Nothing Comfortable

I have only been at site for a little over two weeks and I am not going to lie, I am definitely going through a major case of “culture shock” right now. I went from living with 35 Americans to finding someone who barely knows English. It is overwhelming and exhausting having such a huge language barrier. The way of life here is so different than anything I have ever experienced. You can’t just go to your local grocery store to buy your food. Here the market is twice a week (every Tuesday and Saturday). Planning is very important and if you do not plan well, you will be eating oatmeal for a whole week straight (trust me). You pay a child to do anything for you for a small price. There is no sense of independence for me here, at least not right now. I am being better taken care of than I have ever been in my entire life. If I need to take a bus somewhere, I have someone walking me to the bus stop. If I go to fetch water (I have to 20 minute walk) people are there to help me carry it to my house. If I lose my phone, I am given one to borrow because I “cannot be without communication”. If I need help cooking, young girls are phoned over to cook me an entire meal!

One can imagine how wonderfully exhausting that must be. Hospitality is a huge part of this culture and I have to accept that. However, I know it will not help with my integration if I do not slowly nip that in the butt. I do not want people to treat me special here because I am a muzungu (“outsider”). I really think that people just feel sorry for me right now because I live alone which is definitely not common in this culture. It is going to take some creativity and assertiveness on my part to help them understand that I am not a muzungu but rather their equal.

I have come to learn that my idea of comfort does not exist here. I have surprised myself how much I have been able to adapt to that. I never know what the day is going to bring and what uncomfortable situation I am going to be placed in next! Somehow, I ended up joining a girl’s soccer team. I thought I was going to go watch a game and the next thing I know, I am running laps around the field warming up for the game. I asked a neighbor if she would show me where to buy minutes for my phone and found myself climbing a mountain to go meet people at the Catholic Church in my sector…hmmm. I may have had my first marriage proposal. I never know when people are going to show up to visit.

Just yesterday, I went to Umuganda (translated as “contribution”). It is a Rwandan tradition where communities get together to do some sort of community work at the end of every month.
I found myself carrying stones on my head while being laughed at by the locals, being swarmed by children asking if I knew Barack Obama, teaching the children “head shoulders knees and toes”, being invited to sit amongst the local authorities including the governor of the northern province, the mayor, and member of parliament (big deal) at the community meeting held at the end of Umuganda. Not only that, but of course, I had to stand at the microphone (all the authorities gave speeches) and having to introduce myself the hundreds of people there, in Kinyarwanda of course.

There is nothing comfortable about any of that. Yet, no matter how uncomfortable I have been, I have seriously had some of the most incredible moments I have ever had in my life.