A Walk in Africa

The slow pace and large quantities of food had me in the mood for movement so I decided to take a stroll up the road toward Kigarama on Saturday.  This entire area is heavily influenced by Seventh Day Adventist (the orphanage is owned by them although Victor is no longer personally affiliated) so Saturday is Sabbath.  Church appears to be an all-day affair with people coming and going throughout the day. 

To me, it sounds as if there are 20 different ways to say hello or ‘how are you’ in Kinyarwandan and I struggle with the appropriate response to any of them.  Mostly I just provide this vacant look with a big smile and head nod.  I’m sure I look like a complete idiot as one old woman grabbed my hand and repeated very, very slowly what I was supposed to say.   

But I continued along my way trying to be as friendly as I could when I realized that I was gaining a rather large contingent of children surrounding me.  At one point I counted about 12 and all were probably six or under.  They competed with each other to hold my hand and were also fascinated by my watch (a cheap Timex from Target with LOTS of buttons).  I babbled on to them thinking they couldn’t understand a lick of what I said but soon learned a few had a tiny grasp of English.  But in either case, I could easily throw them into fits of laughter with anything I said.  I heard several references to Mizungu (white person) and tried to teach them how to say ‘white girl’.  They could get the ‘white’ but not the ‘girl’.  One little girl kept poking and pinching at my waist and so I finally asked her if she thought I was fat and she replied with an emphatic ‘YES’.  I refuse to believe that she could understand me.

After quite some time and getting further and further from the village, I attempted to get them to turn back with no success.  I finally found an older boy that knew a bit more English and we sent them off laughing and smiling.  I then was joined by a couple of older boys who practiced their English with me the rest of the way back to the orphanage. 

I know many people were a bit concerned about my safety in Africa and I had my own concerns, but I can tell that I was MUCH safer on this walk than on any walk I have taken in my own neighborhood in Denver.  And definitely more entertained.