Fun moments and cultural differences

It’s funny how some things people do here that would be very different to an American who recently arrived don’t stand out to me anymore. I’ve gotten used to some of the mannerisms of people in this culture, how to greet and appropriately respect others, how to show up later than the announced time, etc. As I held a sleepy 2-year-old on my lap this afternoon for a few minutes at my house as we watched a movie, I realized “nap time” isn’t a concept mothers have here. When the baby (1 month – 2+ years old) gets tired or fussy, it goes on the mother’s back, wrapped snugly in some cloth which is tied in front, and the mother can continue working. I haven’t ever had a baby on my back and don’t think I would trust the cloth to stay attached to me and protect my baby, but recognize the practicality for mothers here who need to walk or work most of the day and want their baby nearby.

However, there are also some similarities between our cultures which either go unnoticed by me because they are similar (so they don’t make me feel uncomfortable or out of place), or make me really excited, depending on the situation. Last week the highlight of my week was one of these similarity moments when it was clear to me how football (aka soccer) is appreciated worldwide. Girls from the secondary school nearby challenged our girls to a football match, so we created a roster and even borrowed uniforms. I was pumped for the game; soccer games were a part of my growing up, both as a spectator and a player, and I think my excitement that day was quite noticeable! I was the proud ‘team mom’, I guess, since no one else was there to take photos and make sure all the girls had water J I also lent my cleats to Claudine, a new student who is a superb soccer player, and when she put them on her face lit up so brightly! The game got off to a great start as Claudine scored a goal within the first 2 minutes, as we showed their team that we meant business. Not only was our team superior to theirs, but our sidelines were too; the other 30 students came to support the players and they were African-style cheerleaders (clapping and dancing as they loudly sang church songs). I LOVED THE MATCH! It’s always great to see the girls (my students) when they are expressing themselves and doing things they love – singing and playing football are two of those things.

The Mwana Nshuti football team is the best! 

I am so grateful to be here…it is different enough but other times I realize how many similarities there are as well. It is certainly stretching but also rewarding (as well as enlightening, thought-provoking, and many other things!). With the past week being Valentine’s Day and also MCCers from Bujumbura in town this weekend, I was lucky enough to have delicious restaurant food 3 times: Indian, Korean and ‘American’, not to mention spending quality time with people.

Work-wise, I found out yesterday that the school year closing ceremony will be March 9^th, a bit later than the ‘end of February’ that was the “date” for the closing ceremony prior to this announcement yesterday. I happily began to plan more English lessons. Then this morning I found out that the students aren’t consistently coming and apparently the director doesn’t mind … so maybe I shouldn’t plan so many English lessons. Honestly attendance has been low this whole month, probably since they’ve learned all the sewing lessons and now we are starting to teach the newcomers (why there is overlap between the groups of students I don’t understand…), so they can come if they have material to sew or decide they want to learn more English. Luckily some students did show up this morning, just a bit later than normal, and we had a good lesson. I’m a novice at teaching English but I think they (at least the ones who continue to show up) are doing well and they can often express their ideas in English. And like most teenage girls, they love photos with friends.

Photo time after English class!
(thank goodness for self-timers on cameras - much more reliable than many people here!)

Every day I am reminded of the fact that virtually nothing goes according to plan or the way I think it will happen. I know that can be true about life no matter what, but I think it is especially true here. I’m learning that it’s good to be flexible and go with the flow, though, because otherwise you might miss opportunities to talk with people or support others in their work/life. And, after all, there is always tomorrow (or the day after tomorrow) for those things you think need done, right?

Random story time - all about love

No I’m not in love (don’t worry!)…but I love being here! Sometimes days I’m not expecting to turn out well go much better than expected – and for that I am tremendously thankful. (Maybe that’s the low expectations thing Eva told us during orientation before we left!) Many things about being here have been an exercise in patience, flexibility and letting go of myself, my desires and plans, etc. Now I try to “go with the flow” and trust God will use me in a good way if I just go with whatever ends up happening (for a planner and achiever like me this isn’t easy but it has been rewarding!). I love God’s wisdom and the way he places me in certain places at certain times.

One day recently I had a fair amount of things looming over me at work, including planning for the afternoon’s lesson that I was told to teach but didn’t think was the best lesson, so I wasn’t too excited about work that day. I had a couple interruptions in the morning and the people only showed up for the interview not long before class was supposed to begin, so I was almost 30 minutes late to English class. That day refraining from saying “No” to doing things when others asked me to (despite it not being an ideal time for me) was rewarded – there was a situation down at the school that meant we started class an hour late so I wasn’t late at all! (A truck plowed through our makeshift fence and a small tree on our property…Why?...no working brakes! Thank goodness none of the students were outside and nothing was currently planted on our field!!) Oh and the lesson went really well too; it’s fun teaching on my own – my students are really motivated and try hard to speak a lot of English when there’s no teacher to translate for them!! I love my students.

Last Saturday I got to attend my coworker’s dowry ceremony, my first time to any part of a marriage here in Rwanda. These ceremonies precede the church wedding and are highly traditional. Decked out in my traditional women’s fancy clothes that were borrowed for the occasion and near a somewhat decent English speaker, I was able to enjoy the ceremony very much. Many small gifts were given from the husband’s family (such as drinks, a hoe, and who knows what else) and lots of funny round-about talking was going on about other girls in the family he could marry and how many cows the husband’s family had (no cows are actually given anymore but they are symbolic of the gift) before they acknowledged the actual bride and groom. Then they made their big entrance, the groom and groomsmen wearing capes and carrying staffs and the women had traditional women’s clothing (with feather boa necklaces)…what a sight! I love learning about the culture here.

Valentine’s Day is perhaps the most similar holiday here to the US, although there is much less marketing here. In English class we made and decorated paper hearts (fold paper in half and cut) which they were quite excited about. I also made heart shaped sugar cookies and had some heart lollipops to give to them. We even got in some English practice with writing on the paper hearts and having an English competition to hand out the cookies, so it was fun yet productive! My evening was filled with delicious food from an Asian restaurant, good conversation with friends, and a bedtime snack of heart shaped Reese’s PB cups (thanks to my wonderful mom!!). It was a good day. I love my friends and family, both here and back in the US.

PS – If you’re interested, I put new photos up on facebook.