Crazy African Nights

October 10th – October 14th, 2007
Last week was a bit of a whirlwind because we had to do last minute visits with people we’d never see again and we had our 1 and a half hour presentations due on Friday. As a result, we all had pretty short tempers with each other. Hence, I wanted to escape. But it’s all over now, so I feel much better and so does everyone else. Group projects are always a nightmare and I’ve always hated them. I guess it’s so difficult getting all the personalities to work together and think alike and agree. It’s also difficult to trust everyone.
On Wednesday I went out to dinner with a bunch of us girls and the guy I met on the plane and a couple of his friends. We had a great time talking and had pizza. We taught them how to say ‘dig in’ before we eat and they taught us how to say ‘bon appetit’ which is somehow much more sophisticated to me. We also taught them what a mullet was by drawing pictures. We also explained what a comb-over was and how many men in the US do that as well as wear toupees when they lose their hair. Fred (my airplane friend) and his friends (Emma and Robert) ended up paying for all of us and then also paid for our ride home in the taxi. It was very nice. It was then that I realized that I was probably hanging out with the top of society there in Rwanda. They did not seem to be in want and they were successful business people at the local phone company called MTN. That was very much a change from many of our other acquaintances there.
On Friday night Caitlin, Christy and I visited Paul and boy did we get a surprise! He ended up confessing his love for Christy – since the first time he saw her. And he wanted her to know that he will love her forever, wherever she goes. And that she does not have to return his love. The strange thing was that he was talking at me, she was right there. He said it like this, “I just want her to know that I love her and I always will.” And she was RIGHT there! Listening. It was very awkward for me and for Christy. Then later he took Caitlin aside and told her that he wanted her to mediate between Christy and him while she is in Ethiopia so that maybe she will be convinced to marry him. So that was awkward for Caitlin. He said that if she was his friend then she would want for him what he wants for himself. But she kept saying that she couldn’t tell Christy to love him because she wants to keep in mind what Christy wants and not just what he wants. She has been her friend longer than his. At first I almost wanted to laugh because I thought that he wasn’t serious because he kept asking us if we had boyfriends and saying that he wanted a girl that was one of our friends and who loved him for himself instead of wanting money from him. So I thought that (since Caitlin and I had boyfriends) that he was just choosing the girl that didn’t have one. But then when he gave her the note I saw that it actually had Christy’s name on it and he had drawn a picture of a piano (which she plays). So he had obviously been thinking about this for a long time. Now Christy has to find a way to tell him that there is just no way that it would work out. I could not help but feel so bad for her because it was the most awkward situation that any of us had ever been in and it must have been soo much worse for her.
So after we hung out with Paul, we went to a coffee shop and hung out with Fred and his friend Emma. We talked and laughed and then they invited us to go to a club. So we did. Christy had never been to a club before, so I wanted to share this experience with her. We just all danced in a big group and had a great time. If a man tried to dance with me alone, I would quickly turn toward someone else or look with begging eyes toward my friends to rescue me. So it worked out. We taught Fred and Emma how to make spitballs and spit them out straws. That was super fun and hilarious. Then we taught them a bunch of retarded American dances like the funky chicken, the sprinkler the shopping cart, the disco, washing machine, lawn mower, and the fishing pole (you reel someone in). They taught us a super complicated game (or at least I thought so) and Christy was really good at it because it is a math type game and she is a math major. They kept saying, “Ah, you are so good because you are a mathematician.” Christy had a great time at the club. And I had a fun time altogether that night.
So then we ended up staying out all night and got in at 4 am. Don’t freak out guys, we were perfectly safe. I know it sounds weird doing this in Africa, but it really is safer in these two countries (Uganda and Rwanda) than it is in the states. There is much less crime. So since we got back at 4, we had to pack because our bus left at 5 am for Kampala. So we finally reached Kampala sometime in the afternoon. I did not use the bathroom, eat, or drink anything because I slept the whole way. Except when I was rudely awoken by people. It was so hot in the bus because they would not open the windows. Ugh. The woman next to me kept adjusting her shirt and elbowing me and I got so irritated with her adjusting her shirt. I don’t know why she had to do it so much. And it was a scratchy shirt.
Anyway, when we arrived in Kampala, we were so glad to be back! It was so beautiful at our guesthouse there. I took a nice long shower in which I could actually get all the conditioner out of my hair. In Kampala, it was difficult because sometimes we didn’t have great water pressure, so I could barely rinse my hair out. Also, it didn’t help that we had to hold the shower head to rinse out our hair, so I could only use one hand to help rinse it out. So usually my hair didn’t always look clean after I cleaned it. I also had thought I liked Kigali better, but now that I’m in Kampala again, I am not so sure. I really like Kampala. I’m comfortable here. More people speak English, so that’s always more convenient for us. I guess I missed the craziness of Kampala. Its quirkiness. How you can look around and always see something new or something you can laugh at (like the guy who was wearing a door on a motorcycle). It was like coming back home in a way. I am much less homesick here for some reason. Maybe it’s also because we have internet that actually works well here and we don’t have to reset every 5 minutes. Also, since we went out a lot in Kigali (much more than we did here), I think I am more comfortable about going out. I used to be way too tense.
So last night I went to bed early and this morning I woke up at like 9 am even though I had an early night. I read Harry Potter and I contemplated going to church, but I realized that I just wanted to relax. So I finished the 3rd Harry Potter book and then went to a mall called Garden City in which we found cheesecake and chocolate cake! Personally, I thought the cakes were ok and I had had better, but the other girls really liked them. They also had milk which we never get here. Then we went to the Nisleys and had a beeeautiful dinner of shish kebobs and rice and Caesar salad and yummy bread and brownies. Yes it was delightful. I played volleyball with a bunch of people and then we sat around singing worship songs while Caitlin played guitar. We walked back and now I’m enjoying just catching up on all my blogs, talking to all ya’ll at home. Good night. I am probably forgetting some things that happened last week, but I tried. I love this place and I love you guys. Have a happy fall and enjoy the fall leaves for me.