Being a Muzungu

Well where to begin… so much can happen in a week when everywhere you turn there is something new to learn. We are beginning to familiarise our selves with the Rwandan culture but one cannot help but feel that no matter how long we stay here we will always be ‘muzungus’ (white people). It is hard to forget your skin colour when everywhere you go people call ‘white girl!’ after you, but strangely it isn’t as offensive as you may think! You just accept it as the way things are. In fact experiencing being a minority is such an important lesson... one I doubt we will ever forget. On a funnier note when the children do it, it can actually be quite endearing; when we first met our landlord’s children they couldn’t have been more excited, they jumped up and down squealing ‘muzungu, muzungu, muzungu’ before running full speed towards us and giving us a rugby tackle style hug… luckily they are only 3 and 5 years old! We’ve moved into our new house and are settling in nicely, there is a very lively church behind which can either be a good thing or a bad thing depending on the time in the morning they decide to start singing! We also have a resident bird whose tune is no more bearable than the seagulls of Brighton and likes to sit just outside our window… if we had a bb gun the temptation may be too great! However, we have also spotted an eagle circling the house and some rather stunning little yellow birds who sing a much sweeter tune, so its not all bad! We are still awaiting gas so for now fruit salad is a popular dinner, and with pineapples and bags of passion fruit costing 5p each it’s an appealing option. Eating out is also cheap with beer costing 40p a pint, and the local specialty of brochettes (goat or fish kebabs) and matoke (savoury banana) costing even less. (At this point I Jasmine Anthony would like those who know me best to recognise the significance of that last sentence… yes that’s right I have been eating banana!!!) You can also get a bottle of ‘Wuragi’ gin for a quid, we haven’t tried it yet but at that price there’s not much point in ordering a shot… dangerous!

We have taken a few trips into town, which is certainly an experience. The public transport here leaves a lot to be desired, the buses are our equivalent of minibuses but you’d be surprised as to how many people they can fit on these things, when you think the seat is full it means at least two more people will manage to fit on… it is nothing short of a miracle! However at 10p a ride you can’t really complain. The other option is a ‘moto’ which is 30p, a lot more comfortable, and quicker but the safety of these things is certainly debatable. Pot holes appear to be a goal rather than something you might think to avoid… and speed does not appear to be a consideration, so if either of us are to die out here it is more than likely to be from falling off the back of one or falling down one of the many, very deep and often unexpected, holes in the road… (Note to self: never walk home drunk in the dark!). Town itself is noisy, busy and a little stressful for someone who is alien to the hustle and bustle of an African city, but no doubt we will become familiar with its character. There are a couple of big shopping centres and buildings all of which look rather new and swanky, however most of them are actually near empty and completely over priced. The best way to shop is to go to the smaller more local shops but you are never quite sure whether you are getting the actual price or the ‘muzungu’ price.

We have taught our first couple of English lessons which have been really rewarding because the kids we are teaching are ones that cannot afford to go to school and the centre has yet to raise the funds to send them, so they are really keen to learn. We had one rather amusing task, which was to get the pupils to stand up and perform a little conversation in English in front of the class. One rather advanced pair performed the following:
‘Hello Mister, I saw you in town with a girl, who was she?’
‘Ah that was my sister’
‘She is very beautiful’
‘You can have her for two cows!!!’

Well, it made us laugh! xxx