Teaching Important Lessons

I think that I’ve taught many important lessons during my time in Rwanda. I taught a girl how to ride a bicycle and co-taught a family time on the importance of politeness. These are all very important but the one I taught yesterday has to be the funniest.

When you take the bus from Kigali to the village, you must get off at a place called Ntunga and then take a moto. When you get off the bus, the moto drivers swarm you hoping to get your business. I have a feeling that they don’t get much business so it’s a fighting match to see who can take people on their moto. It gets annoying having moto drivers following you and throwing their helmets in your face. One of my biggest frustrations is that most of the moto drivers have helmets that don’t even fit. As your riding, the helmet is falling in your face. It’s definitely a safety issue but I also just like to enjoy the view.

When I got off yesterday, one moto driver came after me. I needed to go in one of the store to buy something and he even followed me into the store. When I came out, I went over to where all the drivers were waiting. I tried on all of their helmets before selecting one of the drivers. Many people were looking on and laughing at the scene. They should learn. You need to have good helmets for passengers. The lesson didn’t stop here. On the moto drive to the village, the driver’s cell phone rang. He picked up the phone and began pressing buttons. He wasn’t even paying attention to the drive. I then reached over and took the cell phone out of his hands and said in English (which I know he didn’t understand) it’s not safe to use the phone and drive at the same time. It continued to ring and I refused to let him answer.

Moral of the story: Have a good helmet and don’t talk on the phone and drive.