Ugandan New Years

For the end of the year we headed to Uganda for a visa run and to enjoy some time outside of Kigali. It was a real treat! Things in Uganda are so much cheaper, maybe even half price. It really reminded us of how much things cost in Rwanda. Being a land-locked country, 2 times removed from the sea and without a manufacturing industry Rwanda is in a though spot. They have however recently joined the East Africa Community and the trade agreements and lowering of barriers should help. Since we have been here we have noticed an increase of products and goods on the market.

So anyway, we hopped on a International Bus headed to Kampala. The boarder crossing was much more simple and easy going than the first time around. They stamped us out on the Rwandan side, we crossed a bridge over a dried out stream, we paid our $50 and were welcomed back into Uganda. We hopped back onto the bus where the driver switched from driving on the right side to driving on the left and we were off! As the bus flew down the road we tried not to look at the cars passing to our right. About 20 minutes later we were at our "stop" in Kabale. The bus slowed down long enough for us to jump off at the 3 way intersection. From there we hired a car to take us the remaining 15 km to lake Bunyoni. As we wandered down the hillside the lake revealed itself and stress of the journey evaporated. The deep lake is surrounded by green hills and dotted with small resorts.

Ours was the Lake Bunyoni Overland Resort. We had rented a Safari tent for 5 nights. Each tent was covered by a steal roof and sat upon stilted platforms. The view from our tent was of the lake. From the restaurant, when the sky was clear, we were able to see on of the volcanoes of Rwanda. The home of the Mountain Gorillas.



We spent our days enjoying the view and we treated ourselves to a few beers (which actually aren't the much cheaper but perhaps twice as tasty). One of the nights we were actually able to watch the Vikings play the Eagles on the dish. Neither of us knew the outcome, so it was a delight to watch Webb run over the Eagles.
On our second full day we rented a dugout canoe.
The dugouts are made from huge eucalyptus trees, which are not native to the region. (The eucalyptus and pine trees were brought to Africa by colonizers for "re"forestation purposes and have since taken over the natural flora and fauna of the region.) Being that neither of us are proficient paddlers we decided to hire a man to help us with the journey. After 45 minutes of paddling around island and past bays we arrived on the Bushara Island Camp. This is a lovely peaceful island filled with birds and wild flowers.

The Irish housemate and her sister arrived in Bunyoni just in-time for New Years. We ventured down the road to the newly opened Bird's Nest and enjoyed a New Year's feast. After dinner we enjoyed a huge bonfire with the sounds of drumming floating over the lake. On walk back to our resort the village was filled with excitement and children ran up to us to wish a Happy New Year.


Back in our resort we brought in the New Year with a bit of Ugandan rum and whiskey. Some of us were in the view that it wasn't as bad as expected, while others thought it was better than expected. I guess there really is only one way for you to find out.

Christmas in Kigali

Ah the Holidays. A time for being with friends and family and most importantly a time to take a break! The research has been going well, but the past 2 months have been a bit intense to say the least. It easy to underestimate the energy it takes to head into the field on a weekly basis and I am feeling a bit drained from the information overload.

So, thankfully Christmas came just in-time to give us a much needed break. Rwanda is a predominantly Christan with 90% of the population either Roman Catholic, Protestant, or Seventh-day Adventist (according to Wikipedia). Unlike most Western countries Rwanda's Christmas is focused on celebration rather then Santa and the practice of gift giving. Of course there were a limited amount of lights and plastic ornaments being sold in the markets, but they did not dominate the celebration.

As expats we channeled the familiarities of our homes and bought a few small gifts, picked out a tree and put up a few bobs and bits. Joss picked up our tree at a local green house. We hoped to buy a local variety, but unfortunately they are not popular enough to sell. We ended up with variegated rubber tree, much like the one my brother liked to eat as a child. The tree was decorated and a bird on a stick was our topper. Gifts were wrapped, piled around and the scene was set.

While most Rwandan's went to Church, Mid-night Mass and Christmas morning Mass, our house cozied up with a few candles, Christmas music, sugar cookies and nice glass of wine. On Christmas morning our resident Aussie grilled up some ham and pineapple (a Christmas tradition in his house).

To mark the occasion we used our oven for the 2nd time (the first was for a Thanksgiving apple pie). We bought a fat chicken at the local supermarket, which really is huge a treat. Chickens in Rwanda leave much to be desired. They have very little meat and what is there is tough and dark. No matter how it is cooked it tastes a smokey. Our chicken was juicy and lovely. The leftovers were made into a fantastic Minnesota wild rice soup (Don't know what that is? Your life is not complete. Come visit me in MN the next time I'm there.) The meal was rounded out with stuffing, roasted potatoes, green beans and a lovely salad topped with Wendy's pomegranate dressing (thanks Mom). So nice to take a break from it all and treat ourselves.

After dinner gifts were handed out and I found myself after 33 year still playing Santa. Our gift choices reflected our place in the world and things important to us, books, chocolate and small stuffed animals from the savanna (all except the animals are a real treat). It is such liberating feeling not to be bogged down by the over-consumerism of the Western Christmas. That said it was also wonderful to make Hesron's day by giving him a Manchester United jersey.

Wherever and however you spent it, I hope your Christmas was as lovely and perfect as ours.