The Good, The Bad and The Sweaty

I think I’d be cheating all of your expectations if I made it seem like life in Burundi is all fun and games. Yes, I’m having a great time and will bring home plenty of valuable experience, but it’s not always easy living here. What do you think sounds worse: The fact that four consecutive days of no internet caused me to miss a close friend’s birthday? The fact that I have to get my gym shorts ironed so that something doesn’t burrow under my skin and eat me from the inside? The fact that Burundian bus drivers and children alike are addicted to the music of Chris Brown?

These are just a handful of things which make me pine for the sunny UK. Despite the fact that the start of the rainy season was supposed to provide us with a burst of hydroelectric power, we’ve been relying on the generator for an unhealthy portion of the past few days, which isn’t helped by the fact that there’s a fuel shortage. Hopefully the rains will come soon. (What an African thing to say!)

Similarly, the internet has been shaky, and I’m hoping that when I come to upload this blog entry it won’t be outdated. Rain tends to block the signals from the satellite, which is ironic. Seems to be the case that we can have power OR internet... tough call.

Creepy Crawlies

Just thought that some might be interested in the weird and wonderful creatures found in deepest darkest Africa. Naturally, as an over-cautious Western family, certain of us (naming no names) tend to rush to the computer to look up the latest potentially dangerous bug we’ve seen. My worst experience so far was when something that resembled a 5-inch long shield bug, sporting a fabulous stinger, fell from the inside roof of the car onto my stomach as I reclined in the boot. Naturally, I reacted with cat-like reflexes and flicked the thing off with the end of my iPod. The Western way.

We’ve reached a consensus that actually we shouldn’t trust the guards’ opinions on whether animals here are dangerous. With a mixture of broken English, a lack of experience and the sheer number of poisonous animals over here, it’s probably not worth the risk. Still really hoping I see a snake at some point though. The closest I’ve been so far was a snake’s skin near the basketball court when I took the year fours for sport a couple of weeks ago. Obviously, they were all terrified. I was disappointed.

 Computer Geek

Now we get to move on from the depressing stuff, because I’m loving working at the King’s School. I still get to teach the kids a bunch of contemporary children’s worship songs, which is seriously fun. Not sure if they get it all the time though, they remain convinced that ‘like David, Elijah, Noah and the rest of the team, I’m gonna be a giant face.’ That’s ‘Giant of Faith’, for the many who weren’t there for Boulder Gang 2012!

The exciting news, however, is that ICT lessons have started! All of a sudden, I’m a full-time teacher, with three classes a day, sometimes including sport with a side helping of music. The kids are loving learning how to use a computer from a mixed bag of skill levels. The great thing about the programs we have is that they allow the nerds to try and wallop their high scores while the kids who haven’t touched a computer before (predominantly those from the orphanages subsidised by the school) can receive most of the attention, and can learn quickly. My personal favourite program is a quality geography map one. Thanks to SeTerra, I can now point out all of the countries of Africa on a map, something which I felt I should be able to do! Don’t worry, the kids learn too. It’s amazing how many of them couldn’t show Burundi on a map until their first ICT lesson. Obviously we have to check that the kids remain on educational games before we let them make a beeline for ‘Farm Frenzy 2’. Even I have to keep it a secret when I play that one. 

 Musik

Yeah, I could easily have put a subheading ‘music’, but that wouldn’t have been fun would it? Now alongside my assembly responsibilities, I have the privilege of teaching 7 kids (at last count) of different ages and nationalities to play their guitars. Only discovered yesterday how valuable I am, however, as apparently there are ‘literally no other teachers’. Valuable, or just a last resort? Anyway, better make sure they’re diploma standard by Christmas or I guess they’ll burn my passport...

One of my students reliably informs me that he acquired a fairly genuine-looking set of Fender acoustic strings for 7,000F (about £3) from a (the) music shop in town, definitely a place I need to check out. To tell the truth, Louis and I are both desperate to check out the covered market, an experience I’ve had once before without buying anything, and it’s pretty surreal. Thing is though, you don’t go there without someone who speaks the language and knows the system. As Muzungus (white people), we’ll get ripped off!  

Gymming it Up

After many weeks of being really busy (lazy) and of finding it quite hard to organize my time (lazy), I took the plunge and bought gym membership at a conference centre nearby. (The equivalent of £10 a month if anyone’s interested...) Wish I’d done it sooner, because my first three gym experiences in Burundi have been great. Sweaty, but great. There’s no air conditioning but there is a water cooler, which basically means that between every 12-rep set, I need to drink about half a litre of water to replenish what I lose, but that’s ok. Today I decided that this country is too hot for sleeves, and mutilated one of my T-Shirts. Felt much better au gymnase though!

To finish...

I can finish in true Andy’s Blog fashion, because I still haven’t done some key Burundian things. Unfortunately, despite Facebook’s best attempts to recruit me, I haven’t become a client of ‘Burundi’s best dating site’. I don’t care if they’re the best or not, they won’t get me. I haven’t been for an evening picnic on the beach either, although it looks like the country’s mosquitoes would make very pleasant company, and I haven’t met the President. I’m sure he’s really nice.

Facing hardships in Burundi reminds me of how blessed I really am. When I’m sitting in church and finding it hard to concentrate, I thank God for the fact that I have a church where I understand the language, and the transport to get there. When I lament a faulty internet connection, I realise that having internet and knowing how to use it in this country very much puts me in the minority. As a result, I’m learning not to take for granted what I have and to be forever grateful instead. It’s hard, but our God deserves all the glory, and I was reminded of Matt and Beth Redman’s song ‘Blessed Be Your Name’ which was written in a great time of family hardship, but explains that ‘when the darkness closes in, still I will say ‘Blessed be the name of the Lord’.’ I feel that the following lyrics give a similar message, and I hope they’re encouraging.

I’ve had questions without answers,
I’ve known sorrow, I have known pain.
But there’s one thing that I’ll cling to:
You are faithful, Jesus, You’re true.

When hope is lost, I’ll call You Saviour.
When pain surrounds, I’ll call You Healer.
When silence falls, You’ll be the song within my heart. – Tim Hughes – When Silence Falls

Every blessing. 

Why Electrocuting Children is Frowned Upon

As I sit here, poised to write the second entry to a blog which will surely gain worldwide fame, I must confess something. As it buzzed around my wrist with one sole intention, I politely told a mosquito that it didn’t deserve to live and, for want of a more delicate way of putting it, mashed its face in. You can’t be too careful out here.

Now, this blog might have a slightly different flavour to the last one, as I’ve been issued with a writer’s challenge, three words: ‘Keep it clean’. This statement means that I’ve had to alter my vocabulary significantly. The words ‘skinny’ and ‘dipping’, for example, are no longer allowed to be used together. I’m sure you understand. Sensitive content. 

New Jobs Galore

Those who read this sub-heading and wondered who would be crazy enough to give me a job, I’ll tell you: the parents of The King’s School. All of a sudden, I’ve become a professional music teacher, by which I mean I’m being paid – which doesn’t really mean much. In England, how much would you expect to pay for private guitar tuition? £20 per hour? £30? I’m charging 5,000 Burundian Francs. That’s about £2.50. And these are the rich parents!  

Maybe I should explain why I thought this blog’s title was appropriate. Last time I said that my main responsibility, alongside my fellow gappy Louis, would be ICT. That was true, and the two of us have spent a lot of time diligently planning our lessons; how should we separate the kids who have computers at home from the kids who haven’t touched one before? What shall we teach them first? How can we come up with a system so that the two of us don’t wear matching clothes by accident? All of these questions have been given serious thought, but we've hit a bit of a snag; The computers don’t work. I’ve been told by an expert that this is going to be a problem for ICT.

Actually, I lied. They do work, and we’ve run a couple of them. According to the electrician, however, we’re lucky to be alive after that. Due to the Burundian wiring of the building, which doesn’t include an earth wire, plugging in the computers makes all 17 live, pumping 340 volts through the first unwitting mug who touches one. Apparently this isn’t an experience we should be exposing 10 year-olds to.

When we finally get the computers up and running, we’ll face the ever-present problem that the power is off three mornings a week, and the generator can’t support 17 computers. I suppose ICT lessons will be on Tuesdays and Fridays!

A Visit to the Zoo

Some people might have seen my Facebook photos of some of the animals we saw in Bujumbura zoo. Prepare for a brief rant from an animal rights sympathiser who didn’t realise he was one until a week ago. We saw some beautiful creatures: a hilarious monkey, a majestic leopard, and a crocodile lass who, with her deep brown scales, hugeness and, of course, delicate grace, could have made a fine wife for Gustav. The Zoo’s resident pessimist, however (yours truly), will tell you that these animals are treated horribly. They’re kept in tiny enclosures, and they’re alone. Animals by their very nature want company and entertainment, the latter of which tends to come in the form of the occasional log or a tourist poking his fingers through your cage. The leopard’s situation in particular hit me hard, as she threw herself against the bars of an enclosure which made my bedroom look huge. That animal should be allowed to run, like God made her to.

The Jesus Column

On that note, it must be time for an all-out Jesus column. I’m not in Burundi because the weather’s amazing, or because the people are lovely, or because you can eat some wonderful things for very little money. All of those things are true, but I’m just rubbing it in – they’re not why I’m here. God called my family to Burundi, and we’ve seen His power so clearly present here. It feels incredible to be used by God in the ways in which we know we’re strong. Dad is managing a huge project in his post as principal of TKS, and finds himself snowed under with work, but coping better than most would with the constant challenges faced by the school. Mum is teaching RE without a syllabus or exams which, in a Christian school, means she gets to effectively lead a Bible study with groups of teenagers who happen to be in school. Such situations have seen her develop her gifting in youth work over the past years in England, so it’s exciting to see God using her gifts.

 For me, it’s seeing the kids’ passion for music which dispels my doubts as to whether I’m in the right place or doing the right job. I get to help children develop their musical gifts for worship, which is just incredible. There’s so much talent out here waiting to be brought to the surface, and if I can be a part of that, I’ll jump at the opportunity.

To Wrap Up

Unfortunately, I can’t rap, or I’d stick a verse in here, employing wordplay on the word ‘wrap’. Seriously, on a scale of good rap to bad rap, I’m not even Vanilla Ice. Sorry to disappoint you there. Instead I’ll just sum up with a couple of disappointments. Yesterday I discovered that there are Burundian cinemas, which is pretty cool. What’s not cool is that there's a rather concerning ratio of mosquitoes to people. I haven’t visited one of those, but did watch ‘The Amazing Spiderman’ at an embassy yesterday. Unfortunately, it was far from amazing. I also haven’t experienced Burundian night life yet, which I’ve been reliably told by a Belgian dude is ‘raving’. And, finally, we haven’t yet got our new Toyota Land Cruiser, which means that I get thrown about in the boot of the cockroach-infested hire car. The only way is up.

As I finish this blog, I can hear another mosquito as it flies around my head. Clearly it can’t see its mate’s shattered remains on the next chair. It’s in for a surprise.

My brain contains a substantial library of worship music, so once again I’ll sign out with some song lyrics which I hope will mean something to you as they do to me. Keep your eyes on the prize.

Never once did we ever walk alone.
Never once did You leave us on our own.
You are faithful, God, You are faithful.
Every step, we are breathing in Your grace.
Evermore, we'll be breathing out Your praise.
You are faithful, God, You are faithful. - Matt Redman, 'Never Once'

Until next time.