Pics from Week 1- apartment and Kigali Hash House Harriers

View from the balcony of my apartment-

A view of Kicyuru (my neighborhood) from the downtown hill-

Dining Room (I packed some of my own pictures, including an Obama calendar!) -

Kitchen (Brand new microwave and toaster...yay)-

I found the Kigali "Hash House Harriers" last weekend. For those of you who are not familiar- The Hash House Harriers began amongst some British in 1938 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia as a group of people coming together to run/walk/and make friendships on weekends. It has since become a worldwide phenomenon. In Kigali- you can send a text and receive instructions on how to join the weekly hash run/walk.

This is the restaurant where the Hash met last weekend. It was difficult to find- and we got lost twice but we made it!

There were about 6 of us who traveled together- invited by two women who attend the Hash regularly.

We knew we were in the right place because of the pink "HHH" sign above the door (Barbara and I)

There was a very pretty view from the restaurant balcony of the road back to Kigali.

Jenny and I

Once it started- we circled up and the leaders explained some of the rules including that Hash attendees receive a nickname from the group after participating 10 times and can only request a re-name after 25 times participating. His name is Rambo. He also explained that two "Hares" have marked our trail for this evening hike and we should watch for white paint markings to follow the trail. There are sometimes when the road parts ways and the group yells out indications of which way is right if they find the right markings. I realized quickly this would be especially hard because this Hash would be by flashlight! Some people run on a trail and others do the walking trail and everyone meets at the end for dinner. I decided to go with the walking group for the night Hash!

I couldn't get many good pictures of the trail because it was so dark as we walked. But here I am staying close behind the "hare" (I didn't want to get lost on my first Hash!) and much of the trail went through neighborhood alleys, up and down hills, around the Kigali stadium, and through the nieghborhood. It was about an hour and a half of walking/hiking.

When we returned all the new people (including me) were introduced and some people changed into ties and dresses because this was the Valentine's Day Hash and formal attire was "suggested" in the instructions.

We ate dinner at the restaurant when we returned. Yummy chicken and goat and rice.

Drinking beer is a definite part of the Hash tradition but not required of course. I especially liked that there was a DJ and dancing after dinner!

I liked that the Hash in Kigali included as many Rwandans as ex-pats, and that many Hash trails are outside of the city. I learned that next week it is in a "suburb" of Kigali called Rwamagana, and the next week they are headed all the way to another city- Ruhengeri. I hope to attend another one soon!