Joining the Choir

At one of our team meetings I mentioned that I'd like more opportunities to interact with Rwandans and practice my Kinyarwanda. The Thomases suggested that I might enjoy participating in the choir. At first I was a little unsure of the idea. Even though I enjoy singing, singing in Kinyarwanda (possibly in front of the whole church) was a bit daunting. However, I decided to give it a try and showed up at my first practice. I had hoped to just observe, but that's not how guests are treated here. I was introduced and then had to go up front and give a little speech. They invited me to come to all of their practices and my name was entered in the roll book. Since then I've been trying to memorize songs (I've only gotten one down so far) and attending as many practices as I can. They haven't asked me to sing with them on Sunday yet, for which I'm very thankful. I think it may be several months more before I know enough songs to attempt that. Also, I'm still getting used to being stared at during practice as people walk by the church and notice me with my white skin; I do stick out a bit. Usually there has been someone at choir practice with enough English to translate for me. However on one or two occasions there have been miscommunication or no one has been there and I've had to try and tell from tone of voice, circumstances, and body language what might be going on. It's definitely been an interesting and educational experience.