Blogs from Kigali, Ville de Kigali, Rwanda, Africa - page 5

Welcome to the Cricket Without Boundaries Rwanda team blog! I am part of a group of 13 mad volunteers setting off for Rwanda on 6th November on behalf of the Cricket Without Boundaries charity. CWB has three main goals: •To spread cricket through coaching children and teaching adults how to coach •To link the sport to HIV/AIDS awareness and incorporate these messages into coaching sessions. •To bring together and empower local communities through cricket. Here we will bring you the highs, the lows, the tears, the tantrums and hopefully a whole lot of smiles and success stories. We aim to post every day of the trip so keep tuned in to all the goings on and follow our journey every step of the way- you'll feel like you are actually in Africa with us! Over the ... read more

On Wednesday this week, Alex joined the Board of the American Embassy Association of Kigali, the group that currently runs the commissary. To buy American products, like spaghetti sauce or diet pop, the commissary is the only place to go, and its conveniently located inside the Embassy. Saturday, Alex began a quest for fresh chicken. He met up with some friends and drove all over the city (rural areas) looking for the farmer with the big, American-style poultry. After 4x4ing down some one-way trails and passing by groups of mud huts, the farm appeared. After parking the car, he walked through a banana field to the "free-ranging" (hundreds of chickens in a 15 by 15 pen) farm. The chickens had been killed that morning and were defeathered and beheaded. At this point, Jennifer became tired of ... read more

Some pictures Jenn took around our house. http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2039673&id=1142697526&l=8c7285b4e9 Couldn't get them uploaded on this site for right now... Anyways, another week down. Hopefully we can post some more pictures and updates soon. Thanks for all the comments!... read more

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 ... read more

Monday: I woke up very sore this morning, a bit bruised and battered from bouncing around in a 4x4 for two days. The roads in the park are bumpy and when you stand up with your head through the roof opening, you really need to brace with your legs and your arms. The walk to work was a good way to loosen up and it's down hill or flat the whole way. The walk home was tougher as it's up hill for quite a ways! My backpack seemed much heavier at 5:30pm than it did at 8:00am! There are quite a few guys selling newspapers and magazines on the streets of Kigali. As I walk to and from work, they first try and sell me a newspaper, usually published in French. When I reply "No, thank ... read more