The settling of dust

As I write this entry I am sitting in our gazebo in the front of our house in Kacyiru. We are incredibly fortunate to be living on a newly paved road as most homes are off a road that is off a dirt road that is off another dirt road. We are in the middle of the long dry season so many of these dirt roads have now become dust roads. Walking down any of these roads results in a dust cloud Pigpen would be jealous of. The dirt covers the lower half of your body, and somehow chemically binds to your ankles in a way that only a pumas stone and Listerine can remove it. We are told that the rainy season is coming, actually we have not been told that is coming but we have been give exact dates as to when it will be here. One source told us August 15th, another September 1st, and yet another September 15th. Each person makes their claim with great conviction. August 15th is less than 24 hours away and as it stands the skies are blue and partly cloudy, depending on the part you are looking at. Either way, once the rain starts it will be here for at least 2 months, with downpours expected twice daily, this is yet another reason we are incredibly fortunate to be living on a newly paved road. Those living on the dust roads are excited for the rains to come and wash off the 6 inches of dust, however given that all roads are on hills and they are already rutted and potholed I don’t see how a muddy, slick, rutted and potholed road is a better option. But then again, what do I know, I have only been in this country for 3 weeks. I’ll keep you posted on this one.

Kigali is very different than any place I have ever lived. Coming from Minnesota, Ha Noi, and southern Sweden the first thing that will hit you is the never ending hills. Each hill is basically its own suburb and each is connected by several windy and twisted roads. To get around town we usually hop on the local taxi buses. The system is simple, but you have to know how to use it and there are no written clues. So basically you need to know the neighborhood you want to go to and which stop it comes to. Standing on the curb you listen for the drivers to yell out Remera or Mumugi . Then you aggressively cue to get a one of the 15 spots on the bus. Once they are full they fly down the windy roads and you hope they are going the direction you need them to. As you approach your stop you knock on the roof to signal your stop. The average cost is 180 RWF or about $0.25. The average travel time from our doorstep to our destination is about 45 minutes, so just going into town takes a bit of planning and appreciation of cheap public transportation.

Kigali itself is a very chilled city, especially for its size of 1 million. The city is so separated by the hills that each suburb is mostly self-contained. The center or “town” takes less than 10 to circumnavigate by foot. The main taxi-bus stop is smaller than the bus park at my high school. Town is where head for treats such as vinegar (which I have yet broken down and paid the $4 for), potato chips, wine and western canned goods. Every purchase is scrutinized, do we really need it? How will we use it? If we buy it how much will our meal cost and how many meals can we get from it? Yes 95% of our treats are consumable.

We have been slowing getting to know the expats in the community, but since our budget is as tight as a sausage casing we pick and choose our activities carefully. The top our list has so far been quiz nights, movie nights (at friends), cheapish dinners and picking up returnables from the nearby “Smarter” super market. Emily has put together a hiking group so we hope to organize some weekend outings soon!

As for work nothing too exciting has happen in the past few weeks, but next week is “Fun Week”. I will be in the field for 4 days and fun is sure to happen! Details and photos to come! Whoop, Whoop