Another crazy week!!

We have had a busy week with late nights but things are getting done.

After writing last week I made some soup which we enjoyed. We all (Mark, Emily, Chris (the teacher from MN) and I decided we’d go to the airport early (four more teachers were due on a flight that evening) and get an ice cream cone at the Bourbon Coffee shop there. As we were clearing the dinner table, Mark got a phone call from Bryan, the school board chairman who we’ve been working with closely this summer. “Where are you?” Bryan asked. “The teachers are here and cleared through customs already!” Come to find out, we were given the wrong ETA for their flight. So much for getting ice cream.

So we dashed to the airport and sure enough the teachers and those who went to meet them were all standing around outside in the parking lot waiting for us and the other family who was hosting one of them. We stood around for a bit chatting and getting to know one another.

We took another guy teacher, Jack Beach from Tennessee, with us to stay at our house. The others each went to different houses. Jack will be teaching HS math, physics and PE. Jack and Chris have been staying with us all week. They are nice guys and will be good additions to the teaching staff. We’ve been calling them the “boys”.

Monday to Friday have been long days at the school office for me with meeting parents, filling Trevor Maxwell (principal) in on details he needs to know, receiving payments, answering questions for the new staff, trying to help figure out the schedule of classes for HS and MS with Trevor and Holly (a returning teacher), writing and answering emails, etc.

Mark ran around all week with the teachers (or for them) – setting up bank accounts, looking for housing, dropping off visa paperwork at immigration, going back the next day with copies of the signed contracts for the visas (the letters of appointment he’d dropped off the day before weren’t good enough), trying to work with landlords to get leases signed and working on getting the houses in shape, shopping, etc, etc.

A couple days we didn’t get back to our house until 8 or 8:30 at night! I am extremely thankful for Musengimana who works for us right now. I would give her a list in the morning of food we needed at market, a meal we needed to have ready for us in the evening, and laundry or other household tasks. When we got home, the house was clean, dishes washed and put away, laundry washed and ironed, fruits and veggies in the fridge, and dinner ready! I would never have survived this week without her!!!

Emily has been going in with us to school and helping out a lot. She has basically been a go-fer (you know: go for this and go for that). She has made copies, run around delivering supplies to classrooms, sorted out the new books that have arrived, helped teachers find things, babysat for the Maxwells while they went house hunting, etc, etc. She’s gotten to know the new teachers pretty well and enjoys hanging out with them. She said it’s been better than sitting around the house with nothing to do.

To add to the excitement of the week, Trevor hired 2 more teachers: A first grade teacher who hopes to leave the US September 2 or 3 and another middle school teacher who will fill some gaps. She hopes to arrive the 2nd or 3rd week of September. We start school on September 1 so someone will have to substitute for a bit while we wait for these to come but at least they are coming!! God has been blessing the school in tremendous ways!

Saturday I wanted to take Emily to a large market to look for some clothes. She has worn through some of her shorts and capris. The boys wanted to go along as well so we all went together, although Mark and the boys walked around together while Emily and I hit the clothing area. This market is really huge – Fruits and vegetables of all types, dried beans of many colors, shapes and sizes, dry goods like flour, sugar, etc, meat and fish – fresh, frozen and dried, hardware supplies, kitchen supplies, baskets, buckets, luggage, shoes, bed linens, towels, - well, I suppose this market is Kigali’s equivalent to Wal-Mart only it’s more like a swap meet/farmer’s market. Most of the clothes are used (I saw one with the Goodwill price tag still on it). Emily and I just wandered around the different stalls until we saw something we thought might fit her. In the end she got a couple pairs of PE shorts, a couple pairs of capris and a pair of track pants. She did all the bargaining herself – in French! I was impressed! The merchants all seemed to think she was cute and gave her reasonable prices. More than Goodwill but way cheaper than new. The boys didn’t buy anything – just looked around.

In the afternoon, Mark and the boys went to the “girls’” house to help hang up mosquito nets and other things. They tried to get things settled with the boys’ landlord so they could move in soon but that is going slowly. Emily went swimming with the Bonvallat family who just got back from their summer travels to the US (for work) and Switzerland (for medical checks and visit family). She is not pleased with the pool – said it is getting too green.

Saturday evening Mark, Emily, our friend Melissa, and I went out to dinner to a nice restaurant (décor was beautiful; food okay; price way too expensive) just for fun. The “boys” met the “girls” at an Indian restaurant which we haven’t tried yet. Said it was quite good.

Well, I will have to tell you about today’s church service later. We thought the boys were moving out into their own place today but I just got a message from Mark that they are coming back and sleeping at our house. No problem – except I sent one of their blankets and comforter to loan to another new teacher flying in tonight. I need to go see what I can find in Finnerty’s things and figure out supper…..

Things never quite go as planned here. At least we have plenty of water and electricity!