Here To Stay

I realize I am getting this out a bit late – apologies. Instead of sitting down to write Sunday night, I was a bit preoccupied trying to keep my food in my stomach where it belongs. I very rarely get sick when I travel. Although that is quite shocking given I’m game to try pretty much any food someone sends my way. But it had to happen at some point. And I am totally okay! Although I definitely do not plan on eating a pint of fresh gooseberries by myself again anytime soon. Instead Im sitting with about 8 passion fruit as I type away. I really learn quickly, don’t I?

Cape Gooseberries. Courtesy of Google. Don’t worry, I did not take the time to photograph the ones that poisoned me.

Last I left you, it was with a cliffhanger – would I or would I not receive my residency permit in time? Well, happy to say I did. With about one day to spare before my entrance visa expired. So I did not have to take an emergency trip to Uganda. Although, I do plan to visit parts of our northern neighbor soon – but, thankfully, of my own volition. I have also been informed that, as long as immigration maintains possession of your passport, they will not kick you out. So I likely would not have had to jump ship anyway. But I’m certainly glad I did not have to find out!

So after about four visits to the ministry of immigration, a few phone calls, and some rushed, revised paperwork from the US (thanks to everyone who emailed me signed forms early in the morning), I got my passport back, residency permit in tow. With permit glued in my passport I got to apply for my green card. Which is great because now I do not have to carry my passport with me everywhere I go. However, it does mean that I had to trade carrying one awful bureaucracy-taken photo of me for another. I certainly will not be upset to ditch the picture on my green card come May. It’s pretty heinous, and at this point, I have pretty low standards.

All that to say, I am legally a longterm resident of Rwanda. Which is great, because I have already invested about four weeks of evening classes into learning Kinyarwanda. And, if I am being honest, it is a very difficult language to my English-raised brain. Perhaps the most tricky part for me has been wrapping my tongue around new letter clusters. For example, mwiriwe, which means good afternoon, has a hidden “ng” sound between the m and the w (think “mung bean” but without the u), and the cluster yi is pronounced closer to a “j” (think “gees”, but slightly articulate both e’s). Not to mention the fact that the numbers change depending on if you are discussing dates, times, people, food, etc… So, Tuesday is kuwa kabiri (day two), whereas for me to say I have two siblings would be abavandimwe babiri (don’t forget the hidden ‘ng’ in the word for siblings!)

I have also joined an orchestra in my free time. There is only one in Kigali, and I went to my third rehearsal this evening. If you flash back all the way to my departure picture, you may remember seeing my violin perched on the top of all those bags. But, funny enough, I am not actually playing my fiddle in the group. After my first rehearsal, I found out we only have one violist. And a little-known fact is that I was, at some point in my life, proficient in viola. I think most violinists could be if stomached through the strangeness that accompanies learning an infrequently-used clef. So I am journeying back into the alto notation and relearning what a C-string sounds like for the first time since about 9th grade. As of now it has been going okay. But I will keep you in the loop as more develops. Right now, we are preparing for a Christmas performance and are building up our repertoire for the National Genocide Remembrance ceremony that occurs in April.

I do not have too too much to say this evening. Being sick took it out of me a bit, but I wanted to make sure I let everyone know I am alive and happy. So instead of typing out everything else that has been going on in my life, I am going to let some pictures say a few thousand more words. And I look forward to catching up with you soon when I am in a bit more verbose a frame of mind.

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