Rwanda Facts (or fictions)

I hear so many different stories and tidbits here that I'm starting to have a hard time determining what's fact and what's fiction.  I get the funniest stories and comments at work (funny to me, that is) and then once the story is over and I double over in laughter, my coworkers kind of just stop and stare at me with this I-know-she-does-not-think-this-is-funny face.  I don't know, maybe it's just me, but most of these stories are hilarious (especially when the person telling them is dead serious).  Anyway, I'll let you decide for yourself...here goes:

Millipedes

Little boys must beware of millipedes.  If they are ever bitten by one, their penis will forever be small; the millipede will run off with its newest prized possession and the boy will be left with a malfunctioning penis and the inability to get a girlfriend.  The little boy will love a looooong and very lonely life.

Sex

This seems to be a very popular topic of discussion at work and every time its brought up, I always get a little uncomfortable and (very immaturely) begin to giggle and laugh.  And every time, my coworkers never fail to ask me, "Why do you laugh?? Are you afraid of sex?"  I just keep giggling and proceed to tell them that in America, sex is not an appropriate topic in the workplace.  People don't just sit around talking about sex while at work.  And then ignoring what I just said, they proceed to say to me (in broken English), "You are afraid of sex.  You have a disease."  I say, "A disease?"  They say, "Yes, to be afraid of sex is a serious disease.  It is a terrible sickness."

And now some not-so-funnies, just interesting:

2 A.M. Blues

I woke up about 20 minutes ago with the worse pain in my stomach.  At 2:13 in the morning I'm lying here wiggling my legs beneath the sheets and rubbing my tummy in hope of stopping the pain; I think to myself...noooo, not at 2am!! Please wait until the morning...It's pitch black outside!!!

The PC doctors warned us that it happens to every volunteer--many times-- but I've been lucky enough to escape it for 4 long months, and believe me, it has been great.  Until today.  Yesterday I made some cabbage and questionable carrots (the carrots weren't in the best shape, but I hate to waste food) so I cooked them anyway; and I had my usual tea, but I ran out of Nido, so I was trying a new (less expensive) powdered milk.  My tummy has been acting funky all day today, but ohemgee why did it have to hit me so hard so late in the night (or early in the morning).  Either way, there are several possibilities for culprits.  It could be the fact that all I ate today was toast and tea (with the new powdered milk) for breakfast, Twix and Butterfinger for lunch, and Cheese-Its and Skittles for dinner.  And then again, it could be the cabbage and "bad" carrots that I ate last night.  Whatever it was, it had me up at 2 o clock in the morning, attempting to devise a plan to go outside to my latrine in the pitch-blackness and do so without some crazy person jumping from behind a bush or banana tree to take me out to the far-reaches of Rwanda and leaving me there.

Moment of Truth

There have been moments when I have somehow forgotten that I'm in Africa.  Like, it just doesn't feel like I'm here (minus the fact that I can't see my family, that is).  I'm not 100% sure what Africa should feel like, but I can say that its nothing like I expected it to be. 

Someone asked me, a few weeks ago, if Rwanda is more or less than what I expected it to be and my answer was that it is much more.  I honestly (and ignorantly) had a Discovery Channel-type image in my head of what Rwanda (or all of Africa for that matter) might look like.  I didn't expect a "normal" city (whatever normal is), I didn't expect "normal" houses (again, whatever normal is); however I did expect to see paper-thin children with pot bellies and their parents with torn clothing and no shoes.  The "normal" I expected to see much resembled that of pre-colonized Africa...you know, the stick houses with no ceilings, the men in loin cloths, giraffes and monkeys walking around all over, etc.  I could very easily blame National Geographic and any other sources for my faulty images of Africa, however I think it would only be fair for me to blame myself.  I never did much research of my own on the countries of this continent until it was time for me to come here.  Even still, the images that I had seen throughout my life kept me from believing that any country in Africa would actually have cell phones, healthy babies, tall buildings, or any form of civilized life.  So when I say that sometimes I forget that I am in an African country, I mean it in the sense that its nothing like the images that have been painted in my head my entire life...

Photos and Care Packages

I was finally able to post all of the photos that I have taken so far! Yayy!! If you haven't already, feel free to follow the link under the Photo Gallery tab so that you can see for yourself how much fun I've been having!!

As for the care packages...THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! You have no idea how much joy those not-so-little boxes of goodies bring me.  I appreciate everything from the candy to the lotion to the spam and tuna!  Did I mention the candy??  After a long day at work or dying from boredom and loneliness, there's nothing like a yummy piece of chocolate to bring me back to life.  I tell no tales when I say that it felt like Christmas time at the post office...and my pantry is looking more like an American mini-mart than like something you'd find in a small mud house smack dab in the center of Rwanda.  Again, THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU!! I had a rough day today and the goodies definitely turned it around.  As of right now, I don't need anything else...but if you're just dying to get something in the mail, a girl can never have too many snacks (: I love and miss you all soooo very much!

Love and Peace Corps,

Dametreea

Rwandan Weddings

The Ceremony:

Rwandan weddings consist of three ceremonies.  A dowry (gift giving) ceremony, a traditional "American" ceremony, and a third one which I am still trying to figure out.  (I'll have to get back to you on that one). 

The Bride: At the ceremonies that I've attended, I have noticed that the bride always looks painfully sad; kind of like she is making the biggest mistake of her life.  After asking someone from my health center why this is always the case, they told me that the bride is supposed to look extremely sad at the wedding ceremony as the fact that she is marrying means that she will be leaving her family's home; a smiling bride is an insult to her family as the attendees will think that she is happy to be leaving her family.

Wedding Rings: The bride wears her wedding ring on her left middle finger until she and her husband perform all three ceremonies.  Only then can she move the ring to her left ring finger. 

Wedding Gifts: Gifts usually consist of animals, food, money, and household items.  The animals (cows, sheep, goats, and/or chickens) come from either the bride or groom's parents; and the food (beans, rice, etc), from what I've seen, comes from some of the mama's and elderly women within the community.  It is customary for the invitees to give a monetary gift to the bride and groom upon being invited  to the wedding (the amount depends on how close they are to the couple); it is also customary for the attendees to bring another gift to the dowry ceremony.  These gifts can range from cultivating tools (hoes and machetes) to kitchen ware (thermoses and glasses). 

Muslim Wedding Highlights: