Married?

This morning I did the usual routine, washing and walking to school with Aline and Natete again. Then Brittany went to play with Claudine while I went to help some of the Mamas in the kitchen. I helped peel sweet potatoes and green bananas. We used these really big knifes, so I had to learn the right way to use it, and I got the hang of it pretty quick. When Brittany joined in later, she had a bit more trouble than I did because she had never done it before. It would have been so much quicker of we had peelers, but we have to do with what we have.

I really liked sitting down with the women in the kitchen. I think that they felt more comfortable talking among each other and asking me questions. I got to learn a lot about the Mamas' lives. I feel as though they have really accepted me, and they are all very patient with me. They ask me about the kind of food that I used to eat in Burundi, and they tell me that they will try to find it at the market and make it for me. They always point at food and tell me the name and ask me if I have had it in Burundi and if they have it in America. They were very surprised to hear that there were a lot of potatoes in America and it made me laugh. They told me that they only though that Americans ate fries and pasta.

A couple of times, they have made a small plate of food for me that we had talked about previously, and it really touched me. They would hand me the plate saying “like Burundi”. They are really nice to me and I am glad to have been able to connect to these women.

Another question that they seem to ask me over and over is if I am married and have any kids. One of the Mamas is only 24 and just had her second child. They did not believe me that I was going into my third year of university either. They think I am too young. One of the Mamas asked me if it was also tradition in America for the family of the bride to get cows when they got married, and I told them that no, it was not tradition, but that I was sure that my brothers in Burundi would appreciate some! I feel like I am learning as much as I am teaching. I have found a great way to ease back into my culture back because these women know all the songs and the stories that I used to hear as a child. They joke that I am like a kid because I get very excited when I hear a song or a story that I remember.

There is no water!!! Thankfully, there are three big tanks of reserved water, and so we have to get buckets and haul the water from the tanks to the kitchen and anywhere else where we need water. The buckets get heavy and tiring after carrying them for a while. This also happens frequently, especially since we are in the dry season, but Mama Arlene and the staff are always prepared and we also have water bottles. However, we cannot take showers because that would just be a waste of water, especially since we don't know how long we won't have water for...