Friday, September 16, 2011

Kinyarwanda fun

Steve tries to teach a Rwandan boy how to skip rocks, in Kinyarwandan of course.

Kinyarwanda is a crazy language, and exceptionally difficult.  A future blog post will discuss the rules of Kinyarwanda and simple words, but for now I thought I would give you a sampling of some the fun words and phrases in Kinyarwanda.  Enjoy.

Kwandika umunani (kwa-ndi-ka  oo-moo-nan-ee)  Literally: “to write the number eight in the ground.”  Translation: to be drunk.
Umukobwa afite nyuma ya inzu  (oo-moo-ko-ba  a-feet-e  nee-oo-ma  yah  in-zoo)  Literally: “to have the back of a house.”  Translation: she has a big butt.
Umunyamashengo  (oo-moo-nya-ma-she-ngo)  Literally: clown
Ikibonko  (ee-chee-bo-no)  Literally: fat person
Ikibonko afite amtarasi  (ee-chee-bo-no  a-feet-e  ah-ma-ta-ra-see)  Literally: “the fat person has terraces.”  Translation:  The hills of Rwanda are all terraced in order to be able to farm on the land at steep slopes.  The back of a fat person’s head will have fat rolls that look like the terraces of the land. 
Ikirara  (ee-chee-ra-ra)  Translation: party boy
Umujama  (oo-moo-jah-ma)  Translation: gangster
Ikiguri  (i-chee-goo-ree)  Translantion: midget
Umusupastar  (oo-moo-su-pah-sta)  Translation: superstar
Umufubuzi  (oo-moo-foo-boo-zee)  Translation: gigolo  Literally: “a sexual technician”
Indaya  (in-die-ah) Translation: prostitute
Umupagani  (oo-moo-pa-ga-ni) Literally: “pagan”  Translation: One who doesn’t believe in God. 
Ingarama kirambi (in-ga-ra-ma  ki-ra-mbee) Translation: A man who should be married, but still lives with their parents and doesn’t have his act together
Kumviriza  (coo-mva-ri-za)  Translation: To listen to a man having sex to make sure that he is performing well
Gukama  (goo-ka-ma)  Translation:  To milk a cow with one hand
Kuvuruganya  (coo-voo-roo-ga-nya)  Translation:  To milk a cow with two hands
Nyamuryabana (nya-moo-rya-ba-na)  Translation:  A semi-mythical creature, normally a white person, well known for eating small Rwandan children.  It also has a secondary definition as a pedophile.
Ifigi  (ee-fee-gee)  Translation:  A rat that sneaks around your house at night eating your money that is hidden in your mattresses. 
Umukeba  (oo-moo-che-ba)  Translation:  A second wife
Igitangangurigwa  (ee-gee-tan-gan-goo-ree-gwa)  Translation: spider
Umukorerabushake ( oo-moo-ko-re-ra-boo-sha-chee)  Translation: volunteer
Gusara  (goo-sa-ra)  Translation:  To pray as a Muslim.  To go crazy.
Gusura  (goo-soo-ra)  Translation:  To visit.  To fart.
Umukekuru  (oo-moo-che-chu-roo)  Translation:  Old lady.  This is a term of respect in Rwanda.  Elderly ladies loved to be called old woman.
Gucira amazi  (goo-chi-ra  a-ma-zee)  Literally:  “To spit water.”  Translation:  She is so beautiful that everything that comes out of her mouth is perfect. 
Imbangukiragutabara (im-ba-ngu-ki-ra-gu-ta-ba-ra)  Literally:  “The thing that goes quickly to take you when you are sick”  Translation:  Ambulance
Umuhinzi (oo-moo-hin-zee)  Literally: A farmer who has a lot of fields to plow.  In this case, the farmer is a man and he has a lot of fields to plow.  These fields are women.  Translation:  Player


Vaccines!

The Peace Corps doctor's office in Kigali.

        Every Peace Corps volunteer is required to take vaccinations before and during their service.  Some have more than others, but I have been told that Peace Corps Rwanda volunteers receive the maximum amount of vaccinations.  Here is the list of vaccinations:
Before service
These vaccinations are required to be taken during the medical review process, which generally occurs three months to nine months before service:
Tetanus, Diphtheria, and Pertussis
Polio
Start of service
This vaccination is required to be taken upon arrival in Philadelphia, where all volunteers serving in Africa, Europe, and the Middle East meet prior to traveling to their country of service:
Yellow Fever
During service
These vaccinations are given by the in country doctors during their service in the Peace Corps.  Most of these vaccinations are given during the training period:
Flu vaccine
Hepatitis B #1
Hepatitis B #2
Hepatitis B #3
Hepatitis A #1
Hepatitis A #2
Rabies #1
Rabies #2
Rabies #3
Diphtheria and Tetanus
Meningococcal
Typhoid 

         For those counting, that is 15 vaccinations I took in a one year period.  The Peace Corps wants to make sure that you are protected as much as possible from diseases and infections due to the remote nature of our work.  In addition to the 15 vaccinations, I’m required to take a malaria prophylaxis every day (in the form of a pill) to avoid contracting malaria.