It's hard to believe I have already been here for over 8 months! I've really grown to love this country, the incredible school I work at, the precious children I get to teach everyday, and overall just the lifestyle. I've really gotten pretty used to the way things work around here, but I thought it would be interesting to share some of the things that are just a little bit different....
Cell phones: These are all prepaid. They call it "airtime" when you put money on your phone. And this is how it works: it always costs money to make a phone call but its pretty cheap and sending text messages is even cheaper. When you run out of money on your phone, you go and find and "mtn guy" as we call them. "MTN guys" are people who stand around in bright yellow MTN vests (MTN is the phone and internet company). You give them how ever much money you want on your phone (I usually buy $8 worth at a time and it lasts me about 3 weeks!) and they give you card with that amount on it. Then you scratch off the card to reveal a number. You then type this number into your phone and voilà! Then you have airtime and can freely make phone calls and send texts. :)
Internet: Works similarly to airtime. My housemates and I get internet via a USB stick. The stick has a sim card in it. Each month we buy airtime from the MTN guys and put it in the sim card then in the stick. When you want to get online, you put the stick in your computer and connect (then it's similar to 1990's dial up).
Electricity: Also prepaid. Every house has a box outside that has a little screen telling you how many units of power you have left. When you run out of power units, you run out of power until you pay for more. To pay for more, you have to go to a little store and purchase it. They give you a little receipt with a number on it. You come home and type the number into the box and voilà again! You have power :)
Rain: It affects EVERYTHING. Probably only about 20% of the people here drive cars. Everyone else walks everywhere, drives a motorcycle, or rides on moto taxis, or even better- bike taxis. (I'll get to taxis next). So when it rains everything stops or at least slows down. It's not uncommon to find yourself stuck somewhere in a place full of people for extended periods of time when it rains.
This actually has been something that helped me to depend more on God. In the states, rain doesn't really stop or affect anyone's daily schedule. Rain just means you need to find a closer parking spot and carry an umbrella. Here rain means your whole life is put on hold and you can't go anywhere. Sometimes I think it's God telling me, no you don't need to be so busy, you need to stay home and spend time with me!
Motos: Motos, or moto taxis, are a pretty basic means of transportation here. There are guys everywhere in blue or green vests that drive motorcycles around and will take you places. You can go clear across the city for less than $2. And thats the most you'd ever pay. They even carry a helmet and make you wear it.
This was my main means of transport until about a week ago when I bought my own scooter! This is pretty exciting because it means I can go anywhere whenever I want without having to track down a moto. It also means I wear a helmet that only I wear and I'm in control of my motor vehicle. :)
Shopping: We don't have a walmart or a kroger or anything of the sort. But we DO have the market! Very cheap and very fresh produce! Second hand clothing! All that clothing that you send off to "charity." Well it gets sent here. I'm just waiting to find a tshirt or other item of clothing that I've sent to charity. Although it's not sold as cheap as a salvation army in the states. Its only slightly cheaper than it would be new.
There are also little grocery stores around the city. They're about the size of a drug store or 7-11. The funny thing about these stores is that they don't always have what you want in stock. In fact they could have something for one week and then you might not see it again for several months. That's just the way it is.
Water and Power: Don't count on it. You just never really know when either of these things can go out. Then you never know how long they'll be out. Literally as I write this the power is out. It went out at about noon and came back on around 4:30. Since then it's been on and off all night. Oh, it just came back on! Candles and head lamps are essential here.... and power's out again.
The power being out also doesn't mean we get to cancel or go home early from school. It just means you always have to be prepared with making copies ahead of time and having back up plan for anytime you want to use your projector.
Other cultural norms...
It's not unusual to see two men hold hands while walking down the street. No, they're not gay, they're just friends. People here are very affectionate. Holding hands with the same sex= friends. BUT, holding hands with the opposite sex= very inappropriate. You never see couples holding hands, mostly just men.
Eating in public is also something you never see. In fact if someone sees you eating while your walking or driving, they might think you are homeless. Obviously you don't have a table to sit and eat at.
Raising you eyebrows= yes. This is actually a really convenient nonverbal communication gesture as a teacher. When kids ask me if they can go to the bathroom while I'm teaching, I don't even have to stop talking, I just raise my eyebrows at them they know!
Well this has gotten long. But there you have some fun new facts about Rwanda. This is my life and I love it. :)
...in other random news. Today at elementary chapel my class lead elementary in the song "God is so good." I had them sing it in as many languages as we could, we sang it in 7 languages, English, Kinyarwanda, Swahili, Spanish, French, Russian, and Korean. Pretty. Cool.
