Life in Kicukiro (Ki-chu-ki-ro or Chi-chu-chi-ro)

The first week has gone by so quickly. I guess I’ll start by contrasting experiences from last year and this year.

Last year. This year.

Participant . One of the On-the-Ground Coordinators (OTGCs)

Homestay @ Mama Glory’s . Hotel Amani & apartment

Swahili . Kinyarwanda & French

Studied at language training center . Study at IPRC technical college

Month one was rural . Month one in the city

Tanzania is chaotic . Rwandans are reserved and fairly quiet

Lots of stray dogs . No dogs
Flat. Lots of hills

Of course, all of the locals are incredibly nice. They light up when you try to speak a little bit of Kinyarwanda to them. Little girls are fascinated by mzungu (basically, non-African) hair. I even had a group of young school girls come up and touch my hair, telling me how beautiful it was (“Uri mwniza”). I attempted to return the favor in Kinyarwanda – apparently very poorly because they couldn’t stop giggling at my pronunciation. They decreed that we were all sisters before continuing home J

There is a lot more opportunity to be active here than there was in Tanzania. They have sidewalks and paved roads, which are much better on the ankles than the rocky roads were last year. Our campus has a VERY nice turf football pitch. People are always playing or running after class. Our group likes to throw the Frisbee around, something Rwandans have never seen before! There is a group of amazingly talented IPRC volleyball players that plays every evening on a cement court. They keep score in the dirt with a stick, play until the sun goes down, and are some of the most athletic people I have ever seen play first-hand. Their knowledge of the game and athleticism completely overcome their poor facilities. The coach, Damasco, invited me to train with them this past Friday. What a kick in the a** that was. We didn’t drink any water during the entire 2 hours! We “warmed up” with 6 laps around the pitch…ran some sprints, stretched, did some drills and started to scrimmage. We only had a few girls, so the guys joined us. They. Are. So. Good.  It was a great feeling, using a sport I love so much as a way to bond with locals. We all shared some beers after and Damasco invited me back to practice a few times a week. Maybe this will be a good way to work off the bananas and rice. In two weeks, there will be an International Genocide Memorial Volleyball Tournament in Rwanda. At least 10 countries will be participating, including Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi, and DRC. I’m excited to go watch!

Damasco, Adeline, Me, Lambert, Onorine, Laticia, and Winnie after practice.

The group went to the market on Thursday to practice Kinyarwanda. The experience was basically the same as it was in Tanzania with the addition of a lot of public (uncovered) breast feeding. Don’t be surprised if you see it when you visit.

This man at the market asked me to take his picture. 

Ben, a.k.a. Boss OTGC, has a car and has been nice enough to drive me around to good dinner spots within the last week.

Tela Vista. The local buffet we eat at for lunch. Most lunches are buffets here.

Meze Fresh. A chipotle knock-off but with better chicken.

Sole Luna. An Italian owned pizzeria (They actually have good cheese in Rwanda! Hallelujah!) 

Sundowner. A restaurant/bar/dance club with the best BBQ in town. We ordered a goat leg and they cut it right at our table (post-cooking, of course).

Tonight we are going to get Nile Perch somewhere. It’s big enough for a group, they serve it whole, and you basically just go at it with your hands. Please note, perch must be reserved in advance.