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Wednesday - quiz night - weirdest evening ever. Turned up, a couple of other strange expats, weird questions, terrible food....nuf said!
Thursday was a pretty interesting evening. I got invited to join a poker school out here with mainly Belgian and French guys. When i did finally make it to the house (with the help of a few helpful Rwandees) I was quite amazed at how 'the other half' live. The guy was a diplomat for the European Union and his house was literally ridiculous. Like one of those drug lord mansions that you see in the movies with big white terraces and old Morrocan arches - truly a rarity this side of town. After meeting the guys and hearing about all of their backgrounds it reinforced just how fortunate I have been to be given this opportunity. These are people who I would never normally socialise with and here I was with Red Cross aid workers, diplomats, health policy experts and economic advisors. Poker was fun, and im happy to have found a regular game.
Today is Umaganda which occurs on the last saturday of every month. It is an opportunity for communities accross Rwanda to get together, discuss issues and do some community work. I helped out a little this morning carrying jerry cans of clean water but it wasn't long before I was huffing and puffing on the side of the road. It was highly embarrassing seen as though the kid who took over from me made a pencil look bloated and was carrying two! So nothing opens till around midday and I have taken the opportunity to relax and nurse the hangover from lasts nights excessive consumption of local beer...nasty stuff.
That reminds me..last night was one of my colleagues birthdays and she invited all of the guys fom the office to her house. It was a typically African affair with massive steaming pots of food and a myriad of smells and colors. The DJ was a classic, playing typical barmitzvah songs like 'were gonna have a good time tonight' and Stevie W 'happy birthday to you'. Great night but next time ill stick the gin me thinks.
6 Comments - Add Public Comment or Send Private Message
August 31st 2009 - aunt sha:
p, love reading ja blog, very funny, intersting and great humour, l o l aunt sha
Thanks Aunt! Will be sure to keep it updated then....
September 1st 2009 - Jackie Donner Stocki : Wow
Cuz - I cant believe you are actually there !! Will keep following your blog so please keep us updated. What an amazing experience this is for you !
September 3rd 2009 - Tasha: Umaganda
OH! the 2nd time I was there I participated in this... I had no idea how to get involved and no one else in the house wanted to go so I just walked out of our house and down the road, had some random people pick me up and then found myself cutting down weeds with some sort of primitive metal object. I remember all the men objecting to a female doing such labor but I persisted and it was goooood times, I felt so much a part of that place than I ever have in the US.
After the work, we all gathered in a circle and were talking about the benefits of working together, of helping each other out. They even mentioned, rather ENCOURAGED, foreigners to obtain citizenship to the country. Unfortunately, as you will learn if you haven't, government works very slowly over there so didn't get a chance to apply for one... try doing it via email, ha! I wish it were that simple.
Hope you enjoy your travels, sir. I can not wait to go back and visit.
October 1st 2009 - Elizabeth: what an insight!
Really enjoyed reading your blogs on Kigali. With the expat-finding-his-feet approach, you've got a wonderfully unusual but welcome perspective on the city, which I much appreciate a week before I'm due to land there myself to spend a month or so exploring the country. Thanks too for the tip about handling the transfer at Nairobi... Carry on enjoying all your experiences, and do continue writing up the minutiae of your daily life. As the John Travolta character says in "Pulp Fiction", it's the little things abroad that emphasise the differences (can't remember the exact quote, but you know what I mean!).
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