First Day in Kigali, Rwanda

I had planned on sleeping until 10, at least, but I woke up at 8am instead. I slept very well last night. I was pleased to find out that somebody else had already gone outside to hook up the water pump so that we could have water pressure. I took a fantastic shower (in a real tub!), and finally felt clean.

At breakfast we had bagels which was something to celebrate! I love bagels. And delicious Celestial Seasoning tea from the US. After breakfast we had an orientation to Rwanda talk with Aryn. We went over the rules again, and learned some things about how this month will go. I think it will be a stressful month with so many things to do, but a good one. We put our money in the safe and changed the sim cards in our phones. Lunch was quesadillas and pica de gaillo. It was an amazing meal. Sure that sounds so simple but having quesadillas was so comforting! It was like being home. This morning is the last Saturday of the month, which is a day of mandatory community service for Rwandans. Every family must send at least one person to report for cleaning duty. Everything was shut down for the morning.

Vestine (the Rwandan version of Faith) came with our Rwandan assistants for the day : Henry, Fiona and Issac. They took us out to Kigali and showed us the transportation system. It was very strange being in a place that actually follows traffic laws. We couldn't just stand on the side of the road and flag down a taxi, we had to walk to the designated areas, and use cross walks. There were traffic lights and the streets were very clean! I kept trying to compare Kigali to Kampala.. but I had to stop.

Kigali was very nice and was a lot more like the US than I expected. People also didn't stare as much at us as they did in Uganda. Our first stop was a really cool coffee shop. I ordered a drink that i was told was not coffee.. but it definitely was. So I drank my first full coffee today. Let's just say it woke me up... We went to the super market and the mall and looked around. The prices were at least twice that of those in Uganda. Even if it is still cheaper than the US, we were all making comments about how crazy expensive everything was, and how we would wait to buy stuff when we go back to Uganda. The taxis were a lot nicer and more comfortable here, but still packed. It is also stressful that people don't speak English. We will be taking Kirawandan lessons starting next week.

We went to a health club that is near our house to check out the pool there. Next door there was a wedding reception. We went over to watch the traditional dancers from the window, but we were invited inside and given seats near the front. The dancing was really cool. It was slow and graceful; much different than the Ugandan booty shaking :) We came back for an excellent dinner of rice, beef sauce, white sweet potatoes, and coleslaw. Our cook here is just as good as the one in Uganda.

I have to say that part of me really misses Uganda. That had become home for me, and because I am going back in a month, I don't feel as connected to Rwanda. I know it is too soon to judge. I really do love Rwanda so far. It is a beautiful country with beautiful people. Now i am off to play a board game with some friends. Tomorrow I will visit a church called Christian Life Assemblies (CLA), which is the name of the church I go to in the US!! Can't wait.