A Little Kinyarwanda Lesson

I remember sighing an awful lot when starting to learn a new language again.  My brain was questioning my actions – TWO dialects in the same year?  I ignored these inquiries, opened my Kinyarwanda book, started making note-cards and prepared myself to make embarrassing conjugation and pronunciation mistakes.  And that I did, but as they say in Rwanda, Komera – Be Strong.  What I have happily discovered is that this language is enjoyable and filled with excellent sayings and some great sounding, though tongue twister, words.  We have 12 Kinyarwanda teachers and are split up into small groups of two or three for classes.  Each day we gather in small rooms, outside or in the cafeteria area.  Our teachers armed with chalk and a wobbly chalkboard would hammer out lessons, slowly building our knowledge.  My host family helped me in the learning process simply by being patient and also making me remember certain words and phrases then quizzing me.  We also lived with our language teachers which was also very helpful.  The 35 volunteers are split up into 4 houses around the small town of Nyanza and each house has about 4 teachers.  In my house Abel, Esperence and Assinath were great and always willing to answer questions.  I often sat with Assinath and we would exchange folk stories – me in English and her in Kinyarwanda – and write out the new words we learned.  Rwandan folk tales are fond of Hyena characters.  One in particular had the name “nkundakurjyabana” which translates to “I like to eat children”. 

Training is over now and I will be moving to my site the 29^th to start settling in before the school year starts February 1^st.  Just for fun – in the past couple months, these have been some of my favorite Kinyarwanda words.

Umudugudu – Village

Ikibazo – Question

Umukorerabushake – Volunteer

Ubuzima – Life

Ubumwe – Unity

Ikivumvuri – Beetle

Ceceka! – Shut-up

Sometimes two words are spelled the same, but pronounced differently.  Don’t confuse them!!

Gusura – To fart or Gusu(uu)ra – To visit

Umusambi – plastic mat or Umusa(aa)mbi – bird

Kurira – To cry or Kuri(ii)ra – To climb

And then there are the great sentences you can use.

Umuzungu kuruhu, umunyarwandakazi mu mutima – Foreigner by skin, Rwandan by heart.

Yaba weeee!!! – oh crap

Igisunzu kibi kiruta uruhara – having at least a tuft of hair is better than being completely bald.

Nzabakaranga – I will fry them (In the context of my kids at school – fry them with a difficult exam and assignment…)

Gutera indabo mu modoka – To throw flowers in a car… aka to vomit.

Occasionally, it’s just the context in which you use a word.

Umuhinzi is a farmer, but if you call a man an umuhinzi you could be calling him a womanizer.

Mfite amazi literally means to have water, but careful, instead of a bottle of it, you might be saying you have water in a sexual way…

Gakweto means small shoe and is used as another name for teacher because he/she doesn’t have enough money to but a good shoe.

Onward and forward I move in my gakwetos as an umukorerabushake.  Training is finally over and I am ready to start carving out a place in my town called Rugabano in the Karongi district.  My small rustic house is waiting and the freshman and sophomores are soon preparing to come to the boarding school.  A new year, a new adventure, I welcome 2010.  Stay tuned.