Random Thoughts and Moments

Here are a few things that I have experienced or heard that don't quite amount up to a full blog post...just a little bit of this and a little bit of that...

I Love You

I have had these three little words directed at me more times than I am comfortable with.  In Rwanda, to tell someone that you like them or love them, are one and the same; you simply say ndagukunda.  So when someone likes you in Rwanda, they say in their best English, "I love you," not really understanding the meaning behind the phrase.  I have had the hardest time explaining to them that in English, we say I like you, rather than I love you...I love you is more or less reserved for people that you have known for a very long time.  After my novel of an explanation on the differences between like and love, the Rwandans just nod their heads, smile, and say again, "I love you."  And at that point I just give up, smile back, and respond, "I love you too."

You Look Smart

When someone is dressed nicely or looks exceptionally well one day, their Rwandan friend will say to them, "You look smart."  I wonder what they say when the person is dressed bad o.O

I Am Coming

My coworkers have no more chances to tell me "I am coming" and then walk right out the door...and never come back! lol  I'm not sure where they got this bad English from, but instead of teaching them to say I'll be right back, someone has put into their heads that the proper thing to say is "I am coming."  So, each time someone has to leave the room for one reason  or another, they stand up, say more like an announcement than a simple statement, "I am coming!," and then proceed to walk right out the door...and just as I said before, they more often than not, never actually  "come" back.

Eggs

Eggs are soo very hard to come by in my village.  You would think that will all of the chickens running around they would come a dime a dozen, but that definitely is not the case.  When I was finally able to get my hands on some eggs so that I cook up a yummy breakfast of eggs and potatoes, I went to crack open one of the little shells and no sooner than the shell cracked, out came a puddle of blood and a little tiny CHICKEN FETUS!  I dropped the egg immediately and ran away while shaking my hands back and forth as if the little chicken's ghost were chasing me...and all I could think was, I'm a murderer!  I killed a chicken!

Pepper

After a few short weeks of living here, I learned to never ever (under any circumstances) have anything sitting out when I have visitors, because they will want to touch it and taste it and even take it home.  There was one day, though, when I had just finished cooking and forgot to put my seasonings away.  I had some pepper sitting on my cooking counter and one of the students from the village school decided to waltz right on into my house.  When she came in, she immediately starting pointing and asking, "What's this...? What's that...? And that over there...what's that?"  When she finally made it around to asking what the black stuff was in the little bottle, I told her it was pepper and she didn't quite understand.  I compared it to urusenda, which is what they use to add a little kick to their food (btw which I DO NOT eat because it is VERY hot and my first experience with it was beyond traumatizing).  After I did my best to explain what pepper is, I turned my head for a quick second and when I turned it back, the girl had taken the lid off of the pepper and was running her tongue back and forth across the top!  When I saw her I froze and all I could think to myself was, great...there goes my pepper; it was too late to stop her.

Love and Peace Corps,

Dametreea