First Impressions - Kigali

We flew into the airport on a Sunday evening. Looking out the window of the plane, there were so few lights that it looked more like flying over North Kenai than a city of almost a million people. We walked down the stairs onto the runway and into warm smoky air. Upon entering the airport, we were met by a U.S. Embassy employee who led us into a separate room with leather couches while he took care of our paperwork. In the airport lobby, we were met by Portia, the Embassy nurse, and her husband John, the director of the Peace Corps in Rwanda, who gave us a ride to our new house.

Our house has a seriously steep driveway, so luckily it never gets icy here. There is a security gate and high fencing and walls all around. There is a big front yard with a (currently non-functional) swimming pool and marble front porch. The inside is all tile flooring with big area rugs and fancy furniture. There is a living room, dining room, kitchen, master bedroom and bath, and four other bedrooms that we don't yet know what to do with. There is also a guest bathroom and a bathroom that opens directly from outside the house for the security guard/gardner/guests. In the back, there is a huge patio with retaining walls since the house is built on the side of a hill. Also, there is a separate guest house with two bedrooms. Portia and John bought us the basic groceries and the house comes equipped with temporary supplies like towels and dishes.

After touring the house, we went out for a quick bite to eat at Papyrus, a nearby restaurant where they have pizza and pasta. Rwanda is on something like really slow island time, so the average wait at a restaurant is between one and two hours. Our house is in the "Restaurant District" so we are really close to most of the good restaurants in Kigali.

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