia" a lot. :-) But then some random man in the market tells us to go three shops down to another Rwandatel shop and we will most definitely be able to buy tickets there. And he was right! Finally! We got our tickets, and the man selling them told us we still needed to arrive 2 hours before the match started so we wouldn't have to "push" to get in. Haha. We got there at 2:15 for the 3:30 match, and thankfully, the "pushing" hadn't really started. But they DO pat you down. For real. We had a female police, thank goodness. And they make you turn on your camera and take a picture of the ground to show them that your camera is real and not a bomb. :-) I laughed out loud at that. But I complied anyway.
The stadium was really pretty modern. They totally rebuilt it after the events in 94. Today's was a qualifying match for the African Nations Cup held in Angola. I think Rwanda is already out of the World Cup qualifiers, because we're not very good. From the little I understand about soccer, the winner of today's game was the last team to advance to the Nations Cup from our Group. And in order for Rwanda to advance, we had to win by 2 goals. Sadly, the game ended with a 0-0 tie, which still meant Zambia would advance. Rwanda had many, many shots on goal, but each time they got close they got really excited and overshot it. It was kind of frustrating to see so many near misses. Zambia looked much more controlled. We just seemed to be very excited when we had the ball, and we would kick it far down field, instead of pushing the ball up the field together. One of the hilarious things was watching all the guys on both teams fake injuries. They would fall down just to stop the clock and then lay there writhing in pain. Then the "stretcher" team would run out onto the field carrying a makeshift handheld "stretcher" and clumsily lift the person onto the stretcher and run off the field. Then, as soon as the person was dropped on the sidelines, they would get up and run back out there. It was crazy! But I think I figured out that the rule was if you left the field, it had to be on a stretcher. This happened about 12 times during the course of the game. Of course, each time, that player just wanted a "water" break. They would sip their water on the stretcher, be carried to the sidelines, dropped in the grass, then they would immediately run back out there to play. Hilarious to watch! The atmosphere in the stadium was great..it reminded me of an American football game. There were Rwandans with painted faces and chests, blowing crazy horns, wearing masks, trying to humiliate the other team. Lot of fun to watch! One neat thing at the end to see, was how they release everyone from the stadium. You cannot leave early at all! Not even if your team is losing by a mile! When the President is there, no one is allowed to leave the stadium until he formally leaves with all his people. It's a big, formal process. The policemen have to stop everyone else from leaving. So it took us a while to get out of there. Thank goodness we didn't need to immediately catch a moto. We would have been out of luck. A bunch of us girls walked to Sole Luna cafe afterwards for some great Italian pizza. All in all, a super day! :-)
Rwanda vs. Zambia
Amharo Stadium
An enthusiastic fan :-)
The army band playing for President Kagame
The "mzungu" crowd. Don't make fun of my hat. I was just trying to show my support for the Amavubi! :-)
The second reason our Saturday was exciting was I got to attend an international football match between Rwanda and Zambia! We're called the Amavubi, which means Wasps. Before I tell you about the match, I have to tell you about our rat race all around Kigali, trying to find tickets! We were told by our guard and many others that we needed to buy tickets early since it was an international match, because the roads would close later on for the President coming. So we hopped on a moto at 10 this morning and went to the stadium to purchase tickets for everyone. When we got there our moto driver said that we weren't going to be able to buy tickets at the stadium because they didn't sell them there until right before the game started. He told us that government was bad in that way, and that is why there were always stampedes to get in the game right beforehand. Very comforting information! So he takes us down the road to a tiny Rwandatel shack that is supposed to sell tickets. No tickets. We pay our moto driver and he drives away. We went to another Rwandatel shack. No tickets. They send us back to the stadium. It took us about 15 minutes in the blazing sun, then we arrive and the gate police tell us no tickets. Finally a nice man tells us to walk back down the way we just came from to a hotel called Chez Lando where they sell tickets. We walked the 15 minutes back down the road, and finally found the entrance to the hotel, hidden behind a wall of ivy. We walk in, confused and went to reception. Of course the reception lady looked even more confused when we told her we wanted to buy tickets for the game. She sent us to the bar, where we found some men watching a football game on thier small tv. I just knew they would direct us to the right place! They told us to cross the street and go to Ndoli's market (where I found the fake Teddy Grahams), and they assured us we could buy tickets there. We cross over, and of course find people shopping for produce, meat, milk. We come up in there and ask the lady for football tickets, and she looks at us like we are crazy. We are so tired by now, but just laugh at each other and say in unison, "TIA," which means "This is Africa!" We talk about "Tia" a lot. :-) But then some random man in the market tells us to go three shops down to another Rwandatel shop and we will most definitely be able to buy tickets there. And he was right! Finally! We got our tickets, and the man selling them told us we still needed to arrive 2 hours before the match started so we wouldn't have to "push" to get in. Haha. We got there at 2:15 for the 3:30 match, and thankfully, the "pushing" hadn't really started. But they DO pat you down. For real. We had a female police, thank goodness. And they make you turn on your camera and take a picture of the ground to show them that your camera is real and not a bomb. :-) I laughed out loud at that. But I complied anyway.
The stadium was really pretty modern. They totally rebuilt it after the events in 94. Today's was a qualifying match for the African Nations Cup held in Angola. I think Rwanda is already out of the World Cup qualifiers, because we're not very good. From the little I understand about soccer, the winner of today's game was the last team to advance to the Nations Cup from our Group. And in order for Rwanda to advance, we had to win by 2 goals. Sadly, the game ended with a 0-0 tie, which still meant Zambia would advance. Rwanda had many, many shots on goal, but each time they got close they got really excited and overshot it. It was kind of frustrating to see so many near misses. Zambia looked much more controlled. We just seemed to be very excited when we had the ball, and we would kick it far down field, instead of pushing the ball up the field together. One of the hilarious things was watching all the guys on both teams fake injuries. They would fall down just to stop the clock and then lay there writhing in pain. Then the "stretcher" team would run out onto the field carrying a makeshift handheld "stretcher" and clumsily lift the person onto the stretcher and run off the field. Then, as soon as the person was dropped on the sidelines, they would get up and run back out there. It was crazy! But I think I figured out that the rule was if you left the field, it had to be on a stretcher. This happened about 12 times during the course of the game. Of course, each time, that player just wanted a "water" break. They would sip their water on the stretcher, be carried to the sidelines, dropped in the grass, then they would immediately run back out there to play. Hilarious to watch! The atmosphere in the stadium was great..it reminded me of an American football game. There were Rwandans with painted faces and chests, blowing crazy horns, wearing masks, trying to humiliate the other team. Lot of fun to watch! One neat thing at the end to see, was how they release everyone from the stadium. You cannot leave early at all! Not even if your team is losing by a mile! When the President is there, no one is allowed to leave the stadium until he formally leaves with all his people. It's a big, formal process. The policemen have to stop everyone else from leaving. So it took us a while to get out of there. Thank goodness we didn't need to immediately catch a moto. We would have been out of luck. A bunch of us girls walked to Sole Luna cafe afterwards for some great Italian pizza. All in all, a super day! :-)
Rwanda vs. Zambia
Amharo Stadium
An enthusiastic fan :-)
The army band playing for President Kagame
The "mzungu" crowd. Don't make fun of my hat. I was just trying to show my support for the Amavubi! :-)
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Be Thou My Vision
I've been humming this great hymn all week. I finally looked up all the verses to it. It's been my prayer this week.
Be thou my vision, oh Lord of my heart.
Naught be all else to me, save that thou art.
Thou my best thought, by day or by night.
Waking or sleeping, thy presence my light.
Be thou my wisdom and thou my true word.
I ever with thee, and thou with me, Lord.
Thou my great Father, and I thy true son.
Thou in my dwelling, and I with thee one.
Riches I need not, nor man's empty praise.
Thou mine inheritance, now and always.
Thou and thou only, first in my heart.
High King of heaven, my treasure thou art.
High King of heaven, my victory won.
May I reach heaven's joys, O bright heaven's sun.
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall.
Still be my vision, O ruler of all.
Be thou my vision, oh Lord of my heart.
Naught be all else to me, save that thou art.
Thou my best thought, by day or by night.
Waking or sleeping, thy presence my light.
Be thou my wisdom and thou my true word.
I ever with thee, and thou with me, Lord.
Thou my great Father, and I thy true son.
Thou in my dwelling, and I with thee one.
Riches I need not, nor man's empty praise.
Thou mine inheritance, now and always.
Thou and thou only, first in my heart.
High King of heaven, my treasure thou art.
High King of heaven, my victory won.
May I reach heaven's joys, O bright heaven's sun.
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall.
Still be my vision, O ruler of all.
Friday, November 6, 2009
Pothole update
Ok, so do you remember pothole #8 in front of our house that I posted about back in Septmeber??? Well, this is an update about what it looks now. Ha! Not much improvement, huh?Another cute, quick story from my kids today.......
It was raining today when it was sunny outside. One of my girls, Chanil, says, "Ms. Griggs, do you know what we say in Rwanda when it rains when the sun is shining?"....We say that a frog is getting married.
WHAT??? And this whole time in America, we thought it just means a rainbow will appear! Haha! I got a good laugh out of that one. :-)
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Hard question
I have very thoughtful students. They are very intelligent too, and inquisitive. I knew that this question would arise out of them sometime during our Bible lessons this year, just not this soon. As you know, we've been studying about how God is omniscient this week, and how He knows everything we need and desire even before we ask Him. He is omnisicent. He knows it all. So during our discussions today, one of my sweet girls, Norah, asks the question..."So if God knows everything and can do anything, then why did he let the genocide happen? Why did he let my grandparents be killed?" Others piped up...yeah, why did God let my auntie be killed, or why did my parents have to flee Rwanda?" I was kind of starting to stumble over what I would tell these 4th graders...this question can be so difficult for adults to understand or comprehend! But 4th graders? I said a quick prayer and said God just speak to me, Help me to answer them in a way that is true that they would understand. And then, almost immediately, another sweet student of mine, Orla, raises her hand and says, "Ms. Griggs, I think it's just like that song we sing during morning worship...He gives and takes away...but blessed be his name." Wow. It gave me chills. That was one of my proudest and most precious moments being a teacher. I just smiled and said, Yes, Orla, you are absolutely right. Blessed be His name! I am learning so much from my students. I'm thankful God chose Orla to teach us today.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Language Lessons
So on top of everything else going on this week...fall festival, report cards, parent conferences, etc... we still had Kinyarwanda languauge lessons after school yesterday. I'm really not complaining! I want to learn more of the language, but practicing Kinyarwanda for a couple hours really does a number to your already-tired brain! Let me tell you a little bit about Kinyarwanda. It's been said that it is the 17th most difficult language in the world to learn. But for English speakers...it becomes the 7th most difficult language! After a few lessons, I can understand this!
I really love learning and studying new languages. I was hopeful my French would improve and be restored from when I learned it in college....but so many people can speak Swahili here, so it's been easy to just speak Swahili. I know what you're thinking...too many languages in one tiny country the size of Maryland! Yes, I know! There are many French speakers due to Rwanda once being colonized by Belgium, and later France. And of course, theres the national Kinyarwanda language. And many of the adults also speak Swahili and perhaps even another tribal language due to their days of exile living in Congo, Uganda, Kenya, or Tanzania. And to complicate matters, now President Kagame has said that his country will no longer speak French, but will instead become an Anglophone country, and beginning this year, schoolchildren will be learning English too! (Apparently there's some bad political blood with the French now...they have even refused French parents to adopt Rwandan orphans.)
So, you basically have your pick of languages, and out of all those, Kinyarwanda is by far the most difficult one! Swahili is really easy...all the words sound exactly like they are spelled, and they easily roll off your tongue. Plus, you can travel to almost anywhere in East Africa, and they will know Swahili. But Kinyarwanda is only spoken here. So I have to admit, I haven't felt this huge desire and need to learn Kinyarwanda, even though I know I really need to learn many phrases just out of respect for the people here since this will be my home for at least a year. It's been a slow learning process thus far!
For example...here are two words....mwiriwe? which means Good afternoon. Yes, you have to say it like a question you are asking them. Then theres, mwiriwe! which is spelled the exact same, but sounds a bit different right there in the middle, and you don't say it like a question. This one means Have a nice day.
Nibyiza is what you say when someone asks you how is everything? Nibyiza means everything is good. But here's how you pronounce it....neebeegeezay! Not at all like it is spelled!
The plural form of you is mwebwe...but you say it like this...mwebgay.
Basically there are no G's in the Kinyarwanda alphabet, but there ARE "G" sounds. Go figure. Also there is no "L" in the alphabet, but again, there are L sounds. All their "Rs" are pronounced as "Ls." Also, most "D's" you don't pronounce, but a few you do. And all "K's" are pronounced with a "ch" sound.
And there's some Kinyarwanda words that totally sound like they belong to another country....like "iki niki." You pronounce it like, "ichi nichi." It means what is this? To me, that sounds like Japanese.
And how about the word, turasubira? Sounds and looks like Spanish to me. But it means See you later. And this word actually sounds just like it's spelled!
The funniest thing to us Americans is the word for "No" which is "Oya." They say it all the time, and we still think they are agreeing with us, and saying, "Oh yeah!" :-)
I love language...I really do. But I need help with this one!
I really love learning and studying new languages. I was hopeful my French would improve and be restored from when I learned it in college....but so many people can speak Swahili here, so it's been easy to just speak Swahili. I know what you're thinking...too many languages in one tiny country the size of Maryland! Yes, I know! There are many French speakers due to Rwanda once being colonized by Belgium, and later France. And of course, theres the national Kinyarwanda language. And many of the adults also speak Swahili and perhaps even another tribal language due to their days of exile living in Congo, Uganda, Kenya, or Tanzania. And to complicate matters, now President Kagame has said that his country will no longer speak French, but will instead become an Anglophone country, and beginning this year, schoolchildren will be learning English too! (Apparently there's some bad political blood with the French now...they have even refused French parents to adopt Rwandan orphans.)
So, you basically have your pick of languages, and out of all those, Kinyarwanda is by far the most difficult one! Swahili is really easy...all the words sound exactly like they are spelled, and they easily roll off your tongue. Plus, you can travel to almost anywhere in East Africa, and they will know Swahili. But Kinyarwanda is only spoken here. So I have to admit, I haven't felt this huge desire and need to learn Kinyarwanda, even though I know I really need to learn many phrases just out of respect for the people here since this will be my home for at least a year. It's been a slow learning process thus far!
For example...here are two words....mwiriwe? which means Good afternoon. Yes, you have to say it like a question you are asking them. Then theres, mwiriwe! which is spelled the exact same, but sounds a bit different right there in the middle, and you don't say it like a question. This one means Have a nice day.
Nibyiza is what you say when someone asks you how is everything? Nibyiza means everything is good. But here's how you pronounce it....neebeegeezay! Not at all like it is spelled!
The plural form of you is mwebwe...but you say it like this...mwebgay.
Basically there are no G's in the Kinyarwanda alphabet, but there ARE "G" sounds. Go figure. Also there is no "L" in the alphabet, but again, there are L sounds. All their "Rs" are pronounced as "Ls." Also, most "D's" you don't pronounce, but a few you do. And all "K's" are pronounced with a "ch" sound.
And there's some Kinyarwanda words that totally sound like they belong to another country....like "iki niki." You pronounce it like, "ichi nichi." It means what is this? To me, that sounds like Japanese.
And how about the word, turasubira? Sounds and looks like Spanish to me. But it means See you later. And this word actually sounds just like it's spelled!
The funniest thing to us Americans is the word for "No" which is "Oya." They say it all the time, and we still think they are agreeing with us, and saying, "Oh yeah!" :-)
I love language...I really do. But I need help with this one!
God Knows Me
In our Bible lesson this week, we've been studying about how God is omniscient and what that means. We've marveled at how He knows all the hairs on our head, He has names for all the stars in the sky, and He even knows what we need and desire before we even ask Him! God is cool! Today we wrote acrostic poems with the word Omniscient. Students had to complete the sentence or phrase and list something God knows about them. Some of them were sweet, some were so honest and innocent, and some were just hilarious. The innocence of children is so refreshing! I wanted to share some with you...
God knows that I like otters.
God knows that I like obeying Him. (precious!)
God knows that I like my friend Orla.
God knows that I like Oreos (American kid!)
God knows how I like my eggs cooked.
God knows how I like to milk my cow.
God knows how I manage to forgive myself when I sin. (precious!)
God knows that I will never hate Him.
God knows that I will never steal anything.
God knows that I will never stop respecting my elders.
God knows that I will never be a boy! (written by a girl. :-))
God knows that I will never punch anyone.
God knows that I will never forget him.
God knows that I will never give in to Satan.
God knows that I will never stop loving Him! (Amen!)
God knows when I feel ill.
God konws when I feel immature.
God knows when I feel ignored.
God knows when I feel invisible.
God knows when I feel incouraged. :-)
God knows that I can skateboard down a mountain in New Zealand.
God knows that I can sleep late on Saturdays.
God knows that I sin sometimes because I'm not perfect like Him.
God knows that I can scream. :-)
God knows that I can say, "Yes, God you rock!"
God knows that I can scare my sisters.
God knows that I can stomp on an ant.
God knows that I can seek Him every day.
God knows that I eat Cocopuffs. (American kid!)
God knows that I eat crispy, crunchy chicken.
God knows that I love Irisse and Inah, my sisters.
God knows that I love icecream.
God knows that I love Indiana Jones.
God knows that I have excellent praises for Him.
God knows that I have embarrassed my parents before. (haha!)
God knows that I have everything I need.
And my favorite one....God knows that I have enteligense. :-)
God knows that I am not giving up on being a good Christian.
God knows that I am not really a bad person.
God knows that I am not a burgular.
God knows that I am nice.
God knows that I am never alone because He is with me!
God knows that I am never going to be 1,000 years old like the people in the Bible. (haha!)
God knows that I'm not gonna lie or steal ever again!
God knows where I take my breakfast. (this is the term they use for eating.)
God knows where I take naps.
God knows where I track down the termites and catch them.
Sometimes I need to remind myself that God really does know everything about me, and He still loves me completely and wants to bless me! Psalm 147:5 says.. "Great is our Lord and mighty in power; his understanding has NO limit." None. Nada. Zero. No limits to his abilities and understanding! :-) What have you been trying to "keep" or "hide" from God lately? Whatever it is...it's really just KEEPING you from Him and enjoying the fullness of His presence!
Be blessed! He knows us and still loves us!
God knows that I like otters.
God knows that I like obeying Him. (precious!)
God knows that I like my friend Orla.
God knows that I like Oreos (American kid!)
God knows how I like my eggs cooked.
God knows how I like to milk my cow.
God knows how I manage to forgive myself when I sin. (precious!)
God knows that I will never hate Him.
God knows that I will never steal anything.
God knows that I will never stop respecting my elders.
God knows that I will never be a boy! (written by a girl. :-))
God knows that I will never punch anyone.
God knows that I will never forget him.
God knows that I will never give in to Satan.
God knows that I will never stop loving Him! (Amen!)
God knows when I feel ill.
God konws when I feel immature.
God knows when I feel ignored.
God knows when I feel invisible.
God knows when I feel incouraged. :-)
God knows that I can skateboard down a mountain in New Zealand.
God knows that I can sleep late on Saturdays.
God knows that I sin sometimes because I'm not perfect like Him.
God knows that I can scream. :-)
God knows that I can say, "Yes, God you rock!"
God knows that I can scare my sisters.
God knows that I can stomp on an ant.
God knows that I can seek Him every day.
God knows that I eat Cocopuffs. (American kid!)
God knows that I eat crispy, crunchy chicken.
God knows that I love Irisse and Inah, my sisters.
God knows that I love icecream.
God knows that I love Indiana Jones.
God knows that I have excellent praises for Him.
God knows that I have embarrassed my parents before. (haha!)
God knows that I have everything I need.
And my favorite one....God knows that I have enteligense. :-)
God knows that I am not giving up on being a good Christian.
God knows that I am not really a bad person.
God knows that I am not a burgular.
God knows that I am nice.
God knows that I am never alone because He is with me!
God knows that I am never going to be 1,000 years old like the people in the Bible. (haha!)
God knows that I'm not gonna lie or steal ever again!
God knows where I take my breakfast. (this is the term they use for eating.)
God knows where I take naps.
God knows where I track down the termites and catch them.
Sometimes I need to remind myself that God really does know everything about me, and He still loves me completely and wants to bless me! Psalm 147:5 says.. "Great is our Lord and mighty in power; his understanding has NO limit." None. Nada. Zero. No limits to his abilities and understanding! :-) What have you been trying to "keep" or "hide" from God lately? Whatever it is...it's really just KEEPING you from Him and enjoying the fullness of His presence!
Be blessed! He knows us and still loves us!
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