Muraho Rwanda! In Kinyarwanda (the language), 'muraho' is how you say hello to someone you have never met or have not seen in a very long time.
Today marks my fourth official day in Kigali, Rwanda and the first day of my home-stay experience. From the moment we arrived, Kigali has been amazing. They call Rwanda 'the land of a thousand hills' and now I fully understand why. This city is huge- made up of three districts and the hills are unbelievable. Houses are nestled in with the large trees, which makes everything very green, except for the occasional red dirt road. The city is very developed and in a lot of ways, not unlike a low to middle class area of the US. No one here calls it the US. Anyone who knows English or French here calls it ‘The States’ and others says ‘America’. People don't really beg here, but a lot of people try to sell things to us. We are never singled out as Americans but as ‘muzungu’ which is a term of endearment that basically means (rich) white person.
The program I am with, SIT, has a young, fun-loving staff who are very helpful and down to earth. This specific program to Rwanda has been happening for 6 years, and we are one of the smallest groups ever with only 9 students. Fifteen were accepted but SIT believes people dropped out because of the Ebola scare. By the way, Ebola is NO WHERE close to me- no worries.
Right now I am sitting in a very fancy office building while my host mother is in a meeting for work. I only met her in time to pick me up and for us to drive here. After this, we will go to the house and I will meet her husband and two kids. I am excited but also extremely nervous. There are so many small cultural differences, and I want them to like me so badly. For example, I learned the hard way that the soft wave we often use with babies and small children is a hand signal for ‘come here’. So when we were in the market yesterday and the little kid kept following me, it was because I had accidently told him to. I definitely deserved that dirty look.
Although I feel like I have a huge, flashing sign on me that says ‘foreigner’ I also feel like I have been here much longer than five days. It’s unbelievable how much I have learned in such a short time, and I know this is only the beginning of a grand adventure.
Today marks my fourth official day in Kigali, Rwanda and the first day of my home-stay experience. From the moment we arrived, Kigali has been amazing. They call Rwanda 'the land of a thousand hills' and now I fully understand why. This city is huge- made up of three districts and the hills are unbelievable. Houses are nestled in with the large trees, which makes everything very green, except for the occasional red dirt road. The city is very developed and in a lot of ways, not unlike a low to middle class area of the US. No one here calls it the US. Anyone who knows English or French here calls it ‘The States’ and others says ‘America’. People don't really beg here, but a lot of people try to sell things to us. We are never singled out as Americans but as ‘muzungu’ which is a term of endearment that basically means (rich) white person.
The program I am with, SIT, has a young, fun-loving staff who are very helpful and down to earth. This specific program to Rwanda has been happening for 6 years, and we are one of the smallest groups ever with only 9 students. Fifteen were accepted but SIT believes people dropped out because of the Ebola scare. By the way, Ebola is NO WHERE close to me- no worries.
Right now I am sitting in a very fancy office building while my host mother is in a meeting for work. I only met her in time to pick me up and for us to drive here. After this, we will go to the house and I will meet her husband and two kids. I am excited but also extremely nervous. There are so many small cultural differences, and I want them to like me so badly. For example, I learned the hard way that the soft wave we often use with babies and small children is a hand signal for ‘come here’. So when we were in the market yesterday and the little kid kept following me, it was because I had accidently told him to. I definitely deserved that dirty look.
Although I feel like I have a huge, flashing sign on me that says ‘foreigner’ I also feel like I have been here much longer than five days. It’s unbelievable how much I have learned in such a short time, and I know this is only the beginning of a grand adventure.