Ha...Ha...HA!

That would be the most common noise heard around the dinner table at my house. Why? because there is a muzungu staying there, who is trying to learn Kinyarwandan, and thinks the best way is through practice. We are sitting there, eating our dinner, when he decides he wants some salt. Instead of asking for the salt in English, he pulls out a little notebook from his pocket and says "ushobora coma umunyu." Coma! His ways trying to say "kumpa", but we got the idea, he wants the salt. His pronunciation is funny, but at least he tries...

• I like my Rwandan family alot. My father, Andrew, is a very nice fellow who works at a bank. He speaks great French, or so he tells me, as well as kinyarwanda, not so much English. He smiles and laughs alot, and laughter translates very easily.
  
• His wife, Claire, is great. She is so nice and hospitable, making me feel right at home. She speaks pretty good English, so communicating with her has been no trouble.
  
• Their oldest daighter, Ariela, is 18 and just got back from school, so we have had very little interaction, but she is friendly, and speaks good english.
  
• The next in line is Christa, 13. She is usually at school, but came home because she is sick and had to go to the hospital. She is fine now, just taking medicine, and hanging out at home rather than boarding at school.
  
• Child # 3 is Chris. His english is not as good as the older women in his family. He is still very much in the learning stages, but we have already established that he loves footbol, and his favorite team is Manchester United. (How do you like that, Nathan!). He doesn't have a ball, but I brought one, and so we play in the back yard.
  
• Finally, there is Arthur, a cute 5 yr. old who repeats everything he hears, though he knows very little english. They were watching an episode of "Prison Break" and month or so ago, and so now he goes around all the time quoting the show, asking, "is mommy in trouble?" Hilarious. Funny thing is, I remember that episode. The other night, as we were riding back home in the car, he fell asleep on my lap! And then yesterday, when I got home from work, he ran to meet me, grabbed my hand, and we walked around the house for a while, and then ate dinner.
  

So that is my family. I feel so...comfortable with them. They are so nice, and they love that I am intent on learning much of their language, and we sit around the table and talk about different things. I ask them questions about their day, about Rwanda, and about their language, and we just have a good time. Claire said that she felt blessed to have the son of a pastor in her house, so that I can help teach her kids. Wow! I don't know what that will look like, but it is an exciting oppertunity.

Well...it is time to hop on the mototaxi (yes, a motorcycle) and attempt to direct him to my house. I'll post soon about life in Rwanda, and in my house...and if my laptop ever begins to work again, I'll upload some pictures.

Ijoror ryiza! (Goodnight!)