I’ve been in Kigali for less than a week and I feel like I’ve been here for ages. There’s something about this place the just feels comfortable. I had a good feeling about the country as soon as I boarded the clean, spacious, road-worthy bus at the Tanzanian border that was driven at a normal speed to Kigali. When I pulled into the city, I was met with rolling hills, beautiful views and friendly people and I knew I would like it here.
It helped that I had arranged to stay with a Belgian friend of mine who I met as a volunteer in Gonaives, Haiti. She’s been in Kigali for five months doing an internship at a school close to the city centre and had a pretty sweet room ready for me when I arrived. She’s been here for five months and is about to head off to do some travelling, but I can stay for as long as I need to. The school gave her a fantastic send off yesterday with singing and dancing, much of which was done by children and was slightly pornographic, but their parents were there, so I guess it’s ok? The only other time I’ve seen so much ass-shaking by a pre-teen was in Haiti. Thankfully, the Rwandan children kept the lap dancing to a minimum.
My friend has forged some great relationships through her work at the school which was obvious from the multiple gifts she received (my personal favourite was the set of six wine glasses – totally impractical considering her next move is to travel by bumpy bus to through Uganda and Kenya to Tanzania) and the tears that were shed. Schools and kids aren’t my thing but I feel like if I don’t get involved in some sort of volunteer work, I’ll be missing out on a great opportunity not only to help out a bit but also to meet some fantastic people, get involved in some interesting projects and learn about Rwanda from a more authentic perspective.
On the surface, Kigali appears have it’s shit together with good roads, nice supermarkets, internet access, and clean streets. Besides the occasional water or power outage, I feel like I could be anywhere in the world. I think the reality is a lot more sinister with people fearful of openly criticizing the government, people living in shacks in the valleys without clean drinking water, and all of the usual issues found in any developing country. It would be really easy for me to come here, work on my internet stuff, hang out at expat places, make a nice circle of expat friends and live a great life but I would really start to hate myself for it, if I did. It’s easy to get comfortable and to stay in the expat bubble but I’m going to do my best to get involved in the community through volunteer work and learn as much as I can about Rwanda.
I haven’t found any volunteering opportunities yet, but I have managed to get my act together a lot quicker than usual and have landed a place to live already. I had been in touch with a bunch of people but only looked at two houses before I made my choice. The first was a little out of town but it was a great place with a fantastic view, a nice kitchen, two bathrooms and a dog. Part of the rent went towards the NGO As We Forgive which seems like a great cause (and hopefully one I will be able to help out with). The second house, and the one I decided on, is a bit closer to town, a bit cheaper and it has an avocado tree in the backyard that’ll be ready at the end of August to feed me. How could I possibly resist an avocado tree? The people are nice and I actually found the place through a contact on Twitter and I’ll be staying in the same room as her. Small world.
I’m pretty excited about staying put for awhile and it looks like Kigali will be a great fit. Any city that has motorcycle taxis for me to zip around on and back yards with avocado trees is ok with me!
Leave a Reply