27 january 2010

crust - up in smokes

cheese - slightly melted

sauce - tomato-ish

1st attempt at pizza made from scratch - edible.

Success!

I'll try again tomorrow.

A few notes:

Today:

there is a bug like one I've never seen before, that scared the geebers outta me the other day, wrestling around in a plastic sack on the floor in my kitchen - it sounded so big, I figured it was one of my rat neighbors and then goodness, out walks this thing, like one of those connector CATA buses at MSU - two times bigger than they ought to be. He went creepin' and crawlin' around the floor, concerned about my safety and curious as to what exactly the monster was, I reached for a plastic cup, so bravely put it overtop of him, and well, there it has been for a good 3 days or so now. I forgot to ask the brothers about the bug and now I'm just too scared to pick up the cup - what if he's still alive!? What if he's asexual and made a bunch of little babies in the past 72 hours. Yikes! Who knows?!

You may, or may not have noticed, but I made a conscious decision these past few days to not use my computer. When I wasn't busy curled up in bed, lost away in my little America, I was out and about in my community. Playing cards with local village children who now might know me as the freckle-faced whitey who kicked our butts at cards, rather than just "the rich muzungu" who likes to catch rides in and out of Kagogo shotgun in RDF trucks. What else?

I spent many nights this week nearly doubling the number of card games played in Rwanda (apparently there were 3, as Richard told me). I introduced BS - or "urabesha" (liar) as we decided to call it here as well as Speed - which lacks any sort of vitesse, but with time. Buhoro Buhoro. I give my neighbors, Richard and Adeline an American bonbon every time they come over for card nights.. sometimes I wonder if that's the only reason they show up at all! But really, playing cards, I'm finding, is so much better than movie nights with the kids because we get to talk, to laugh, to make jokes about being good or bad Christians, ect. rather than staring at a computer screen in silence for an hour and a half or so.

Although I haven't been typing, I certanly have been writing. The old fashioned way - on a typewriter.

Just kidding.

But really, my journaling has taken a new life of it's own.

For example, Notes:

1:58pm 22 Jan 2010

...I hear something big wrestling in my ceiling.

... 99% of the things I put in my rubbish bin are from America.

Truthfully, it's all packaging. Everything Rwandan, well most, is compostable.

Says a lot.

oh, and this realization, about my rubbish - which ironically my friend katy told me, she just recognized in her own garbage as well - lead to a few other thoughts (explored on the 23rd..)

There is a cricket making a ruckus and over staying his welcome in my guest room!

I think I've eaten about 1/2 a cabbage so far tonight, hope I don't get sick.

8:59pm (through the walls)

Richard - Nicole, I have to pray my God before I go to sleep. And you?

Me - ...um... sometimes.

Richard - (laughs) why not all the time?

Me - sometimes I fall asleep first.

Richard - (laughs) you are not a good Christian.

Me - I know! Pray for me.

Richard - In the name of the Father, the son...

... my bean soup keeps getting better and better.

On the 23rd I thought about all of the different kinds of things I am learning here - many of which we never take time to learn in America unless there is a problem and we have no other choice. - this topic is too big to explore and there is no map.

I will just give you a few examples.

I am learning about my body;

- what makes it healthy

- what makes it sick

- what makes it function properly

Where does food come from?

- in America, some kids may grow up thinking that things like milk and meat come from the dairy or meat section of the grocery store. Here, if you want chicken for dinner, you don't reach into your freezer and de-thaw some animal who lived who knows what kind of life, suffering who knows what kind of cruelty, infused with who knows what kind of steroids ect ect. No, here, if you want chicken for dinner, you get your butt outside, chase that damn thing around the yard for a bit and then kill, pluck it and whatnot yourself (I'm glad to be a vegetarian - peskaterrian, excuse me).

I don't know, I could go on and on, just in general, I feel as though I joined the Peace Crops and I am starting to take care of myself,

- trying to eat right (here you have to think about how much protein you're getting on a daily basis and how)

- cooking for myself - deciding how much oil to put in my food, ect rather than leaving that up to someone else's' judgement

- shoot, I even started taking vitamins and flossing. - that's big!

I also have quite the sunburn on my bum. I'll leave that one up to your imagination.