First few walks around Kigali, Rwanda

Muraho from Rwanda! It has been 6 days since I've been in Rwanda and I feel like there is already so much to share. I have to say one of things I really enjoy is FaceTiming with my friends in Vancouver and California and my mom in Nepal and telling them about how amazing and fascinating Rwanda is. It’s amazing how technology (I’m speaking FaceTime here) can connect and make us feel so close with our loved ones regardless of the fact that they’re thousands of miles away. At the same time, it is nice to be away from the internet and connect to the life and daily happenings here. I must walk you through my 6 days here because there is a lot to share!

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As I walked off the stairs on the plane at 8pm, I smelt that warm smell of burning wood and a certain type of plant (which I'm still unable to identify): the smell of home in Kathmandu. It was late so not everything was visible outside as we cabbed to Beasejour Guesthouse in Remera opposite of Chez Lando. As much as I was excited to see Kigali, I was also very exhausted from the 25 hour flight from Vancouver and just wanted to sprawl on a something that was not chair.

Next morning, I wake up to the sound of buses and motos driving by from my room, however, it’s not the loud and incessant honking of horns. I step outside my room and feel the warm sun which makes me more excited than I usually am when I wake up in the morning (and for those of you who know me well, I am a super perky and chirpy person in the morning). It’s amazing to wake up every morning feeling that warm sun as opposed to the groggy, dark, rainy weather that makes you want to sleep in bed all day. It's even more exciting thinking about how I will be in warm weather for the next 7 months! yahoooooo

Beausejour Guest House -where we stay in Kigali

Wandering around the streets of Kigali

I have never travelled to another developing country besides growing up in Nepal and I’m simply fascinated by how clean it is in Rwanda. The cars, motos and buses are running smoothly on the 2 lane roads separated by palm trees in the middle and another 2 lanes running the other direction. I don’t even see a piece of garbage out on the streets. Plastic is strictly banned in the country and all the supermarkets pack the groceries in a brown paper bag. I also found out today that Rwanda has a public cleaning holiday where all the citizens are required to help clean which I find very interesting. It makes me wonder how and why Nepal still hasn’t reached this point where citizens and the government feel the need and responsibility of keeping their country clean.

Walking around the streets of Kigali, I did not feel like an outsider because people did not stare at you or follow you while you were walking. I also did not feel like I was being forced by people on the streets to buy their tourist products. I really thought it would be like Nepal where you’d be followed and stared at by the locals everywhere but this was not the case in Kigali – NOTE:Just KIGALI.  

I simply loved the idea of moto-taxis and reminisced the days in Nepal where I’d ride on motorbikes in the streets of Kathmandu. I really like that you’re able to cruise down the streets on a hot sunny behind a motorcycle. Nepal, definitely does not need motorbikes being taxis because it’s already so populated with motorbikes and I can’t imagine the streets if more motorbikes are added as a means of public transportation. Although it does provide jobs for many Rwandese, I wonder about the number of accidents every year and whether it benefits the environment having four of us ride 4 different motorbikes rather than taking one van. We have no issues getting the moto-taxis because as soon as we find one there would always be 5 moto-taxis rushing behind to give the mzungos (foreigner or white person) a ride. I definitely enjoyed practicing my Kinyarwanda by saying “muraho” (hello) and “murakoze” (thank-you) to the moto-taxi drivers and their approving smiles, corrections and replies has definitely encouraged me to learn more Kinyarwanda.

*whistle *whistle

Me on my first moto-taxi -He told me the first picture I took of us was not nice and made me retake  the photo and voilà!

We were invited to Molly’s friend Liberee’s house in Kabeza for lunch and this is where I had my first local beer, Primus and Rwandan food. The pasta was definitely a Western touch but it also had pieces of goat liver (which is very high in iron!). My favorite dish was the one that was very stew-like which had bananas, carrots and peas. The white starch is ugali (made from cassava and flour).

Delicious Rwandan Food

Chandni, Liberee, Molly and Kristina at Liberee's house :)

In Rwanda, having a beer is almost equivalent to having pop and people almost don’t consider it as alcohol. I have seen more people drink Primus than drink Fanta, Sprite or Coke. Also, I’ve noticed many billboards advertise beer rather than fruit juices, food products, cars or beauty products. The billboards are almost always beer ads (Outstanding beer for outstanding people), health messages about malaria or being on time. This one definitely made me laugh.

Don't be late :) Nepali time = Rwandan time

On Saturday night, we were able to experience the nightlife in Kigali. We went to a local bar called Olympiade which had performers lip-syncing and really dancing (it’s too bad I’ll never be able to do the same *sigh) to East African music and Western music (ranging from Michael Jackson to Bob Marley). I was also able to try my first goat brochette and stomach brochette which is a deliciously barbecued meat -similar to kebabs.

Liberee and I eating our brochettes

Stomach Brochette 

This does not even cover the 6 days I've been here...just wanted to give you all a quick update. I will have another post up soon on the Genocide Memorial, my adventures in Kibungo and the work that four of us are doing.

Murabeho :)

xx