Leaving Kayenzi

Wednesday, May 11

Report that the road over the river in Kigali is open came as good news yesterday. Chesie's dad who works in Kigali was able to make it to Kayenzi yesterday afternoon. 

So, we wanted to get an early start so we could get everything done. Our plan was to leave around 8:00 for Kayenzi to catch the twege. Rachel called Pacifique to see if he would drive our luggage to Kayenzi like he drove it to her house. He said that he was unavailable. The Health Center folks started working their contacts and finally was able to get the

Twege to drive to the Health Center to pick up us and our luggage. Several Health Center staff went to her house to carry our luggage. 

Many of the Health Center staff that we had met came out to tell us goodbye. When Rachel went to the staff meeting to ask about how to get our luggage to the twege, they thought she was leaving too. It was great having so many hugs and thank you comments about our visit. 

Joy, Rachel's counterpart, and me. 

Joy, Joe and the assistant tutilaire (can't remember her name).

Katherine and Innocent. 

The sadness of leaving Rachel started at that point. 

Twege took us to Kayenzi where we had to wait for more people to pile in. Road was not as bad as I thought it might be after the rains. 

We got almost half way - that is, almost to the paved road - when the twege started jumping and lurching forward. We were out of gas, yes, I said out of gas. I couldn't believe it. Someone got a gallon plastic jug from under a seat and handed it off to a moto who took off and came back in a few minutes with fuel. Then the driver took a laminated piece of paper out of the twege and used it for his funnel. You just can't make up stories like that!

I guess we got to Kayenzi around 1:00. Rachel wanted to go to a bagel place called J Lynn's for lunch so we did. We ordered way too much food. Chips and hummus, bagel sandwiches, and molasses cookies for dessert. We were stuffed. 

After lunch we went to the market to get the clothes we had had made. Rachel wanted a skirt, Katherine a shirt and a skirt, and me a shirt. I only have a picture of R and her skirt. 

It is too short for Kayenzi but she can wear it in Kigali. Cute!

Joe had gotten us rooms at a hotel called Step Town Motel, one popular with Europeans. We thought we had 2 rooms but when we got there the only thing available was a family room which was okay because they had 3 twins and 1 double plus a loveseat and coffee table. It worked fine for us. 

I really wanted to go to Hotel des Mille Collines (hotel in Hotel Rwanda) just to say I had been there. Now remember we had come from Kayenzi on the twege, been to the market, and were not wearing fine clothes. We get to the hotel and discover that the hotel was full of people from around the world who were attending the World Economic Forum on Africa. They were arriving in fancy cars and wearing black suits. I was in capris that were not exactly clean and a t-shirt. Oh well. We sat down near the outside bar and had drinks. 

From there we decided to walk to the Indian restaurant where we had eaten one other day. It was less than 1/2 mile. We get there and realize from all the fine cars and nice vans waiting with drivers in them that those same type folks from the Forum were eating there too. So, we ate anyway - the dirty folks from the village eating with the city and foreign folks. It was a little funny. 

Party for Health Center Staff

Tuesday, May 11

Rachel got up and walked to Kayenzi to buy meat for the party tonight. She wanted to get to the butcher early to make sure she could get enough meat - 7 kilos. The butcher asked R if she wanted the liver and tongue which she said yes. 

Bag with meat in it. 

She also bought "tree" (firewood) because that would be easier having to cook a lot of food. She had that delivered by bicycle. 

R said that for the first time ever walking from Kayenzi she praed for the sun to stay out. It is a hot walk but we definitely want the waters to go down so we can get to Kigali. 

Yesterday Chesie had gotten 24 beer and  24 Fanta (Orange, grape and Coke) for the party and had them delivered by bicycle. 

Joe and I washed the dishes from the dinner last night. Katherine cleaned and swept the house. It was all hands on deck. 

We took a break from working to have a tour of the Health Center which is 5 or more buildings. We were impressed how clean it was. They have administrators, insurance people, midwives, nurses, community health workers who do a lot of education, people who clean - lots of people who work there. 

Birthing room. Women in this culture do not cry out or make much noise during child birth. 

Look closely for the newborn face. 

Hospital room. There was only one woman in the hospital the day we toured. 

Chesie came around 1:00 or so. Then a little later a guy she hired to help cook arrived. They decided to cook behind Rachel's house. The man found some big rocks which would hold the pots and then built the fire to start the meat. He and Chesie looked like butchers cutting up the meat. 

Joe, R, K, and I went to the Heath Center to gather benches to bring back for folks to sit. I brought one. When I went back outside, Joe was walking without a bench and said that they sent him back because an old man shouldn't carry a bench. There were 4 or 5 Heath center people along with K and R carrying the 6 and 8 foot benches. 

Then they sat down and peeled 10-15 kilos of potatoes. They were very fast. There is something about these Rwandan potatoes that are so good!

The food cooked until about 5:20 which was perfect timing because folks were supposed to come at 5:30 - after work. 

Surprisingly most of them can right around 5:30. They seemed to be happy that Rachel had invited them over. She has not opened her house to people yet so this was important. The food was meat cooked with a few tomatoes, tomato paste, and onions and fries. It was intended to be a full meal as they would all go home and have dinner later in the evening. 

After we ate, there were speeches. All four of us had to say something. Christopher who speaks good English always translates and moves things along. He spoke about how people has walked by her fence and gate and had never come in, but how pleased they were to be in her home. 

We showed them where Louisiana is on the map. Showed them where Michigan is and talked about how big America is and that we can't travel everywhere in our country like they can. 

It was a very nice time. 

Busy Monday

During the night, we have monsoon like rain. Three or four times it rained harder than I have ever heard rain. I even got up a couple of times to check to see if rain was coming in. I wasn't scared but just couldn't believe the volume of rain. 

Rachel and Katherine headed off to Kayenzi for more food items for the party. Joe and I stayed home and washed dishes and fixed brunch - fried potatoes and eggs. 

When they got back, they said, "We have some really bad news." The assistant executive for the cell had stopped them to say that the country had major flooding last night. A bridge near Musanze was washed out and the bridge right near Kigali was over washed and not passable. Basically, there is no travel north or west of Kigali. That means that at this point, we cannot get to Kigali. Initial reports are that 49 people are dead from mudslides, 26 injuries, 442 houses destroyed. We will just have to take one day at a time. 

The Peace Corps texted all volunteers to make sure everyone is accounted for. Then they were placed on stand fast which means that they cannot leave their site. Some were stuck in Kigali, and the Peace Corps will be transporting them to their sites if possible. The PC is strategically placing PC vehicles closer to volunteers in case of medical emergencies. They are also contacting companies with helicopters in case they would be needed for medical emergency. Makes me feel good that they are on top of things. 

Some new children came to visit. One little girl had a stick with some round like a wheel on the bottom. R said it is a toy to push around. The little girl was very shy but so cute. 

The girl on the left in the pink shirt is our favorite. Her name is Brendina. She is so sweet. When she is there visiting, she likes to go outside and invite other children to come in too. In this picture, we have told the children that it was time to leave. They all look like they are very unhappy with us but Brendina continues to stand there with a smile on her face - almost as to say, "I invited them and they have to leave but I am staying." Wish I could fit her in my suitcase!

Afternoon was filled with peeling potatoes, cooking beef, slicing onions, carrots, etc. Rachel made a peanut sauce for veggies. We cleaned the house. 

Me sweeping. Rachel told me that to sweep correctly the "broom" should have been closer to the ground. 

Around 4:00 we started cooking rice on the Imbabura (charcoal stove) and fries on her gas stove. 

Chesie's mom and sister, Crenie, came over and were working in the yard so it looked better for the Health Center party. 

The neighborhood children came over. Yesterday Joe spent time counting with them. Today Rachel put them to work pulling weeds and counting as they worked - all the way to 160. She then had them wash their hands. 

We had told Chesie that we would eat at 6:00 which came and went with no one here. Chesie came by around 7:00 and said she was going to get her family. They came around 7:30 or so. There are 3 girls and 3 boys. We bought Tech, Grambling, and Saints t-shirts for them. They were all so excited. The oldest boy, Yeremiah, and Papa got ties. We bought igitenge (fabric) for the girls to share and one piece for Mama Chesie. Mama also received lace for the house. Katherine brought a purse for Chesie, Rachel gave Chesie her phone since we brought K's old iPhone. I brought a picture of Chesie and her grandmother and Rachel plus one of Chesie, Crenie and Mama Chesie. In Kigali, we bought frames for them. The joy of seeing their excitement was worth more than can be imagined. I had tears in my eyes watching them.  

Look at the excitement of Yosiah as his mother opens a gift. They were so excited to see others get a gift. Mama is opening Papa Chesie's gift since he could not get here from Kigali. 

It was an incredible party! The love they have for Rachel is so obvious and genuine. It makes me feel so much better about her being here knowing that there is a family right here in her village that loves her so much. ❤️❤️

Sunday Heathens

Sunday, May 8

We decided Saturday that we would not go to church but just recover from the long bus rides.

Rachel and I walked to Chesie's store for Rachel to have some tea. She likes to support Chesie as much as possible. Chesie doesn't have a lot in her store but R buys what she can from her. R had tea and 2 meat pies much like Natchitoches meat pies, and I had water and a dough ball.

It rained Sunday morning so we put out every container to catch water. In my mind it was "rainwater means we don't have to fetch water!" Gail Nelson saw my FB post with this picture and wrote "liquid gold," and she is right. 

Rachel, Katherine and I walked to Kayenzi to buy a few things since there was no food in the house (or at least no veggies). Since we had not had lunch, we walked beyond the main part of town to a bar that a relative of Chesie owns. There we were ushered into a little room with a little table and chairs. Rachel ordered 8 brochettes and 4 potatoes. Then they came, four were meat chunks on skewers like we have had but four were intestine parts on skewers. None of us could "stomach" the intestine ones. 

Walked back to the heart of town to buy petrol, veggies and lots of potatoes for both parties (20 kilograms). Because the potatoes were to heavy to carry, we hired a guy on a bicycle to carry them to R's house. 

There are bicycles everywhere. There are used as taxis. Women sit sideways on them, children ride, jerrycans filled with water are tied on them, crates of Coke  and Fanta bottles are carried. Joe says that besides women the bikes are the work horse of the culture. 

Long Bus Ride

Saturday, May 7

Rachel suggested we have a 7:00 breakfast so that we could leave early because our bus and twege rides would be long. Another great breakfast. 

Oranges, tree tomatoes (a fruit) and pineapple. 

Spanish omelette inside a Rwandan soft taco shell. 

Ishmael, our taxi driver, came at 8 to pick us up and take us to bus station. He was a good driver and did not overcharge. Some taxi drivers see white foreigners and jack up the price so Rachel has to argue. One driver wanted to charge us $10000 rwf for a ride that had just cost us 5000. His argument was that he had to come from a long way to pick us up. Rachel said, "Not my problem. You take 5000 or nothing." She can be tough with them when she feels they are taking advantage of her. 

Got the 9:00 bus to Musanze which is about 1 1/2-2 hours away. Stopped there but stayed on the same bus to go to Kigali which was another 2 hours. 

View of Kigali as we were coming down the mountain into the valley where the city is. 

It was around 1:00 when we got to Kigali so we continued our eating around the world by going to the Indian restaurant, Khana Khazana. R says it is highly recommended by Trip Advisor. We each ordered a different entree so we could share. Again, too much food. 

Then back to the bus station to catch twege to Kayenzi. People are selling all kinds of things by walking around the buses and tweges. Here is a sight caught outside our bus. 

Since they want to fill a twege before it leaves, they wanted to put us on one that was almost full. We resisted because we didn't want to be in the back or in the jumps seats. The driver or someone made some folks get out of the front seat so that Joe could sit there. K sat between him and driver. R and I got jump seats. Mine was really ok and I seemed to have more room. 

The dirt road portion of the road to Kayenzi seemed smoother this time. Thank goodness. 

For dinner Rachel cooked Akabenzi - pork, green peppers, onions, beets, tomatoes and tomato paste served over French fries. It was good. I have enjoyed eating the Rwandan food. We will try this at home. 

Being Lazy and Loving It

Friday, May 6

Being on vacation with nothing planned to do. Part of our being in Gisenyi was to give Rachel some vacation time. She has been in Rwanda for 11 months and hasn't taken any time away. 

The hotel provides breakfast so we eat at 8:00 then go back to our rooms to shower and slowly make our way into the day. Today we ate outside under a covered porch. 

It seems like all we do is decide where to eat. Rachel wants pizza. She says that Super 5, a restaurant, has the best pizza in Rwanda. She and some of her Peace Corps friends spent Christmas in Gisenyi so that is why she knows some places. We ordered 2 calzones and a pizza. As with almost every meal, too much food. 

From there we went to Serena Hotel which is a very expensive place that has a private beach. Had to go through a metal detector to get in the building. We went out to the beach and sat at a table on the grass and ordered beer. We watched some "tour boats" go by, people watched, and just talked. Rain chased us under cover, but it didn't last too long. 

We walked probably 2 km back to the hotel to hang out for a while. For dinner we went back to Califia. We got there around 6 and didn't get our food until almost 8. I really wanted the fish tacos that Joe had but they were out so I had the beef sandwich again. 

Because we are hosting a party for Chesie's family Monday night and a party for the Health Center staff, Joe and I suggested cutting this vacation a day short so we could get everything arranged. Tomorrow we leave for Rachel's. 

When we arrived at the hotel, we asked about having our "gorilla day" clothes washed because we got so dirty. They agreed to do them - 500rwf per piece. You have to give them more than 24 hours because the clothes have to dry outside just like at R's house. We have 8 items washed for $4000rwf ($5) which was worth every penny!

A Laid Back Day

Thursday, May 5

Cinco de Mayo Day and no Mexican food!

Breakfast at the hotel was pretty standard - fruit (fresh pineapple, passion fruit, tree tomato), toast (really just bread), Spanish omelette, and ginger tea. 

This hotel has nice hot showers so we enjoyed that!

Joe and I have 2 chairs, a little love seat, and a coffee table in our room so we all sat around until almost 11:00 doing nothing but talking. We don't usually make it past 9 or 9:30. 

The girls' room faced the back of the hotel. Katherine looked out the window to a little area behind the hotel only to see a man bring three chickens to kill by chopping off their heads. Then he proceeded to pluck the feathers. Yes, that was someone's lunch or dinner right there. 

Taxi to a coffee shop which is owned by two women from California. Rachel got iced coffee, K had a smoothie and Joe ordered black coffee. We sat and talked for more than an hour before deciding to order lunch. R had a salad, K had a chicken sandwich, Joe had fish tacos, and I had a beef and carmelized onion sandwich. Of course, we had fries. Fantastic food. 

The coffee shop is in an old colonial house. They grow a lot of their own vegetables. 

Called a taxi to drive us to the border of the Democratic Republic of Congo where I got out and had my picture made in front of the Congo sign. 

My grandfather was a missionary to the Belgian Congo in the late 1890s so at least seeing the DRC  is very important to me. The DRC is very unstable and not safe so venturing across the border was not wise. Rachel was saying that a friend of hers who has traveled extensively around the world said that Goma, the border town here, is extremely dangerous. 

Got back in the taxi and went to the public beach. We had thought about swimming but it was a little too cool for that. 

Looking across Lake Kivu. Lake Kivu is the smallest of the African Great Lakes sharing borders with Rwanda and the DRC. The land sticking out on the right is Goma. 

A 20 year old guy started talking to us as we were sitting by the lake. Rachel and Katherine got suspicious of him and his friend as I talked. They were afraid the guys would grab my little bag or my iPhone and take off so we ended the conversation and walked down the beach. 

Next we took a taxi to Tamtam, another public beach which had tables and chairs. Tour boats that take people out for a short ride were coming and going. Some folks had a paddle boat they rented to play around in. A waitress came by to get drink orders. Very relaxing place. 

In an effort to reduce the weight of my backpack, I didn't bring any cards along in this excursion. We all regretted that. Katherine pulled out her phone which has a game where you hold the phone so others can see it. They see the word or phrase they have to act out or somehow get you to guess. I am terrible at that game so they made me have to guess the children's version. It was great fun. 

There is a volcano near Gisenyi but in the DRC called Nyiragongo, part of the Virunga National Park. It has a 2km lava crater. There has been recent activity including a new vent that has broken through. There has been news that it will erupt in the near future. 

We were able to see the glow of the lava crater from where we were sitting. Rachel took a great picture on the good camera which is not on my iPhone to download. 

Had dinner at the little restaurant by the lake. Joe, R, and I had beef brochettes and K had chicken. Of course, fries were served. We didn't leave the beach until around 9:00.