Morning Formation

11/13/09 Morning formation with the Animators was again great. I brought out 3 of the little cloth balloons that one of the retired Sisters in San Anotnio made, and we had a good time. I was explaining how we play this game – everyone holds hands in a circle, and you have to keep the ball in the air without breaking the circle. As I'm explaining that we all have to hold hands, John, one of the flirty ones, goes "J'ai un petit problème…" and moves so that he's right next to me. We all just laughed! Well, the game ended up being too hard because of the wind, but we had fun just playing volleyball with them. Again everything was in Kinyarwanda, so I practiced patience. Then we practiced one of the crafts that we'll be doing with the kids – tracing our hands and cutting them out and writing our name and "love" or "peace" or any other inspirational word (in Kinyarwanda) on them. This sounds like an easy enough task for most of you reading this, but for the people living in developing countries it’s quite difficult. In primary school, children don't have art class, so they miss the prime developmental age for training the small muscles in the hands and arms to be able to swiftly cut around curves and corners. Most of the Animators had to do 2 or 3 hands so they could practice using scissors. Sr. Charlotte was helping them see where their errors were – either they traced one of their fingers too narrow and it looked unnatural, or their cutting was jagged, or they couldn't maneuver around the little corner where the fingers meet the palm. It was another eye-opener that helped me to see the many things we take for granted in America.

We then made paper hats. This only involved folding, so it was not as complex an activity for the Animators.

They decorated them nicely, and then we all went to take a nice picture, which failed because my battery died. Sad.

We had a pretty good time getting organized for this picture though – it took a good 5 minutes because everyone was arguing about how we should squish to fit, and people's hats kept blowing off.

I had a nice chat with Liberata, one of the Animators, a wonderfully smiley one. She said that she really wants to learn English, and I said we can make an English-Kinyarwanda exchange. She was very happy about this idea and squeezed my hand in an approving gesture. I've noticed that friends do that a lot, either hold hands or are just more touchy-feely than Americans. One thing that I appreciate very much here is that everyone greets everyone with a handshake. If you walk into a room, you go say hello to each individual person and shake their hand. I'm gonna try to continue this when I'm back home…I really don't know why we only do this in professional settings…

Finally, we sorted toys that will be used at Muhato's Patronage and at Rubavu's Patronage (a neighboring city where Sr. Charlotte will be working a few days a week as well as here at Muhato parish). It was very much a Third World toy sorting. We brought two huge burlap bags of stuff and dumped them out on the bare cement floor.

The "toys" consisted of many tin cans, bottle caps, a bunch of colorful film canisters with filmstrips in them, a jump rope, 2 very good condition soccer balls, a handful of worn-out soccer balls, 3 balls made from trash bags, pieces of rope, some sticks, pieces of silverware, a sack full of bean bags, several Styrofoam blocks, and several whistles. It was rather heartbreaking to see this, and also a bit shocking to see the ideas that people were coming up with. Example: lets stick the handle of the fork in our mouths and see if we can carry a beanbag on the end of the fork. My thoughts: get that out of your mouth!!!!!! While I do embrace doing a lot with a little and making something fun out of just a few resources, I do not advocate sticking dirty old silverware in your mouth in order to come up with a good game. I wish that bottlecaps and tin cans were not the most abundant "toy" in the batch. But I am still confident that the kids will have a blast with whatever games we make up out of this stuff. We had fun doing lots of cheers/chants and playing volleyball outside today. Everyone got a turn riling everybody up with a cheer (I did not, because all of this is in Kinyarwanda…I don't mind though). I am constantly amazed at how not a single Rwandese soul is afraid to sing loudly and dance around. Its wonderful! We also practiced Patronage songs, which are all in Kinyarwanda. Even with the songbooks (thank God for songbooks) I still had a difficult time because the words are so long and complex. We also made teams and came up with a team cheer (in Kinyarwanda)…that was interesting, but I still had an uber fun time. I really spend most of this time smiling and laughing and not thinking about how out-of-place I must be, but instead just diving right in and doing my best to do whatever my comrades are doing.

Later that evening, I had the most hysterical fit of laughter that I've had since I've been here. Fr. Antoine, Fr. Théophile, and Sr. Charlotte all came for an English lesson on vowel pronunciation. It went very well. At the end, I asked if I could get a picture of my students. So they lined up real nice and I took a lovely photo. Well, upon seeing it, Fr. Antoine says "Oh no, we must retake. I don't look good. My head is tilted. I am not standing straight and tall. I do not look serious." The three of us bust out laughing and completely make fun of his remarks, but he insists that we must take another one. Well, I was stifling some laughter as I took the second one, couldn't hold it in, and burst out laughing as the photo took, resulting in a nice blur. So it actually took three tries to get it right. And even at that, Fr. Antoine was still not satisfied. I'm not sure what was wrong with the third one, since he didn't make us redo it again, but he had a thing or two to say about his appearance. I've really grown to love this man's demeanor. Pretty much, he is hilarious. He's a very young, hip priest who always has a smile on his face and can often bring laughter into any situation.

Bringin Bunny Back

11/11/09 Today all the Animator formation was in Kinyarwanda, so I did a lot of praying for the group. However, we shared some more good times cutting out cardboard stars. And, as our icebreaker before we began, I taught the group "bunny bunny." Yes, it has now been spread transatlantic…get ready world. It was really funny, everyone was laughing a lot, so I'm glad it was a success! I was sort of worried it would be too complex. Not so. Then, John, the coordinator for the Animators, busted out some crazy French song that everyone knew. We danced around in a little circle with coordinated moves, and at some point the words were "I'm looking for the prettiest girl who will dance with me" or something, and the leader grabs a lady and everybody links arms with a partner and dances around. I was happy to be chosen as the pretty lady, yay! John led a couple more, then Sr. Charlotte whipped out some similar Kinyarwanda chant/song/dances. It was so cool doing these with them, even though I was learning on-the-spot. Everyone just gets so into it with a huge smile on their face, and singing dancing with all their might – especially the guys! And mind you, this is outside, so naturally anybody who is walking by stops and looks at us. Now, a note about the surroundings. We are hosting Patronage at Muhato parish, which has several halls in which we can host the Animator formation. But outside there is an ongoing process of demolishing old houses that were once on the property. There are always workers outside with shovels and rickety old wheelbarrows that look like they could collapse at any moment. It seems to be the most inefficient way to clear out bricks, but people come and go with little cushions to put on their heads so they can carry bricks out. Even little kids come to carry bricks – that's the sad part that I hate to see. I don't know if their parents are sending them to work, or if they just have nothing else to do since school is not in session. But no little child should have to carry bricks on their head either to work or to fill vacant hours of the day.
The Animators really like to ask me about differences between here and the States. Today the first question I received was "In the United States, its very easy to get money, yes?" I had to explain that no, its not, and actually right now there are many people without jobs. They also asked me about the weather and what snow is like. Its kind of crazy because there will be a commotion of Kinyarwanda, and then all of a sudden I hear a "Jacqui" interspersed in there. So then I ask what they're saying about me, and like 3 people will answer all at once. I've noticed that people tend to interrupt me a lot when I talk…this might be an American politeness difference. Its actually quite humorous – I was explaining the weather in America, and during my explanation someone else asked me what the weather is like at home. I just laughed and replied, "I am telling you…you have to listen…"
Sr. Charlotte and I again had a wonderful time getting supplies ready for tomorrow's formation. As we sorted and boxed things, she taught me the Kinyarwanda words to one of the Mass songs that I know the tune to but don't know the words. Now I know the words :) We have a really fun time together, especially with things concerning music. I find that we tend to make a rhythm/beat out of things, such as walking and talking, and then just take it and run and we end up laughing up a storm. She also had me practice the little dance that people do during Mass, since I told her that I've always wanted to join but am too self-conscious. So we danced, and it was good. I think I'm gonna ask her if she'll stand up and do it with me tomorrow.
We ate umugari for lunch and dinner today – very good and very traditional! Its polenta made from cassava root. I’m not entirely sure what polenta is, but it looks like a heap of bread dough made from the cassava flour. You take a heap, pour some tomato-fish sauce on your plate, along with cooked greens, and a piece of boiled fish (still with scales and eyes and bones…fresh from Lake Kivu!). Then you use your hands to break off a piece of the polenta and dip it in the sauce, and you grab some greens and fish while you're at it. It was so goooood. We've eaten fish surprisingly few times here, but it always tastes so amazing…I love it.

hmmm...

11/11/09 Ok, weird thing happened to me today after Mass. An older woman with her son came up to me afterward, very nice and smiley, and said something in Kinyarwanda. I told her in French that I didn't understand, but she just kept repeating it and was grabbing onto her breast. I maintained a look of "I have no idea what you're saying," and we parted ways. Well, I asked Sr. Charlotte what that was all about, and she told me that the woman said "I am your mother!" Yes, grabbing your boob is how you indicate motherhood. Fitting, I guess. But she explained that this fits into the mentality of "white people are rich, so if I'm their friend they'll give me money." I've never met this woman or even seen her before, and she's already calling me her daughter. Therefore, this was probably not a sincere gesture to be kind to the foreigner; it was self-seeking. It was a good reminder that I must be careful with friendships here, as you can't really tell who is genuine and who is just after your perceived (yet false) infinite wealth.

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.

An uninvited dinner guest...

11/9/09

Before dinner tonight I went to my room to wash my hands, and as I'm walking through the dark hallway towards the illuminated dining room, I see something black dart through the bright light of the dining room. I'm like "please tell me that was just a weird shadow…" with an uneasy feeling in my gut. So I warily emerge into the dinning room, and yep, sure enough, its not a shadow, it’s a bat. And Sr. Charlotte and Sr. Candide are just sitting at the table eating and talking as if it’s a normal occasion.
"Is there a bat flying around?!" I say, kind of stammeringly because I'm freaked out.
"Yes, just come sit down." Replies Sr. Charlotte with perfect calmness.
What?! How can I sit down? There is a nocturnal flying creature disturbing my meal! You told me I didn't need the rabies vaccine! I quickly run to my spot at the table while the bat continues to circle, and all the while I'm squirming and laughing and screaming a little bit. Aaaaah what if it flies under the table into my legs?! Sr. Charlotte says to me "You're really afraid aren't you?" And I explain my fear of close-flying things, birds and bats included. They're really surprised at my reaction, probably just as surprised as I am at their lack thereof. We shut off the lights and turn on the hallway lights to try to get it to fly out, but that doesn't really work. But just after we had turned them back on, it flew into the hallway and I gave this huuuuge sigh of relief. Unfortunately, it flew into the hallway, not outside. It probably came from the ceiling, where we had 2 workers remove a ceiling tile to fix our roof. So yeah, it lives with us I guess.
I asked them if that happens a lot, and they both kind of shrugged and were like, "Yeah." And I said, "Oh good." This will be a fun adventure. Maybe when I come back I will have been desensitized to my irrational fear…

First formation with the Animators

11/9/09 So, we're putting on a 'vacation bible school' called Patronage for all the neighborhood kids, and high schoolers are invited to be Animateurs, or junior camp counselors. They receive some training and special faith formation, which began today. This was so amazing…so, first, a bit about the laxity of time here. My lessons with the Father's have never started more than 10 minutes late, and I've learned to expect things to start much later than planned. It really doesn't get to me, I just bring a book to read or something. I've heard stories from enough people who've studied abroad and have been really frustrated with this aspect of many other cultures, so I've learned to not let it frustrate me! Well, today the Animateurs were supposed to arrive at 8am. Dear Felicien, our youngest Animateur whom you'll hear more about, was there promptly, early even which is probably waaaay unheard of, and he was all ready with his notebook and folder, ready to learn. Well, we decided we should wait for more to show up. After 30 minutes or so we had a second, and finally at 9am we had 5 total and began our formation. Wow. We seriously sat around and did nothing, just chatted, for an hour. That would never happen in the States – if people are no-show's for 15, maybe 20 minutes, the whole thing would have just been cancelled!
I absolutely LOVED working with the Animateurs! First of all, during a little conversation with Felicien, I learned the Kinyarwanda words for physics, chemistry, math, and "bless you" if someone sneezes. I don't know the French word for "sneeze" so I was just demonstrating it to get him to understand what I was asking. But he really didn't get it until after repeated demonstrations. It was probably quite a sight too see but ah well, s'all good. I have since forgotten all of these words except chemistry (uwatambili?), even after Felicien reminded me again the next day… Felicien is such a funny little guy, he's 16 years old, and is a bit quiet, but he was just laughing at me as I struggled to pronounce these words. He's pretty soft-spoken, as I've found most Rwandans are, but we really had a nice conversation. Plus, he wants to be a priest! He's very dedicated, as suggested by his promptness and preparedness.
We all played Concentration and an introductions game with balloons, which was super fun with lots of laughing. Its so very true that people have many more similarities than they do differences – here I am across the Atlantic and goofy circle clapping games and balloons are still a major source of laughter and entertainment! To get to know one another we were paired up and just walked around or went somewhere to talk to that person. I had a really nice time talking to Fabrice, a very experienced Animateur, whose French was very comprehensible. Sr. Gisèle led us through a little reflection about why we are here, for whom are we becoming Animateurs, do our lives imitate Christ's, do we strive to be His disciples? It was mostly in French, so I was able to follow along without much difficulty. It was so beautiful to see the Animateur's nonverbal responses – they all had this genuine look about their faces of true peace, and a true desire to be Animateurs because they love God
Then came Fr. Antoine's talk about Christmas, which is what Patronage is preparing the little kids for. This was all in Kinyarwanda. So I decided I would pray for everyone. I prayed for all of our Animateurs, each by name, then for Patronage, then for St. Paul's and for many friends and dear ones back in Madison and at home. I was filled with sooo much joy – as I was remembering all these things about home, I didn't feel at all homesick or like I was missing my comfortable social sphere. Instead, I looked at where I was – here in this smallish building with a bare cement floor and long wooden benches and a little bird walking around pecking stuff and I can't understand any of what is being said. But this is exactly where I am supposed to be. This is where I belong – I have been given specific qualities so that I can do exactly this – be a friend, be energetic, be Christian, be present – to people who don't own much, but have much inner beauty. Yes, home and St. Paul's are wonderful places from which came irreplaceable, unique, wonderful memories. But this is now; this is Muhato Parish in Gisenyi, Rwanda, and this is where I belong. What a good place to be!

Made a friend!

11/7/09 First time walking into "town" by myself. I loaded up my backpack with my laptop and camera and flash drive with the intention of using an internet café or some wireless at a hotel. I began the 45-minute trek with a delighted certainty that soon I'd have a trail of small followers. Somewhat to my dismay, I only ended up with one very brief, but quite large, group of young'uns following me. I waved and "Bonjour"d or "Mwiriwe"d to everyone, and waved especially fanatically to the children, who were always brimming with giggles and "Muzungu! Muzungu!"s. But most of the kiddos did not latch on and trail behind. Except at this one house, there were like 15 children playing something, and they all started following me after I greeted them. But this man walking a bit in front of me turned around and yelled something at them in Kinyarwanda. I'm assuming he was telling them that I didn't want them following me, because shortly thereafter they all dispersed. Bummer. Oh well, next time.
Well, I continued on my way and eventually a guy about my age struck up a nice French conversation with me! I had a hard time understanding what he was saying, but he actually spoke pretty good English, so he'd insert the English word whenever I was clueless. He assumed I was Italian for some reason, probably my accent I guess. And it turns out he was an Animator (like a junior camp counselor) at Patronage (a 'vacation bible school' that we're putting on next week) for the past 2 years. He said he'd be back again this year – yay for making a friend that I might see again! Well, he ended up walking me all the way to the internet café, which was at least another half-hour away. I'm sooooo glad he did because I would not have found the place on my own. It was jammed in this building with about 6 other shops, and it was up on the second floor, and even if I would have found the right place, it was not what I was expecting. I figured I'd be going to a café, a coffee shop, where I could whip out my computer and use their wireless. Well, there is no coffee, just a dozen large, antiquated, semi-private desktop computers jammed into a small room. I wouldn't have known what to do – pay first? Just sit down and start working and pay later? Plus, it turns out that this little place had no connection (see, I wouldn't have known to ask if they've got connectivity. And when the cashier would have told me that they don't, I likely would not have understood and would have just smiled and continued to try to connect while looking stupid. Yes.) So, Amiral walked me to another café just down the road. This one looked the same, and had a connection. And again fortunately for me he took care of the entire transaction – talked to the cashier, asked me how many minutes I wanted to pay for (its $0.20 USD for 15 minutes), handed my money to the cashier, and directed me where to sit. Then, he proceeds to sit down at a nearby computer and check his own email! At this point I'm like . . . nuh uh…you're not gonna sit here till I'm done are you? Its gonna be a long time, and didn't you have something you were going to do today? I'm pretty sure you weren't planning on coming here…You just went half an hour out of your way being insanely kind and hospitable – you've done enough! But he did some computing for another half hour and then finally parted after I gave him tons of thanks. What a nice guy!