Five things...

This post is all about five things that have made a lasting impression upon me here...

5 unforgetable things that have been said to me here:

1. I wanna thank you so much for your contribution of helping me in my studies.  I wanna tell you you’re my role model in my daily activities whenever wherever I am.  I will think about your good behaviours and I will try to imitate them all in my life.  (From a former TTC student – via text…somehow they always get your number!)
2. God must have spent a lot more time creating you.  When I see you smile, I imagine how lovely you are.  (Yes, that was said to me – sick bucket filled…)
3. Am aint to blame for the feeling for you but my heart.  The feeling in me is unseen, untouched but just felt at heart!  I feel it is for you for I look at your eyes and see love in them…(Sorry to the person who sent this to me – but I know that I’m not the only one who received such messages…so this ‘feeling’ wasn’t just for me but hey, good luck with your quest!)
4. May, you have got fat.
5. May, you must be eating a lot of potatoes.

5 people (I’m cheating…more like groups of people) I’ll miss and am forever thankful for:

1. VSO friends (left and remaining) – I won’t name you all for fear of missing out peeps.  A lot of emotions have been shared amongst us and I look forward to all the reunions in the months and years to come! 
   
   
   
   
2. TTC colleagues – for their brutal honesty in the way I look everyday (whether I’m looking fat or ‘smart’, tired or sick…); For their openness in discussing personal issues – sometimes asking too probing questions or giving too much detail about things…and for putting up with me and the demands I had of them in terms of work.  This includes my unpredictable principal whose generosity knows no bounds, Louis – Patron who helped me immensely when I first arrived and Patrice, a tutor who was given the ‘pleasure/privilege’ to line-manage me…but he did a great job and continues to encourage and inspire me with his perseverance and determination to achieve his goals.
   
3. Local shop keepers, bar owners – Mama Kabebe (Christine), Masoporo (J.D), Jean Paul, Nsenga and Emmy – for supplying me with endless amounts of water, eggs, avocados, potatoes, bread, beer, brochettes, toilet paper, fanta…(on the odd occasion for free too!)
4. My night guard, Callixte and umukozi (house help), Gaudence.  Two very patient people who have been loyal and trustworthy and who have kept my house safe and clean.
5. My two buddies in the village – Anatole and Theogene.  Without these two in my life here, I’m not sure I would have stayed.  They stuck by me (and Jacko) through the ups and downs, they were my support and refuge, my joy and laughter – and the reason I now drink beer!  Their love and dedication to their family and those around them took my heart within the first weeks of being here.  They give and serve without question and despite having so little, they know what joy is and are true reflections of the overflow of Christ’s love.
   
   

5 sights that are imprinted in my memory:

1. The domestic animals that roam the streets freely
   
2. The view from my house
   
3. The night sky.
4. Lake Kivu
   
5. The gaggle of children that follow you wherever you go.

5 Kinyarwanda phrases I will not forget:

1. Mwaramutse/Mwiriwe – Good morning/evening
2. Amakuru/Ni meza – How are you?/I’m fine
3. Ndananiwe/Ndashonje – I’m tired/hungry
4. Hara shushye/konje – It’s hot/cold
5. Ndashaka…I want… 

5 sounds that I’ll probably continue to use back in London and be looked at oddly:

1. Eh, eh, eh – “You are kidding me?”
2. Eeeehhhh – “Really?”
3. Eeeeeeeeeeeee– “Yay!”
4. Oya – No
5. Nibabawe – “Wow…seriously?/That’s bad…”

5 habits that will be difficult to break:

1. Duplicating words for emphasis:  ‘no, no’; ‘slowly, slowly’…
2. Raising my eyebrows and widening my eyes to indicate ‘yes’
3. Greeting randoms on the street
4. Shaking hands when greeting people
5. Remembering people have a ‘personal space’ – there are never enough seats here; whether on the bus, in meetings, at meals…you end up either sitting on someone or just very close to them.

It's time to say goodbye.  Five days remain...

Pre-empted Reverse Culture Shock

This post is inspired by my friend Kate who wrote a blog entitled, 'You know you've been in Rwanda a long time when...'  

I thought I'd write a list of some of the quirks that I'll find strange being back in London - many of the things cross over into Kate's list.

So here goes, in no particular order - and apologies on the length of it:

1. A toilet that flushes
2. A seat that is properly fixed and fitted to the toilet
3. Hopefully not having to pee in a bush next to a colleague...(yes, that happened once - we were at a funeral and there was nowhere to go...she just suddenly lifted up her skirt, squatted and indicated I do the same...not in sight of others mind, but hidden behind some bushes...)
4. Water coming out of a tap and more specifically, HOT water coming out of a tap
5. What's a jerry-can?  Storing water?  Whyever would you do that?  Collecting rainwater - who does that?
6. Baths and showers...no more bucket washes!  Wahoo!
7. Walking out of my door and not feeling like a zoo animal/celebrity (there is a fine line!)
8. No 'muzungu, muzungu' cries out of nowhere
9. Having clean feet
10. The absence of 6am sunrises and 6pm sunsets where the sun blazes red and the mist blankets the lush green hills and valleys - of course there'll be sunrises and sunsets but I'll likely be sleeping or still at work...
11. The limited view of stars, planets, constellations...not being able to see the Milky Way even! :(
12. Being faced with a variety and choice of food, flavours and brands - not being restricted to '4 carbs on a plate' type of meal...not a cassava or cooked green banana in sight 
13. Oven, microwave, gas hobs, kettle, toaster, sandwich toaster...at least I can light a charcoal stove now!
14. Having supermarkets, bakeries, clothes shops, shoe shops, make-up counters - endless choice and at any time of the day...consumerism beyond need and even logic...
15. Not having to handwash my clothes - having a washing machine and a dish washer...(also known as 'mother'...)
16. Receiving calls from said-mother at 6pm asking if I'll be home for dinner...or when I'll be home because it is late and a single girl shouldn't be travelling around so late at night alone...I'll forever be 6 years old in her eyes...
17. No longer receiving random calls from strangers that I do not recall giving my number to...I will continue to ignore numbers that are not stored in my contacts...
18. Not being run over/surrounded by a mass of Moto-taxis - can't quite see black cabbies doing that...
19. Having a free hand where once a moto-helmet was surgically attached to it...
20. Giving thanks that waiting an hour for a bus is acceptable because it's far better than waiting for hours on end for it to FILL and be full before it moves 
21. Rush-hour squeeze has nothing on 26 people wedged into a 15-seater bus - or being sat on by the 'convoy'...
22. The sight of people using toothpicks to not only dig out the goat wedged in their teeth but also having a good dig in their ears too...replaced with people simply digging for gold on the tube/bus...(which they also do here in Rwanda but worst of all, they often reach out to shake your hand with the dirty member/s upon seeing you...)
23. Monday night family Skypes will be done IN PERSON!!!  Hello Olive, hello Max :)
24. Being woken by the sound of cars rather than mooing cows and bleating goats
25. "Callixte, uri he?"  Where are you night guard?
26. Walking freely down the street without having to greet EVERYONE that passes me by - ignoring and being ignored, gotta love British culture/conservativeness
27. Where 8am meetings actually start at 8am...
28. Being stuck in traffic - joys!  Driving again = scary but liberating!
29. Buggies and having my ankles bruised by them and men with babies...not a man in sight with a baby strapped to them but women are a-plenty, even during trainings and meetings
30. Mutzig and Primus do not get a look in when cocktails, prosecco and champagne are on offer
31. Simply getting into bed, no faffing around with tucking in the mossie-net...or sleeping in a sleeping bag liner in dodgy guesthouses...
32. Fitted sheets and duvet covers :)

This list could go on - perhaps it'll need a second installment next time - maybe when I've actually moved back to London.  My flight date has been set for the Easter weekend - 4th/5th April...watch this space.

Blink

There are moments in life that if you blink, you'll miss it.  I only wish I could capture those moments or occasions simply by blinking.  For a photo to be taken inconspicuously and instantaneously, forever captured on film and never forgotten.  But perhaps, these moments were never meant to be simply stored within my hard-drive but rather imprinted in my memory...

The child of no more than 3 years old carrying a miniature hoe over his shoulders, trailing behind his mother as they journey to work in the field – *blink* –

The walking trees, or so it would seem when a pair of legs and a bale of forage walks towards you on the dirt road – *blink* –

The apparently lifeless goats and pigs strapped to the backs of pedal-bikes that when at a stand-still bleat and grunt to reassure you that blood still runs – *blink* –

The countless star-filled night skies and upside down half moons – *blink* –

The toothless smile of the old man who talks at me in Kinyarwanda, praying that one day I’ll understand him and respond – *blink* –

The child struggling with a jerry can filled with water that is obviously too heavy for her to carry, yet she does…sometimes on her head, other times with it in one hand and walking like a scarecrow to keep balance – *blink* –

The women in the field, with babies strapped to their backs striking the ground with their hoes in unison as though they are performing some kind of synchronized-cultivating – *blink* –

The girl carrying a single notebook on her head as she walks to school because carrying it by hand is obviously far too easy – *blink* –

The women selling their harvest on straw mats or in wicker-baskets on the ground in the centre…2 avocados for 50f (5p), 3 bananas for 100f (10p), a kilo of sweet potatoes for 200f (20p)…– *blink* –

The men, women and children in their Sunday-best – *blink* –

The food-mountains on plates created by teachers and tutors at lunch during trainings – *blink* –

The pride spread upon a tutor’s face upon being told positive aspects of their lesson because so often, all that is offered are criticisms – *blink* –

That moment when my former neighbour’s children remember my name and shout it repeatedly whilst running excitedly towards me to greet me – *blink* –

The mist that blankets the hills and valleys as the sun rises red in the sky...beauty beyond description – *blink* –

Moments like these will likely haunt me for many years to come calling me to, 'never forget.'  My leave date has not been finalised but it is imminent...