Perspective

 

After Karusi, we went back to Bujumbura, picked up the missing / now-found luggage and went back to the King’s Hotel. When we walked into our rooms, it was like we had arrived at the Ritz Carlton.

 

 

The rooms seemed luxurious beyond belief! I took a shower and washed my hair. Twice! The rinse water = uugggh!! Dan finally put on clean clothes. We had a wonderful dinner with the team at the hotel restaurant. Fresh fish from Lake Tanganyika, covered in a spectacular sauce, rice, french fried potatoes. We also ordered avocado salad with tomatoes and onions. It was divine. We slept soundly under our mosquito net, in a king-size bed with clean white sheets, while the A/C cooled off the room all night. Perspective is everything when you’re in Burundi!

 

 

While I was definitely grossed out by my dirty hair (nearly dreadlocks), none of the villagers noticed it because they don’t have running water at all and clean, shiny, hair with all the right product in it just isn’t a priority. They just have as much water as they can carry back to their homes from their water source (sometimes a community spigot, sometimes a river, lake, pond, spring or puddle). They’ve never even imagined the luxury of a nice, long, hot shower. They usually have just 2 sets of clothing. One for everyday/working and the other for church.

 

 

They wear their clothes until they are literally rotting, threadbare, ripped to shreds, no elastic left in waistbands, missing sleeves, broken zippers, dirty, and way past what we would think is unwearable. Clothes are a necessity of life to protect you from the elements. I never saw a bedroom or even a bed in any of the homes I entered. They usually roll out woven mats to sleep on. Sometimes they have a thin piece of foam under the mat. Never saw a pillow or a blanket.

 

 

Their diet is simple – rice and beans are the staples. All else is a bonus – we saw a few people gnawing on sugar cane. Saw a few kids nibbling on a small boiled potato for lunch. Once in a while I saw someone eating a small ear of corn. That’s about it. Yet, it seems to be enough to sustain them for life and work. Makes me feel overfed, underworked, and shamefully discontent.