To the left is the view from my apartment. The hills you see are part of the countryside. Everything outside of Bujumbura appears to slope upwards and away into the countryside.Good news of the day: I discovered where all of the other foreigners have been hiding!! Last night, after hours of trying to quell my boredom, Raissa (the woman who is coordinating the details of my visit here) and her son Jason (who is super cute) retrieved me from my hotel and took me out and about for a little bit. I got to change some more money, buy more credits for my phone (amazing how quickly it eats those things up) and went with her to the beach. Now, remember that Burundi is landlocked, so I am talking here about the beach on Lake Tanganiyka, although by its size, it might as well be the sea. Burundi shares its Eastern
border with the Lake, and capital Bujumbura, where I will mostly be working sits right on it. Really happy to have gotten up and out of the house a bit and get to see the water, and also to discover where Burundi has been hiding all of its foreign visitors.
At at work today for my first day and ready to get stuck in. It looks like I will be working quite a bit with a new project that is being developed, on Family Planning. There isn't much of a program here and so they are trying to institute something that will work in both the city and up-country, in more remote, rural areas. The details are as yet unclear, but it looks like I will be involved in evaluating the potential for this type of program as well as planning what the program would look like (hello formative evaluation!). The final report will have to be written in both English and in French, so they would like for me to be the primary author of the English report, and to work closely with a colleague who will be writing the one in French. I am excited to see how things unfold and to learn more about what the project entails.
Glad to hear everything is going well! It sounds like things are great! Can't wait to hear more about your adventures.
ReplyDeleteAsh
Great to hear about your travels Amy, I am so thrilled that you are being challenged with speaking/thinking/living in French. Hope the project is interesting.
ReplyDeleteTake care,
Julia
Can you go swimming in the lake? Great that you got out and about and met more than the desk dude. Luv MUM
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like a very interesting project. It's right up your ally, no? All of my family ask what you're doing there and insist I send their regards (and let you know they are praying for you). We're all glad to hear you're doing so well! Anticipate more lake adventures?
ReplyDeleteLove, Ty
Hi Love bug! I too am so happy you are safe and it sounds like you are having a wonderful experience. I can't wait to see the pictures as the are taken and read your stories. Please keep posting so my friday afternoons at work I imagine being somewhere a little more exoctic than Washington, DC :) Miss you!
ReplyDeleteThanks Amy,
ReplyDeleteGreat to see the piccies - the countryside looks great - I didn't imagine it being so hilly. Must be great to have a project with so much still to do :-) So is the French like in France or is it a strong accent?
Jon.
Hi Amy! Lots of love from the UAE - so glad you're settling in - didn't doubt it for a moment. Only 5 more days of school (hoorah) & I'm taking Immy to Hong Kong for 5 days to meet up with friends from NZ. Really looking forward to the girlie time. Take care, enjoy the gorgeous scenery. Two teachers from our school have just been to Axum in Ethiopia to the school our school sponsors to deliver money for the toilet/shower block building project,(we paid for a well for them last year), & to allocate sponsorship to some local children to put them through school. They also appreciated the football boots, kit & stationery we sent. It's great to know that you're doing something effective. Take care - we'll check in again soon. Much love JPH&I xxxxxxxxxxx
ReplyDelete