Wednesday, June 14
The beginning of the day was interesting. Most of the group was up early because we were supposed to leave early. A lot of us shared the joy of the sunrise. We ate early and waited. And waited. We found out later that there was a miscommunication about the time. So we changed the schedule, did our devotional in the dining area instead of doing it on the bus. 
Because of the miscommunication, we left a couple of hours late. The traffic was bad. Then, just as we were beginning to get through the traffic, we were stopped by the police. We didn’t know what the hold up was, until the presidential motorcade passed by. Then, later on the drive, which normally takes about an hour and a half, we got stopped by the police doing a random traffic stop. They were thorough, but our driver had all his paperwork in order. 
We finally arrived at Kayonza school. We were going to the secondary school that was finished being built since we were last here. John Africa, the former headmaster of the school was with us. We met with the dean of students who gave us a quick tour of their computer lab and their library. While there, the headmaster of the secondary school came to greet us. He had been delayed by a meeting with inspectors who approved occupancy of their new science labs! 
We walked over to the primary section of the campus and were met by the primary headmaster. We had the chance to visit in the Pre-K and K rooms. All of the schools have had an amazing routine when visitors enter a room and we were greeted with some great routines as we entered. Some of the routines even included singing. Even the 2 and 3 year old students were able to welcome us.
All but three of the group headed back to the secondary campus where we had an interesting role to play. The three who stayed observed in and taught the early education classes. When we got back to the secondary school, the remaining members of the group got picked in a draft – with Rwandan teachers choosing an American teacher to help them. We then got to proctor their midterm exams. 
First, we called roll. Rwandan names are not easy. The kids got to laugh a lot when I called roll. Then, I got to proctor a 7th grade French test. The teacher I was with stayed there, which was good because there was an error on the test. She made the decision I would have made if I were left alone, but it was good to get that confirmation. Lucy had to proctor the same test for 7th graders and a Swahili test for 9th graders. Her teacher showed her to the room, and then left. Lucy made the same decision the Rwandan teacher did on the same problem.
The kids finished their test early, so I had the chance to talk with my partner for a bit. We talked until I got called away. Isn’t it funny that teachers anywhere can find something to talk about? Our group was being called away so that we could witness the first experiments in the new science labs that had just gotten their occupancy permits. The students demonstrated experiments, and then let us duplicate them. We were given lab coats during the whole demonstration. Let me just say that I’m a little thicker than most Rwandan students, so mine was a tight fit. It was also interesting to meet one of the people who has become a friend on Facebook after our first visit there in 2014. So let me give a shoutout to Dr. Wilson. 
After we finished eating, we walked down to the dining hall where kids were still eating. The primary school has 600 kids and the secondary school had 700 kids to feed. It was a major undertaking! Then we walked around the primary school area and talked to some of the kids. After that we visited a class and met some teachers. Then we made preparations to head back to the guest house. On the way back we had some interesting discussions about Rwandan history, geopolitical issues, economics, and African naming techniques. We still have some work to do on the conference tonight, but this was a good time to work on today’s story.