Disclaimer: I’ve had more than a few problems with this post due to WordPress’ changes regarding how blogs are written. The WordPress “Happiness Engineers” (Yes, that’s really what they call their support team) have patiently answered my many unhappy questions stemming from my technological backwardness and have kindly overlooked my petulant tone due to my technological frustrations. Oh, for the good old days of pen and paper and typewriters! So, after much ado, here’s my first blog on the new site.
10.Kirida – The word comes from the French word “cure-dent,” which means toothpick. Even though the container says “toothpicks,” nobody here ever calls them that. And, to make things even more international, they are made in China. Kirida are on every table. After every meal, everyone at the table simultaneously and unconsciously cleans their teeth with kirida, as we continue our conversation.
9. Responsiveness – Rwandans always respond to greetings, unlike many Americans who ignore a stranger’s greeting and sometimes even walk past people whom they know as if the other person were invisible. Rwandans are often shy to be the first to greet a foreigner. But, once I greet anyone I pass on the street, I’m met with a huge smile and an effusive response.
8. The last word – Rwandans love to have the last word in greetings or conversations, and the last word is almost always “Yego,” which rhymes with lego and means yes. “Yego” is such a fun word. Now, whenever I speak, I can’t help but say “yego” for yes.
7. Buses – They run on time. Most leave every thirty minutes on the half hour and hour, and sometimes even leave a few minutes early. They are generally not overcrowded. There are two competing bus companies in my town: Horizon (pronounced ho-ee-zun) and Volcano (pronounced vol-cah-no). I like them both. However, I wish they didn’t play soccer games on the bus radio so loud.
6. Plastic bag ban – As a result of Rwanda’s plastic bag ban, one never sees discarded plastic bags on sidewalks, sides of the road or snagged by bushes or trees. In fact, one never sees them anywhere. Instead, we are given a brown paper bag or we use our own cloth bags or a backpack when we buy things. Following Rwanda’s lead on banning plastic bags, the nearby East African countries of Kenya and Tanzania, have also banned plastic bags. I’ve read that the Rwandan legislature is considering also banning single use plastic, which would include plastic water and juice bottles and plastic straws, which are everywhere here. I am hoping they do so soon. Soda (Fanta or coke) is very popular here. However, no one drinks soda directly from a bottle; instead, everyone uses a single-use plastic straw to drink the soda. In the meantime, I’ve been feeling guilty about using plastic water bottles. However, since finding a way to reuse them, I feel a bit less guilty. Now, when finished with plastic bottles, I thoroughly wash them and once a week bring my small collection of plastic bottles to the market to give to the women who sell vegetable oil in such recycled bottles. And, the market women are pleased to get my bottles.
5. School uniforms – All children from nursery school through secondary (high) school wear school uniforms identifying them as students, providing pride in their schools and eliminating the jealousy and competition about clothing, not to mention problems with inappropriate clothing, so common in American schools. Every morning, throngs of kids of all ages look so smart and proud in their school uniforms. On my way to work, I greet them by saying “Amasoma meza,” which means “Read (or study) well.”
4. Government scholarships – I just read in the newspaper about a new government program to provide free university education and partial payment of secondary school tuition fees for future teachers.
3. Bicycles reign – Bikes are ubiquitous and used for everything except recreation. They are used as taxis to ferry people from one part of town to another. The passenger sits on a padded seat over the back tire. It’s not uncommon to see a woman with a baby on her back talking on her cell phone as she sits calmly on the back of a bike while the driver grimaces as he pedals the bike uphill. Bikes are also used to transport everything – mattresses, furniture, construction materials, sacks of cement, sky-high bags filled with charcoal, huge milk cans, chickens and goats, and gargantuan bags of oranges, corn, cassava, etc. going to the market. Of course, no one wears a helmet. The bicycle drivers wear green vests that identify them as belonging to the bicyclists’ guild. At official functions, like the National Heroes Day ceremonies, they proudly ride their bikes together onto the field of the stadium.
2. Landscaping – Rwandans have an eye for beauty and a knack for landscaping. Thanks to our school’s landscaping crew, our grounds always look neat and trim. And, the town is very beautiful. There aren’t any lawn mowers anywhere, but the groundskeepers use cutlasses, edge-trimmers and electric hedge cutters to keep our tall hedges looking sharp. The groundskeepers also continuously weed by hand in between the paving bricks of the school’s parking lots to keep the grass that constantly erupts between the bricks at bay. With Rwanda’s heavy rainfall, everything grows like, you guessed it, weeds, so the landscaping work is never ending.
1.Morning Tea – Work begins at 7:00 a.m. Ugh. But, about 8:00 a.m., Laurence, who is a member of the school’s catering staff, brings me a thermos and ceramic cup for my morning tea. And, not just me. She does so for every staff member. It’s such a treat that I so look forward to that, if she’s late, I begin to feel like I might have an anxiety attack coming on and, when she arrives, I’m so thankful. In contrast, the rest of the staff just takes it for granted.
I know I said 10, but I can’t not include the last thing I love.
0. Casual Fridays – Lots of Americans get to go to work in casual clothes, but I was never one of those lucky ones. So, I am literally tickled pink every Friday when we get to dress down by wearing our matching school polo shirts. Our matching shirts with our school logo unite us and make us happy.
Ruminations from Rwanda 
Pat – Thanks for your persistence, as your blog’s information was very informative with great pictures. I am sure you enjoyed the Kafkaesque nature of the “Happiness Engineers” name, when you were not wishing that you could reach out and shake (or worse) them. Steve
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