Exams

I can attest to the fact that no matter how much you may have hated exams as a student, they are a thousand times worse as a teacher. Especially in Africa. Apparently no one realized I had never taken, let alone given an exam in Rwanda so I have spent the last few days making a complete fool out of myself in front of the whole school. First mistake, I made a study guide, which the students thought was hilarious as did all the other teachers. On the study guide I wrote that all students had to bring their exercise books for me to mark, which backfired considering the students, are mixed according to student number not grade and bringing your exercise books to an exam is a serious offense. That was a fun one to explain to the Prefect of Discipline when he had a line a mile long outside of his office. I’ve also let exams run an hour too long or finished them an hour too early, made comments about the secretaries math skills when I thought I was short one exam for each grade only to realize that the paper folded around the exams was the missing link, tried to be authoritative (even though the students are totally on to me) and in the process SLAMMED in to a desk so hard that I bent over in pain and now I have a huge welt on my knee. Sitting in a classroom for three hours at a time staring at students write is like torture so I bring my iPod also I’m still really sick so I’ve been going to school in my sweats. Both things that I’m pretty sure are causing quite a scandal in the staff room. O well.

Fun teacher Claire really doesn’t translate well in this context and so I cannot wait for exam time to be over. And then there’s marking. O lord I hate marking. I was a genius and assigned a composition portion on the exam which is brutal to grade. An excerpt, “When we gone to visity my boyfriend in the way met a coach very longer than a taxis in the coach saw a beautiful girl had a small luggage.” How do you mark that? I don’t want to be discouraging but it’s just wrong on so many levels. So I get to come home every night to that 450 times over. Basically I hate exams but when it’s all over my Mummy is going to be here and we’re going to see the gorillas!

I’m really looking forward to her visit but even before that we are having a big party in Butare for Shira’s birthday and my German and Dutch friends going away party. So that’s getting me through the days. Last Friday, when I was really too sick to have been doing anything, I went with Elizabeth, Yves and Adrien to a Music Awards Ceremony. It was at the auditorium at the National University, which can comfortably accommodate around 300 people but there were over a thousand in attendance. People were climbing up the walls, literally, standing on the armrests, hanging over the balconies, and it was basically just mass chaos and SO HOT. I really enjoyed it though. My friend Ali is like the Rwandan equivalent of Ryan Seacrest so we were right in the front and I got to see my favorite Rwandan singer Kitoko perform my favorite song which was sooooo exciting, Yves and Adrien were jumping up and down in excitement for me which was sweet. I’ll post pictures, the “celebrity” fashion here is pretty hilarious.

I’m also working on pictures of my locale and school. Taking pics of my walk to school is proving to be difficult though since Rwandans are so sensitive to having their picture taken. Someone told me it is because they do not want to be put on a poster of some NGO in the west and then never receive any of the funds their image generates. I think that’s a stretch but nonetheless it is common to be asked for 100 francs if you get someone in your frame. No problem taking pictures of my fave neighborhood kids though, who, by the way, are completely obsessed with my garbage. I have created a monster. Every time I walk by its, “Poubelle? Poubelle?” I’m afraid they probably asked someone for the word for garbage in French because that is literally the only non-Kinyarwanda word they know which is mortifying.

I’ve had some major living alone follies lately. I’m getting used to living alone but I am still deathly afraid of the dark and since the electricity really only works when it feels like it I always have a flashlight with me. Last night I was walking through my really long really dark hallway on my way to bed. I was holding my ipod and flashlight in the same hand and the tangled mass of my headphones fell in front of the light projecting a horrific figure on my wall. In my rational mind I knew what it was but in my living alone scared of the dark mind it could have been any number of creepy crawly things so I screamed. I screamed so loud that moments later I got an urgent call from my very sweet neighbor who doesn’t speak a word of English but still comes over to visit and we just stare at each other very awkwardly. Anyway, I think I convinced her that I was alright because she didn’t come over but I’m sure she thinks I’m a total head case. Also having to do with intermittent electricity, I was unplugging my phone charger yesterday quite clumsily, my usual mode of operation, when the electricity all of asudden turned back on. I have never electrocuted myself before, surprisingly enough, but it really hurts! The jolt literally knocked me off my feet so not only is my right pointer finger still numb I also have a bruise on my hip.