I have been in a rural area several hours from the capital for 2 days which is my excuse for not blogging. On the return trip this afternoon, we pulled over for a bathroom break and this older gentleman walking along the shoulder of the road held up his hand to us with 3 fingers and shook them. This apparently is the sign of one of the political parties, and then he asked me in Kirundi if I could give him money (btw, I don't understand a word of Kirundi). After a bit when I didn't respond, he started waving another sign, more like a closed fist. Turns out this is the sign of another party. One of my travelling companions told him that we could not give him anything for making that sign. He then went back to the 3 fingers signal in a last ditch attempt to get something from me. I am not sure why he would think I was allied with any party, but I was amused to learn that at least one Burundian is as cynical about politics as I am.