Not so strange as it once was...

When I first came here to Burundi (and it has now been over a month!) I didn't know what to expect. There were certain things that were "shockers", that now I don't think so much about. I'm finally acclimating.

1) Women don't have legs. At least, they never show them…especially outside of the city. In the city, there are more "scandalous" people, wearing pants, shorter skirts…I've yet to see anyone but a mzungu wear shorts. It's funny that one could be shocked by an increase of modesty.

2) Processes take a long time. People here take time to enjoy the moment. Patience, patience. I've had a few of the locals laugh at my impatience. They say, oh, you mzuungu and your time, time.

Dudu, one of the workers here, told it like this:
"In USA, wife tells husband, go go go, so that they can sit later and do nothing. Here, they take time so there is no sitting around later with nothing to do."
 
In the government, if you're a pushy person, trying to get papers shuffled…they're going to go even slower. The late Mr. Johnson could out-wait them, to the point they gave up trying to be slow and just did their work instead.

3) being stared at openly. I'm not sure if I'm just used to it or if people are slacking off in yelling at me, but when I was first here, I'd have people on the street shout out, "mzungu! mzungu!" …maybe to warn others? Maybe because it's just a sight to see? I have no idea why…

4) There is a lack of 'political correctness'. It is refreshing to have a culture where you can say what you will, and there's no group telling you that you're offensive. The Christian school here can forbid Muslim head-coverings and the like in their school, and there's no UCLA, etc. to start a lawsuit.
People also are very honest.

5) In the light of no lawsuits, some things that in America would be forbidden/have to have a safety fence/sign, are totally open. On the route that I run, there is a huge hole in the middle of the sidewalk, about 7 feet deep, where a pipe meets the gutter. It's a good place to break a leg.

6) They have gutters here. Real gutters, uncovered. I had read about gutters in books, and about people falling into gutters… but in the States, all of the gutters are covered. I never realized how gross they were. People wash in them…*shudder*

7) Squeezing into cars. I think the most I've squished into a car is about 9 people to a 5-seater Toyota Corolla. I've seen people squished in even more than that…it's just the way it is.

8) Pedestrians not getting right of way. If you walk places here (and there are a good many pedestrians) you have to be very careful about your surroundings. The sidewalks are narrow/non existent.