these are a few of my favorite, and not so favorite, things

3 feburary 2010

My favorite sport is eating.

My favorite sport is learning.

I do not like not having running water.

I do like putting buckets out when it storms and later bathing in the fresh rain water.

I do not like taking a bike taxi to the main road to catch the bus,

and as my poor taxi boy pedals my - I don't even know how many pounds - with all of his might over and around and up the mountain sides and then through town,

as observers, idling their long, hot days on benches out front of stores whistle and hiss and shout at my sight.

No, I do not like that at all.

I do not like the bloated fullness feeling that lasts with me the entire day after eating a bowl of my ever better-and better bean soup.

I do like the crackled rainbow earth tones of the beans I buy at the market as they sit in a bowl, thirsty for a sip to rehydrate their skins.

I do not like going to bed with feet that would make one doubt my muzungu-ness as they are dirtied with Earth from a day of walking the roads and town.

I do like feeling more and more confident and comfortable here, with the people, the language and the culture.

I do not like learning Kinyarwanda from a book.

I do like the way Adelin let's me speak my broken Kinyarwanda, understands what it is I am trying to say and does not focus too much on correcting my mistakes. I also like the way she now too says "izuba yagiye gusinzira" - the sun is going to sleep, the closest I've come to saying "sunset"

I do not like the way my students looked at me blankly today when I told them I wanted them to write me a letter.

what is a letter?

(nacho)

a letter.. I write it on the board. l-e-t-t-e-r

Oh! LeTTer.

Yes, leDer.

Your American pronunciation...

Much the same way my papa neighbor did not understand when I stated that I needed "wader"... "wader?"... "yego, amazi".

Oh! WaTer!

Yes, waDer.

I do like the fact that my grandma called me tonight and she too pronounced water - waDer and letter - leDer. It's not just me, thankgoodness.

I do not like feeling overwhelmed by my new job as a teacher.

I do like when I get really excited about teaching and have a mind full of ideas and dreams and goals.

I do not like finding myself at the front of the class, full of self-doubt, afraid to write something on the board in fear that it will be misspelled.

I do not like the fact that I find myself in this situation not just before my class, but in front of other teachers and my director as well.

I do not like that they will think me dumb, too dumb to teach. And I am, when it comes to spelling, always have been. Maybe being responsible for conveying correct information to students will help me to finally face and overcome this challenge that has hindered me all my life. Lord knows I could not have gotten through University without Microsoft Word and spellcheck. But what do you do here when students tell you they hear rumors that people in America do not know how to write by pen - no joke - because everything is done on "the machine" (computer). I guess, at least for me personally, there is some truth behind that. I can write by hand, but nothing that would receive the grades I earned typing my papers all my life.

I do like the advice, probably some of the best I've ever received, "fake it til you make it".

I do not like wearing dress shoes that offer no grip on the steep, slippery grass and mud paths. Stairs? Heard of them? They could do wonders here.

I do like the way I look all dressed up in professional, adult clothes.. or in blue jeans rolled up to floods and gumboots.

I do not like the fact that my students didn't even blink when today I introduced myself as Umunezero, a 30 year old, American. Maybe it's the "the teacher's always right" culture, but 30, really? Come on...

I do like that when they asked me for my other name, (looking for you know, that American one my parents put on my birth certificate), I told them "teacher".

I do like the way Crystal Lite and other powder drink mixes make my waDer taste.

I do not like the fact that I can't bring myself to drink the waDer from my filter without them.

I do not like that my new neighbors wake up before the sun, interrupting my slumber, forcing me awake hours before I'd like to get out of bed.

I do like walking around my house, cooking, cleaning, living - in the nude. Just because I can.

I do not like how the carrots I buy at the market get all wrinkly before I am ready to use them. I still eat them, in my soups, but I don't like it.

I do like how there are so many fresh fruits (papayas, mangos, pineapples, bananas) and veggies available at the market for a fraction of the price they would cost in America.

I do not like how fruit flies always swarm my compost bowl in the kitchen.

I do like how my compost pile out back is now turning itself into a bean garden, with plants growing taller and stronger every day.

I do not like how phone calls are pay by the second here, making it unrealistic to call someone just to chat, or cry or laugh.

I do like that America rings me once a week typically, for just those reasons.

I do not like the enormous lack of organization here - buses arriving 40 minutes late, school starting a day after expected, receiving the curriculum the day before students arrive...

I do like that I am learning to be flexible.

I do not like that the trip to the post takes about an hour.

I do like that I have amazing friends who write me on a regular basis.

I do not like spending an entire afternoon or evening preparing a meal over my charcoal stove.

I do like the sense of responsibility that comes with having to cook and feed myself... all the time.

I do not like the roosters who sing their song at the most inappropriate times, like 6am as well as 2 in the afternoon - as I try to take a nap.

I do like the mama chicken that runs around my yard with her crew of 6 babies in tow.

I do not like how early it gets dark here.

I do like the star-filled night skies.

I do not like spiders.

I do like crickets, or at least find them tolerable. I think Disney is responsible for that.

I do not like using a squat pot.

I do like the fact that it does not require a bucket of water for flushing.

I do not like remembering where I was 4 months ago today.

I do like seeing how far I've come.

I do not like being one of two female teachers on staff, nor the fact that only about 1/5th of the students here are girls (shows the value placed on educating women..)

I do like the opportunity I have to here to be a good role model for them.

I do not like being so far from my loved ones.

I do like their support, encouragement and the fact that their photos and letters are posted all over my house.

xoxo