Marching in Rwanda

Friday was sports day. I was looking forward to it all week because I had heard that we were playing volleyball. School is not in session on the last Friday of every month, so the teachers have an inservice day of training in the morning and sports in the afternoon. After English training in the morning, we headed to lunch for a some heaping plates of rice, beans, and potatoes. After lunch, sports day began. The dress code for sports day is whatever you want it to be, ranging from dresses and sandals to full athletic gear.

Now let me tell you a little about the location of the YFC compound. The YFC compound is directly at the top of a hill called Kibagabaga (Cheebagabaga). This is where the mawch began (that’s march in Rwandan English).

So with full bellies and at the hottest part of the day we set out mawching - we being the teachers, the YFC staff, the support staff, and the university students in the young leaders program. The mawch began as a very slow saunter for about 10 minutes and covered about 1/10th of a mile on flat terrain - it was a really slow saunter. Then we began going downhill and the mawch become a run accompanied by some chanting of words I didn’t know. I thought, “Oh, we’ll run down the hill, mawch through the valley behind the compound and then back up the hill just on the other side.” I was wrong. We kept on running for what felt like 5 miles - right through the valley of rolling hills. “Rolling hills aren’t so bad,” I thought to myself as I walked up them and ran down them. But then we passed the compound and kept going. “Yikes! Where are we going now?” No one seemed to know. I was beginning to wonder how long I would last when the road curved back up towards the top of the hill. I breathed a sigh of relief to round the corner and see all the super athletic men standing at the top waiting for everyone else. I thought it was so nice of them to wait for everyone, so that we could all walk back to the compound together.

To my surprise, I realized that I was one of the first women to reach the top. To my horror, I found out that the mawch was only half over. We had made a large half circle that went around the backside of the Kibagabaga and next we would take a half circle path down the front side of Kibagabaga. Brad, realizing that many would not make it through a full circle mawch, suggested that perhaps some could go on and finish the circle while others could saunter back to the compound. So many sauntered back to the compound while others kept mawching.

This is where it gets ridiculous. Being the new white girl with a competitive streak, I couldn’t quit. I had to prove something, but even now I’m still trying to figure out what that was.

So we ran down the hill and across to the other side and then back up to the compound. And this time the super athletic guys didn’t wait for us slower ones - they just kept going. I found my gang of run-walkers and after what felt like another 5 miles, we finally made it back to the compound.

We enjoyed some refreshing boiled water, did some exercises and stretches, and then had a volleyball tournament. That’s another story in itself, but one for another time. It was a great afternoon and a wonderful way to end a busy week.

Even though the mawch was painful at times, I finished the day with a sense of accomplishment and a bizarre thought that maybe I’d take up running in Rwanda. After all, I’ll be the only white girl mawching on sports day and I’d hate to let down all the bright skinned people all around the world!

On Saturday, I slept until 5 PM. I think partly from physical and mental exhaustion and partly from the 2nd night of Benadryl. Yes, I completed the mawch with a irritating sinus infection.