Fun little things about Rwanda…

“Thank you too”
There is no phrase for “you're welcome” in Kinyarwanda so often Rwandans respond “thank you too” after we thank them. This especially happens with the guards at our school, and it makes me smile every time!

Motos
To get around town, we most often ride on the back of moto-taxis… small motorcycles that usually want to overcharge us since we’re white. It is pretty fun because usually they go quickly up and down the hilly roads of Rwanda! We can get most places by paying 700-800 francs. (592 francs = $1)

Airtime
Cell phones in Rwanda are all prepaid. You buy a scratch off card with “airtime” and type the number into the phone. It takes off a certain amount of money for each phone call, text message, and also when you use your phone number to pay for wireless internet. Also, once I figured out how to change my ringtone on my phone I set it to the Mission Impossible theme song!

Cash power
Electricity in our home is also prepaid. There’s a little box outside our front door that tells the amount of money we have left. Again, you have to go to the store, buy a card that has a code on it, and punch it into the box to get more power. So, when you don’t do this early enough (this happened to us in the second week), then the power goes out and there’s nothing you can do about it!
Also, sometimes, well often, the power goes out randomly for a minute or a few hours. On Thursday it was out for 8 hours. It doesn’t make much difference to me during school, but it does make things more difficult after dark. After dark means after 6:30.


This week was a great challenge, but it ended positively. My students are wonderful and full of energy! On Tuesdays we have devotions with our staff which is a peaceful way to begin the day. At the end of day I was so exhausted, then I realized that I started the school day worshipping with my staff and I finished the day praising God with songs with my students. It was an awesome reminder as to why I’m here! My roommate Emily reminded me that more importantly than teaching first grade, I am here to live like Christ and shine His light on others! It was a comforting and crucial for me to be thinking of that always!

Well, friends and family, thanks for reading this brief post!
I would really love to hear from more people via skype. Please look me up… my name is kerrydembowski. I’d love to set up a time to talk!

Thanks for the prayers and support!

Love, hugs, and beans & rice,
Kerry