Sideshow freak

I arrived in my town for real on Sunday and of course school has been pushed back 2 weeks to the beginning of February.  So, I have 2 weeks to walk around town and get to know people. Being a muzungu (white person) in a small Rwandan town is not unlike being a circus freak. Mostly, its not unpleasant to be a walking sideshow, once you get used to being stared at. 75% of the people are happy to see such funny little cute freak and are even happier when said freak speaks in their language (even just a few words). 25% seem wary and suspicious of freaks, especially if they have figured out that sideshow freaks are inherently rich. This 25% feels no shame in laughing at you to your face. A small minority often asks for money right off the bat. In their defense, if someone told me all men were Bill Gates, I would probably beg, borrow or steal every time I saw a man as well.  Worth a shot.

Nyanza is gorgeous, lush green hills and red dirt roads as far as you can see. The house I am staying in for the next 2 weeks is really nice and quite big. There are about 6 rooms that could be used as bedrooms, so I have turned one room with a bed into my boudoir and dragged an armchair into another for my den. No indoor kitchen, only a hotplate on the floor.  There is a porch out front where the children from the neighborhood gather. They are very sweet kids who speak no English. Today while Sue (my peace corps roommate who will be staying in my house once the furniture and I leave) was out, I played my iPod for the kids and they drew pictures on my index cards. The crowd ranges at any given time from 6-12 kids ages 4-13. One of the older girls often carries her baby sister on her back, and whenever the baby wakes up and sees me, she screams! I mean screams. And doesn’t stop until taken away. Despite the fact that the baby thinks I am a monster, I will really miss them when I move. My headmaster has promised to find me a new house in the next 2 weeks. If this is 2 Rwandan weeks, I could be here for quite awhile.. Kelly Jo, the amazing field director, has promised to come up and find me a permanent home in Nyanza in 2 actual weeks. Stay tuned.

In my leisure (and because Sue doesn’t want a house girl) I did my first serious load of laundry in Rwanda. While I am proud of myself, I am also excited to get someone else to do it for me.