Firsts

November 27, 2009

1)            First time wearing a skirt in Rwanda.  Response: “You look smart!”  “I’ve never seen your legs before.” “I like your legs, they are nice (in an extremely polite way).”

2)            First minor (emphasis on minor) accident on the scooter.  Interestingly, I had to explain to the police in broken French how to write up the “report” – basically a scratch piece of paper with his name, my name, the other car’s name and the time and date in his handwriting – with a few dozen onlookers.  The policeman, who incidentally did not ask for my driver’s license, kept asking me why I needed a report because the bike and I seemed fine.  Very odd.

3)            First Thanksgiving in Rwanda.  Also my busiest Thanksgiving to date – starting with breakfast with some girls at my house before work in the morning, followed by an afternoon Thanksgiving lunch complete with fried turkey among other expats working in Kigali, then a Fellowship Thanksgiving dinner and prayer time with the expat Bible study I’ve been attending, and finally ending the day with a bonfire before getting home at 11.  Very fun and festive but exhausting!  Not exactly passing out in front of football and Macy’s Day parade after turkey.  I do have a lot to be thankful for this year!

4)            First time cooking an apple pie.  For the thanksgiving dinner number 1.

5)            First real week of frustration since being in Africa.  I couldn’t sleep at all for three nights in a row due to the neighbors doing metal work behind my house until the wee hours of the morning and another night due to a dog barking and yet another night because of a loud radio by another neighbor.  At first this was an interesting cultural difference.  Now it is just annoying.  The neighbors have been quieter since our guard Etienne spoke to them, but all the same it’s been a long week!

6)            First night out dancing.  First salsa dancing and then a really loud club with a cover and hip hop music.  My ears are still ringing!