After 2 days of travel my team has arrived in Kigali, Rwanda (the capital) on Saturday afternoon. It's beautiful here with their mountains, green land, paved roads and street lights, friendly people, and pleasant weather. We are in the rainy season now so it will rain a bit every day that we are here. We are staying in a house in a village outside of town, with dirt roads and quiet…I wake up to the sounds of birds chirping (not cows mooing or roosters forgetting what time it is) and the sun shining in my room. THIS makes me so happy! Our ministry contact is a young Congo man named Etienne. I called him 'Eti' as he calls me 'princess'. Our diet consists of french fries every day (it has to be that French influence as Rwanda was colonized by the French from 1956 to 1994)!
One of my first conversations in Rwanda was with my personal translator, Ferguson (Fergy). Fergy is a charming 21 year old, in what we would call Freshman year of high school. He speaks English, Swahili, Rwandan, some French and some Spanish. I met Fergy at church on Sunday as he sat beside me and translated everything from prayers, to thanksgiving, to the sermons, to the songs. After coming back from town our second day in Kigali, I sat down with Fergy for supper and he nonchalantly asked, “Did you see Big Foot in town?” After having him repeat himself a few times I finally realized that what I thought he said, he actually said. So I replied, “No, you have Big Foot here?” “Yes, he came over from New Francisco,” Fergy said with a straight face. This is how the conversation proceeded:
Staci: “New Francisco?”
Fergy: “Yea, it’s a state in America.”
Staci: “San Francisco, in California?”
Fergy: “Yea, San Francisco. He jumped across the waters to Rwanda.”
Staci: “Oh, he just jumped across the waters?”
Fergy: “Yea, jumped over to Rwanda from San Francisco. He has a wife and 2 children.”
Staci: “Is it a human wife?”
Fergy: “No, it’s a Big Foot wife.”
Staci: “Oh so there’s more. Have you seen Big Foot?”
Fergy: “Yes.”
Staci: “You have? What does he look like?”
Fergy: “He looks like Ki Kong.”
Staci: “Ki Kong?”
Fergy: “Yea, Ki Kong.”
Staci: “King Kong?”
Fergy: “Yea…I was saying it like the Asians say it…Ki Kong.”
…
This conversation just got crazier haha. I think Fergy is going to keep me laughing all month.
Like Fergy, most of the other Rwandans are so friendly, laid back, and like to joke and laugh…this already seems different than Kenya.
