More Animator Fun

11/10/09 Today after Mass I had 2 delightful conversations on my own! The principal of the nearby public school recognized me from when I came to Lorraine & Pauline's thank you party. So I talked with him and another teacher about how the weather in the States is very cold right now. Usually that's one of the first things people ask me – "Comment vous trouvez le climat en Rwanda?" Then, as I was just outside the mission gate, there were a man and a woman outside a car randomly parked on the road. I said "hello" in Kinyarwanda, and they asked me something else that I didn't understand, so I went over to chat. We had a very nice talk in French, again about the weather, and they asked me about my life with the Salesians. The man who was doing most of the talking spoke English, so he told me in English how it is very hard to understand American accents because the English that Rwandans are taught has a thick French influence. He said he lived just a few kilometers beyond the compound, and said that they want to come by for a visit, and if I ever want someone to show me around I can come by! We never exchanged any additional contact info, so I kind of don't forsee this happening, but who knows!
Working with the Animateurs again was amazing today! We had 8 of them today. Mostly everything was in French, so I was really able to participate in everything. We had more fun playing goofy icebreaker games at the beginning, and then we did this activity to help us see the worldly things to which we are too attached. We were asked to "pack a suitcase" for a trip. Two guys were baggage check officers, and one was a customs officer, and the rest of us were passengers. We each had to write down what we're packing, and we were all given a boarding pass. It was actually really fun. I'm assuming none of the Animateurs had ever traveled anywhere, because they had tons of questions asking for clarification about what they're supposed to do. Sr. Gisèle was giving lots of examples about what you need to take when you go on a trip, and lots of Kinyarwanda explanation was given. One thing I've learned to appreciate on a deeper level is my education. Things like comprehending directions quickly truly come from the overall school experience, rather than textbooks/lectures. Well anyways, before we boarded the "plane" which was just a different row of benches, we had to remove some things from our suitcases because they were too heavy. This then segway'd into what things can we remove from our lives that distract us from following Christ. We ordered aspects of our lives (work, school, family, friends, etc) by priority, and every single Animateur put either God or prayer as number 1 on the list. It was very uplifting to see how willingly the Animateurs shared their responses! They were mostly in Kinyarwanda, but there was never an awkward silence in which no one wanted to volunteer their thoughts. It was really cool, like being in bible study again!
Then we did some practical work where we cut out cardboard stars that the kids at Patronage would decorate. This was really great, good bonding – I was joking around with the two guys next to me. Jean Paul was always stealing my stuff, first my pen, then my scissors, and Stany was joking around that any of the good stars you find are the ones that he and I cut out. There was a lot of Kinyarwanda conversation going on, but Sr. Charlotte would interject and ask me if I knew what they said, because it was either about me or about English. They are all such welcoming people – even though the conversation was way over my head, I never felt unnecessary, excluded, or unwanted.
Afterwards we had to carry our supplies to the mission, and about five of the Animateurs wanted to come with me to get the keys. We walked and talked and they taught me some more Kinyarwanda words, and Edouard asked me if I had a real boarding pass from when I came here, and if he could look at it. I'll be bringing that with me tomorrow :) I can't wait to see them for English classes at Patronage, because I feel like we're already on a companionship basis. They're all about the same age as me – between 16 and 21. So pretty soon I get to be their goofy teacher who was first their friend.