Zanzibar is beautiful! And one of the best holidays ever. Explored Stone Town and the beach...Kendwa Rocks is amazingness. Also did the spice tour. Unfortunately my camera died so I have less pictures than I thought I would coming from there, but here's one to share!~

Umva!!!!

Apologies for not writing more lately!
But I had to share this small personal victory----if it doesn't translate, so sorry!~

I teach very far away in the North and so I have to take the bus back down to where I am. Anyways, I'm tired and really hungry (hadn't eaten much that day)....and was operating on minimal sleep. I was listening to my headphones sitting in the middle seat on the bus (ie not comfortable---the middle seats fold down in the middle of the bus and you are sandwiched between other people sitting lower than them and they tend to move around on curves in the road....and was going round those tough road turns sitting next to a very pregnant lady who looked like she was going to toss her cookies quite soon.

But thankfully, this blog entry is NOT about that~! Whew...and for the record, she did not throw up.

Instead, it's a happier one! So, many many MANY Rwandans say "umva" when they are speaking....it basically is like listen!, ecouter, etc. They do this a lot in the middle of talking. Umva, I want a sandwich/ I am going here, umva, and then i'll go elsewhere....etc. Anyways, there was a man 2 seats in front of me (not on the middle seat like me though, but the more comfy ones) and he was YELLING (not in an angry way, but in a listen to me!!!! way) on the phone (it's modern technology...no need to yell!~) ha, anyways, he KEPT saying UMVA! while yelling to who he was talking to, trying to get whomever he was talking to to come to the right location to pick him up. And in a series of phone calls... i'm going to guess at least 10, if not more, he kept saying UMVA......and so the entire bus started in on a joke and making fun of this guy, parroting his "umvas" ...and he started laughing at himself too for his habit, hanging his head and laughing along too. But he couldn't help still saying UMVA!

so, i started counting the number of times he said it and sharing with the bus. gatanu in a 30-40 second conversation (5 times) sooo funny, but there it is. we all got excitable when he got back on the phone again and waited with baited breath for the next 'umva'...and laughed and clapped every time he said it.

so the entire bus starting joking and said umva in random circumstances like: Umva, did you reach your friend? umva look at that tree! Umva, urumva, murumva (all forms of it) umva, how many times are you saying umva!? and then they said, urumva, umuzungu yarasetse (the muzungu is laughing) and i said: "yego, ndumva! (i understand), urumva!"

It was hilarious way to end a loooong day! But I was happy to be a part of a joke and be able to follow along and laugh with my fellow travelers! So, when I return back to the states and I start saying, umva! you can feel free to laugh with me too.....

a bientot.

Weddings, New Years, Mom visits, galore!

Have you ever stopped 100 strangers before?

I have. No, I am not a super cool inventor or Hiro from Heroes who can stop time. But, I am a fashionista apparently?

Taking Mom to the airport (more on her visit in a bit), I had to put on the traditional dress of Rwanda (mishanana) to go to the wedding of Virgile (one of my co-workers). These dresses are super fancy and very expensive.

http://womens-dresses-skirts.suite101.com/article.cfm/mishanana

But Rosette who is the Administrative Asst. as well as all around super cool lady gave me one of my very own!~ It's cream and brown and as soon as my internet is faster--I will be posting a picture of myself. Timing was too tight for me to go change somewhere else so I had to change at the airport. Well, after careful maneuvering in the airport bathroom I emerged and helped Mom with her bags to the check-in. As I did so, the once talkative airport quieted and pretty much all activity stopped. All people (staff, etc) stopped and were totally caught off guard by this muzungu girl with blondish hair emerging in her fancy clothes...I waved to everyone though and told all Ngiye ubukwe..I'm going to a wedding!~

While I missed the church ceremony, the reception was great (more people go to the reception)! It was in a big hall and both Virgile and his bride looked really happy. So, for those of you who haven't gone to a wedding, I'll describe it to you. First off, there is the wedding wedding that is for 'civil' purposes. Few people are invited to this one and it is in the sector office where the bride and groom are married. But then there is a second part for the religious ceremony and the reception of course. For the wedding, everyone is in fancy dresses and suits...The bride has bridesmaids and she also had attendants that helped with giving out presents etc. The groom also has groomsmen too. There is a main table where the wedding party sits. All of us sat in seats facing the wedding party. All were served fanta and cokes. (I had a citron). Most of the ladies had the traditional dress on, though some others wore other kinds of dresses too. Mostly men were in suits. As with most ceremonies, there were many speeches (though not as many as I had expected). The groom's family spoke first about how proud they were that Virgile had become a man, etc. The bride's family also came up afterwards to speak about how happy they were to gain a son. (This was all translated for me b/c it was all in Kinya!)

They also had a time where the guests were invited to come up and present their presents. I was pretty proud of understanding what was going on with my limited Kinya! The groom and bride lined up with their attendants and were presented the presents which were then put on a table to the side (all were brightly wrapped). Some people gave short speeches before presenting their presents (but not all). Oh, this is probably a good time to mention the fact that all weddings have a master of ceremonies who keeps the flow going. The bride and groom also do the "cutting of the cake" part as well. (No groom's cake though---I guess it's just a Southern thing!~) We got to eat some too! Totally yummy!

The other thing that I should mention is that there were dancers who did the traditional dance. The guys are totally awesome! I have some video that I'll try to put up soon. But they brought up Virgile and his lovely new wife up to dance too. And the mamas! It was fun. I thankfully didn't get dragged up and make a fool of myself once again in the "cow dance." It was a good night even though I didn't get to talk to Virgile--hopefully he saw me with the hundreds of people that were there.

It was tons of fun and I'll post pics as soon as I can!

What holiday do cows enjoy?

Moo Years! Hahahahahaa I know I thought it was fun!~ I'll post about New Years and Mom visiting my village soon (TONS of pics about that one as well)