Settling in and Strategies

A lot has been going on around here since my last post. I moved into my new apartment on Monday afternoon. It is so great to have my own space and my own kitchen. The apartment is tiny but it is really cute and has a little terrace out the back and a garden. It is also right beside a busy main road so the peace and quiet of the garden is a bit of an illusion. Once I am a little more unpacked I will post a couple of photos here. Now I am busy trying to buy everything I need for the apartment, such as dishes and so on. After work on Monday I stopped by T2000, a store I am familiar with because of it's counterpart in Kigali, to buy some of the main essentials like a kettle and mugs, plates, a pot and pan, knives, forks and spoons, a pillow, sheets etc. Then I did a quick stop at a supermarket for some basic food supplies and went home. It soon became apparent that I had forgotten some of the main essentials of life. Like toilet paper and dish soap. Luckily my friend Monique took me shopping for a few more things at Mutoyi, a fantastic store that I will be spending a lot of time at. I am keeping a list of things that I still need. I added to it last night after trying to make dinner and burning my fingers on the pot. Oven mitts.

Also this week the new Director of my department at work started. She is spending most of this week on things like housing and finding a school for her kids but already I am feeling energized and like there is direction in my job. I never thought I would be this type of person, but guys, we have a Strategy. A Strategy! I am seriously excited about this. It is not done and so I will be spending part of my time over the next little while consulting with other staff members about it, but a strategy means direction, and purpose and steps that need to be taken. It means that what I do over the next five months will be part of something long term instead of a piecemeal mush of things that get forgotten after I leave. It means that this office will be better positioned to sustainably acquire and manage the funding needed to continue meeting the development needs of our communities. So while to some it is just a document of priorities and guidelines, really it is so much more!

I also had several meetings this week of varying degrees of interest. One was about a project that will be funded through one of our support offices and it was great to be part of the discussion about a peacebuilding project focused on children and youth in one of our communities. One thing about my current position is that I feel very removed from the everyday implementation and running of our activities in the field so it was great to finally see how my role fits into these field level activities.

This coming weekend is a long weekend. Did you know, Canada and Burundi share the same birthday? Burundi got it's independence on July 1, 1962. Monique and I are going to explore a bit upcountry, along with one of her colleagues and her colleagues' boyfriend. I haven't met them yet but I am really looking forward to getting out of the city. We're going to explore the Kirundo province which boasts some hot springs and beautiful lakes and we'll be doing some hiking as well. Lots of pictures to come!