As John Travolta said on returning from Europe in “Pulp Fiction” ....

  .... “it’s the little differences”… “Examples?”.....

• Most people in Rwanda speak at least two languages- Kinyarwanda plus Kiswahili, French or English- some even speak all four. French was the official language of education up to 2009 when it was changed to English-it is amazing how quickly people have adapted. The attitude to acquiring a new language is totally different from home where many, myself included, don’t pursue learning beyond what is required to pass exams / order in a restaurant on holidays. Despite their own linguistic abilities people somehow get a kick out of it when I use my few words of Kinyrwanda.

TAXI RANK, RWAMAGANA MARKET

• Motos (motorbike taxis), as opposed to car taxis, are the way to get around here- lots of fun in the “Land of a Thousand Hills”! You also find pushbike taxis which have a padded seat behind the saddle. A lot of the 4 year olds attending DIZA’s school take these to and from school. Ladies wearing skirts ride side saddle.

• When born, people are given two names- a Kinyarwanda name and another, often French (e.g. Claire, Jean Paul etc.). In general, they do not have family/surnames.

• Just like home, when you visit someone's home, you are offered a cup of tea- here it is drunk black and laced with sugar.

TYPICAL LADIESWEAR- SO COLOURFUL

 (many women wear similar clothes to those at home too)

• As I was leaving the bank the other day, a monkey passed me by – they are kept as pets by some.

• Everything grinds to a halt when it rains heavily. I was walking in town last week when it started so stopped to put up my umbrella and when I looked around, the streets had emptied - I’m not sure where everybody went! It is a given that meetings etc. will be postponed until it dries up. We even delayed lunch by a few hours one day recently on account of a downpour.

• All bars and restaurants offer a buffet lunch. It is pretty much the same everywhere - carb heavy - rice, chips, spaghetti (yes, people eat all three in one meal), cassava, banana stew, kidney beans, spinach or green beans, cubes of beef (one per person) and a tomato based sauce. People tend to just have tea and bread in the evenings so stock up at lunch time and boy do they know how to make the most of a buffet- layers upon layers of food are piled onto their plates. In peoples’ homes, the same foods as those offered at buffets are eaten every day – in the same giant sized portions though not the entire selection - generally at least two carbohydrate foods, a vegetable dish and beef cubes.

• The concept of acceptable personal space is very different – buses are generally jam-packed to capacity or if quiet, people will sit beside you even if there is a vacant seat elsewhere. In the waiting area of the local bank there are three distinct seats joined together, often seen seating four or five adults. If someone is leaning forward to fill in a form, somebody else will come and squash into the space behind them, not an inch to spare!

LOTS OF KIDS PLAY WITH THESE

• The majority of people here, of all ages, are very religious. On meeting someone new I generally get asked what church I am or if it’s a Sunday, whether or not I’ve been to pray. 

• Life is taken at a much slower pace- literally. As far as I’m concerned I stroll to work in the morning but find that I keep passing people out without meaning to, I actually find it difficult to adjust my speed!

• I could probably write an entire blog on the greeting etiquette- it ranges from the standard handshake to someone offering you their forearm if they feel their hand is dirty to holding each other’s shoulders and moving heads from side to side, touching foreheads three times. Male friends are very tactile- they will stand chatting with their arms around each other’s waists and walk together holding hands.

• Everybody has two mobile phones, one for the cheap network with bad signal and one for the better quality, more expensive network. (It is said that young men use the cheapie one to call their girlfriends who harp on too much – clearly very different to home where men hang on our every word!)  People are always chatting on their phones and it is totally acceptable to take a call while in somebody else’s company, at work, or at a meeting (even if you are the person addressing the meeting!)….anywhere really! Stalls selling airtime (pay-as-you-go credit) are on every street corner and mobile sellers even come around as buses are filling up and offer airtime through the windows.

LADY CARRYING CASSAVA ROOT ON HER HEAD - THE USUAL WAY TO CARRY THINGS HERE

• No buggies or prams here - mothers carry babies on their backs, tied on with a towel and a large sheet of material. Simple but effective, the baby is snug all wrapped up against its mother’s back, able to sleep comfortably or observe its surroundings while the mother’s hands are free.

• Lastly, there is neither a McDonalds nor a Burger King in Rwanda so the all-important Quarter Pounder versus Royale with Cheese question does not apply…let alone that of the Whopper!