arriving in Kigali
i’ve been in Rwanda for 3 days and feel like i’ve already made memories to fulfill my entire trip. this country is crazy, hectic, stunning, heartwarming and inspiring. my heart is full. culture shockeverything is different here. the streets are going nuts with moto taxis. there are tiny vibrant run-down shops and the streets are paved and then cobblestone and then dusty reddish dirt. there are tropical palm trees everywhere but it’s not like any tropical place i’ve been. there are clay huts but also beautiful gated houses with perfectly manicured gardens lining the streets. i am the minorest minority.when i arrived at Tommy’s house his houseboy Claude and his friend Eric are chillin on the front porch. they are paid 60,000 Rwandan Francs (about $90 cad) per month to oversee the house and help out with maintenance/security as well as errands like grocery shopping. they live in a room behind the house and are always here. they are happy and sweet and friendly and this livelihood is more than they made at the village they came from, which was $0. they also have a darling housecleaner named Cecille who comes in every day. it is SO weird and morally conflicting and uncomfortable but it took only a day before i realized this is the way it is here, they are happy, and i feel safe having them here.
Rwandans are EVERYWHERE. they are constantly walking the streets, staring at you, carrying bags or produce on their heads. sitting on sidewalks doing nothing. i’m not sure a lot of them have anywhere to go, or at least not anything in a hurry.
they are freakishly nice. like, it’s bizarre how nice they are. they have invited me into their home for dinner, are so so so happy that we are here enjoying their country. there is 0 concern that they will steal anything or harm us. this confidence is something i learned from Christine, who has been living in Kigali for two years. we were walking home in the dark (sun goes down at 6:15 here and most streets are pitch black). 3 boys in their late teens were advancing behind us - if i was by myself i would have been l o s i n g it but Christine turned to them and said “hello!” and they flashed huge smiles and said “hi!” giggled and walked away. they just want to say hi and maybe they don’t see girls with white skin and blonde hair that often.
Rwandans are insanely trustworthy. Christine and Tommy have both lost things (from a pen to a Tory Burch wallet) that were eagerly returned to them later by a local who went out of their way to do so. last night we left our helmets on Christine’s scooter to go to a bar, Inema Arts Center, came out and they were gone. just as we were cursing ourselves for leaving them, a security guy came running up with the helmets. they had hid them for us just to keep them safe.
the heartthe fact that Rwandans are so nice and trusting is nothing short of a miracle considering their beyond tragic history. up to 1 million people were murdered during 100 days during the 1994 genocide. that was during my lifetime as well as the lifetimes of most people i pass on the street here. it was unthinkably tragic and devastating. i’ll probably post more on this later, but the way that they have rebuilt is absolutely astonishing. 23 years later Kigali is now the cleanest city in Africa, and one of the safest. i have not talked to one local that was rude to me or anything short of friendly. of course you feel reminders of the genocide EVERYWHERE, but the city has rebuilt itself and filled its people with hope and positivity in an INCREDIBLY short time.my first lunch here i was telling our server, Sam, how beautiful i think it is here. he was so happy to hear, but said it hasn’t always been beautiful. Sam was born in 1994 two months after the genocide. i teared up when he said, “We have seen miracles happen here.” it’s so true.
my Kinyarwanda vocab:chapati = 20 cent crepe-type street food that we got from a man making them down the street. a cheap and delish dinner.mzungu = a white personmurakoze = thank youmwara mutze = good morningamakuru = how are you
