The day started off with another session of coaching at a school near Kigali. Although the sessions in the school were quite hectic, I thought it was a very positive coaching experience.
We got to work with both primary school kids and then high school kids afterwards. This was great as we could see the difference in attitude between the high school students and primary school students. Both groups were a joy to teach, however strangely it seemed as if the high school kids were more enthusiastic this time around. We usually have to work harder to keep the older kids interested. During lunch we met a very sweet toddler who took a big shine to Abi, this may have been because she was generously giving out biscuits at the time.
Following this we made our way to the Gahanga cricket grounds where we had a nice relax for thirty minutes until a big group of primary school kids arrived. I found this coaching session to be the most rewarding for me personally as I feel like I lead a good bowling station under the guidance of the CWB ambassador Eric. I learnt some great tips on how to teach children, such as starting by asking questions like “does anyone know the correct way to hold a ball” instead of just telling them. Following this I sat in front of one of the wickets and encouraged the kids to aim for me in order to improve their accuracy, the results were very positive.
Seeing the kids enjoying a station I lead really filled me with a sense of accomplishment, as I have never really been a sporty person so it was very rewarding to know I did an ok job.
Another first for me was going to a Rwandan market. The merchants were extremely enthusiastic to see us arrive as they knew we had money to spend and kept trying to guide us into their separate stalls. Haggling was extremely fun as I had never done it before. I don’t think I managed to steal any insane bargains but I think I did a pretty good job at getting things for a non-tourist price. I tried my best to help Megan out with my new found haggling skills and I think we came out with some lovely souvenirs for a reasonable price.
In the evening we went to a bar/restaurant in the capital that felt overly westernised. That’s the problem with the capital, it doesn’t have the same charm the rest of the country has and instead feels like just another western city. During the meal I did the Gap Minder quiz which really blew my mind as it proved how the world is a much more optimistic place than you would think. I’ve had an absolutely awesome time on this trip and I will be sad to leave a country that has given me so many fantastic experiences.
Tyler
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