Alternative Halloween

Nicole compared our service last Saturday to her alternative spring breaks spent in New Orleans. So it stuck. As we filled our rice sacks with dirt to bring to the classroom, we chimed "trick or treat!" Umuganda, or national community service, was the best way to start our Halloween. Community members including prisoners and the military all joined us to put in the dirt floor for a new school in Nyanza. As our safety and security coordinator Gloriose told us, most Rwandans have a role in their community and are expected to contribute in a highly decentralized system. Wearing anything from playboy t-shirts to classy Eurostyle shoes to cross-country ski boots, most of the town was out there. They were impressed by our hardwork us amazungu could do and the men in particular were stumped as to how to treat the American women. They would force a shovel in our hands but as we willingly shoveled dirt into bag after bag, they would quickly remove the shovel from our possession so as to maintain their masculine appearance. Mandy and Chris carried dirt in baskets on their head but I was not so lucky.

Following Umuganda were several speeches, singing and dancing. Rwandans have a propensity for giving looooong speeches. They also like American women and the mayor essentially auctioned us off at the end of the speeches. Luckily I was wearing my fake engagement ring. I have quite the fictious boyfriend!

I spent the middle part of Halloween with Mama Kaliza, my resource mom. She is a teacher and could spent hours patiently teaching me the months, days, hours, parts of the body and color. She is kind enough to constantly tell me "umuhanga"! You are clever! Her children are just as wonderful and patient with me. After an explanation of Halloween, I left to prepare my costume; however, it is very difficult to describe Halloween as a celebratory, fun day in a country with such a violent history. Just today, we had the most unsettling language class about calling for help. We learned graphic, gruesome verbs that the teachers were very casual about teaching.

Anyway, the costumes we came up with were out of this world, some of the best I've ever seen. I hope to post pictures soon. We had a talent show, which included skits about Day Man, Ethiopean dancing, jokes, singing, gymnastics... oh we are a talented bunch. I told my classic Halloween joke (why can't ghosts have sex?), did my headstand-to-handstand and participated in the Ehtiopean dancing. Crazy dance party afterwards. Oh good times but it didn't feel like we were in America. Which was important.