Day 5 – Bujumbura, Burundi (09 November 2011)

This will be  a different post.  The the consultants in training and the DOOR Burundi SL translation team are doing a great job in making the translation even better.  However, there is another side to this trip.  The Burundians are being very good hosts.  We have great cooks.

  

They provide us with tea time snacks and good meals.  They even prepare special food for me : – )

The first picture shows morning tea time (Anil & Chirapa).  The second is the mid-day meal.

These posts are a bit late because on Wednesday evening we went out for our evening meal to Oasis (pronounced as oh-ah-zeez).  We were celebrating completing six stories in one day.

For me one of the hallmarks of trips like this is strange sleep patterns.  For example in order to get a better internet connection on Thursday night / Friday morning I slept from 8 pm until midnight.  It is now 4 am.  Those of you who know me would probably agree that I am an introvert, often preferring solitary activities.  However, when I am sleep deprived my personality changes.  Here is what I wrote to Arricka, an interpreter who came during the 2 weeks of the training in Kenya (typing mistakes have been corrected).

Relating to people is not a strength.  My tendency is to be a 100% introvert.  That does not bode well for relations with people : – )

When I am sleep deprived I find that inhibitions are relaxed.  It is similar to the effect alcohol has on others.  So yesterday at morning tea time I joined the folks on the veranda where for some reason they were showing off dance moves.  I contributed several steps from a highland fling in honour of my Scots ancestors.  Chirapa showed some Thai dancing.  Julia did part of a square dance (solo).

Then last night instead of retiring to my room to do battle with the internet and produce a blog I invited everyone out to dinner.  I tracked down a good pizza place.  On the way there I was skipping down the darkened, pot holed cobblestone streets to the music coming from the cultural museum.  I greeted people on the way.  (At the restaurant) Bill and I did a karaoke duet of “I’m Leaving on a jet plane”.  A well rested Harry would have had a hard time doing those things.  He could and has done similar things but the stress level would have been higher for him.

I announced to people at the dinner out that, unfortunately, Harry could not be in attendance but he sent me as a replacement.

Oh, I think that the Burundi team has a video of my dance moves.

I don’t have any pictures on my camera but I will try to get some from someone else.  I might even post them.