Baboons celebrating the holidays
Kids using a Mickey Mouse fishing rod and catching more fish than me 
Friends enjoying cards night and Bob Marley music at Christmas
Kid & Pat....pat likes kids...especially at ChristmasThursday, December 27, 2007
More Holiday Pictures
Baboons celebrating the holidays Kids using a Mickey Mouse fishing rod and catching more fish than me Kid & Pat....pat likes kids...especially at Christmas
A Fishy Christmas
Happy holidays everyone! I hope you are all taking advantage your break to relax, have fun and re-energize for the new year! It seems that not many of you have enjoyed my previous (quite depressing) blog, so I have resolved to never post something like that again.
Instead, let me tell you about my fishy Christmas. This year, I spent Christmas at Akagera Park with 3 expat families living in Rwanda. In all, we were 9 adults and 8 kids, in 4 big 4x4s. It felt good to have kids running around everywhere because that and the plastic Christmas tree was just about the only things Christmassy about this holiday. Even the band at the dinner was composed of 5 rastas playing Bob Marley instead of the more traditional Jingle Bells or other holiday carols.
On the morning of the 24th, after a big all you can eat breakfast at the hotel, the gang split into two groups and I chose to go with the one that went fishing rather than the safari (which I had already done last time). Now if you know anything about me, you know that fishing is NOT my favourite thing in the world, but my idea was to get some sun and sleep all day, while the others did the fishing. This is precisely what I did at first, until Martin and Caro started catching fish….then I thought to myself: “hey this doesn’t look so difficult…I want to catch one too!” It didn’t take long before I started fishing with them, but it did take a while before I caught anything. We stayed at the lake until nightfall and the count ended up being something like the following: Caro: 7 fish, Martin: 10 fish Naya (6 year old): 3 fish Adrien (3 year old): 2 fish Pat: 1 fish.
After our big day fishing right beside hippos and crocs, we had a wonderful dinner with everyone at the hotel and played cards all night (which I enjoy much more than fishing), while listening to a Bob Marley band. I wonder if Santa in Rwanda has dreads or if it’s just this band that didn’t get the memo about Christmas….
The next morning I got woken up at 7AM by a text message sent by Henriette, an employee from Ruhengeri wishing me happy holidays. Then came in a bunch of other messages from local friends, which made me feel happy because I know that back home I would also be calling all my friends to wish them merry Christmas. We spent all day relaxing at the hotel. I particularly enjoyed the TV and hot shower, 2 things I don’t have back in Kigali.
Just as we
were about to return home, we received a call from one of the families saying their truck got stuck while they were looking for the giraffes. They were caught in the middle of the park. So, we organized a rescue mission and after searching for 1 hour found the poor little family in a ditch on the side of the path. Good thing we were lots to push the car, and there was a phone signal where they were or else they would of easily spent all night there, sleeping with the giraffes, baboons and antelopes!Thanks everyone for all the Christmas wishes, I love you all lots and lots! Enjoy your oh so short break from school!
-Pat
-xxx-
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Le choc culturel...
Ça y’est tout le monde, je crois être en train de vivre le fameux “choc culturel” dont on m’a tant parlé. Juste comme je commençais à croire que c’était de la foutaise et que le choc culturel c’était pour les “weak”. Voilà que cette semaine ça me frappe en pleins nez. C’est pas compliqué, je me sens comme de la merde ces temps-ci (et non, ce n’est pas du PMS).
Au bureau, je suis prise à faire la conciliation bancaire de l’année au complet parce que notre compte banque et notre comptabilité ne balancent pas. C’est une job longue et plate qu’on m’a donné parce qu’en 5 mois, les employés responsables n’ont jamais complété le travail jusqu’au bout. Donc, je suis prise pour retracer des transactions faites avant même mon arrivée au Rwanda. Mais ça ne serait pas si pire si j’avais l’aide des autres….sauf que j’ai l’impression qu’ils ne sont pas trop trop stressés par ça. Au bureau on blague souvent en disant qu’il y a deux vitesses de travail : la vitesse canadienne et la vitesse rwandaise. Moi, je crois que la seule différence entre les deux est que les canadiens préfèrent travailler efficacement pendant 8 heures et puis rentrer à la maison et se divertir alors que les rwandais préfèrent se divertir tout au long de la journée, mais rester au boulot jusqu’à 21 heures pour terminer leurs tâches.
En plus de faire le travail des autres et de ne pas pouvoir continuer à participer dans l’inspection des agences (du travail beaucoup plus stimulant et riche en apprentissage), il n’y a plus aucun canadien au CFE. Les deux visiteurs en mission court-terme sont repartis et Martin et Caroline sont en vacances à l’extérieur du pays. Donc, pour le moment, je n’ai plus d’amis muzungu pour comprendre mes frustrations. Finalement, pour mettre la cerise sur le sundae, mon lecteur dvd ne fonctionne plus alors je ne peux plus écouter de films pour me divertir un peu le soir.
Que j’aimerais être à la maison pour le temps des fêtes! Ça va être le premier Noël depuis aussi longtemps que je me souvienne, que je ne passerai pas en famille. Ici, il n’y a pas de neige, pas de sapins et pas de papa noël. Mais c’est la famille qui va me manquer plus que tout! Une chance qu’au moins je passerai les fêtes au Parc Akagera avec Martin, Caroline et d’autres amis expatriés.
Ok c’est tout pour moi! Désolé si le message est un peu déprimant, je vous promets que c’est le premier et le dernier de cette nature! Je me sens déjà un peu mieux!
Au bureau, je suis prise à faire la conciliation bancaire de l’année au complet parce que notre compte banque et notre comptabilité ne balancent pas. C’est une job longue et plate qu’on m’a donné parce qu’en 5 mois, les employés responsables n’ont jamais complété le travail jusqu’au bout. Donc, je suis prise pour retracer des transactions faites avant même mon arrivée au Rwanda. Mais ça ne serait pas si pire si j’avais l’aide des autres….sauf que j’ai l’impression qu’ils ne sont pas trop trop stressés par ça. Au bureau on blague souvent en disant qu’il y a deux vitesses de travail : la vitesse canadienne et la vitesse rwandaise. Moi, je crois que la seule différence entre les deux est que les canadiens préfèrent travailler efficacement pendant 8 heures et puis rentrer à la maison et se divertir alors que les rwandais préfèrent se divertir tout au long de la journée, mais rester au boulot jusqu’à 21 heures pour terminer leurs tâches.
En plus de faire le travail des autres et de ne pas pouvoir continuer à participer dans l’inspection des agences (du travail beaucoup plus stimulant et riche en apprentissage), il n’y a plus aucun canadien au CFE. Les deux visiteurs en mission court-terme sont repartis et Martin et Caroline sont en vacances à l’extérieur du pays. Donc, pour le moment, je n’ai plus d’amis muzungu pour comprendre mes frustrations. Finalement, pour mettre la cerise sur le sundae, mon lecteur dvd ne fonctionne plus alors je ne peux plus écouter de films pour me divertir un peu le soir.
Que j’aimerais être à la maison pour le temps des fêtes! Ça va être le premier Noël depuis aussi longtemps que je me souvienne, que je ne passerai pas en famille. Ici, il n’y a pas de neige, pas de sapins et pas de papa noël. Mais c’est la famille qui va me manquer plus que tout! Une chance qu’au moins je passerai les fêtes au Parc Akagera avec Martin, Caroline et d’autres amis expatriés.
Ok c’est tout pour moi! Désolé si le message est un peu déprimant, je vous promets que c’est le premier et le dernier de cette nature! Je me sens déjà un peu mieux!
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Santé et Sécurité au Travail...à la manière rwandaise
Photos prises devant le bureau un mercredi matin....
Pictures taken in front of the office a Wednesday morning...
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
La région des volcans
La jungle africaine
Maman et bébé gorille
Pat qui relaxe dans la jungle comme les gorilles
Journey to the home of the Mountain Gorillas - in the African jungle
This past weekend, I decided to go visit something that is totally unique to this part of the world: the famous Mountain Gorillas.
This was the perfect opportunity to go, since the weather was great and there was a Canadian co-worker from D.I.D in town.
So Saturday afternoon, after having bought a very expensive entry ticket to the National Park and a two dollars bus ticket, my friend Patrick and I took a bus to Ruhengeri, about 150 km away. Once there, we met up with Belancille, the manager of the Ruhengeri CFE Agaseke branch. Since I did not know the area very well, she had arranged for us to stay at a nearby hotel, had found us a driver for the next morning and had even gone to the grocery store to buy us a bunch of food for the next day’s hike in the jungle. (Hurray for African hospitality!)
On Sunday morning, 6AM, the driver picked us up at the hotel and brought us to ORTPN to register and join a group. Gorillas live in groups and there are only 12 of them that are habituated to human presence. Habituating a group takes more than 2 years.
The mountain gorillas live in the volcanic region near Ruhengeri, which spans across Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The only places in the world where you can visit them safely is in Rwanda and Uganda (Congo is not so safe right now…). So as to not disturb them too much, each family receives the visit of only 8 people per day for 1 hour. Each gorilla has a name and can be recognized by its nose print which is as unique as our fingerprints. We went to visit the group called 13, which had 23 gorilla members in all. In the group there were lots of babies, one of which was only five days old! Each group is led by a silverback male gorilla (King Kong). He is in charge of insuring his group’s protection. Sometimes, males will fight to assert their power. Whoever wins becomes the head of the group or forms his own new group. Although gorillas are vegetarians and love bamboo, their strength is impressive. You don’t want to mess with them or they could break you in half as though you were a twig.
So, led by two armed guards (in case we met poachers in the jungle), we ventured through the jungle, up a volcano to reach our gorilla family. The 12 habituated groups have guards following them 24 hours a day in order to protect them from poachers. This is also how we can track where they are at all times. We had been walking for about an hour when we finally reached group 13. Here I was in Rwanda, the heart of Africa, deep into the jungle surrounded by a family o
This was the perfect opportunity to go, since the weather was great and there was a Canadian co-worker from D.I.D in town.
So Saturday afternoon, after having bought a very expensive entry ticket to the National Park and a two dollars bus ticket, my friend Patrick and I took a bus to Ruhengeri, about 150 km away. Once there, we met up with Belancille, the manager of the Ruhengeri CFE Agaseke branch. Since I did not know the area very well, she had arranged for us to stay at a nearby hotel, had found us a driver for the next morning and had even gone to the grocery store to buy us a bunch of food for the next day’s hike in the jungle. (Hurray for African hospitality!)
On Sunday morning, 6AM, the driver picked us up at the hotel and brought us to ORTPN to register and join a group. Gorillas live in groups and there are only 12 of them that are habituated to human presence. Habituating a group takes more than 2 years.
The mountain gorillas live in the volcanic region near Ruhengeri, which spans across Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The only places in the world where you can visit them safely is in Rwanda and Uganda (Congo is not so safe right now…). So as to not disturb them too much, each family receives the visit of only 8 people per day for 1 hour. Each gorilla has a name and can be recognized by its nose print which is as unique as our fingerprints. We went to visit the group called 13, which had 23 gorilla members in all. In the group there were lots of babies, one of which was only five days old! Each group is led by a silverback male gorilla (King Kong). He is in charge of insuring his group’s protection. Sometimes, males will fight to assert their power. Whoever wins becomes the head of the group or forms his own new group. Although gorillas are vegetarians and love bamboo, their strength is impressive. You don’t want to mess with them or they could break you in half as though you were a twig.
So, led by two armed guards (in case we met poachers in the jungle), we ventured through the jungle, up a volcano to reach our gorilla family. The 12 habituated groups have guards following them 24 hours a day in order to protect them from poachers. This is also how we can track where they are at all times. We had been walking for about an hour when we finally reached group 13. Here I was in Rwanda, the heart of Africa, deep into the jungle surrounded by a family o
f gorillas: The scene was absolutely breathtaking. I saw babies climbing trees, mothers carrying little ones on their backs, others eating bamboo and finally the great big silverback protecting his family. There were no cages, nothing between us and the gorillas….just us and theses incredibly human-like beings, barely 7 meters away.
The experience was unique and amazing. I had seen animals at a zoo and even giraffes at the Akagera park but I had never experienced something like this. In 4th grade primary school, when I was doing a research project on the mountain gorillas, I would have never imagined that I would one day have the opportunity to see them in their natural habitat in the middle of the African jungle.
The experience was unique and amazing. I had seen animals at a zoo and even giraffes at the Akagera park but I had never experienced something like this. In 4th grade primary school, when I was doing a research project on the mountain gorillas, I would have never imagined that I would one day have the opportunity to see them in their natural habitat in the middle of the African jungle.
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