Post-Rwanda

I can still hear "sawa sawa" and "bella bella" ringing in my head and miss hearing this on Friday nights in Kigali and at St. Joseph's while sipping on my orange fanta. I have been back in Vancouver for over a month now and readjusting to the life-style and culture here. Actually, let me rephrase that. My mom is visiting me as well so I'm trying to dive back into the Canadian and Nepali culture.

Mom and I before my graduation :)

I thought I should share some of the moments right after I got back to Vancouver: 

1) The first thing I wanted to do when I saw babies in Vancouver was hug and hold them but right, that's not Canadian culture. The mother would probably freak out and wonder why a stranger is touching her baby. After being surrounded by babies for couple months in Rwanda and being able to hold, hug, take pictures, it seemed rather odd to me why mothers are so selfish and all protective with their babies! Rwandan mothers loved it when we held their babies and took picture of them. 

Kristina and I holding twin babies. Kristina's baby: "Who are these mzungus?|

2) I had a few Rwandan coins left in my wallet and I've been told twice that it wasn't the currency that they use in Canada. (I swear, it looks like a tooney) 

3) One of the first things I did when i got back was I dumped all 30 kgs of clothes in the washer with tons (unnecessary) amount of detergent. I had been doing my laundry in Rwanda by myself almost every day and I can tell you that 1) it wasn't clean 2) it never smelled like fresh laundry.  I must say this is one of things I've learned to appreciate when I was in Rwanda.

4) It's so nice to have a home finally and not have to live in hotels that have mattresses that sink in the area you sleep on. More importantly, moving around every week and packing and unpacking every week got a bit tiring after 3.5 months. It was really difficult to do any work because I did not have that physical space where I enjoyed working. This is definitely something I need to keep in mind when I move on to my next adventures in a different country.

5) I am so happy that I don't have to eat out every day. I was really starting to get sick of eating out every day and not having a kitchen to cook in Rwanda.  Cooking and home-cooked meals feels so luxurious. My mom and I have been cooking for each other (she does most of the delicious cooking).

Delicious Nepali Dessert type dish called Yomaris (molasses and rice flour)

6) I met so many people from all over the world in Rwanda who were working in international organizations and everyone greets differently when you meet someone new. I may have given hugs to people I JUST met when I came back here only realized as I was giving the hug that this is not normal in Canada and felt like an idiot. I think I had to shake myself a few times and tell myself people don't touch each other on the arms or the back when they're talking here unless you know them really well. They keep hands to themselves. I've always been the touchy type of person and I blended right into the Rwandan culture but the issue is when I come back to Vancouver.  People seem to perceive being touchy as being flirty, a sign of interest or rather "creepy" in Vancouver. 

7) One of the things that I miss the most about Rwanda is how well the men and the women dance. They really know how to get their groove on. On top of that, you haven't partied in Rwanda until you've seen the sunrise and had breakfast and then finally head to bed. Not only that but going out was like a networking experience for me. You always meet people from all these different organizations and get a chance to talk about the work I'm doing and he/she is doing. It was also really interesting to get their point of views on travelling and living in Kigali + other countries. 

8) Rwanda was not just about the nutrition internship. It was a transformative experience and has really helped me decide where I want to go next with my career. Being in Rwanda has expanded the opportunities and I've decided that I would like to travel and work in various countries for the next 15-20 years. I was pretty set on going back to Nepal to work after graduation but I've realized that going out of my comfort zone makes me feel more accomplished and this is why this Rwanda trip has been so satisfying. Being able to interact and learn about another culture can be a frustrating process especially when you don't speak the primary language but once you do delve into it, it is fascinating to compare the various cultures you've been involved with. 

9) Some memorable pictures/people I miss from Rwanda :)

Inatek students

Deborah and I :)

Team Insanity! I <3 you girls and Rwanda wouldn't have been the same without  you !

Ernane, Diego, Douglas and Erivaldo is missing

                                       

"I don't have to think twice what to do...you got me hypnotized" <3

People that made Rwanda even more memorable :)

I will be posting a video on Rwanda very soon. Hope you enjoyed the post.

xoxo-CK

Communication in Rwanda

Please don't be alarmed if I say "I go" "you come" when I come back to Vancouver. It has been quite an experience trying to communicate in broken English. We are learning few words here and there but it would have definitely been helpful to have learned Kinyarawanda  and/or French. I have only lived in two countries (Nepal and Canada) and knew the languages fluently so I did not have any language barriers previously. Being in Rwanda has made me realize how important it is to learn the primary language of the country you are living in in order to fully understand the history, culture and really connect with the people. 

Learning some phrases and words has definitely been very useful especially when you're bargaining for moto prices because as soon as you say "nimeshi", they smile and sometimes decrease the price. More importantly, knowing some phrases and words has not only helped break the ice but also to let the people here know that I appreciate their culture and language. I feel that when you make that effort to speak or learn their language, the Rwandans appreciate the effort and usually smile or laugh (when we pronounce it wrong) to acknowledge it. 

Learning more Kinyarawanda would have helped for field work as well since it would have been easier to communicate with the mothers and inquire more about what they said in the surveys. (Sometimes, not knowing the language works to our advantage when people ask for money or "amafaranga" because we just shrug our shoulders and say "sorry, we no undestand"). Usually we communicate with the local university students in English and then they talk to the mothers if we have any questions or comments. However,this experience has been very enriching so far since we are able to communicate with the local university students. 

I was trying to find cilantro at the market but didn't see any. I had to call my friend who spoke Kinyarawanda to talk with the market vendors. This is only half of the picture because while this was happening, I was also getting a whole crowd of people at the market around me. 

It's very funny and interesting because the way we speak in English has changed quite a bit in order to make sure the people we speak English with understand. If we speak in the tone we speak in Vancouver, people no understand us ;) Here is how we've altered the way we speak so people understand us. 

1) Use simple words. 

2) Drop all the prepositions ( is, are, etc). So if you want to say, "we will meet you at 5", you would say, "we meet you at 5" or "I go" (I am going). Speaking this way makes the language way more simple and I feel like people understand you so much better for some reason. 

3) Change the accent and tone.

4) Speak S-L-O-W-L-Y!

5) We've not only been exposed to speaking with Rwandese but we have some Brazilian friends and we are picking up quite a bit of "proper English" as well -very problem (yes that is one we've picked up). [some others: mucho problem? you want? You take? Sure? You understand?]

It's pretty funny because even when I speak with my colleagues, I'm still talking like that. Please be patient with me when I come back. This language barrier has been a very interesting, fun and at times, a frustrating experience. I have not only been speaking in English, but I've been speaking some French, Kinyarawanda and Spanish (yay! 3 years of learning Spanish in high school has finally come into use.)

SPRINKLES!

Part of phase 3 for the Sprinkles Project finally happened this week after many weeks of delays. It is so exciting to see everything taking place after anticipating it for many weeks. Before I let you know what I’m doing, let me tell you a bit about the project.

What is Sprinkles?

Sprinkles is an “in-home fortification” micronutrient powder (MNP) which is an alternative method used to fight micronutrient deficiencies in many part of the world including Nepal, Kenya, Ghana, Haiti, Bangladesh, Philippines and Mongolia. Sprinkles is known as an effective treatment in preventing anaemia in young children between 6 and 24 months. It is not a “stand-alone intervention” but it is part of the infant and young child feeding practices which is recommended by the WHO in regions where the prevalence of anaemia is high and iron-fortified foods are not affordable or available.

Sprinkles does not just contain iron, but it also contains 15 other vitamins and minerals including Vitamin C, folic acid, Vitamin A, Vitamin D Zinc and others. It is stored in a small sachet (similar to sugar) and mothers are supposed to sprinkle it to the semi-solid foods of the babies. The packaging and the name of sprinkles is catered to each country. In Rwanda, it is called Ongera Intungamubiri and we haven’t seen the packaging yet!

Why Sprinkles in Rwanda?

Rwanda is very committed to reducing malnutrition and there are national efforts to “eliminate” malnutrition (Vision 2020 and NSEM). The nutritional status still remains poor especially among infants. The sprinkles project is aimed at contributing to government initiatives, targeting children between 6 months and 11 months, in order to reduce malnutrition with a focus on nutritional anaemia. The funding organizations for this project are UNICEF, CONCERN & WORLD VISION. 

~The Missing Ingredient~

Phase 1 involved formative work and identified the current knowledge, attitudes, beliefs and practices around infant and young child feeding practices in two different districts. They explored these topics in order to find out if Sprinkles would be a feasible option and to find out what kind of naming and packaging would be the most suitable for the Rwandan context.

Phase 2 was a pre-test to evaluate the acceptability of In-Home Fortification with MNP in 60 households in two districts and use the results of the trial to finalize the procedures for phase 3. 

Phase 3, or the current phase, involves the distribution of the MNPs and to test the effectiveness in the 4 districts (Nyaruguru, Nyamagabe, Musanze and Burera). The children in Nyaruguru and Musanze will be receiving the Sprinkles while the participants in Nyamagabe and Burera are comparison districts (or not getting Sprinkles. There is a baseline questionnaire and then another questionnaire again in 6 months to test the effectiveness of Sprinkles. In addition to the questionnaires (regarding hygiene and sanitation, infant and young child feeding (IYCF) practices, mother's knowledge and attitude and household food security), anthropometric measurements (mid-upper-arm circumference, weight, length) and biochemical assessments (haemoglobin level) are also being taken. 

For measuring haemoglobin level 

Measuring the length of the baby...the toughest job when they're kicking and screaming. Sometimes you need 4 people to measure one baby!

MUAC measurement tapes

I just wanted to update you all. My internet usage has been fluctuating quite a bit because of field work and the internet is either too slow or non-existent. I'll have another blog post up soon about the work we're doing in the field. 

Rusumo Falls

Here are some pictures of our visit to Rusumo Falls :)

Americans from Texas are SO COOL with their  boots!

At the border of Rwanda and Tanzania 

So many banana trees!

Behind me is the lovely Rusumo falls 

- if you swim across, you're in Tanzania :)

Instagramed Photo

My top 4 songs in Rwanda

What is travelling without listening to some of the local songs?! Here are some songs I've really enjoyed listening and dancing to in Rwanda. 

BELLA by Dream Boyz - We hear this song in Kibungo at least 10 times a day because they have the same songs repeating :) I'm still not sick of it.

Nwa Baby (Sawa Sawa) -Flavour

We haven't just been listening to Rwandan music...Here are some of our favourites in Rwanda. 

Alors on danse

Ai Se Eu Te Pego -Michel Telo

The chemistry between the uncles -weddings in Rwanda

Bridesmaids, Bob and I (wearing imishanana)

My friend Bob invited me for his cousin’s wedding and I got the opportunity to attend a traditional Rwandan wedding which was very fascinating and different from the Nepali weddings I am familiar to. The first part, or the traditional part of the wedding takes place at the girl’s house and this is where the uncle of the girl decides whether he wants to give his niece to the man that she has chosen. In the traditional Rwandan wedding, parents don’t have significant roles, instead, it is the uncles of the couple that play a major role.

The banana tree plants outside on both sides of the road signifies that there is an important ceremony taking place –in this case, the wedding.  

The guests (groom's side) walking to the bride's house

I may not have gotten all the details of the wedding because it was in Kinyarwanda but my friend did the best to translate the important parts. It starts of by the groom’s uncle explaining why his nephew would be a perfect husband for the bride. The main goal of this traditional part is for the groom’s uncle to impress the bride’s uncle through gifts, witty words, and the qualifications and traits of his nephew. This ceremony does not guarantee marriage for the couple. The green signal is dependent on the chemistry of the uncles and whether the groom’s uncle impresses the bride’s uncle. Apparently, there have been times when the bride’s uncle has rejected the groom because the chemistry between the uncles was lackluster and the bride’s uncle was not impressed with the words of the groom’s uncle. This part of the traditional ceremony is just conversations between the uncles while the rest of the wedding party sit, listen and laugh. The wedding guests are segregated into two sides: the bride’s side is on one side while the groom’s side is on the opposite side.

Once the bride’s uncle agrees and before the bride comes out, many other women are sent out as a joke and to heighten the anticipation of the wedding guests until the real bride comes out. The groom side gives her dowry which is usually in the value of cows. It’s really interesting to see that weddings are all about satisfying the bride’s side of the family rather than the husband’s side. In Hindu weddings, it is usually the groom’s side you are trying to impress/please with the amount and kind of dowry you can provide. Also, the traditional wedding here involves a lot of speeches and conversation which is very personal and tailored to the bride and groom whereas Hindu weddings involve the same rituals that have carried on for years which is led by the priest.

  

The uncles talking it out and shaking hands :)

The gorgeous bride and the handsome groom

Once the bride walks out, the couple exchange rings and receive blessing from their parents while the naming of the cows (the ones given for dowry) take place. Finally, everyone heads to church after for the religious marriage ceremony and the reception.

Joseph (my awesome translator) and I at the wedding

The Bride and the groom with the bridesmaids and best men :)

                                     

The Luxury of Cooking

We have moved back to Kigali because we found an apartment/hostel which has a kitchen where we can cook and is the same price as where we stayed in Kibungo. It’s back to intermittent flow of cold and hot showers (NOTE: showers not bucket showers which are extremely difficult when you have long hair. I seriously wish I chopped a few inches of my hair off).

I am really looking forward to the Sprinkles project to kick-in in March and doing some field work with INATEK students. I feel like this would be a great opportunity for me to see where I fit it and compare the ways of Nepal and Rwanda when it comes to INGO projects like these. These past few days have been mostly researching and synthesizing information for a funding proposal for DIZA and a lot of cooking in our new kitchen (only for the next 2 weeks) which we thoroughly enjoy.

I realize that I’ve been writing a lot about food but I guess it’s one of those things I’m very passionate about (who isn’t right?). Four of us have been having loads of fun preparing and cooking 3 meals a day with the occasional frustrations of having to do things “our own way” but there is definitely more fun, excitement and laughter in the process of cooking, eating and cleaning up. I was told it’s good practice for when I get married. I am really enjoying cooking with/for 3 other people –it definitely makes the food taste better J All of us LOVE spicy food and aren’t picky, vegans or vegetarians, and don’t have weird diet restrictions (except for the two Caucasians who don’t like chewing on cartilage and bones or organ meats). It definitely makes cooking more fun and less stressful.

 Here’s some of the meals we’ve made so far:

Breakfast

-Pancakes (flour = rice, soybeans and groundnuts) and flambéed bananas in coconut oil and sugar syrup

-Peanut butter and honey on white bread/brown bread

-Boiled eggs

-Fruit salad (pineapple, passion fruit, papayas, bananas)

(This breakfast is definitely way better than what I have in Canada = cereal and milk)

Lunch/Dinner

-Avocado + tuna sandwiches

-Chicken/veggie stir-fry with rice

-Chicken curry with rice and papaya + tomato + cilantro chutney (new invention Molly and I came up with)

-Home-made soup with lots of veggies (For the broth, we used the scraps of bones left over from the whole chicken we bought)

-Mexican food (beans and rice, guac + salsa)

So what do you get when you put 3 girls in nutrition and 1 in science together? Some delicious meals, no wasting of foods and awesome team work. [I forgot to mention how nothing goes to waste when we're cooking: we used a whole chicken for 4 meals! We used the breasts of the chicken for stir-fry, the legs and thighs to make Nepali style chicken curry and the left over bones to make broth for chicken soup.] We have the luxury of cooking for one more week and then we are going to be eating meals in restaurants while we are doing field work in Musanze and Nyaraguru with the MNP (micronutrient powder) Project.

Chicken and Veggie Stir-fry

Chicken Curry, Papaya/tomato Chutney and Rice

A pot of home-made chicken/vegetable soup

The lovely salad + buffet food

Market in Kibungo

Wednesday and Saturdays are the market days in Kibungo where many small-scale farmers bring their produce to sell in the market. This market reminded me of the Kalimati market in Kathmandu and reminisced the days when my dad and I would go shopping for fruits and vegetables on Saturdays. The market in Kibungo was not just fruits and vegetables –it ranged from clothing items to cooking utensils. The smell of anchovies flashed memories of that one area in the Kalimati market where there was just various types of dried fish.

As we walked through the market, all the vendors called for the mzungu’s to come buy their products from them. The fruits that were available at the market included: big juicy pineapples, tree tomatoes, passion fruit, papaya, bananas, oranges and avocado. The vegetables that were available included: green tomatoes, red tomatoes, celery, cilantro, chilli peppers, carrots, onions, eggplant and beans. It felt good to buy fruits and veggies that were in season because in Canada, we are so used to seeing strawberries and avocado all year round which are shipped from Mexico and California. I was not only satisfied with the taste (fruits and veggies taste so much fresher and flavorful) but I was happy to be supporting the local farmers and their families of Kibungo who worked very hard to grow and carry their produce all the way to town.

                      

The produce was usually sold in buckets and small divided piles which were usually between 100-200 RWF ($1=~600 RWF). The produce are usually put into brown paper bags instead of plastic bags (even before Vancouver!). Molly, Mona, Kristina and I ended up buying a lot of tree tomatoes, passion fruits and mangoes. We were pretty tired of eating the same buffet for two weeks twice a day (which consisted of rice, beans, ebitoke, and goat meet) and cost us 1900 RWF/meal (around $3). We would also fill our plates and would want to crash right after that big meal cancelling our 1 hour of INSANITY workout at 6 am. Being the nutrition students, we bought lots of veggies at the market and decided to make salad for dinner which was delicious. Green peppers, carrots, beans, tomatoes and avocado with salt, lime and vinegar drizzled on top.  Fabien, the receptionist at St. Joseph’s, however did not enjoy the salad. He was polite and asked us if any of us wanted anymore. Eating raw vegetables is definitely not part of the Rwandan diet and he probably wondered why these mzungu’s are eating raw vegetables for dinner.  

The new hairdo

After being in Rwanda for a few days and seeing the different braided hair styles, I was adamant in getting braids in my hair. I didn't really think about how long it would take or how it would feel after getting them -I just decided to go for it. I might as well blend in with the Rwandans right? 

I thought it would take a couple hours and Mama Trust estimated that it would take 3 hours but it ended up taking 5 whole hours. It felt like a plane right because I sat 5 hours on that chair unable to move my head or body the way I wanted to rest it. It was amazing watching Mama Tru braid my hair so fast. She ended up mixing fake hair since my hair was so silky. She said that it would last for 1 month for me.

The new hair-do

Mama Tru did a great job!

View from the back :)

Confession: I couldn't even keep this hairdo for 2 days when I was supposed to have it for at least 1 month. I've already taken it out because it was so tight it was uncomfortable and I felt like there was another kilo of weight added to my head. (gosh, so much for blending in)

The 2 week update

Field full of banana trees... (I still can't believe how amazing this picture turned out)

I can’t believe I’ve already been in Rwanda for two weeks already. Although the nutrition project hasn’t started yet, we have been keeping ourselves occupied with gathering information for writing funding proposals for DIZA, learning Kinyarwanda, keeping in touch with family back home and exploring the culture and the town of Kibungo.

Kigali vs. Kibungo

Currently, we’re living in a small town called Kibungo which is 2 hours away from Kigali. We are living in a hostel called St. Joseph which is opposite of a local university called INATEK (Institute of Agriculture, Technology, Education). I really enjoy living in Kibungo more than Kigali because I feel that there are more interactions with the local people and I feel that I’m more exposed to the cultural norms of Rwanda. Although Kigali is very comforting with the nice hotels, the Western restaurants and frequent use of English and people staring at you less, it is 3 times more expensive than Kibungo and I feel like I’m just stuck in the guesthouse using internet or watching movies ( We could probably do this in Vancouver or anywhere else in the world).  We decided that we’d bus to Kigali whenever we had meetings with World Relief or UNICEF and during the weekends to take it easy and dance the night away to Rwandan music. By the way, if you think you party hard you should come to Rwanda because clubs and bars don’t close at 12 am or 3 am. They close whenever people start leaving which means it could go on till 6 am in the morning. It’s 1:30 am and 4 of us Vancouverites are already yawning and ready to go back home.

The clean streets of Kigali

Interaction/Communication in Rwanda

By the way, I have a new identity here because people think I’m Chinese and no one remembers my name because it’s so difficult to pronounce (so I’m just thinking of adopting a new name). When I tell people I’m from Nepal, they look baffled so I just say “aba-chinois” (Chinese) and then they smile, nod their head and say “tsawa” (okay).

I'd like to think that the children are not following me because  of my new hairdo :)  I'm totally blending in (ya're right)

As we stroll through the streets of Kibungo, children in their school uniforms follow us (now that I’ve got my hair braided, they just follow the 3 other girls) all the way to town, practicing their English and teaching us Kinyarwanda. They stare at us and then talk amongst themselves and all I understand is “mzungo” (foreigner or equivalent to kwire in Nepali). 

I have never had the experience of going to a country where I didn't speak the most spoken language. I lived in Nepal for 18 years and then moved to Vancouver where language was not an issue. As expected, not knowing Kinyarwanda and not being able to communicate with people who only speak Kinyarwanda has been very difficult at times. I love starting the conversations by saying “Muraho, amakura? (hello, how are you?) and after that, it goes downhill. Sometimes people keep talking to me in Kinyarwanda even after I give them an “I don’t know” look and they still expect me to reply or say something. All I can do is smile back while I tell myself, “ok, time to learn more words.” So far, I’ve learned how to greet/thank people, bargain a little and say my numbers up to 6. In addition, I’ve also been practicing my French here and there (since many Rwandese speak French) to prepare for my trip to France in May.

Greeting someone in Rwanda

One aspect that I really like about the Rwandan culture is the way they greet people and acknowledge people. When you greet someone (a friend, someone your own age), you touch cheeks three times and then shake hands no matter whether it’s a girl or a guy. If you’re walking into a room full of people or dinner at a restaurant, you can’t just get away with a “hey, what’s up” wave, you have to go around and greet everyone including people you don’t know. I like that everyone in the room is recognized/introduced when they walk in and I find that it just breaks the ice instead of you wondering who that person may be. The whole greeting experience isn’t as easy as it sounds. When someone is older (or more respected person) than you, you have to wait for the older person to give their hand first which is completely opposite of Nepali culture where the younger person is expected to greet the elder person first. There is also a proper way to shake hands: shake hands like you normally do with your right hand while you put out your left hand on their right hand or your right biceps (yes, kind of confusing and I’m still figuring it out.) 

Molly, Kristina, President of DIZA (Jean-Mari), myself and Mona @ Chez Lando for a meeting

This post was supposed to be a 2-week update but I honestly haven't even covered half of it. There is just a lot to share... Stay tuned for more updates!

Murabeho!

xx