Dumb Things Nancy has Done or Said in Africa: Part Two

5. Money at Night: Simple mistake. I bargained 500 for a moto, which is about a dollar, reached into my wallet and pulled out of a 500 bill. Or what I thought, in the dark of night, looked like a 500 franc bill. What I actually pulled out was a 5,000 franc bill, which roughly equals $10. That’s right. I paid $10 for a ten minute ride on a motorcycle.

4. Laughing at Gisozi: We’d already been to so many memorials and we’re only human. We went to the national genocide museum, which also happens to be the memorial site for all of the people who died in Kigali during the genocide. My friend was having a mental freakout about something ridiculous that had happened on the bus ride over and we were making fun of her. We were laughing. People were mourning about 20 yards away from us. We were stupid and we stopped the second we realized. But I still feel bad about it.

3. Yelling and a Kid: This kid came up to us selling peanuts. My friend and I bought some, even though we knew they were slightly overpriced. But the kid was polite, spoke great English, and didn’t bother us too much. As we walked away, a neighborhood woman greeted him cheerfully. Twenty seconds later, the kid came running back to us saying, “I am sorry. I forgot to tell you I am hungry. I need money. Please help me.” I don’t know what happened to me. It was the combination of the number of times kids have done this to me before, the knowledge that this woman had told him to do this even though he is clearly not wanting, and the culture of begging that adults are instilling in these kids – I just blew up. I gave a frustrated, aggressive, explosive shriek. “What are they teaching these kids!?!” I didn’t yell at the kid per se, but I yelled in his vicinity. He backed away from me, apologizing profusely. He gave me the look you would give an unstable person having an episode. I calmed down and apologized right away. But I still feel like shit when I think about it.

2. Public discussion of the genocide: I was in a public internet café when my friend leaned over and softly read me an email about a prominent post-genocide figure. I responded by telling her what this figure had said in an interview I had read. Basically, I loudly and publicly declared that this famous person denied that it was a genocide of the Tutsis and insinuated it was actually a genocide of Hutus. The problem is not that I talked about this person. The problem is that 1) I used the ethnic terms, which no one really discusses anymore; and 2) that I even said the phrases “not a Tutsi genocide,” “genocide against Hutus.” The people in the internet café had complete right to hate me and try to kick me out. That I even dared to talk about their lives in such an easy way, in public no less. No one seemed horribly upset but I could tell people definitely noticed. I was a fool and so unaware of my surroundings.

1. April Birthdays: The genocide began in April. The majority of the people died in April and at the beginning of May. All of the major massacres happened in April and any family member I know of who died, died in April. So my brother Confiance and I are visiting my brother-in-law Darius. My brother is asking questions to get to know me. He asks me when my birthday is and I tell him April 8. Darius tells me his birthday is in April too. April 12th. Confiance’s birthday is also in April, April 24. I love people with April birthdays. And me being me, I forgot that I was in Rwanda and said the dumbest, worst thing I have ever said. “April is the best month, isn’t it!” Right after the words came out of my mouth I realized what I said. I actually buried my head in my hands. Darius was sweet about it. He ruefully replied, “Well, not in Rwanda.” He knew I knew I had made a mistake so it wasn’t too bad. I apologized and he just nodded his head half amused, half sad, and changed the topic. But considering he had probably lost family in April, I felt awful. Just so, so awful.

So there is the compilation of my dumbest moments in Africa so far. I was brutally honest and I hope you don’t judge me too much. I made some small mistakes and some huge mistakes. But I always knew right after that I had made a mistake. And I have learned from them.