Thursday, March 5, 2009
Visit to Burundi
Tomorrow we are taking a seven hour bus ride to Burundi to visit our good friends, Jim and Karri, who have been there since last fall working with World Relief. Karri was in Michael's cohort at Eastern last year, and we had a lot of fun with them. We are really looking forward to seeing them and seeing another country. We will return on Monday.
Culturisms #5 , #6, and #7
#5 Shoes
We've noticed how important it is to have clean, freshly polished shoes. At the wedding we went to last weekend, everyone had to make sure their shoes were polished and shiny. People here may have one nice outfit that they wear on special occasions, but, they will always have shiny shoes. Our roommate, Mel, said that the other day she was going into town with her language helper, and her language helper asked her why she hadn't cleaned her shoes before they left. She was a bit taken aback.
#6 Clothes
It is important to dress well here in order to show your worth. For example, when we were in Kumbya a few weeks ago, there was an entire team of people from EMI (Engineering Ministries International). All but one were North American (we egocentric citizens of the USA want to say Americans, but we must include Canadians here). Because we were on a lake, and the team had to tromp around in the woods and work in a rustic cabin, they were always dressed in casual clothes, usually jeans and a t-shirt. The one man from Uganda was dressed every day in nice slacks, a collared shirt, and shiny shoes (we would call it business attire). It was pointed out to us that in this culture you must dress well to prove you are intelligent and capable. The North Americans did not care about dressing nicely, they dressed how they needed to to get the job done. This is not to say that dressing well and/or expensively is not important in America. It is often seen as important, often to show wealth, but, it seems to be on another whole level here.
#7 Cell phones
Along with nice shoes, cell phones are prized possessions. Most of the missionaries here have old, beat-up phones, while many of the Rwandans have new, shiny phones. In America some of the poorest people have televisions. Here, it seems that most people we come into contact with have a cell phone. Granted, some of the very poor in the countryside don't have phones, but it seems like most people have them. We've even seen Rwandans cleaning their cell phone battery, something I've never done in the almost ten years that I've owned a cell phone. Most Rwandans will call and try to talk for as short of a time as possible, so they don't have to pay for extra minutes. Many times they will call a mzungu (white foreigner) and hang up before anyone answers, hoping and expecting the person to call back. Some have been known to call multiple times, to try to get you to return the call. We heard recently that there is a new verb in Swahili that means "to beep," which is the action of calling and hanging up before someone answers.
We've noticed how important it is to have clean, freshly polished shoes. At the wedding we went to last weekend, everyone had to make sure their shoes were polished and shiny. People here may have one nice outfit that they wear on special occasions, but, they will always have shiny shoes. Our roommate, Mel, said that the other day she was going into town with her language helper, and her language helper asked her why she hadn't cleaned her shoes before they left. She was a bit taken aback.
#6 Clothes
It is important to dress well here in order to show your worth. For example, when we were in Kumbya a few weeks ago, there was an entire team of people from EMI (Engineering Ministries International). All but one were North American (we egocentric citizens of the USA want to say Americans, but we must include Canadians here). Because we were on a lake, and the team had to tromp around in the woods and work in a rustic cabin, they were always dressed in casual clothes, usually jeans and a t-shirt. The one man from Uganda was dressed every day in nice slacks, a collared shirt, and shiny shoes (we would call it business attire). It was pointed out to us that in this culture you must dress well to prove you are intelligent and capable. The North Americans did not care about dressing nicely, they dressed how they needed to to get the job done. This is not to say that dressing well and/or expensively is not important in America. It is often seen as important, often to show wealth, but, it seems to be on another whole level here.
#7 Cell phones
Along with nice shoes, cell phones are prized possessions. Most of the missionaries here have old, beat-up phones, while many of the Rwandans have new, shiny phones. In America some of the poorest people have televisions. Here, it seems that most people we come into contact with have a cell phone. Granted, some of the very poor in the countryside don't have phones, but it seems like most people have them. We've even seen Rwandans cleaning their cell phone battery, something I've never done in the almost ten years that I've owned a cell phone. Most Rwandans will call and try to talk for as short of a time as possible, so they don't have to pay for extra minutes. Many times they will call a mzungu (white foreigner) and hang up before anyone answers, hoping and expecting the person to call back. Some have been known to call multiple times, to try to get you to return the call. We heard recently that there is a new verb in Swahili that means "to beep," which is the action of calling and hanging up before someone answers.
Friday, February 27, 2009
A glimpse at the DRC
Tomorrow morning we are traveling to Goma, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. We were invited to go to a wedding and I'm looking forward to experiencing an African wedding. Goma is only one kilometer from the border of Rwanda and is 13-18 kilometers south of a recently active volcano. It is also on the northern shore of Lake Kivu, (which is 1,040 square miles) the same lake we visited a few weeks ago, except we were on the far southern side.
We will be in the far east of the DRC, very near where the war and trouble has happened that you may have heard about in the news recently. So, it is a little nerve-wracking to be traveling there, and crossing that border, because we have grown accustomed to the general safety that is unique to Rwanda. Also, there has been a little more commotion in Goma these days because a joint DRC-Rwandan military group has been in Goma for a few weeks to attempt to "flush out" the Hutu militia who have been causing problems and attacking civilians in the countryside near where we are going. The purpose is to get these Rwandan rebels to head back to Rwanda.
We wouldn't be going if we had any worries, and we are traveling with people we trust. You can pray that we have a safe and uneventful trip.
We will be in the far east of the DRC, very near where the war and trouble has happened that you may have heard about in the news recently. So, it is a little nerve-wracking to be traveling there, and crossing that border, because we have grown accustomed to the general safety that is unique to Rwanda. Also, there has been a little more commotion in Goma these days because a joint DRC-Rwandan military group has been in Goma for a few weeks to attempt to "flush out" the Hutu militia who have been causing problems and attacking civilians in the countryside near where we are going. The purpose is to get these Rwandan rebels to head back to Rwanda.
We wouldn't be going if we had any worries, and we are traveling with people we trust. You can pray that we have a safe and uneventful trip.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Culturisms #3 and #4
Culturism #3
Taking and "Borrowing"
We have learned about the interesting perspective on belongings here in Rwanda. In the U.S. there are many social and physical boundaries which are non-existent here. For example, if we need to borrow something from a friend, we would ask them if we could borrow it, letting them know that we will (try to) return it promptly when we are finished with the item. Here, if you need something and you see it, you just take it. It is not the same as stealing if you know you will use it, you simply take it without telling the person. It's not intentionally deceitful, you are just fulfilling a need. So, things just seem to disappear.
Jerry cans are a popular item. You can never have too many jerry cans for transporting water, especially in times of water shortages. The Thomases once tried to combat their lack of jerry cans by buying a large number of them, and most of them disappeared. The workers probably assumed the Thomases had more then they could use, and slowly the jerry cans vanished.
This happens with food, also. Our roommate once got out of the shower to find someone going through our cupboards, looking for who knows what? We've also had issues with houseworkers helping themselves to plenty of food or sugar from our cupboards.
We've also heard that if someone compliments you on something you are wearing, they are saying that they want that particular item.
Culturism #4
Sugar
Rwandans use no sugar in their cooking. They are constantly amazed at how much sugar we use in our cooking and baking: sauces, bread, granola, etc., not to mention desserts. When it comes to tea, Rwandans have found one place where they like sugar. And LOTS of it. Of course, they complain that our tea and coffee preferences are much too strong. For them, many could practically drink hot water with sugar (they will pour hot water through a strainer with tea and it will be very light brown: a perfect cup of tea). To this light brown liquid they will add heaping tablespoons of sugar. We've had to limit our workers' sugar usage to two tablespoons for a cup of tea. Otherwise, they would continue to heap the sugar. We have a small sugar bowl, and many times before we imposed this sugar limit we'd find the bowl emptied by two workers from their single cups of tea. We were flying through sugar! At a recent houseworker meeting, they explained to us that this is the one place where they will have something sweet, whereas we Americans like everything sweet.
Taking and "Borrowing"
We have learned about the interesting perspective on belongings here in Rwanda. In the U.S. there are many social and physical boundaries which are non-existent here. For example, if we need to borrow something from a friend, we would ask them if we could borrow it, letting them know that we will (try to) return it promptly when we are finished with the item. Here, if you need something and you see it, you just take it. It is not the same as stealing if you know you will use it, you simply take it without telling the person. It's not intentionally deceitful, you are just fulfilling a need. So, things just seem to disappear.
Jerry cans are a popular item. You can never have too many jerry cans for transporting water, especially in times of water shortages. The Thomases once tried to combat their lack of jerry cans by buying a large number of them, and most of them disappeared. The workers probably assumed the Thomases had more then they could use, and slowly the jerry cans vanished.
This happens with food, also. Our roommate once got out of the shower to find someone going through our cupboards, looking for who knows what? We've also had issues with houseworkers helping themselves to plenty of food or sugar from our cupboards.
We've also heard that if someone compliments you on something you are wearing, they are saying that they want that particular item.
Culturism #4
Sugar
Rwandans use no sugar in their cooking. They are constantly amazed at how much sugar we use in our cooking and baking: sauces, bread, granola, etc., not to mention desserts. When it comes to tea, Rwandans have found one place where they like sugar. And LOTS of it. Of course, they complain that our tea and coffee preferences are much too strong. For them, many could practically drink hot water with sugar (they will pour hot water through a strainer with tea and it will be very light brown: a perfect cup of tea). To this light brown liquid they will add heaping tablespoons of sugar. We've had to limit our workers' sugar usage to two tablespoons for a cup of tea. Otherwise, they would continue to heap the sugar. We have a small sugar bowl, and many times before we imposed this sugar limit we'd find the bowl emptied by two workers from their single cups of tea. We were flying through sugar! At a recent houseworker meeting, they explained to us that this is the one place where they will have something sweet, whereas we Americans like everything sweet.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Culturisms #1 and #2
Forgive us for not posting recently. Some days I sit down to write a post and my mind is blank. We are in a routine of work and life again for a few weeks and thus nothing has seemed significant to share.
I have been keeping a list of what I call "Culturisms" to share regarding unique cultural differences or interesting facets of Rwandan every day life. I thought I'd share a few now, and keep them coming in future installments.
Without further ado:
Culturism #1: Everywhere you look, men are holding hands (or sometimes wrists), embracing, or simply being touchy with each other. Men who are friends show their affection in this way. It is common to be standing and holding one's hand, or walking down the street holding hands/wrists. I think this is significant because I know in American culture this would shock a lot of people. In America, men who are holding hands usually have the purpose of displaying their specific type of homosexual feelings for each other. It is not only men, though, who hold hands here. Women will hold hands too. In fact, just about everyone will hold hands except a husband and wife. It is not seen as appropriate to hold your spouse's hand in public, but it's OK to stand and hold the pastor's hand as you speak for a long period of time.
Culturism #2: In this culture, it's not shameful to ask for something. Likewise, it's not shameful to say no. Let me explain. As a umuzungu (white foreigner), I am assumed to have money. Many times when we go into the city we are bombarded (as in people sometimes running at us holding goods) with offers to buy various items. But oftentimes, people are very bold in asking us for things. It doesn't happen to us as much because of the language barrier, but as I've said before, one thing most children know how to say in English is, "Give me money." We've heard stories from missionaries about Rwandans asking them for everything from money (small and large sums), to items such as a soccer ball or a tractor, or for a ride in the car across town. Strangers will simply walk up to a umuzungu and ask for these types of things. In America, there are issues of pride and humility that cause people to feel ashamed to ask for things. We have such a "I must be successful" attitude that most people are hesitant to ask for help, let alone for money or material goods. Here in Rwanda, there is no shame associated with asking. Most ask knowing the answer will probably be no, but why not ask when there is no shame and no harm done by asking?
The second part of this is for the umuzungus. "It is not shameful to say no." In American culture we can often feel guilty for walking past a homeless person who is asking for spare change, or for saying no to someone who has humbled themselves to the point of asking for help/money, etc. But here, it is appropriate to say no most of the time. Just as the people ask almost expecting a "no," we can say "no" without feeling a sense of shame for not giving to the poor. (Theoretically speaking, of course). I'm not saying we are immune to the needs of the people, and that we can ignore all that is going on. At the same time, there is such a tendency for many Africans to so completely depend on foreign/western aid that in many ways you are only contributing to that mindset to give them whatever they ask for (or think they need). This touches on part of the Transformational Development work that the Thomases are doing here in Rwanda. The idea is to get entire communities to change their way of thinking. Instead of always having a hand out in expectation, they are learning to think for themselves and to become self-reliant and community-oriented.
I have been keeping a list of what I call "Culturisms" to share regarding unique cultural differences or interesting facets of Rwandan every day life. I thought I'd share a few now, and keep them coming in future installments.
Without further ado:
Culturism #1: Everywhere you look, men are holding hands (or sometimes wrists), embracing, or simply being touchy with each other. Men who are friends show their affection in this way. It is common to be standing and holding one's hand, or walking down the street holding hands/wrists. I think this is significant because I know in American culture this would shock a lot of people. In America, men who are holding hands usually have the purpose of displaying their specific type of homosexual feelings for each other. It is not only men, though, who hold hands here. Women will hold hands too. In fact, just about everyone will hold hands except a husband and wife. It is not seen as appropriate to hold your spouse's hand in public, but it's OK to stand and hold the pastor's hand as you speak for a long period of time.
Culturism #2: In this culture, it's not shameful to ask for something. Likewise, it's not shameful to say no. Let me explain. As a umuzungu (white foreigner), I am assumed to have money. Many times when we go into the city we are bombarded (as in people sometimes running at us holding goods) with offers to buy various items. But oftentimes, people are very bold in asking us for things. It doesn't happen to us as much because of the language barrier, but as I've said before, one thing most children know how to say in English is, "Give me money." We've heard stories from missionaries about Rwandans asking them for everything from money (small and large sums), to items such as a soccer ball or a tractor, or for a ride in the car across town. Strangers will simply walk up to a umuzungu and ask for these types of things. In America, there are issues of pride and humility that cause people to feel ashamed to ask for things. We have such a "I must be successful" attitude that most people are hesitant to ask for help, let alone for money or material goods. Here in Rwanda, there is no shame associated with asking. Most ask knowing the answer will probably be no, but why not ask when there is no shame and no harm done by asking?
The second part of this is for the umuzungus. "It is not shameful to say no." In American culture we can often feel guilty for walking past a homeless person who is asking for spare change, or for saying no to someone who has humbled themselves to the point of asking for help/money, etc. But here, it is appropriate to say no most of the time. Just as the people ask almost expecting a "no," we can say "no" without feeling a sense of shame for not giving to the poor. (Theoretically speaking, of course). I'm not saying we are immune to the needs of the people, and that we can ignore all that is going on. At the same time, there is such a tendency for many Africans to so completely depend on foreign/western aid that in many ways you are only contributing to that mindset to give them whatever they ask for (or think they need). This touches on part of the Transformational Development work that the Thomases are doing here in Rwanda. The idea is to get entire communities to change their way of thinking. Instead of always having a hand out in expectation, they are learning to think for themselves and to become self-reliant and community-oriented.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Pictures at last
We have tried a few times to post pictures here on our blog, but it takes such an incredibly long time that usually the internet times out or the photo just won't upload. We have put many pictures on Facebook, but I realize that some who read this blog do not have Facebook. I recently realized I can post links to our albums, so the following links will take you to our Facebook photo albums. Click here to see pictures of our first two weeks in Rwanda, click here to see pictures of the house we live in, and click here to see pictures from our recent trip to Kumbya. Enjoy!
Friday, February 6, 2009
Off to Kumbya
Tomorrow we leave to go to a place called Kumbya. It's on a lake. And I'm looking forward to it.
About 60 years ago there was a revival in East Africa. As part of that revival, the missionaries in Burundi and Rwanda (ALL missionaries, not just Friends) decided they should have an annual conference/retreat. They bought a piece of property on Lake Kivu (the lake that borders Rwanda and the DRC) and met there every year until the war started in the early 1990s.
In the late '90s, the missionaries decided to return to Kumbya and reestablish the tradition of meeting there every summer. Each mission owns a small cabin, and everyone goes there for the annual conference, as well as periodic personal retreat/vacations.
Kumbya is now THE ONLY piece of property on the entire lake (and it is a huge lake) that is covered with natural forest. Everything else has been cut down and used for firewood or construction. It is a prime piece of property.
The Rwandan government is now eyeing that property and has told the missionaries that they must either begin using it "productively" (i.e. make some money off of it), or hand it over.
The missionaries have decided to explore the idea of making it into a retreat center/ecotourism destination. An engineering team is coming out from the States to assess what they would need to do to make it work as a commercial property.
I think the story of Kumbya is a great example of people doing ministry together well. Valuing things like community more than doctrinal differences or competition. It is also great to see that followers of Christ have been the one setting the example by taking care of creation well.
Now that you've read (another) novel, I meant to simply get on here and let you all know that we will be in Kumbya for the next week and we won't be able to blog, facebook, or twitter as usual. Hopefully it will be a great time to unplug and relax.
Have a great week.
About 60 years ago there was a revival in East Africa. As part of that revival, the missionaries in Burundi and Rwanda (ALL missionaries, not just Friends) decided they should have an annual conference/retreat. They bought a piece of property on Lake Kivu (the lake that borders Rwanda and the DRC) and met there every year until the war started in the early 1990s.
In the late '90s, the missionaries decided to return to Kumbya and reestablish the tradition of meeting there every summer. Each mission owns a small cabin, and everyone goes there for the annual conference, as well as periodic personal retreat/vacations.
Kumbya is now THE ONLY piece of property on the entire lake (and it is a huge lake) that is covered with natural forest. Everything else has been cut down and used for firewood or construction. It is a prime piece of property.
The Rwandan government is now eyeing that property and has told the missionaries that they must either begin using it "productively" (i.e. make some money off of it), or hand it over.
The missionaries have decided to explore the idea of making it into a retreat center/ecotourism destination. An engineering team is coming out from the States to assess what they would need to do to make it work as a commercial property.
I think the story of Kumbya is a great example of people doing ministry together well. Valuing things like community more than doctrinal differences or competition. It is also great to see that followers of Christ have been the one setting the example by taking care of creation well.
Now that you've read (another) novel, I meant to simply get on here and let you all know that we will be in Kumbya for the next week and we won't be able to blog, facebook, or twitter as usual. Hopefully it will be a great time to unplug and relax.
Have a great week.
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