Week Nine: An Ode to Mondays and Archives in the Target Language

            Illness derailed not only my language study this past week, but my other coursework as well. I have felt perpetually behind in all areas of my life, but I can now (perhaps even for the first time) express legitimate enthusiasm that it is Monday! Monday is the start of a new week and a new chance to get my language study right!

            Pertinent to my last post about opportunity-specific language learning, I’m already in possession of a small vocabulary of illness-related phrases and vocabulary, and I am confident that I could, for example, express that I had a headache or that I required immediate medical attention. However, I feel as though there are some culturally-specific parts of sickness that I am missing out on. For instance, I told a friend (in English) that I was going to gurgle warm salt water to help my sore throat, and he thought this was repulsive, but it’s a common practice in my household, because that’s what my mother told me to do when I wasn’t feeling well.

To that end, I am sure Rwandans have their own unique remedies for curing this ailment or soothing this pain, and though it may not be absolutely necessary for my research, it would be nice to at least be relatively familiar with them, if not to anticipate a colleague’s suggestion, then to ensure I don’t appear completely clueless. Unfortunately, I think the best way to discover these culturally-specific insights is to observe them in practice; however, if anyone has any suggestions, do let me know. Perhaps a Rwandan Web M.D? I would imagine, too, that over-the-counter aids, such as Tylenol or Motrin, are likely sold in country as well, but perhaps under different names. Even though the drugs’ names may have little to do with Kinyarwanda, I feel familiarizing myself with them would be practical, as I prepare to do more extensive in-country research.

Pertinently, I am applying for a fellowship that would enable me to conduct archival research in Kigali. If being in Rwanda again was not enough of an incentive to increase my study of Kinyarwanda (and French), briefly perusing the primary sources available at the Genocide Archive of Rwanda was just the motivation I needed, as many of the sources are in Kinyarwanda and French. In conclusion, I will be very busy between now and then in preparation!