Settling

Settling in to our house is a gradual process. Before we moved in, the first step was having the walls in the living room painted. So, now instead of dark, lacquered brown walls we have white walls! With a brown ceiling and pink floor, the white walls make such a difference! When that was done, we went on a search for curtain fabric, bought enough for every window, and gave it to a seamstress so she could make the curtains.

Once that was finished and the house cleaned we got to move in our stuff and the few pieces of used furniture we had acquired. Then, we had to order some more furniture from a carpenter, like couches, chairs, and cabinets. Next, we put everything away – kind of. We are having some cabinets built for clothes, dishes, pots, etc. so right now, the mixing bowls are enjoying the freezer and we’re storing assorted spices and cookware in the fridge. We also piled up our clothes on our bookshelf.

Then, our couches and chairs (the wooden frames) were finished by the carpenter, so we got to go search for people to make the cushions and for upholstery fabric to cover the cushions and for someone to sew everything together.

The other day we walked around downtown peeking into every plumbing/electrical shop we could find on the great bathroom fixture expedition. The house we are renting didn’t come with towel racks or a toilet paper dispenser so we hunted for and found those items with the help of a man from the Friends church who is amazing at fixing and building things.

The main thing we still have left to do is to get a stove and then we will be able to cook and eat at our house! Right now, we’re eating at the teacher’s house.

So, things are a little different. No Walmart for buying everything from pre-made curtains to shower shelves. No apartment that comes with a stove and refrigerator. No used couches passed around in a student community or new couches from a furniture store. All these steps seem to take longer than in the U.S., but it’s still exciting to be establishing a home.

A Rwandan Wedding

Recently Brad and I got to attend the wedding of a friend of ours, Daniel. Daniel and his fiance had been living in different countries, so before Brad or Daniel were married they sympathized with each other having to live far away from their fiances! Now they are celebrating together.

From what I've learned so far, I understand that many Rwandan weddings have four parts. There's the "gusaba no gukwa" which means to ask and to give the dowry. This ceremony involves the family of the groom visiting the home of the bride. The families have an amazing verbal interchange that follows certain ceremony and is filled with humor.

There's also the civil wedding which is the legal component. A few friends and family gather in the government office to witness the bride and groom promising to stay faithful. The third wedding is the church wedding and the fourth component is the reception, both of which have similarities to our American weddings.

Brad witnessed the cultural ceremony but we both got to go to the church wedding and the reception. The highlights I remember are from the reception. The wedding party entered into the church to the sound of traditional Rwandan music. At the end of the procession came the singers, dancing as they went up the aisle. When the bride and groom cut their wedding cake and fed it to each other it was to symbolize that each would do their part to make sure the other was taken care of/had enough food to eat. Also, when it came time for all the guests to eat a piece of cake, the families of the bride and groom were served first. The bride served the groom's family and the groom served the bride's family. Then, all the guests were able to eat some cake and drink some Fanta! It was a beautiful wedding and it was great to be able to be a part of such an important event for Daniel and Angelique!