A Snapshot of My Life

Hello! Greetings from Kigali! 

My life right now is quite simple and uncharacteristically un-busy. Normally I have many things to do and can't remember the last time I didn't have a calendar with a schedule written out! haha...I don't know if I will have one all year (and I will be a teacher!)...planning ahead isn't "African." It seems I will be adjusting to a quieter life; many times I have already had to tell myself it's okay not to be doing anything more than sitting and reading or watching TV with my host family.

Not too much new or exciting has happened this past week, so I will write about a few things that occupy my time/thoughts more than others and then leave you with a few photos!

1. Celebrity Status

I think now I realize why celebrities are escorted door-to-door and have security guards with them. My walk to and from where I live, especially at lunchtime when all the children are outside, makes me feel a bit like a celebrity (and sometimes the Pied Piper!!). First one observant child cries out "Mzungu! Mzungu!" Then, quickly, they all come running, extending their hands to me. Many greet me in English, since in school they learn English...although often this means I get "Good morning (teacher)" even in the afternoon! Some bold children try a fancy handshake done among friends, others a hug, and a few timid ones change their mind halfway through once I get close to them and back away slowly. Sometimes this attention bothers me, but often it makes me laugh. Certainly I get to practice my Kinyarwanda greetings and "witwande?" (What's your name?) 

I hope one day to teach all the children in my neighborhood my name, shock people with my Kinyarwanda, and possibly not be seen as an outsider in this place. Who knows...one day, perhaps!

2. Kinyarwanda learning

Even to someone who loves learning a new language and trying to discover patterns and rules (ME!), Kinyarwanda poses some challenges. I have learned many things in just one week of language learning, but the more I learn, the more I realize how confusing and different this language is! All I can say is, there are 10 classes of nouns and the class of the noun you use determines the prefix for the verb, possessive, and adjective. So that's 2-6 verb prefixes, 2 possessive prefixes and 2 adjective prefixes per class...times 10 classes (plus probably more for other tenses than the present, negation, etc...we haven't gotten that far yet!). It's a good challenge for me and my memorizing capabilities! 

Me, Gaudence, Simparinka (Augustin), and Vestine outside our home

The road near to my home - bumpy by car, slippery/muddy when it rains . Most houses have these walls around them, although some people have really small houses without walls who are obviously quite poor.

A view of downtown from the genocide museum. There are a few tall buildings, some under construction.
(The genocide museum was slightly difficult for me, since it is always overwhelming to
see/read/hear about and now I am in the city where so many atrocities happened. I hope I will
be able to process it and possibly discuss it with people more in the coming weeks.)

Need any fruits, veggies, beans or flour? Come here to the Kimorongo Market in Kigali! The one by my house is much smaller than this one so we took an expedition to this one to see the selection of shoes, clothes, fabric, "traditional" souvenirs, kitchenware, food, etc. I was impressed and not too overwhelmed, it was great!

Umm...mattress delivery?? There are some random  loads carried on the roads here
but this is one of the most surprising ones I've seen!!

It's probably hard for everyone who moves to a new place and doesn't really know anyone. It's basically the first time for me (aside from college), and to top it off I'm in a new culture. However, Ruth and Krystan have been great at taking us places (numerous delicious places to eat, a pool, the genocide museum) and introducing us to people. Other highlights have been a Bible study, an evening of music, and going up to Mwana Nshuti to play soccer with the girls. Communication was difficult, but I was able to use 2 words a lot ("hano" - here, i.e. pass me the ball!, and "yego" - yes, used for any good thing our team did). And tomorrow I will have no lack of socializing since my host family will be hosting a graduation party for my host mother's younger brother who just graduated from university. African party #1...here I come!!

Thanks for reading! I appreciate your comments, emails and prayers. If you have questions or things you want to hear more about, please ask!