- Tea and coffee are Rwanda’s two biggest exports, yet we drink imported instant coffee and Kenyan tea more than anything else. Go figure.
- If you want to spot a goat, look for the nearest wooden log, because chances are they will all be crammed onto one. The most I saw was 3 goats on a 4 foot log. It defies reason and gravity.
- At the market, garlic cloves are sold pre-peeled and wrapped in plastic wrap. And they only cost about 10 cents. Talk about convenience.
- We learned a song to help us remember how to say the months of the year in Kinyarwanda. It only took us a couple of rounds to realize that the song tune was the same as My Darling Clementine. (*cue “It’s a small world after all” music*) After we had all learned it we were informed that while those were the traditional names for the months, no one ever really uses them. Thanks.
- I haven’t had any neck pain since I’ve arrived in Rwanda. My pillow is Rwandan Foam. I may have become a “believer” in the magic foam.
- There is a man at the market who sells shoe soles, but I have yet to see the rest of the shoe. Kinda makes you go hmmm.
- Our “brand new” “insecticide treated” mosquito nets seem to attract bugs more than repelling them. Seriously, it’s an issue when bugs land on your net and just hang out, particularly when they are mutant mosquitoes and flies the size of your thumb nail.
- In America, sweet potatoes are one of my favorite foods and tomatoes are one of my least favorite. In Rwanda, tomatoes are my favorite food and I can barely stomach the sweet potatoes. Don’t worry, I still love mashed potatoes. Always have. Always will.
- It’s true, Fanta is cheaper than water here. Sometimes beer is almost cheaper even. Produce is super cheap (I can get a bunch of bananas for around 40 cents and three avocadoes for 20 cents) but if you want good chocolate prepare to pay (mad papers, son - that‘s for you Sass and Jigga). I just spent $6 on a dark chocolate/hazelnut bar, but what I really wanted was the $12 bag of mini Twix’s. Send Twix. You’ll be my best friend.
- Rwandan hospitals aren’t that different than American hospitals, in case you were wondering.
And you may now be wondering why I know that last statement. Well it’s not because I visited one for my job, though I will visit a lot of them in the next two years for it. It’s because this last week, I was a patient. Let’s just say I’ve learned the quickest way to lose weight in Africa: parasites. Amoeba’s to be exact. Well I wasn’t technically diagnosed, but my best friend/roommate/girl I spend every waking and non waking moment with, Jessi, was found to have amoeba’s, and since we also eat exactly the same thing they used the power of deduction. We’re fairly certain we “acquired” them during a visit to Butare last Saturday, where we gorged ourselves on pizza and ice cream, neither of which I have any desire to have again in the near future. But don’t worry, we’re on very strong drugs and a diet of toast and peanut butter, so I’m hopeful that by this time next week I can be amoeba free. And until then I’ll continue sleeping a lot and loving what my mom has dubbed as “accelerated African weight loss”.
We’re close to two weeks away from the end of training, the much dreaded language placement interviews, and the much awaited Swear-In as official Peace Corps Volunteers. I can’t believe how fast it has flown by, but I’m eagerly anticipating shopping in Kigali for my house necessities as well as getting settled into Musanze and my position at Access.
I’d love to write more but I’ve been awake an hour and I think it’s time for a nap. Keep the updates coming and hope you’re starting to plan those vacations to the Land of a Thousand Hills!! I promise I'll do my best to make them amoeba free :)
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1 comment:
Whew, thank goodness you wrote this to offset the other post which left me once again speechless! I guess you're drinking instant coffee because they're exporting all the good stuff....hummmm maybe we can ship you some. Maybe the song that you learned and is now deemed useless was some kind of new girl in town "initiation" or something. Funny to think about it like that anyway. You haven't talked much about their sense of humor...do they have one? I'm thinking you could market Rwandan foam pillows in the US since we are all pain in the necks .... oops, I mean we all have neck pain (just a slip). Maybe you could jointly market the shoe soles since Americans throw away shoes when they need a new sole. The food switch is interesting...is it because both sweet potatoes and tomatoes taste different there? Mashed potatoes is one of my favorites too, smart girl!Eat those cheap bananas, the potassium will help keep you healthy. I'm glad you're starting to feel better ..... you should be good as new by the time you move into your new home. Weight loss can be attained any number of better ways than you've been doing it. Take care .... until next time.
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