Expectations




Fellow Fulbrighters Olivia and Katie. We're about to trek downhill and do some exploring on the first day.

Finally, finally after months of applications, preparations, and considerations I'm sitting on the balcony typing up my first story in Rwanda, trying to finish summing up my first 24 hours in country before the rains come (it's the beginning of one of the rainy seasons). Without much time devoted to thinking about the actual experience of the trip, I can say with honesty that I truly became excited about the trip itself, until actual walking down the stairs off the plane at the airport in Kigali. Before, I had been more so glad to have this opportunity through Fulbright to be a teaching assistant at Kicukiro College of Technology, while doing a service project (TBD) and especially relieved to have completed my necessary pre-preparations. I couldn't really process what life might be like for me here for 9 months. Traveling and jumping into a new environment has been the norm for me, so it was great to experience the thrill of anticipating a new place and the new people there.  

 

A mural in front of an arts center. No one home since it was Sunday
 

The three of us ETA's actually came in last night after a 16+ hour sojourn in the air and decided to enjoy a snack and drink at the "Kigali-China  Great Wall Restaurant" down the street from our hotel. It was nice to sit on the deck overlooking the city and watching the music videos on TV. Once the lights went out (the infamous "coupures de courant" a.k.a power outage), I had to chuckle at this "welcome back." 

Ok, here goes "Chinese food" in Rwanda at the Kigali-China Great Wall Restaurant on Boulevard de l'Umuganda. Actually, I went with fried plantains and some local brew called "Tusker"
 

Today, we've had the chance to enjoy some more authentic cuisine and walk around. I can't wait to try more of the fruits and vegetables here, judging from what I've eaten so far.

Petit Dejenur/Breakfast was delicious. The traditional tea and bread and the nice surprise of fresh fruit! The greenish one is passionfruit (a.k.a. marakuja) and the other was one I had never tried before: tree tomato (a.k.a ikinyomoro)

 

 The trip to downtown was a nice change of pace, allowing us to see more of what is turning out to be an expansive city. We made it there by bus, which was super easy and CHEAP (the 200 Rwanda franc fare is about 30 cents USD). However, finding a bus out of the city center was a trip...to nowhere. We tried asking several people, but the linguistic scene here is interesting. Thankfully, two of the clerks at the hotel are super friendly and turn out to be cool Kinyarwanda coaches. But when it comes to two other languages, French and English, it's hard to know which to use. There's also something to be said about  confusion resulting from the cultural aspect of three Muzungu (the equivalent of "foreigner" or "Toubab") asking where to find the bus stop either in French or English.
 

To the left is the bus that took us to city center/centre ville...my first bus ride in Rwanda!

I can't say Kigali has fit my expectations, as I'm trying not to build up too much of a schema of what's here until I see it. However, I couldn't help thinking of "clean," "hilly," and "densely populated," the recurring answer interpretations of my question "So, how is Kigali?" from people who had been here. It will be fascinating to discover what's below the surface. I have a lot of unanswered questions about Rwanda, and Africa in general. One thing I'm absolutely positive of though is that each place is rich in history of culture, especially the exchanges that have gone on between people. Hence, the title of my blog "Land of a 1000 stories." Yes, it's a shameless adaptation of the nickname of Rwanda "la pays de mille collines" (land/country of 1000 hills) but also fitting, as the stories and anecdotes we hear can help to recall the context around them in a fun, memorable, and accessible format. Spending 9 months abroad with teaching responsibilities and the charge to represent US-American culture well will no doubt be an uphill, downhill, roundabout, but rewarding journey.  

Now, I'm looking forward to what will be expected of me during orientation week and finding out about the details of my job and living situation.

I've been fighting the temptation not to compare Rwanda too much to Senegal, where I spent last fall, especially since so much of the experience thus far reminds me of being in Dakar and St. Louis. Even the little things can't be taken for granted though. This morning, on a jog I remembered the hard way that Kigali is nearly a mile high in elevation, definitely a change from running literally at sea level on the Corniche. I'll really be on the lookout for cultural nuances, since I was at a loss this morning on the sidewalk. Does one greet people as they job past? I'm sure they'll forgive a few "Nanga defs" or "Waaw/deedeets" here and there. Who knows is someone might not just answer back. Kigali is said to have a sizeable ex-pat community.  

Speaking of Wolof, being the language nerd I am, here are the Kinyarwanda words for the day. I have a feeling Kinyarwanda, being the universal language here, will find its way into future stories, as Wolof words certainly have.   

Kinyarwanda words for the day:

Oya = "no" (pronounced like a very Scandinavian-American "oh yeah") this got practiced a lot turning down taxi rides on the way to the bus

Yego= "yes" (pronounced like "yay! go")

Here in lies the problem…both of these sound kind of affirmative to my English-thinking brain. Ahhh!

Murakoze Cyane= thank you very much  Best. Phrase. Ever!

Miscellaneous discoveries on the exploration mission:

TENNIS COURTS! (clay from the looks of it) Didn't want to bug the players this time so I didn't get that close

Apparently, happy (dairy?) cows come from Rwanda as well