June 18, 2010

Terrific T-shirts!!!

So far on our trip we have seen 3 t-shirts whose ironic humor is worth mentioning.

1. On Daniel, about 9 or 10 years old: and image of a squirrel standing in front a a pile of nuts with a bat, reads: “protect your nuts.”

2. On a man in the city of Gitirama: “one tequila, two tequila, three tequila, floor.”

3. On Hadija, our house mother: “Something about about you attracts me, I wish could put my finger on it.”

Found: other muzungos in Byimana!

It was quite exciting to run into 3 other Americans on a walk through the village recently. They are part of a group of 8 people here from FSU and are working at the primary school. Today we met the rest of them in the primary school library where they were painting things like stars, and flowers, and fish, and grass on the walls. It was really nice to speak so much english! I think tomorrow they are coming to Umuryango to see the traditional dance troupe.

We were at the school in order to watch a football match. The team playing represents the secondary school, and three boys from Umuryango are on the team. Caro had warned me that it would be overwhelming, but I was still not prepared. As we approached the field, we saw that is was entirely surrounded by people several rows deep. They were mostly children, and the younger ones surrounded us as we approached, and proceeded to follow us in a big clump wherever we moved. It was a pretty bizarre experience, topping our ordinary experiences of being stared at and called “Muzungos!”

Before we left for the match this morning, we began to organize the supply closet at Umuryango. There is tons of stuff in there! A lot of it is trash, but we began the process of going through it, and making it accessible. It is a huge project though, and will not be completed until tomorrow. It reminds me of growing up. Periodically my mom would declare the day to be for cleaning out closests. My sister and I would then slowly go through all the junk that we considered treasure hiding in our closests. I was always excited at the beginning, evidence of my ocd I suppose, but I tired quickly, which was likely the first clue for my tendency to start projects easily, but have a hard time finishing them. Luckily, I am learning how to fight that, though it continues to haunt me. The closet here remains half clean as it is, but it must be finished, and will be soon.

I am missing Franny today! For those of you who don’t know, this is my puppy dog. She is not really a puppy anymore, but she still acts like one. She is black and soft and fluffy, and full of love! I try to think of the last time I saw her. It was in the backseat of Amanda’s (my sister) car on the way to the airport. She was lying halfway on the seat beside me, and halfway in my lap. She couldn’t keep her eyes open: she loves sleeping in the car. And she is such a snuggler! While I am here, she is at doggie obedience training camp at this fantastic kennel in Temple Ga (down I-20 w). The first few nights I was here, I had terrible nightmares about her, but since hearing from Kristie (of the kennel) that she is doing great with her training and having a lot of fun with her friends, they have stopped. I still miss her though. The plethora of black goats everywhere only reminds me of her more. The good thing is that when I get home, she will be much better behaved!

Now, in addition to Pineapple and banana, we have also been blessed with oranges (which are as sour as lemons), a sort of passion fruit that looks like it is bleeding when you cut it (explaining its name), and papaya. We have also eaten rice and beans many times now, which we are ultimately happy about.

Yesterday I went for another run with Damascene. Maybe it was rest, or cooler whether, or the absence of my camel-bak, but we completed the same route in 25 minutes less than the first time. Dama said next time we will run to the mountain, but I am pretty sure I am not ready for that...Dama also said that girls do not play sports here, but then we found out that three of the boys (Frank, Edison, Olivier, the same who play themselves) coach a girls team, and yesterday they won the cup!!! That makes me feel better about being a white girl running through Rwandan hills.

***Work Update***

Today we conducted our first interview! That means that we have had success in finding a translator. This was not painless, however. Yesterday, JP brought a woman back to Umuryango from Gitirama because he thought she would be good. It did not take talking to her long, however, to learn that her english was not compatible with ours. We had to tell her this, which of course she debated, and then we had to sit there with her while she waited for JP to finish eating his lunch. It was uncomfortable to say the least, but it did result in JP later connecting us with a friend from last year named Bosco. He has just finished University, where he studied languages, and his english is good! We succeeded in hiring him last night over the phone, and today we conducted our first interview. It went well for being the first one! Monday Bosco will come again, and we will keep the momentum going for the succeeding two weeks. After which we will have time to write their stories.

Yesterday we worked with the final group of boys on the first art session. They are at that great trouble making age of adolescence, and the session was quite difficult. It is proving even more difficult than I thought it would be to do this sort of work in such a different culture. We are doing our best to understand their world-view, and to adjust our work style accordingly, but it is a process, and an often frustrating one. They did enjoy it though, and we now have four groups names: Arsenal, Boys of Fire, V.I.P. Boys, and tough gang. Tomorrow we are going to meet with each group again. Each group will come up with a short group song, following a discussion of which, the boys will decorate portfolios that will hold their future work. The theme is to do so in a way that represents them and their life. We will introduce collage, which they can use in addition to drawing materials. I am looking forward to it!