Yesterday I went to the big local market with Annie, Joel's wife. I had been wanting to visit the market for some time so I was really looking forward to this shopping adventure! When we arrived I was pleased to observe ALL the people selling all sorts of food..it really was quite interesting. But, the most interesting part came about 10 minutes into being there. I had been feeling a little bit thirsty, but I thought I would be just fine. All of a sudden I got very dizzy...I said to Annie, "I am feeling very dizzy and a few seconds later I fainted! The next thing I remember is a large group of Rwandan people standing over me and Annie saying "Are you ok?!" over and over again. However, hearing the story from Annie for those few minutes I was passed out is really quite hilarious! She said as I fainted she tried to catch me a little bit. Then a large crowd of Rwandan people immediately surrounded me and started saying things like, "Look! The muzungu (white person) is going to die! Look at her! Look at her!" Meanwhile Annie was trying to yell at them to help her and to back away so that some air could get to me. She asked one of the guys there to try to help hold me up a little bit, but the man was afraid that I would be mad if he touched me, so he wouldn't help. After about a minute I woke up and another man was willing to help me stand up and sit in a chair. Annie ran to get some water and juice, while I sat there in the middle of the market creating quite the scene! They moved me to another little shop outside the main market where I sipped my juice and waited for Joel to come pick me up. Meanwhile, the people that were buying things from this shop kept staring at me, trying to figure out who this strange looking girl was. One customer asked the shopkeeper who I was and he replied, "Inshuti Wanje," which means "my friend" in Kinyarwanda. Since this is one of the phrases I have learned, I smiled and said the same thing back to him. Anyway, it really was quite the experience and I'm sure I provided a great story for everyone to bring home to their family that night! I am feeling stronger as time goes on and am just continuing to drink plenty and rest.
