Burundian Sign Language

So a few weeks back I met a girl at the market who is deaf. We had a great time chatting in sign language. It was so nice to freely chat with someone. Even when I chat with people here that know English there is still a language barrier based on their knowledge of English or accent. Chatting with this girl in sign language my memory of the signs is the only barrier there was. We chatted and exchanged phone numbers. We were chatting it up in sign and then when we were going to part she asked if I knew French. I told her no. She said she didn't know English. I knew this was going to be difficult to communicate when we couldn't sign together.
Text messages back and forth have been interesting. I have to get someone who knows French to tell me what she said and then have them write what I want to say in French.
She lives close to the school so she has come over multiple times, she also has gone to church with me two Sundays now. She loves telling me about her experiences. I ask her all sorts of questions about being deaf in Burundi. She has gone through a lot. She always says that the Lord is her strength. I'm impressed by her faith.
Sometimes during the conversation I will see a sign I don't know, asking her for the meaning. Normally when chatting with someone who is deaf they will just spell out the word they are saying. But because she doesn't know English she will spell out a French word. This is fine when Brandon is over because he knows French. But when it is just the two of us she has to explain the meaning using all sorts of signs.
I really enjoy her company. It's fun to have a friend who has Burundian culture (which I don't always understand, though I'm getting better) and Deaf culture (which I understand better). One day after church we were chatting with a group of students and one of my friends came up, he's Burundian. She and he were talking and I was just interpreting for them. She signed something I didn't understand at all. I just said it. He busted up laughing. I guess it was a Burundian joke or something. He then said, "she's funny". I was so confused. But glad that they could enjoy chatting with my help. It's also nice to be on the other side of translation. I am now the translator for these students that have done so much translation for me over the past 5 months.
I'm learning about Burundian culture from her also. Yesterday she came over and taught Brandon and I how to make a Burundian meal. Then we ate it in the Burundian way, with our hands. It was interesting signing with messy hands. She teased me for the way I was eating the food.
I love having a new friend. I hope that the Lord keeps us friends for a long time.