Fulfilling a dream?

For those of you who have been meticulously following my previous posts, you will no doubt recognize where you are in Kigali by the following description:

Take a bus from Remera to Nyabugogo.
Take another bus from Nyabugogo to Kimisagara.
Look for the neighborhood called Kwamutwe.
Get off at the bus stage called Kuntaraga.

OK, did you get all that? (Quiz later.)

Nyabugogo bus park

Well, that would be helpful to me the next time I make this trip, because that is where a school called the "Pacific Music Training Center" is located. It is a private school that teaches all the subjects, but with a specialty of music.

I went there last Friday because someone gave me the name of a brother, Isaac, who teaches music at this school. I thought, maybe I could get a job there without any teaching credentials, just my word that I have played the piano since the age of 7 and had the experience of giving private lessons to 3 school-age children when I was in Malawi.

You would be amazed to see how far that explanation went. I met Isaac, who was very happy to show me around the school. He is a pioneer who works at the school 3 days a week, teaching piano. They have several keyboards (not full-size) that are not the greatest, but they do function. (Funding is an issue, which is the case with many Rwandan schools.) They also have several very nice acoustic guitars that are used for lessons. Then, I met the school's director as well as the director of the music department, whose name is Gérard. He pulled his shiny trumpet out of a case and proceeded to play a bit for me. He knows that Isaac is a Witness and added that he likes our Kingdom songs. Then, he tried to play Song #113 from our songbook, which Isaac happened to have on hand. Here is a video of that:

Isaac, with some of his students

The "practice room"

Gérard noted my name and phone number, and asked me whether I would be interested in coming to teach music. I didn't ask if this was as a volunteer or in a paid position, but at this point, sure! Great to get my foot in the door...

A few years ago, I had this idea of a dream job: being a schoolteacher in a Rwandan village. Seriously. This was long before any specific plans for Rwanda had even been formed, or conceived. Well, if I can get a job at this school (or at another music school I am looking into as a possibility), it would be a dream come true! Of course, it would not be in an actual village, but in a city. Close enough!

So at the end of this experience, I stopped to celebrate with a couple of goat-liver brochettes in piri-piri sauce, washed down with a bottle of citron. 

Oh, while out preaching the other day, I got a great "photo op" in the form of this little guy, who promptly climbed over the wall and disappeared.