Life in Kigali has been such a rollercoaster! At times I feel like, “Wow, it’s only been 10 days—feels like 2 months!” and other times I feel like saying, “When did it get to be Wednesday of week 2?!” I guess this is partly because I am homesick, and partly because I am having so much fun! Monday night there was a birthday party for one of the brother’s of a neighboring host and the party was bumpin! All the Rwandan celebs were there, not that I remember any of their names, but it was very exciting. Tonight we had a mini party for one of my fellow students on the trip, and that was also very fun. It’s funny because my homestay always locks every single door and we have to wake people up to let us in.
Today my host mom, Christine, gave me a picture of her and her 3 children. I have only met the two youngest because the older one goes away to boarding school for secondary school, but she said hopefully I can meet him soon! I hope so because her other two are such dolls (Jimmy and Rita), but I have a hard time communicating with them still. If only they knew just a little bit more English and I knew just a little bit more Kinyarwanda. We still have plenty of fun together! Laughter is a powerful force that can break any language barrier.
I figured I would update everyone on this blog post on some of the new things I’ve done and tried this trip, so far anyways, and the new things I have learned.
Obviously, I am sure everyone is curious about the food:
-Cassava: The root of a tree, which can be eaten raw, boiled, made into bread… a whole plethora of ideas! They taste very similar to potatoes when boiled.
-Boiled Bananas: Bananas are served at almost every meal, and when they are cooked, they are either sliced and grilled or boiled in a sauce. Very yummy!
-Banana Beer: VERY strong, but amazing! Hopefully I can bring a bottle back
-Fresh milk: The cow is milked, the milk is boiled, and then the milk is served. Talk about fresh.
-Rwandan Beer: Primus is a known brand around here. Most of their beers are light, so I enjoy them a lot.
And the culture:
-Rwandans don’t have a word for “excuse me” or “sorry” in Kinyarwanda that translates to what we would say in English. Our teacher (Mwarlimu Wilson, an amazing man—hopefully a video soon to come), said that Rwandans do not say they are sorry unless it was a very serious event. Interesting because I have heard a mixture of “sorry” and “excuse me” be said in both French and English. I suppose with the addition of language comes the addition of culture.
-Women must always be sitting. I am not sure of the details in this, but I know I am always offered a chair. It’s considered rude for a woman to be standing and a man to be sitting.
-Eating/drinking alone in public is NOT acceptable. It is considered very rude in their culture. For example, I was at a gathering with my host mother and did not take a drink when offered. She was so upset she gulped hers down and said it was time to leave. Partially because she thought I did not want to be there, and partially because it was rude. I had no idea!
As I experience and think of more I will continue to update! Not too much has happened since I last wrote. Built my own LED flashlight and a power supply in lab—incredibly useful to us in the hospitals and quite the learning experience.
This Saturday we are going to the rainforest!! I need to practice with my camera so I can get some really good pictures. And Friday we are traveling to a local hospital to get an idea and get comfortable with the environment we will be working in.
Today my host mom, Christine, gave me a picture of her and her 3 children. I have only met the two youngest because the older one goes away to boarding school for secondary school, but she said hopefully I can meet him soon! I hope so because her other two are such dolls (Jimmy and Rita), but I have a hard time communicating with them still. If only they knew just a little bit more English and I knew just a little bit more Kinyarwanda. We still have plenty of fun together! Laughter is a powerful force that can break any language barrier.
I figured I would update everyone on this blog post on some of the new things I’ve done and tried this trip, so far anyways, and the new things I have learned.
Obviously, I am sure everyone is curious about the food:
-Cassava: The root of a tree, which can be eaten raw, boiled, made into bread… a whole plethora of ideas! They taste very similar to potatoes when boiled.
-Boiled Bananas: Bananas are served at almost every meal, and when they are cooked, they are either sliced and grilled or boiled in a sauce. Very yummy!
-Banana Beer: VERY strong, but amazing! Hopefully I can bring a bottle back
-Fresh milk: The cow is milked, the milk is boiled, and then the milk is served. Talk about fresh.
-Rwandan Beer: Primus is a known brand around here. Most of their beers are light, so I enjoy them a lot.
And the culture:
-Rwandans don’t have a word for “excuse me” or “sorry” in Kinyarwanda that translates to what we would say in English. Our teacher (Mwarlimu Wilson, an amazing man—hopefully a video soon to come), said that Rwandans do not say they are sorry unless it was a very serious event. Interesting because I have heard a mixture of “sorry” and “excuse me” be said in both French and English. I suppose with the addition of language comes the addition of culture.
-Women must always be sitting. I am not sure of the details in this, but I know I am always offered a chair. It’s considered rude for a woman to be standing and a man to be sitting.
-Eating/drinking alone in public is NOT acceptable. It is considered very rude in their culture. For example, I was at a gathering with my host mother and did not take a drink when offered. She was so upset she gulped hers down and said it was time to leave. Partially because she thought I did not want to be there, and partially because it was rude. I had no idea!
As I experience and think of more I will continue to update! Not too much has happened since I last wrote. Built my own LED flashlight and a power supply in lab—incredibly useful to us in the hospitals and quite the learning experience.
This Saturday we are going to the rainforest!! I need to practice with my camera so I can get some really good pictures. And Friday we are traveling to a local hospital to get an idea and get comfortable with the environment we will be working in.