Lake Kivu

Ah... Gisenyi.

Another amazing memory from ten years ago. Every time I think I've had the best day, I have another! Lake Kivu is about an hour from Ruhengeri where we live. The roads are much better than they were ten years ago... No potholes now... Though a lot more traffic. Sadly, walking along the main roads there is a strong smell of petrol fumes now that I didn't notice last time I was here.

Anyway, back to Gisenyi. Is there a better feeling than swimming in a lake, with birds of prey flapping overhead, fighting with the crows (which look like giant magpies)? Perhaps only when a black and white kingfisher flies over and perches on a stick in the water so you can swim up to it!

We went to Gisenyi overnight to make the most of it - part of the plan these two weeks is for Pam to relax and have a proper break... And lying on sunloungers by the lake seems to be doing the trick! We stayed overnight in a Presbyterian guest house... £5 per night. It even came with a mosquito net over the bed! Though it unfortunately didn't stop one little blighter from whining in my ear all night (and I'm not talking about Pam!) It didn't bite me because I had anti - mosi spray on, so it munched on Pam instead.

There was a long power cut when we arrived and the water was off too, so I suggested we play the game that Tracy and I invented for playing during power cuts. It really is an inspired game. It's called 'dying farmyard animal impressions' - one person does the impression and the other guesses what the animal is and what it died of! Pam declined to join in. Though she induced hysterics when she was singing along with her headphones in, later, and it took me about 15 mins to manage to say 'I thought you didn't want to play my game...' I genuinely don't know if it's the affect of Rwanda, or the affect of Pam or simply being on holiday, but I have not laughed till I cried for a loooong time!

The landscape definitely helps! Serena hotel charge a lot for you to sit on their beach, and use their loungers and swim in the lake, but it was worth 10,000 francs to spend the day there.

We visited Justus' aunt before we left Gisenyi and had a chat with Justus translating...with me throwing in the odd word of kinyarwanda every now and again which always seems to cause amusement!

I'll leave you with this kite...

Moto!

Yesterday I had the most exhilarating morning! I walked from the house by myself taking photos for about 40 mins. Some photos are of a covert nature but others I asked permission - this lady offered me her baby to photograph

And I asked the lady behind these two children as she was shelling an interesting looking vegetable .. However, she thought I wanted her children so lined them up for me. Nobody smiles for photos here...even in their wedding days! They smiled when I gave them 100 francs, the equivalent of 10p!

I also found some little nooks and crannies that I love the look of but daren't go closer so took from the roadside. I was concerned that my pocket of loose change would not be enough to offer!

 

I continued walking towards the volcanoes, not entirely sure that I knew my way back... Then an idea struck me. I knew we lived near Regina Pacis Primary school, so all I had to do was find one of these... 

... Get on the back and moto my way home in about 5 mins for the equivalent of 30p! I actually gave him 50p... I was completely exhilarated by the ride! 

In the time I'd been on my adventure Pam had sorted out a jewellery drawer and was still in her nightie...

Pastor Francis

This morning we went to church - not the cathedral that we used to frequent when I was here before, which was full of bishops and ceremony, but a smaller church that Pastor Francis has established called Eden Church.  A quick recap - 12 years ago Francis was a teacher at Sonrise school where Tracy was volunteering for 6 months.  He was beginning to lose his sight and approached Tracy for help.  He needed an operation to replace both corneas or he would go blind, so without a second thought Tracy offered to raise the money for this operation.  We did concerts and the band I was in at the time did a fundraising gig, and we raised £1000 to send over for Francis to have the operation.  This was so long ago, and seemed such a small thing, that I had really forgotten all about it, but I found out this morning just how much it has changed Francis' life and how grateful he and his wife to us for saving his sight.  I was truly overwhelmed by how such a small act from the other side of the world, has literally changed his life.

We went to church and Pastor Francis was preaching.  The congregation is small but there is an English service at 8am...we got there after 8.30am but it hadn't started. The sound system was soooo loud, my right ear is still hurting and we were invited to sit on the front row!

He called me up to the front, and thanked me in front of everyone - I wish Tracy had been there, as it was really her venutre - I didn't even know him at the time - though I have come to know him well since.  Until today I had no idea what he was going through, how he had not told his wife his was going blind, how he feared he would lose all his work, how much the operation has meant to him, and how he talks about it in his sermons regularly. 

Then he invited me to talk to the congregation and I sang amazing grace, met his wife for the first time, and she sang with me.

He spoke a lot about his journey to regain his sight, and prayed for Tracy, Pam and me, and I was in tears by the end, but hiding it like a good Rwandan!!!  I was just so moved that such a small act, such a long time ago, is still experienced as life-changing.  In some ways I don't really feel that I deserved this mass of recognition as it was Tracy's project that I supported, and I had almost forgotten about it.  I was glad I could at least sing to contribute something to the moment so I wasn't just standing at the front being applauded!  I think this means I'm singing again on Easter Sunday...but I have a week to train Pam up so she can join me at the front!!!!  I know one song in Kinyarwanda - that will have to do!

We went to Francis' house in the evening and they cooked a wonderful Rwandan meal for us - matoki (savoury banana), groundnut sauce, meat in sauce, rice and pasta and avocado.  Once again I wished Tracy was with us when I was quizzed on my opinions on Brexit and Donald Trump!!!  They find his Mexican wall a great source of amusement, and Brexit is a topic they wanted to try to understand... to be honest I told them I was as confused by the concept as they were... it makes no sense to Africans.  It makes no sense to me!

The evening ended with more prayer.  I think I have prayed more today than I have in the last year... it's exhausting stuff!  One of Francis' children was asked to contribute and she was thankful that "Emma is so funny, and has good laugher...."  !!!  Clearly my serious conversations on Brexit had not made a lasting impression....  There was a reason they called me "Munezero" (joy) when I was here before.

Ruhengeri

Ruhengeri... or Musanze as it is now called has changed so much in the last ten years.  I barely recognise the main street - so many more buildings, shops, people, motos, traffic...its almost like I remember Kigali (the capital) being 10 years ago.  I dread to think how busy Kigali now is, no doubt I'll find out at some point!  The market is the only thing that has stayed the same... I tried to take some covert photos yesterday when Justus and I went shopping.  There was a power cut so it was completely dark inside the middle of the market, but I got some photos on the periphery.  I just love the vibrant colour of the fruit and vegetables, not to mentiont the taste.  Avocados and tomatoes are so good here.  And I have found I can eat the little, slightly bigger than finger-length bananas here which is brilliant! I find English bananas difficult to digest, but these ones are part of my staple diet!

Pam's house

This is Pam's house from the front.  After breakfast I was too excited to wait for everyone to get dressed and ready, so I went for a wander around the local area.  Theoretically I aimed to walk in a square, and thus not get lost.  Those of you who know me well will be suspecting you know the end of this story... but wait!  

Here are some photos of my little trip out:

You can see it was still cloudy, but the sun is coming and going.  The rainy season started literally a few days before I arrived, so we are dodging the rain somewhat, but I can tell you that whenever it is sunny I am outside!!



I found what I thought was Tubakunde House...luckily I didn't hang around too long trying to look in the window, as I found out later I had misjudged it by one, and was looking at the house next door!!  I am planning to go back soon and find Kazu - he has been the guard ever since 2007 when I was first here, and althought he spoke no English beyond "Hello Emma" we somehow found plenty of ways to communicate, and he taught me lots of Kinyarwandan by pointing at things and repeating the word slowly for me!

OK, ok... the end of the story. I did get lost.  I was just thinking that it would have been sensible to have noted the name of the school opposite Pam's house, and possibly even her address in case of emergency, but I had done neither of those things.  I was about to get my phone out and attempt to explain to Pam where I was (those of you who have followed this story from the beginning will know that she is deaf, and really needs to be able to lip read to understand easily...so a phone description from me telling her I didn't know where I was would not have been the most straight-forward thing!!!)  Just as I was about to dial, I found myself back at the house!  Haha...the magic of Africa.

A veranda in Rwanda

I was so incredibly excited to wake up on Saturday morning... More so even than Christmas morning! It was early - about 6am England time but I couldn't stay in bed any longer, I wanted to see Rwanda!! Of course it was dark when I got off the plane, so I saw very little out of the car window, and although we sat on the veranda for half an hour when we got home, it was pitch black but for the lights from our phones as Pam and I caught up on the last ten years of change in Ruhengeri.

The question I suppose you're asking is why did we sit on the veranda in the pitch black being nibbled by mosquitoes at 11.30pm when I was up at 3am. And it's a good question. We arrived home to find that Pam's house girl had locked the door with a random padlock and hidden the key as requested under a wooden plank. Much searching under said concrete block heralded no key, the house girl wasn't answering her phone so Justus (Pam's Rwandan 'son') and Gregory, the guard, went off in the car to find where she lived...she had moved recently so this was also not simple! Anyway, they woke her up to discover that she had buried the key in some soil, under said wooden plank. You would never know that the house had a double locked gates, 4 high walls round it and a guard... I think under the doormat might have worked just as well...

So... From the veranda in Rwanda at night, to the veranda in Rwanda by day... I have been looking forward to having breakfast in the sun on his veranda since Pam told me about it 3 years ago...and it didn't disappoint! (though with it being the rainy season there wasn't much sun.) I'm very excited by the array of birds including kites which just mosey about with the frequency of English pigeons.  If you're interested, these are the kind of things http://wildlifewoods.net/blog/2017/3/17/birds-of-kigali   (the variable sunbird on this list is a thing of absolute beauty... I thought it was a hummingbird as it was drinking nectar but apparently you only get hummingbirds in the Americas.  My plan is to camp out in the garden every morning until they get used to me and come close!

And in the front garden, I found these...

                

Travelling alone

One of the nice things about travelling alone are the people you meet; those who might want a chat because they are also travelling alone. A few minutes, or a few hours spent with people you know you will most likely never see again can seem pointless, but on the other hand it is about connecting with humanity and doing it gives you a sense of belonging to a race of friendly supportive people, something I think we can lose sight of in the current political climate.

From the woman with a husband and two young children on her way to Thailand, who envied my travelling alone, to the 17 year old travelling alone for the first time to America, who I befriended so that when she left her mother she had someone to talk to, to the Ugandan lady I sat next to on the plane who now lives in London and is visiting her family for the first time in 3 years. I only found out their names as we parted, but it doesn't matter, the stories we shared and the connections we made were valuable even if we never see each other again. Three very different lives all continuing unaware of the others.

I find myself wondering if they got where they were going. Particularly the Ugandan who travelled for 10 hours yesterday when the plane turned round half way and she ended up back in Brussels as they were denied entrance into the airspace poverty the Sudan. Today we are going round this airspace so the journey is a little longer than predicted... But nothing compared to what she went through yesterday! I am writing this in the air, and I don't want to jinx it, but so far my journey has been way more easy than hers!