Monday Monday

Sometimes when Rwandans make a statement, it is so direct and clear and simple and informative. I'm not sure if it's a mixture of speaking English as a second/third/fourth language and their culture. Regardless, it stuns me and impresses me at times. I'll get back to this in a moment, but let me back up first.

It was one of those mornings that would have made my skin itch with impatience just a month ago. At some point I realized, I let go and my definition of time has become more African. I still love being early for events or meetings but if the universe doesn't let me be on time, I don't stress. So this morning I had the best of intentions to leave the capital and get back to work early. I'm talking, leave for the bus at 6:15 and be back at work around 8 am. Like clockwork, as soon as I put one foot out the door, the rain began. I succumbed to the allure of staying a dry, warm place with electricity.

Because of this I ended up waiting for my bus to fill (for an hour) with Jeanne's dad, Deo. I believe I introduced you all to him before. I probably described him as a yoda-like figure who loves God and loves to talk about God. It was time well spent.

We generally stuck to a geography theme. This season we are in right now is considered Rwandan winter. Even he found the humor in that. I'm still running around in cargo pants, T-shirt, and sandals. A better term for it is the long rainy season. The frequency of the rain is almost daily. You would love this season if:
1. You don't mind your toes being perpetually damp.
2. You enjoy the absence of water shortages and being able to wash your whole house, all your clothes and your long hair all in the same day.
3. You have a reliable umbrella permanently in your bag.

We then discussed the presence of mountains and lakes in the US. It is always so hard to describe the sheer size of the US and how many different climates/cultures there are. But Deo understands that Rwanda is tiny (not so much in relation to the US but in relation to the border countries). He gave me a history lesson about how Rwanda used to be a much larger land mass (he even quoted the current square feet stat of how big Rwanda is but I didn't sear it in my memory), encompassing parts of all the surrounding countries. I tried to put a happy spin on territory wars by mentioning how it is easier for Rwanda to develop now that it is so tiny. And that perhaps the DRC (Democratic Republic of Congo) is much too large. Deo agreed that the DRC has a retched administration, although a plethora of resources. And nodded along with my assessment that resources are usually married to conflict.
Then comes that Hemingway type quality of blunt candor. Deo stated: "If you are an African in politics you end up in one of three places: jail, exile or dead." I wish I could have softened the statement. But there it stood in all its divine truth.

Deo and I discussed my year left in this country. I tried to convey my confusion in ascertaining how to help the Rwandans surrounding me. He jumped right in, explaining that I have channels to get funding. Then he back pedaled a little bit. He himself have been trying to help his neighbors. He owns a bit of land, with a successful farm and a load of animals. He has been encouraging his neighbors to raise pigs, even giving them the pigs free. But they complain that pigs cost too much to feed. They are unwilling to acknowledge that pigs take less time to raise than say, goats, which is their preoccupation. Deo wound back around to discerning that behavior change is the struggle with a person's mind as the ultimate obstacle.

Deo places most of his hope for the future in education. The cultivating of one's mind as the ultimate goal. He loves to say how educational achievement is truly an individual accomplishment, that no one can earn it for you. His ultimate goal (after his last born gets through school) is to build a nursery school that will eventually grow into a full fledged school and perhaps a cultural center. A man with a big dream.

Then we spent the rest of the time in glorious silence, each reading our respective books. Great start to the day.