As many of you may know, I was hired back in February as an English teacher for Green Hills Academy (GHA) in Kigali, Rwanda. For the last five months I've been slowly getting ready, and trying to believe the whole thing was real. Well, I'm almost done packing, but I think I'm still dreaming! In any case, I thought I'd share with those interested how I actually came to get this opportunity. I guess I would also like to say that while this is my "teacher blog," it's probably going to become my travel blog too. It's just easier to maintain that way.
In January of this year, a man named Ron Wallace, the Head of School at GHA, emailed the University of Lethbridge looking for teaching applicants. He had many teachers come to his school from Kenya in the past, but they would all leave after a few years of experience so they could teach in Kenya. He figured if the rate of attrition would still be so high, he might look for other interested teachers abroad. How does Alberta (and specifically Lethbridge) fit in? As it turns out, Ron used to be the superintendent for Christ the Redeemer Schools near Okotoks. He was a born and raised Albertan, and new the reputation of the UofL's teacher education program. I was one of two UofL applicants to apply. He had a variety of positions he wanted to fill. After a bit of a kerfuffle with passing over my resume for his perusal before the interview (I keep an informal version on my website, which he found, and which confused him with the full version I tried to send him), he agreed to meet me during the February Reading Week, during which time he was travelling through Calgary and Red Deer to visit family and go on a bit of a hiring spree. Perhaps he really liked what he saw on my resume and PS1/PS2 final reports or perhaps he really liked what he saw on my website. I suppose I could ask him. In any case, while I was all a ball of nervousness, I'm pretty sure in retrospect that he was prepared to hire me before we even started that interview. It didn't feel like an interview, anyway. He bought me a cup of coffee in the Lethbridge Lodge, leaned back in his chair, and talked for almost 20 minutes about the school, about Rwandese culture, and about Kigali specifically. Then, I put myself in the hot seat. I asked if he wanted to see my final reports, or some past teaching materials. He did look through them, and read some of what was written there, but again I got the sense he was only doing it because I had brought it up. He asked me a little bit about the literature I was familiar with. And then, a half hour in, he said, "I don't have the papers on hand for you to sign right now, but you have a position with us if you would like it." So here we are! My first day of school is August 17. I teach a grade 7 class, two grade 9 Cambridge English classes, and a grade 11 IB Language and Literature course. I get two preps each day. The school shuts down on Wednesday afternoons so grade level/subject meetings can take place. School runs from 7:30-3:30, with extracurricular from 3:30-5:30. The teaching contract is for a full year; the school year runs from August to May. I was provided with a paid return flight, medical coverage to 90%, and paid rent if I stayed with a roommate. I have met my roommate over email - her name is Michelle. She is from Hong Kong, but currently teaching in Singapore. The exchange rate is approximately 560 Rwandan Francs to 1 Canadian Dollar. Rwanda is about 150 km wide, but has several very beautiful national parks. All things not imported are quite cheap. For example, 700mL of beer is about $3. Rwanda is known for its hilled terrain, much of which has been cut into terraces for farming tea and coffee (incidentally, they are the coffee supplier for Starbucks). It is 3 degrees south of the equator. The average temperature is apparently between 24-27 degrees, but I don't know what the average humidity is. There are two rainy seasons, but I am arriving during the hottest part of the year. Most people have cell phones that connect to a 3G/4G network, and there is free wifi widely available (I don't think Netflix is an option yet, though). Since the Genocide, Rwanda has been working towards a state of peace and reconciliation. As I'm sure you might expect, no one is labelled a Hutu or a Tutsi any longer; all citizens are Rwandese. It has been labelled the third least corrupt African country (what a title...), and among the top five easiest countries to do business with. From what I've read, I think the Rwandese are placing a lot of hope in the current generation to show that scars can heal, but certainly not forgotten. I'm glad to be a witness to that. For all interested, here is my contact info while I'm out there:
0 Comments
|
Meagan Fullerton-LeeMeagan is an aspiring teacher, voracious reader, tentative motorcyclist, and passionate gardener. In all things she sees education. Here she shares her passions. Archives
January 2021
Categories
All
|