Musanze Begins my Goodbyes Galore

Goodbyes galore:

You forget and perhaps take for granted the number of people you meet throughout your life. So many dictate your motivations, your future direction, and your nostalgia as you look back. I think history is not always given credit in our present movements, but so often we only move in a certain direction because we have had something in our pasts trigger us to act or remain inactive. Knowing what life was like for refugees in Atlanta triggered my travel to Uganda, and my fabulous homestay there was just one of the many things that triggered me wanting to go back. Without remembering them, the people that along the way made the difference in where I took my next step are the reason I have made such wonderful travel companions and Rwandese friends. I couldn’t be luckier, and it’s incredibly humbling to see how much those here must overcome to be optimistic, but empowering to know that it is possible for me spread my optimism and pragmatism.

Wednesday night was an evening with our facilitators, so after returning from Nyabageni I prepped for our special topics meeting on surveys. Translation is extremely complex, but I think that our facilitators have a really strong grasp of both their native language and English. Being able to translate things about right is one thing, but understanding the nuances behind words can be extremely challenging. This meeting was devoted to understanding the reasons we ask the questions we do. I think that with the knowledge of why we ask certain things, the facilitators will be able to adjust their questions with ease. Often villagers need follow-ups to questions, because even if you speak their own language, there is an inherent lack of vocabulary in the uneducated settings within which many of them live. For example, the communities often talk about climate change (something they clearly picked up from working with NGOs), but they never mean it the way we use it, they just mean it has been a particularly rainy season (or dry season). 

Ernest at Gisovu

That evening, Eamon and I joined the facilitators at their home for dinner. It was a delicious matooke and potato stew in bean sauce. I took my portion and passed the spoon to Isugi whom then proceeded to plop a whole additional portion of the stew on my plate! Now with double the food I couldn’t help but laugh thinking- and this is why Americans gain weight in Africa…what we eat is only partly our choice! It was delicious, and honestly I would probably have gone back for seconds (though a smaller version of it). The company was of course lovely, and I was glad that Claude got to join us as well, because he had been missing at our “good-bye” dinner at Green Garden. Eamon and I were exhausted, and with super full tummies, we called it a night early and headed to bed. After giving everyone else hugs good bye, Ernest wouldn’t say good-bye (which was fair, since I was going on a visit with him in the morning), but instead maintained that good-byes are unnecessary- see you next times are far more practical for those who will not be leaving your life. You better believe that I couldn’t agree more!

Thursday being my last day in Musanze (this trip) was of course jam packed! I went with Eamon and Ernest to Gisovu in the morning, and then after a quick bite at Green Garden with Eamon, we bought our bus tickets back to Kigali I headed to the market. I stopped by the market to see some of my favorite ladies and grab a few passion fruit for Kigali (since it’s pricier down there). Time just seems to fly, and by the time I was back at the house, it was time to leave for yoga, so I grabbed my bags and dashed back out! One of the other founding partners of the organization that runs the sewing coop where I did yoga was visiting, and Petra was just darting out to take a little one to take her entrance exams, but it was nice to see them all together with their hard working tailors. We had a little bit of a late start (classic), but welcomed since I was very much looking forward to not walking in after they’d started! It was great last practice, keeping me active, though I really probably needed the stretching more post-bus ride than pre-ride! When we finished up, I was thinking there wouldn’t be time to say all the thank you’s and make it for a cup of tea at my favorite spot, but I did! Or at least I made it for half a cup of tea before bolting over to the bus station. Our bus must have been coming from Gisenyi though because it was already packed and Eamon and I got to sit in the jump seats- not a particular honor, but the way it goes!

Two hours later we pulled into Nyabagogo taxi park in Kigali and hopped motos back to our new place in Kimihurura! It is a bright pink house, where the finishing touches are being done on some concrete steps and a huge mound of garbage existed (thankfully it was hauled away shortly thereafter rather than burned). I was getting excited to meet Liz, the Uganda lead for Mbale who was flying in that evening. We also were planning to go to a café called Ten to Two again (the hands on fish experience described previously). IT was delicious as ever with delicious potatoes and chicken (in addition to the fish). Liz did make it in time, and so did my things from Musanze that had come down in a car with Aileen and Sasha. I was relieved to see them, and ready to begin the repacking process for flying out (though it really is too early to do that!). We headed off to dinner almost immediately, and it worked out well since they had not given away our fish (even though we were over an hour late for our reservation. The lights of the city were equally as amazing as last time, and it was the girls (Emily and Sarah’s) last night in town, so we all had a lot of fun chatting about!

Spark Family Summer 2012

The next morning the all of us girl interns headed out to the market in order to meet up with our bead making lady (since she was going to take us to her co-op). The walk was a hot one and definitely took longer than we thought it would be, but we went by the beader’s home before continuing on the the co-op’s building. Her home was right next to a church, and when her children weren’t home, she told us they were praying. We did get to meet her ‘son’ who is really her nephew, but in Ugandan and Rwandan culture, your children include those of your siblings (talk about a challenge for survey taking). We were able to see him playing football (soccer) as we walked on to see the beaders at work.

When we finally reached the unmarked building, I called it before we even turned off of the path. Just like most of the homes, the door was open, but there were many women seated along the walls. All we knew was that there were 22 women in Greddy’s group. She never bargains in the market, and as it turns out, it’s because the group decides pricing as a whole and sticks to it to keep their income more stable. The room consisted of a wall of paper and a drying rack and then two parallel rows of straw mats that the women sat upon stringing, rolling, gluing and varnishing. Along the other wall were two doors into their “shop” rooms. Filled with some of their statement pieces and banana leaf earing stands and just tons of necklaces! I of course fell in love with some of them, and ended up buying more than I had planned, but I definitely do like all the pieces I got! I even bought some loose beads to toss into one of my own pieces. We ended up staying far longer than planned, but did learn how they make the beads themselves from the beautiful papers. As time flew passed us, we realized we were probably keeping lunch waiting at Mama Jean’s! We made our way back to the market (mostly uphill this time) and I was very glad to have grabbed a water bottle. We got back and Natasha said her goodbyes to Josephine which resulted in my final purchase of a dress (because Josephine’s was just so beautiful!) and her receiving of a headband. Tuesday I will duck back in to say my own final good-byes, but for that trip, I didn’t need to do too much!

Natasha and I were the last to leave the market, and therefore the last to get to Mama Jean’s, but the rest of girls were sitting around in her living room to say good-bye to Sarah and Emily who were flying out that evening. They had special ordered a jar of pili pili from Mama Jean and she was so wonderful that she obliged! And the jar was huge! None of us could help, but laugh since it was definitely more than a year’s supply of the stuff! The stuff is so spicy that you literally couldn’t put more than a salt spoons worth on a whole plate of African food. In the US this would probably be even truer since our food tends to avoid airing on the very spicy side! But we ate until we could eat no more, and then retired to the house for so much needed naps and food-coma resting. After napping, we did a little more work, helped the girls finish their packing, and then saw them off before heading to a light and late dinner at Ogopogo down the street with Aime who had come to say good-bye to the girls, and then I invited to come on out to dinner as well. I bought some delicious banana bread from their bakery afterwards (missing mom’s second call), but was far too full to try it that evening, so it was to be a delicious breakfast the following morning. The food was tasty and the company lovely, so by the end of the night, we were all ready to rest and settled in with our books…perhaps mom’s right in asking “do you ever stop eating?” But really, who could blame us?

On our walk home, Aime was so sweet and shared with me how he saw our summer team fitting into the work Spark does here. He told me about how our team has been truly inspiring to him and it is just really reassuring to see him learning so much from us as we learn from him. The whole goal of having international interns is not just to allow them the opportunity to work here, but is also to have them bring something to the African staff, and the idea that reciprocal learning is actually happening made me feel good about what I was able to teach them!