People have been asking me what Agasaro means.. it is the Rwandan name I was given soon after my arrival, which literally means 'pearl'. It's stuck, and some people only call me Agasaro.
An interesting note on names here. Family names are not passed on to women and children as in Canada. Instead, people choose two names for their children, a Christian name and a Rwandan name of some meaning.
I'm pretty much settled in Butare now. I'm living in a beautiful house on a hill at the edge of town with an American woman, her 10-year-old daughter, and the daughter's tutor. The house has a veranda that leads out to a well-kept garden with an unrestricted view of the valley below. It's nice to be in a family setting for a change, and Stella is great at keeping watch for the chauffeur in the mornings by looking through her cardboard tube telescope.
You can also see the WFP office from the house, and once I find a shortcut down the hill I should be able to get there in just a few minutes on foot, or faster after it's rained and the mud causes me to slip the whole way down.
Butare is much different than Kibungo, being the second largest town in Rwanda. The National University of Rwanda is here, so the town has a more liberal and progressive atmosphere. It is also more advanced in terms of infrastructure, and there is a pool, bookstores, grocery stores, and the market is open every day as opposed to just twice per week. This weekend I will be exploring the town, and am excited to go swimming if the rains hold out!
Friday, May 19, 2006
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5 comments:
Sara, that sounds unbelivably beautiful.
A question, if I may: is it common for a visible 'foreigner', and a woman on top of that, to have a chauffeur?
Can you take photos of this place? I want to see it!
Beth has a pick-up truck that she drives herself, and that's fairly normal of expats.
But at WFP we have chauffeurs that drive the UN vehicles - other staff are not permitted to drive. A chauffeur from work picks staff up at their homes in the mornings, and takes people home for lunch (it is unheard of to bring something to work for lunch).
I think some of my colleagues find it amusing that I've started to walk to work. Although on rainy days I get a ride because the rain here is so torrential and the dirt is so fine that nothing short of wearing rain pants, a rain jacket and boots could keep me dry and mud-free.
Hi Sara
I just stumbled across your blog by accident. Actually when I was searching on google for rwandan names. I am rwandan myself living in Australia. One thing I just picked up on your blog: You say that family names are not passed on to women I would like to add that family names are not passed on to boys either. It's just uncommon to find a rwandan person carrying a family name. I have my father's name but that's just because he studied in europe and adopted some of the cultures. by the way I am glad they named you Agasaro it's one of my favorite names. Lily Nyamwasa
Hi sara i stumbled upon your blog by accident, because im doing a project on rwanda and i need to find names but anyways, i like what you have done.
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