So, by pure and complete coincidence, July 4th is Independence Day for Rwanda and the USA. And, Rwandan Liberation Day was July 1st…and was declared a National Holiday on Thursday night…via radio. The result, a nice 4 day weekend vacation!
So, what did I do? Decided to venture up to Gisenyi for the weekend with Keira. So, come early (like, 5:45am early) I made my way out of the village to make the 5 1/2 hours of bus rides up to Gisenyi. Had a very quick ride out to Gitarama, checked the mail: thank you Aunt Linda for the mailing envelope! And Aunt Lynn for the letter…but office was closed to whoever’s package is here I was unable to pick up. I’ll get it in 2 weeks! Then made my way into Kigali, got a bus ticket for Gisenyi and then went and had PANCAKES at one of the “muzungu” marts called La Sierra. Yes, they were real pancakes with fake “real” maple syrup (you New Englanders know what I’m talking about). I have to say though, the other weekend when I whipped up pancakes…yeah those were bomb and better than these. Anyways, hung out in Kigali for a couple hours before my bus and then it was off to GIsenyi! Gisenyi is one of the Lake Kivu resort cities with the big, fancy, basically American style Serena Hotel. Naturally, we went there and were overwhelmed by a) the Westerness and b) the amazing food, drink, dessert and outrageous pricing. But still, it’s nice just to hang out and explore around on a weekend with nothing to do.
The weekend was really relaxing and just what I needed. Was able to catch up with an old friend from West Hill Beach Club who’s doing an internship in Rwanda for the summer. And, highlight of the weekend, market shopping!! The big city markets are always so much fun to go around and dig in, it’s amazing what you can find. Case in point, I got a really cute dress, some shoes and a Coach (yes, it’s actually real) purse. And I’m in Rwanda! Talk about bargain shopping to the extreme, it’s lots of fun. Other than that, there was just a lot of relaxing on the beach (yes, there’s a beach) and enjoying some R&R.
On Sunday, left the nice little resort town and made our way back to Keira’s house to save some money and spend the night there. It was really nice to finally see some other people’s houses and what their village/town is like. It was another relaxing night, with scalloped potatoes, coffee cake (with coffee in it!) and watching GI Jane. Currently, I’m in Kigali, at Bourbon Coffee where the internet is working for once. It’s kind of like a ghost town here, so I’m a little worried getting back to my village will be a challenge…but not worried enough to freak out. As the motto goes here in Rwanda, patience. I’ll get home, I’m not too worried. I unfortunately did not take any pictures this weekend, so there’s nothing to show off. But once I get some interesting pictures, I will definitely post them!
School. What’s going on at school. Well, our trimester is slowly coming to an end. this week is the last week of “real” teaching I have before I’m forced to start reviewing and then finals begin. It definitely snuck up on me and I was hoping to cover a little bit more material, but all in all I’m pretty happy with where the classes are right now. Students are, entertaining as usual. For me, it’s hard to pinpoint what’s interesting right now since I’m living it, but I’m sure to all you reading, it’s enjoyable. I honestly can’t think of anything else to say right now, so on that note. I’ll sign off and say I’ll try for a more enthusing and interesting blog post next time!
