Rwandan Differences

As I've been getting to know Rwandan culture here, I've been noticing some very endearing traditions. So, in the style of Buzzfeed, here is:

7 Reasons why Rwanda is Endearing to Me

1. Greetings are Important

In Rwanda, the time spent greeting someone is a part of being polite. For example, in America, you might walk into a store and immediately say to the shopkeeper "Where do you have paper towels?". This would be considered very rude in Rwanda. Even to strangers, it's important to exchange greetings, such as "Hello, how are you, what's the news?" before jumping into a conversation. This establishes a rapport between you and another person.

2. Rwandans Like to Hug

In the same vein as greetings, Rwandans like to hug when you meet someone. It's customary to give a quick hug and then shake someone's hand as you are exchanging the greetings. In addition, it's normal to acknowledge someone's presence by shaking or slapping their hand when they come up. So, for example, if you are in a group of people talking and someone comes up to join you, even if you are talking you shake their hand to acknowledge that they are there.

3. Urudabo to You!

In Kinyarwanda class, we often take turns practicing conjugation or nouns or making sentences. When someone gets an answer correct, we shake our hands over their head and say "Flowers to You!" which I just find so wonderful as a form of praise. I wish everytime I got an answer correct in my 18 years of schooling someone showered flowers over my head.

4. The Fountain of Youth

Our second day in Kigali, we were told we were going to meet with the youth of the church. This doesn't mean high school students. In Rwanda, youth refers to anyone 18-35, even if they're married. So you can be 33 and married with two children, like our language teacher Peter, and still be considered a youth. It's nice to know that I have such a long stretch of being a youth ahead of me--and here I thought I was going to have to become a capital-A-Adult soon!

5. Rwanda loves Cell Phones

It's normal in Rwanda for someone's phone to go off during a meeting or class and often they answer it, even if they're leading the session. After years of feeling public shame every time my phone made even a quiet vibration in class, it's refreshing see that people aren't ashamed of being contacted.

6. Africa Time is Real

Before we came to Rwanda, I was often told by people that African time is a reality, that is that people in Africa take life a lot slower than our busy hustle-bustle in America. I have found this to be a reality. If someone is 20 minutes late, it is not the end of the world. In fact, they aren't even late. Church starts as people file in over the first hymns, classes end sometime around 10:30--which might mean close to 11:30, and food in a restaurant can take close to an hour to get to you. Instead of frustrating, I've found this a nice way to stop worrying about the clock or the schedule and instead appreciate the time spent with people. An extended start to church means more time to sing hymns; a loose end to class allows time for final questions to be answered; waiting longer for food means more time in conversation with your dinner company. I've found that I quite enjoy taking life at a slower pace.

7. Fruit, Everywhere!

Finally, I have so loved getting to eat cheap, fresh fruit every day. The bananas are smaller but sweeter than bananas in America, the pineapple is sweet and juicy, the passionfruit tastes like skittles, and the oranges explode with flavor. Yes, I could eat a meal of just fruit and be happy.