This past weekend was probably the best two days of my time here so far. Some friends and I travelled to Gatagara on Saturday morning, a small town past Gitarama which is the second largest city in Rwanda, I think. We walked through town, drawing attention and receiving random hugs from cute little children, down the dirt road to a pottery store. I bought a sweet plate with a fish image on it and also a mug. I also got to feed a cow; I plucked some grass from the ground and offered it to the bovine and he obligingly gobbled it up by snatching it with his super long tongue. On second thought, it could have been a female cow, I do not know. On the way back to town, I walked and talked with a fellow named Jean-Pierre in a trilingual conversation. We spoke mostly in French and English, but he also helped me a little on some nuances of kinyarwanda.
Sunday we attended an evangelical church on an invitation from a relative of one our Go-ED teammates (Princesse). The church had dirt floors and a swinging choir. According to custom, they asked us visitors to sing them a song, so we sang a swahili/english song for them, with the aid of their choir. It goes "there's no god, there's no god like Jesus; There's no god, there's no god like Him..." I won't even try to spell out the swahili part. Our performance turned into a dance party because the Rwandan churchgoers were not shy about expressing their spiritual delight in their rhythmic movements. Three sermons were delivered, which took a while especially since they had to be translated into English by Justin, Princesse's cousin. But it was a joyous and active service. Afterwards, we headed to Princesse's relative's house for lunch. At the house, we waited for two and a half hours for the food, but punctuality is not really important here and anyways the waiting was spent in good company. The Rwandan males of the host families got up and sang three songs for us in harmonious parts, all the while clapping and dancing and smiling up a storm. When they asked us to perform a ditty for them, we balked at first. Then the two other guys and I worked up a rendition of "I'll Fly Away", which went over pretty well considering our preparation. They also taught us some Rwandan dances, which we practiced gleefully.
The lunch turned into an all afternoon affair. Justin and two his brothers walked us home, being the amazing hosts they were, at around 4:30pm. Justin and I held hands for probably half the walk home. Then I switched to talking to his brother Felix, which necessitated more hand-holding. It is very common here to see men walking around the streets with intertwined hands or fingers. It took a little getting used since that is frowned upon back in the States and my hands became so sweaty that I felt self-conscious and sorry for Justin. However, it became something quite natural and it makes for a funny tale to relay. All in all, it was a fantastic and active weekend.
This morning, like every morning nowadays, I taught English at PHARP, a local organization started by one of our teachers Pastor Anastase that is dedicated to achieving peace, healing and reconciliation through common work programs. The women we tutor are learning how to sew in order to ameliorate their economic situation. Today, I went over the alphabet with the four women (Yvette, Alphonsine, Valerie, and Claire) I teach. I am learning how to teach as I go, and I would probably give myself a failing grade in terms of my pedagogical abilities. However, the women seem to enjoy and actually retain some of the information we study and I certainly benefit in learning more kinyarwanda. It is also heart-warming to interact personally with Rwandans and get out of both the classroom and our Go-ED house. That is it for now. Sorry if some of you are having trouble commenting on my blog, you might have to be an official follower if you want to do that. I am not well versed in blogging so I probably will not be of much help in those matters.
I miss you all very much. It is a joy to reflect on the past and all the memories I have shared with all you friends and family.
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