Exploring the countryside

I've had a busy couple of days! On Friday I went to movie night at the "American Club". (An embassy supported organization/club which hosts various social gatherings like movie night every Friday). Anyone can join, it's not limited to Americans. Afterward I went out with some new friends- there is a small but close ex-pat community here. It was nice to get to know many of them better. I'm starting to put names, faces, and jobs together.
On Saturday I played softball and attended a cookout hosted by the Marines. There are a handful of Marines stationed here, and they are the ones who provide the first-run movies for movie night, and they brought hamburgers, hot dogs, Mountain Dew, and Bud Light to the cookout. They have quite a network for getting things sent to them. We played a "west coast" vs. "east coast" game which lasted 7 innings (before people got tired and hungry). The west coast won (darn!), but it wasn't a landslide. We played at a stadium near downtown Kigali and attracted a crowd of Rwandan families and children who sat in the stands. I spoke with a few who said they had seen baseball games on TV before- but not seen it played in person. On Friday it had been funny to watch Daniel trying to get some of our local staff to plan to come out and play softball. They asked him how do you play- and he explained you hit a ball with a stick and then run. They asked him "run where?" And he said "run home", which made everyone laugh. At the game we got the crowd to do the wave and the 7th inning stretch! Too bad we didn't have peanuts and crackerjacks.

On Saturday night I met up with a new friend who works for the British embassy and lives on my street. We tried one of the recommended restaurants called Havana Club which serves wood-fired pizzas. It was pretty good food, and definitely an interesting chance to learn more about the British government system and their efforts in Rwanda.

On Sunday I went for a drive with Donald who recently acquired a car here. It was great to get out of the city and see some of the countryside. The main roads here are in pretty good shape; there were even streetlamps far outside of Kigali. Donald is trying to get used to all of the motor taxis that honk and zip past you, not to mention the pedestrians everywhere! We are lucky to live in a city and country in Africa where we can safely drive out of town and explore on our own.

We passed the Kigali airport on the way out of town.

We passed many cows and goats. I saw people walking their goats on a rope leash.

This is what many of the homes look like on the edge of Kigali city.


Most people we passed were getting water from nearby streams or wells. Many of them carried the water on bicycles or on their head. Most people wore very "western" clothes, only a few in brightly colored African print dresses.

The countryside is very beautiful. Lush green as far as the eye can see. I saw a lot of corn growing, and banana trees. The soil is dark brown and things seem to grow abundantly.

We did not see very many water sources. Only an occasional stream or small lake (it is the dry season), which is probably why people were walking so far to get water.

Almost every home we passed had landscaped and swept yards with gardens.

There were alot of pretty flowers that I cannot identify yet.

This was a road we followed for a long time- about 50 km outside of the city near a town called Rwamagana. There were many homes at the side of the road and many people walking around. We only passed two other cars in an hour. Many of the people and young children yelled "mzungas!" at us- which means "white people" in Kinyarwanda. Most people smiled and waved. At one point Donald stopped at the side of this road and many people gathered around our car- peering inside. I felt this was fair since we were driving down their road peering at them. Everyone seemed friendly but did not speak English or French.

The further out we drove- the more rural it became. There are many mud homes, and farming fields.

This is a church we passed. Probably a Catholic church- as this is the predominant religion in Rwanda.

This drive was a wonderful introduction to the beautiful countryside in Rwanda. The pictures do not do it justice!

A team of five Peace Corps staff are here scouting out Rwanda as a potential new site for Peace Corps volunteers. They have not had a presence here since 1994, before the Genocide. I am learning a lot in these meetings as many people have given overviews of the work being done here, the government, and cultural background.