marissa, you dad told me to check out your blog. wow! what a fantastic trip you are on. loved reading about some of your experiences.(sorry you had to jump off the slide). you will have memories that will last a lifetime.
enjoy the rest of your adventure!
:-) Hey Coach,
You are so right. And Rwanda as a country is doing a very good job educating the young generation to make sure that this doesnt happen again. It is very uplifiting to see it working.
There are good people in the world. And so far I have been lucky to meet some of the most amazing people I have ever met.
Tell the family I said hi. Send some pics if you get a chance.
Love,
riss
Gussy! I love you` Hey Andrew!
I miss you much! But stuff is so wonderful here. Life is frekin' good! I'm in rwanda right now. It's such a beautiful place, hard to even describe. How are you? How's school? I'm going to call home probably tonight, if you're around. Or else, it's free for me to call from here, so I can just give you a call sometime!
Write back,
love,
sis riss
More about Kigali Hi MaryAnne,
It's funny. My friends and I were just yesterday talking about the possibility of opening a boarding school in Maine and bringing some of these wonderful students from Rwanda! Eventually, we decided we wanted to do it in Montanna, but just the same, it's a funny coincidence. I am not exactly sure what can be said about Kigali, or Rwanda, as I am no expert quite yet. However, I can tell you that Rwanda is a beautiful country with some wonderful people. I am currently living at a boarding school with my friend Kate, and tutor the girls at night as well as help them learn how to play basketball. I can tell you that they are wonderful girls! They study so hard and work so well together. The system here is very different from American schools though. Usually there is not much group work, apparently it's been hard to train that it's ok to talk to each other during group work in class. But, I've come half way through the year, and they have been well trained and are working very well with each other in groups. During their free time (about 1 hour each day) they have the opportunity to play sports, or dance and sing, as well as a few other activities. I went to watch the girls dance, drum, and sing yesterday and it was wonderful to see. So, I'm sure your student has a rich culture of that and I'm sure she will miss it dearly. Perhaps asking her about it would be worthwhile.
and of course, it's impossible to visit Rwanda without thinking about the horrible atrocities that took place in this beautiful country 15 years ago. I do not know how old your student is, but I am sure that if not her, then her family was greatly affected by the Genocide. This is obviously a topic that can not be brought up out of the blue to someone, but is worth being sensitive about.
One thing I thought would be beneficial is a counseling session, but my friend said that beginning on April 6 every year, they have 100 days of rememberance here. Also, something to keep in mind during our April months when we are so happy and cheerful about the approaching spring...and back in her country a great mourning and rememberance of an incredible Genocide is taking place.
This is extremely long, and I aplogize, but I hope it helps. I am sure she will be a great student! The girls at this school have just set up e-mail addresses and I'm sure it would be cool if she has one too, perhaps they can talk to each other, and she can let them know about America and they can tell her what's going on in Rwanda. Just a thought. Let me know and I can tell my friend about it.
Thanks for your comments. I look forward to your updates about your student.
Sincerely,
Marissa
Would love to hear more... ... about Kigali. I live in Maine and work at a boarding school. We have a new student who is from Kigali and I would like to know more about the area so I can learn more about her and where she's from. I'm actually going to take her some clothes tomorrow as she arrived here with very little. She is attending on scholarship. I would love to hear/learn more about your experiences. Hope to hear from you soon.
and so the adventure begins Dear college flatmate,
I think it is so wonderful you are going on this amazing journey.
Already I am excited to live vicariously through you and read all of your blog posts as you have adventures all over the world.
Love,
College flatmate
P.S. Excited to have adventures with you on continent #3 in less than a week!
P.P.S. Already excited for adventures on continent #4 in spring 09.
I just finished my third year of teaching math in the Bronx. I have decided to take a year off and travel around the world. I have always wanted to experience the world and there is no better time than now. ... full info
rich colosi
non-member comment
marissa, you dad told me to check out your blog. wow! what a fantastic trip you are on. loved reading about some of your experiences.(sorry you had to jump off the slide). you will have memories that will last a lifetime. enjoy the rest of your adventure!