Blogs from Rwanda, Africa - page 15

I've now headed off to the other side of the country to Gisenyi on Lake Kivu, border of DRC. Was fortunate to have two empty buses getting here and so didn't feel bad about my bag taking up so much room, nor have to pay for 2seats. I was sat next to some guy who clearly wanted to practise his English but he did have some delicious swiss chocolate - give and take a little! We drove through hilly countryside passing through village after village, men women and children carrying on their heads (or pushing on bikes) wood, sacks of potatoes (probably equivalent to 30 sacks from sainsburys), plaintain, water, cabbages, bananas, tomatoes, laundry baskets full to overflowing, sports bags, suitcases you name it and mose women carrying a kid on their back too. Those not ... read more

I went for a wander this morning round the backstreets and being Sunday could hear singing and music all around. I decided to join cykabare at his church since it is the first Sunday when he’s not been cooking for us and hence been able to go. His church was outdoors, under a corregated iron roof, with benches on the mud floor and wooden poles holding it up. They had a cloth backdrop and a table where the pastor sat. A new building is being constructed but to my eye it didn’t yet resemble a building so it’s some way off. Children sat on the floor on grass mats, or wandered around (their parents not really caring where they were) and one girl (the daughter of my translator) decided to sit on me - the colour ... read more

Every Saturday half the population seem to head to a wedding and this weekend it was my turn. One of the Mzungu in town was marrying a Rwandan so I don’t think it had all the Rwandan traditions but we still had fun! I just turned up for the reception whereby the bride and groom sat on table in middle and brides family under canape one side and groom’s the other. There were several speeches and singing for the couple and then the present giving ceremony. The couple stood in the middle and everyone queued up and danced their present to the couple. Then there were the bigger presents (ie cows). No cows were actually presented and these cows can even be symbolic but on this occasion they did get 2 cows - not sure how ... read more

After an exhausting morning working through a cashbook, trying so hard to be patient while watching the accountant move left on the screen when he should be moving right and reopening documents that were already open, then struggling to find different tabs on excel - I lost my patience…no only kidding, I wouldn’t do that - I was actually quite encouraged that he now knows how to copy and paste - if that’s all I will have taught him then surely that’s a good thing! ……(mum you’re like the speed of light on the computer in comparison!) Anyway I headed in to town to find some white spirit because without meaning to I managed to change my skin colour to blend in with the locals last night whilst painting the infamous noughts and crosses like game ... read more

it's been a great weekend, i got up at the crack of dawn on saturday to get the bus to Lake Kivu in the west.... which is apparently one of the world's biggest lakes by volume or something like that. anyway we managed to get a bus at 8am and what a journey we had!!! Rwanda is named the land of a thousand hills and seemingly the east where i'm living doesn't host many of them and they're all in the west! the bus trip was 2 1/2 hours and over two of them hurterling round bends in a packed bus in the heat. Needless to say we felt pretty rough.... and thought it was only us until the guy next to me got out his towel and proceeded to be sick!!! never have i been ... read more