It’s been a busy week out here in training-land. 3 holidays in one week, and only one day off. July 1 is Rwandan Independence Day [but it’s not celebrated]. July 4 is both American Independence Day and Rwandan Liberation Day, and for us, our only day off. My fellow trainees and I went to the local hotel, had pizza, fajitas, cinnamon rolls, and Fanta [or beverage of your choice]. For me it was a welcome day off from the onslaught of language classes that the week brought.
On Saturday, we had our a mid-training language exam. The target at this stage is Novice-high, but I have a plan. My plan is to score Novice-Mid, get put in remedial Kinyarwanda class, get extra speaking practice, and then WOW everyone at the final exam with my Kinyarwanda prowess. But here’s the real deal, I have performance anxiety, and I have had it for years. I almost didn’t graduate from college with my Spanish degree because I had such anxiety for my final oral exam. And this was with my professor who I had known for three years, and was very familiar talking to him. So while yes, I am older and wiser, but I still have so much anxiety concerning ‘public speaking.’
On Friday, I picked up my first tailor-made shirt.
On Saturday, after our mid-training language exam, I went to the talent show at my host sister’s school. There was singing. And traditional dancing. And Drumming. There was a skit [in Kinyarwanda–I didn’t understand any of it], and some kid read the news. And then there was ‘fashion’. Fashion consists of about 10 couples of modelling different African fashions. And these kids are stylish. And they have real talent… unlike most of the talent shows I have been to in the past.
Every so often, I see beauty in unexpected places.
