The quiet life

Integration starts and ends with language. I know that's what they told us, and I do believe that for full integration, it is necessary to be able to speak the host country language, but Kinyarwanda has proven to be an elusive and difficult desire. For someone that was quiet and didn't talk much when everyone around me spoke my same language, it has proven to be an abrupt transition to be placed in a situation where I talk even less. I do make an effort to say hello to most people I pass, which is nearly as far as my conversational Kinyarwanda skills take me, but the fact that any further questions inevitably lead to conversation topics that I really have no ability to comprehend makes me hesitate. There are a fair number of people in my area that have marginal English skills, which always comes as a relief. The health center basically runs in French as all the records as well as many forms and diagnostic tools are written in French. Since all the workers at the health center are educated people, they also know French, which makes it unfortunately, conveniently easy to revert back to my basic French instead of bumbling along in Kinyarwanda. Obviously I understand the importance of being able to speak in Kinyarwanda, especially as most patients that come though the health center know that as their only language. I am able to get along with the basics of asking for prices, figuring out where my bus is headed, or asking where people are going or coming from, but beyond that I am lost. As my French is nowhere near the conversational level of my colleagues, I tend to remain quiet. In an already quiet world where only a select few know my primary language, not being able to speak or ask questions proves frustrating. I've found a few times where I have nearly gone an entire day speaking only a few sentences. It probably doesn't help that I live alone either. Everest tries his few English phrases, and I try with my Kinyarwanda, however we don't typically get past polite formalities. Though I can see it would be possible to go through my 2 years service and survive with my limited language skills, I think the quiet might get to me before anything else. It's amazing how much you rely on basic human interaction, and in most scenarios, you never have to deal without it however, it is one of those things that leaves a gaping hole when it is gone. My goal will be to come back fluent in French and with a good grasp of Kinyarwanda, so here's to hoping the quiet life is an adequate motivator.