I was reviewing my blog, thinking of things to say, and I noticed that on two occasions I said the genocide occurred 17 years ago. That is terribly wrong!!!!! It was 13 years ago (1994!). I clearly can't add, or have some fascination with the number 17. My apologies.
I will actually write a real post this week.
K
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
8 Aug 2007
Hey Everyone,
Sorry I haven't been writing! I've been petty busy at work and I haven't been doing anything too exciting on the weekends (besides laying near the pool and going to the bar of course ;). I've also been on and off sick, but I think that's just my body adjusting to the new atmosphere. I was suffering from either giardia or dysentary this week. At work we're doing a lot of preparation for the upcoming NIH-IAVI sponsored HIV vaccine trial that will be conducted at our site beginning in September. It's its an icredible amount of work, particularly on the paper side of things. I had my first audit last week. It went well, but my goodness it's intense! For those of you who are thinking "constant garnder", I do believe the regulations in developing countries are stricter than they are in the US (I can only speak for my organization!).
I may be going to Uganda sometime this month if I can get away, and I'll be sure to write and post some pictures if I do. I have some friends who are freelance journlists living there. They submit a lot of stuff to NPR. I may raft the Nile or just hang out in Kampala. Oh I've also just finished a full season of Hero's and Smallville. I love both! Ok, hope to hear from you all soon. By the way, I love your messages. It means so much to hear from you when I'm so far from home. Take care!
Kate
Sorry I haven't been writing! I've been petty busy at work and I haven't been doing anything too exciting on the weekends (besides laying near the pool and going to the bar of course ;). I've also been on and off sick, but I think that's just my body adjusting to the new atmosphere. I was suffering from either giardia or dysentary this week. At work we're doing a lot of preparation for the upcoming NIH-IAVI sponsored HIV vaccine trial that will be conducted at our site beginning in September. It's its an icredible amount of work, particularly on the paper side of things. I had my first audit last week. It went well, but my goodness it's intense! For those of you who are thinking "constant garnder", I do believe the regulations in developing countries are stricter than they are in the US (I can only speak for my organization!).
I may be going to Uganda sometime this month if I can get away, and I'll be sure to write and post some pictures if I do. I have some friends who are freelance journlists living there. They submit a lot of stuff to NPR. I may raft the Nile or just hang out in Kampala. Oh I've also just finished a full season of Hero's and Smallville. I love both! Ok, hope to hear from you all soon. By the way, I love your messages. It means so much to hear from you when I'm so far from home. Take care!
Kate
Sunday, July 8, 2007
July 8, 2007
Last weekend was incredible. I, along with two friends from work (Sabriya and Tyronza), went to the Democratic Republic of the Congo to climb Mt. Nyiragongo. Mt. Nyiragongo is a volcano that erupted in 2002 killing 46 people and destroying approximately 20% of Goma, the city at its base. It’s roughly 12,000 feet and remains one of the only active volcanoes in all of Africa.
I was convinced to go on short notice, which I think was a good thing. If I actually had time to think about what I was doing, I might not have gone…Ok, I still would have gone but I would have been a hell of a lot more scared than I was at the time. The trip was organized through a company called Jambo Safari. It’s a very small company. It’s run by a couple of guys from Uganda. I’m not even sure I would call it a company. Anyway, the guy who runs the whole thing is named Alex. He’s a very nice guy (albeit a bit aloof) who is basically trying to get the tourism industry in Congo up and running in order to improve the local economy (which is impoverished to the nth degree) while making a buck or two himself.
We left Kigali at about 7 in the morning, and made our way to Goma via minibus. Goma is east of Kigali and about three hours away. I suppose that the time really depends on how nuts your minibus driver is. Ours enjoyed honking at everything under the sun, and drove, I would say, with “a purpose”. We arrived to Goma at about 10:30 or so, making some stops in between. Alex and his assistant met us at the border with a land rover. In Goma, there are UN soldiers everywhere. I can’t really describe it, but the gut feeling you have in DRC is very different than that from Rwanda. Everything feels edgy and precarious. You cross the border and move from day to night. Eventually we arrived at the base of the mountain, where we met our crew; Richard (the guide), three porters, and a man with an AK47. While we are all “geared out” in our North Face and REI the porters and guides wore plastic sandals and only light clothing. They carried our tents and charcoal. We would overnight at the summit.
It was by far the hardest hike I have ever been on. I’ve heard it described as strenuous, but I think debilitating is a more accurate description. This first part of the walk is through dense rain forest. I’ve always wanted to walk through rain forest! It was incredible, although a little bit scary, because you never know what’s behind the plants or in the trees, etc… Once you break through the rain forest you begin the most painful part of the walk. The mountain is covered with lava rocks from the 2002 eruption. These rocks are very difficult to walk on. It’s basically like someone’s twisting your ankles...and then stabbing them. So after three hours of walking uphill on lava rocks, we reached a small post below the summit. We thought we were finished and felt very relieved to have made it, given it was just about to get dark. Much to our disgruntled surprise, however, we found that we still had an hour left of the hike. By the way, we only had two flashlights, one of which was dead. The last part of the hike was brutal. Slippery lava rocks, straight up hill. There was one moment where both Sabriya and I just about started to cry (I did cry on the way down!).
As awful as the 5 hour hike was, the summit was incredible. We arrived to the top just as night fell. My porter, Zach, called me to the edge of volcano…and there below was the most amazing thing I have ever seen. The center of a live active volcano! A bright bubbling lava lake! I honestly have never seen anything so brilliant, so magnificent, in my entire life. Suddenly, all the pain was worth it. The sounds were also amazing. It was almost as if there was a crashing ocean below. We spent the night 10 feet from the summit, freezing and petrified it might erupt.
The walk down was equally as terrible. I must have slipped about 30 times because my legs were shaking and I had almost no balance. It was good to finally make it to the bottom. We were greeted by some music and 20 Congolese children. Although it was hands down the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen, I don’t think I’d do it again. Definitely a once in a lifetime experience!
Besides the volcano, I’ve been keeping busy. I spent the 4th of July Holiday at a US Embassy retreat house on lake Muhaze. This lake is beautiful! I went with a bunch of people who work for the embassy and some US marines. I’ve been hanging with this group and my running friends. Everyone is really great. Kigali is finally starting to feel like home, I guess.
Work is also very busy, but as I’ve said before I’m starting to get a handle on things. I’m also working on turning my thesis into a publication. My French is getting better; still atrocious though. That’s all for now! It’s time to catch up on some work. My fun appears to be getting in the way ;)
I was convinced to go on short notice, which I think was a good thing. If I actually had time to think about what I was doing, I might not have gone…Ok, I still would have gone but I would have been a hell of a lot more scared than I was at the time. The trip was organized through a company called Jambo Safari. It’s a very small company. It’s run by a couple of guys from Uganda. I’m not even sure I would call it a company. Anyway, the guy who runs the whole thing is named Alex. He’s a very nice guy (albeit a bit aloof) who is basically trying to get the tourism industry in Congo up and running in order to improve the local economy (which is impoverished to the nth degree) while making a buck or two himself.
We left Kigali at about 7 in the morning, and made our way to Goma via minibus. Goma is east of Kigali and about three hours away. I suppose that the time really depends on how nuts your minibus driver is. Ours enjoyed honking at everything under the sun, and drove, I would say, with “a purpose”. We arrived to Goma at about 10:30 or so, making some stops in between. Alex and his assistant met us at the border with a land rover. In Goma, there are UN soldiers everywhere. I can’t really describe it, but the gut feeling you have in DRC is very different than that from Rwanda. Everything feels edgy and precarious. You cross the border and move from day to night. Eventually we arrived at the base of the mountain, where we met our crew; Richard (the guide), three porters, and a man with an AK47. While we are all “geared out” in our North Face and REI the porters and guides wore plastic sandals and only light clothing. They carried our tents and charcoal. We would overnight at the summit.
It was by far the hardest hike I have ever been on. I’ve heard it described as strenuous, but I think debilitating is a more accurate description. This first part of the walk is through dense rain forest. I’ve always wanted to walk through rain forest! It was incredible, although a little bit scary, because you never know what’s behind the plants or in the trees, etc… Once you break through the rain forest you begin the most painful part of the walk. The mountain is covered with lava rocks from the 2002 eruption. These rocks are very difficult to walk on. It’s basically like someone’s twisting your ankles...and then stabbing them. So after three hours of walking uphill on lava rocks, we reached a small post below the summit. We thought we were finished and felt very relieved to have made it, given it was just about to get dark. Much to our disgruntled surprise, however, we found that we still had an hour left of the hike. By the way, we only had two flashlights, one of which was dead. The last part of the hike was brutal. Slippery lava rocks, straight up hill. There was one moment where both Sabriya and I just about started to cry (I did cry on the way down!).
As awful as the 5 hour hike was, the summit was incredible. We arrived to the top just as night fell. My porter, Zach, called me to the edge of volcano…and there below was the most amazing thing I have ever seen. The center of a live active volcano! A bright bubbling lava lake! I honestly have never seen anything so brilliant, so magnificent, in my entire life. Suddenly, all the pain was worth it. The sounds were also amazing. It was almost as if there was a crashing ocean below. We spent the night 10 feet from the summit, freezing and petrified it might erupt.
The walk down was equally as terrible. I must have slipped about 30 times because my legs were shaking and I had almost no balance. It was good to finally make it to the bottom. We were greeted by some music and 20 Congolese children. Although it was hands down the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen, I don’t think I’d do it again. Definitely a once in a lifetime experience!
Besides the volcano, I’ve been keeping busy. I spent the 4th of July Holiday at a US Embassy retreat house on lake Muhaze. This lake is beautiful! I went with a bunch of people who work for the embassy and some US marines. I’ve been hanging with this group and my running friends. Everyone is really great. Kigali is finally starting to feel like home, I guess.
Work is also very busy, but as I’ve said before I’m starting to get a handle on things. I’m also working on turning my thesis into a publication. My French is getting better; still atrocious though. That’s all for now! It’s time to catch up on some work. My fun appears to be getting in the way ;)
Sunday, June 24, 2007
June 24, 2007
So this weekend was my first Rwandan Hash! The Hash is a run or walk (you choose) that is organized every week in or around Kigali city. Hash members include both expats and locals. Ages, sex, and backgrounds vary. Erica (another PSF summer student,) and I tagged along with Taylor this weekend. The route began at a small bar in downtown Kigali, circled though through town, up to the top of Mt. Kigali, and back down to the bar where we started. I was convinced to join the runners group. Luckily, I had a Rwandan running partner who was having just as much trouble making it up the mountain as I was. We walked at times and took several breaks. Despite the difficulty of the run, which was about 4 km up hill, it was the most incredible one I’ve ever been on. To get to the top of Mt. Kigali, you pass by many houses packed tightly in the hills. Children come to the side of their clay homes to see the “Muzungus” (white people) struggle up the mountain they climb every day…barefoot. They laughed and smiled at us, and sometimes joined in for the run/walk. The weather was beautiful. It was sunny, around 80 degrees, and the flowers were in bloom. Erica had said to me that it seemed as if we were in a movie. Neither one of us could believe we were living this moment. We passed through school yards, soccer games, and small shops. Near the top of the moment, we climbed through a small gorge (which was a little scary). The mountain is covered in small pebbles, so it makes it very difficult to keep balance. We moved very slowly, particularly on the way down. We certainly amused the locals. They laughed and smiled at our pathetically overt yet admittedly humorous clumsiness. We finally made it back to bar, where drinks and goat brochettes were waiting for us.
Finally, all of the hash members made it back to bar. It was after several drinks that Erica and I learned that we would be officially initiated into the Rwandan hash. I’ve never been initiated into anything like this before. All of the members formed a circle, and they began to sing the international hash song (the hash is run all over the world by the way). After the song had finished, Erica and I were called into the middle of the circle. We were handed a half of glass of beer. Following some questioning by the hash leaders, a song was sung. At the end of the song we chugged our glasses becoming official members of the Rwandan hash.
Following initiation, the hash members went to a restaurant in Nyamirambo (sp?) for fish. Before dinner was served our servers came with a water pitcher and basin for hand washing. Then the food arrived. We were served two full tilapia fish (head and all!) and some potatoes on a platter! We at the fish with our hands while sharing some beer, stories, and laughs. Following, dinner we washed our hands in the basin again. It was an excellent meal and unlike anything I’ve ever had before!
Finally, all of the hash members made it back to bar. It was after several drinks that Erica and I learned that we would be officially initiated into the Rwandan hash. I’ve never been initiated into anything like this before. All of the members formed a circle, and they began to sing the international hash song (the hash is run all over the world by the way). After the song had finished, Erica and I were called into the middle of the circle. We were handed a half of glass of beer. Following some questioning by the hash leaders, a song was sung. At the end of the song we chugged our glasses becoming official members of the Rwandan hash.
Following initiation, the hash members went to a restaurant in Nyamirambo (sp?) for fish. Before dinner was served our servers came with a water pitcher and basin for hand washing. Then the food arrived. We were served two full tilapia fish (head and all!) and some potatoes on a platter! We at the fish with our hands while sharing some beer, stories, and laughs. Following, dinner we washed our hands in the basin again. It was an excellent meal and unlike anything I’ve ever had before!
Thursday, June 21, 2007
June 18, 2007
Things in Kigali are going well. I’m finally starting to get into the flow of things with work. I’m learning a lot about the ins and outs of cohort and clinical trials studies. We’re preparing for a phase II vaccine trial that will begin in the fall. This is a great experience for a public health person! The people I work with are great, and everyone seems to get along just fine. My boss from the US is visiting the site this week, so things are a bit hectic/edgy, but other than that I seem to be keeping up ok.
I had a very nice weekend. I went out to eat, bourbon (again, I know) several small concerts/shows, and the Cadillac club (which is a straight up, disco light, you get the picture dance club). We had the boss over for dinner on Sunday. We made the most incredible homemade pizzas. You would be impressed with the number of items I’m learning how to cook here. I’m Emily’s protégé! The cooking is somewhat forced, as I can only afford fresh ingredients and I don’t have a microwave. I will no doubt impress you all when I return.
We’ve discussed the genocide a lot over the past week, and I’ve heard my US and Rwandan bosses’ first hand accounts of the atrocities that occurred here only 17 years prior. It’s horrifying to think that people were probably murdered in my house and that there are bodies buried in my back yard. There are bodies buried everywhere in Kigali.
I may do some traveling next weekend. There’s been taking of heading to the beaches in Burundi or to Uganda. Nothing is decided, but I’ll be sure to keep you posted on any new adventures. Please send emails and notes my way!
Also, please keep everyone who is involved in the Iraqi war in your thoughts and prayers. An old friend of mine was severely injured.
I had a very nice weekend. I went out to eat, bourbon (again, I know) several small concerts/shows, and the Cadillac club (which is a straight up, disco light, you get the picture dance club). We had the boss over for dinner on Sunday. We made the most incredible homemade pizzas. You would be impressed with the number of items I’m learning how to cook here. I’m Emily’s protégé! The cooking is somewhat forced, as I can only afford fresh ingredients and I don’t have a microwave. I will no doubt impress you all when I return.
We’ve discussed the genocide a lot over the past week, and I’ve heard my US and Rwandan bosses’ first hand accounts of the atrocities that occurred here only 17 years prior. It’s horrifying to think that people were probably murdered in my house and that there are bodies buried in my back yard. There are bodies buried everywhere in Kigali.
I may do some traveling next weekend. There’s been taking of heading to the beaches in Burundi or to Uganda. Nothing is decided, but I’ll be sure to keep you posted on any new adventures. Please send emails and notes my way!
Also, please keep everyone who is involved in the Iraqi war in your thoughts and prayers. An old friend of mine was severely injured.
Sunday, June 10, 2007
June 10, 2007
Hello Everyone! Greetings from Bourbon Coffee Shop in Kigali, Rwanda (again)! It has been a little over one week since I’ve settled into my new home and things are going well…for the most part. As this is Africa, one thing or another is breaking or doesn’t work or doesn’t something. The unexpected is what makes life so interesting… I guess. We haven’t had warm water for near five days now. Cold showers are becoming the norm. I suppose it’s not that bad after a good run. Last night half the electricity in the house died, and everything in the fridge is likely, at this point, covered in some slimy nasty mold. Sometimes that happens irregardless of a power outage. I swear, every time I stick a plastic bag in the fridge, three or four days later there is some kind of slim on it. Happy to report that I haven’t experienced any GI problems yet (knock on wood)! Anyway, I’m avoiding the whole fridge problem until later today. My housemates and I have contacted the general workers at the project site to come and help us solve the problem. Oh by the way, I live with four people – Taylor, Tyronza, Emily, and Lakshmi. Emily and Lakshmi are only summer students and will be leaving some time in August. The rest of us are in it for the long haul. Everyone get's along great. We cook dinner and eat together daily. The other several other interns and summer students staying at other project houses.
So last Sunday, after my first posting, I went to a Rwandan Catholic wedding with Taylor. It was really interesting. The bride was the daughter of one of the counselors at Project San Francisco (the project I work at). She looked beautiful! People came and left the ceremony at varying times. The bride’s mother arrived with only about 30 minutes until the ceremony’s end! I’ve surely found my place here (Lauren, you know what I mean). I don’t think I can ever be late! (I’m generally between 10 min and 2hrs late for everything!)
I began work on Monday. I’ll be helping to manage the main site laboratories here. However, before I can start my job, I need to rotate through all of the departments. This week I rotated through the Medical and Couples Voluntary Testing and Counseling (CVCT) departments. There were many firsts for me this week. I witnessed gyno exams, male and female general physical exams, and HIV pre and post test counseling. I saw one man receive his HIV results, which were positive. His wife was there with him as well, hence CVCT. She was negative. What a heartrending moment! I can’t imagine what it must be like to receive those results. Although he wasn’t surprised by his results, he expressed to us how very sad and scared he was feeling. I couldn’t understand his words (which were in Kinyrwanda), but his eyes said everything. If it weren’t for a terrible cold, I would have cried.
The facilities here are nice, but nothing like those in the US. It makes me wonder if we really need everything we have. People here seem to get along just fine. The work environment is great! People sing, chat, and just seem happy to be where they are. Again, quite different from back home… Rwandans are just so…well they’re just so happy. No other way to describe it. It’s amazing.
You’re probably wondering about the genocide. You can see its effects everywhere. Limbless individuals, dilapidated buildings, etc… There are memorial ceremonies and constant references to it in the one and only newspaper here – which is state run and in English (go figure). No one talks about it though, or at least they haven’t to me. I think people just want to move on from this tragedy. Sometimes I can’t believe I am living in a city where hundreds and thousands of people were slaughtered only 17 years ago. It’s almost unreal.
Well, I play soccer two nights a week at the Belgium private school. I’m one of the worst ones and only females there, but it’s still fun and great exercise. I run four days a week with Lakshmi and Emily. Oh yes, I begin private French lessons starting Tuesday for six hours a week. I’m hoping to be fluent by the time I leave.
Until I figure out how to post pictures in this blog, you can see some photos at my flickr site (http://www.flickr.com/photos/8584169@N05/). Hope all is well. Stay in touch. It’s never been so nice to get an email!
So last Sunday, after my first posting, I went to a Rwandan Catholic wedding with Taylor. It was really interesting. The bride was the daughter of one of the counselors at Project San Francisco (the project I work at). She looked beautiful! People came and left the ceremony at varying times. The bride’s mother arrived with only about 30 minutes until the ceremony’s end! I’ve surely found my place here (Lauren, you know what I mean). I don’t think I can ever be late! (I’m generally between 10 min and 2hrs late for everything!)
I began work on Monday. I’ll be helping to manage the main site laboratories here. However, before I can start my job, I need to rotate through all of the departments. This week I rotated through the Medical and Couples Voluntary Testing and Counseling (CVCT) departments. There were many firsts for me this week. I witnessed gyno exams, male and female general physical exams, and HIV pre and post test counseling. I saw one man receive his HIV results, which were positive. His wife was there with him as well, hence CVCT. She was negative. What a heartrending moment! I can’t imagine what it must be like to receive those results. Although he wasn’t surprised by his results, he expressed to us how very sad and scared he was feeling. I couldn’t understand his words (which were in Kinyrwanda), but his eyes said everything. If it weren’t for a terrible cold, I would have cried.
The facilities here are nice, but nothing like those in the US. It makes me wonder if we really need everything we have. People here seem to get along just fine. The work environment is great! People sing, chat, and just seem happy to be where they are. Again, quite different from back home… Rwandans are just so…well they’re just so happy. No other way to describe it. It’s amazing.
You’re probably wondering about the genocide. You can see its effects everywhere. Limbless individuals, dilapidated buildings, etc… There are memorial ceremonies and constant references to it in the one and only newspaper here – which is state run and in English (go figure). No one talks about it though, or at least they haven’t to me. I think people just want to move on from this tragedy. Sometimes I can’t believe I am living in a city where hundreds and thousands of people were slaughtered only 17 years ago. It’s almost unreal.
Well, I play soccer two nights a week at the Belgium private school. I’m one of the worst ones and only females there, but it’s still fun and great exercise. I run four days a week with Lakshmi and Emily. Oh yes, I begin private French lessons starting Tuesday for six hours a week. I’m hoping to be fluent by the time I leave.
Until I figure out how to post pictures in this blog, you can see some photos at my flickr site (http://www.flickr.com/photos/8584169@N05/). Hope all is well. Stay in touch. It’s never been so nice to get an email!
Sunday, June 3, 2007
Sunday June 3, 2007
I arrived safe to Kigali yesterday morning. The flights were really nice. Everyone I sat next to was great. I had a very long conversation with two African men I was sitting next to on my flight to Nairobi. We chatted the entire night (over a couple glasses of wine) about their new lives in America, Africa, racism, movies, politics, and music. The Nairobi airport was very crowded and not nearly as nice as the Amsterdam airport, which by the way, is incredible. I met a young US military man who works at the US embassy in Kigali at the airport. He was very friendly and gave me some nice advice on living in Rwanda. The flight to Kigali was very short - only 45 minutes or so - and on a much smaller plane. As we passed into Rwanda, I could see the beautiful hills and the agricultural landscape that everyone speaks of who has been here. It really is a magnificant country. We landed in Kigali International airport, which is very tiny and not very modern, about 8:30 am saturday morning. As it took 3 flights to get here, one of which was cancelled and rescheduled, I was not suprised that one of my bags did not show up. My new teva sandals were stolen from the bag that did arrive.
Taylor, my friend, new housemate, and coworker, picked me up from the airport. Our study has a driver, who took Taylor to the airport and took us back to the house. I got a nice view of Kigali during our drive from the airport. The city is just beautiful! It's very poor compared to Cape Town and especially the US, but much better than some other African cities, such as Maputo. The city is very clean and very green! Beautiful trees and flowers are everywhere. Our house is located next door to the study site, so I will never be too far from my work - which may or may not be a good thing. The house is very simple, but nice. It's of similar quality to the flat I was living in while I was abroad in Cape Town. There's two other interns and 2 visiting students in the house now. It's very large. I have my own bedroom, that has a double bed and not much else. We made burgers, fries, and salad last night. The fries were cut from potatos - nothing bagged and frozen! Packaged food is very expensive here. A bottle of salad dressing or box of cereal is about $10 USD. I imagine I will eat a lot of pasta, bread, fruits and vegetables, as these are relatively inexpensive items. Oh yes, we went to go see a national soccer game yesterday. We saw Rwanda play Equatorial Guinea. We won! 2-0. We didn't know it at the time, but Paul Kagame, Rwanda's president, was there. We were likely sitting very near to him. It explains the soliders with machine guns/AK47's and riot gear, metal detectors, and tough security. It was really fun, although I was very tired from the flight. I slept a good twelve hours last night.
Today, I'm at the new and more recently famous Bourbon Coffee Shop in downtown Kigali. I am writing to you from here via my laptop and wireless internet! This place is amazing and so is the view from the outdoor veranda that I'm sitting on. The internet connection is surprisingly good, although Taylor informs me that our internet at the project site is not nearly as good. The coffee in Rwanda is tremendous. It may be some of the best I've ever had. By the way, I took a moto downtown- which is basically a taxi motor bike! It was a little scary, but much cheaper than any other mode of transport.
I start work tomorrow. I'll have two weeks of rotation, before I start my real job in the lab.
That's all for now! Take care.
Taylor, my friend, new housemate, and coworker, picked me up from the airport. Our study has a driver, who took Taylor to the airport and took us back to the house. I got a nice view of Kigali during our drive from the airport. The city is just beautiful! It's very poor compared to Cape Town and especially the US, but much better than some other African cities, such as Maputo. The city is very clean and very green! Beautiful trees and flowers are everywhere. Our house is located next door to the study site, so I will never be too far from my work - which may or may not be a good thing. The house is very simple, but nice. It's of similar quality to the flat I was living in while I was abroad in Cape Town. There's two other interns and 2 visiting students in the house now. It's very large. I have my own bedroom, that has a double bed and not much else. We made burgers, fries, and salad last night. The fries were cut from potatos - nothing bagged and frozen! Packaged food is very expensive here. A bottle of salad dressing or box of cereal is about $10 USD. I imagine I will eat a lot of pasta, bread, fruits and vegetables, as these are relatively inexpensive items. Oh yes, we went to go see a national soccer game yesterday. We saw Rwanda play Equatorial Guinea. We won! 2-0. We didn't know it at the time, but Paul Kagame, Rwanda's president, was there. We were likely sitting very near to him. It explains the soliders with machine guns/AK47's and riot gear, metal detectors, and tough security. It was really fun, although I was very tired from the flight. I slept a good twelve hours last night.
Today, I'm at the new and more recently famous Bourbon Coffee Shop in downtown Kigali. I am writing to you from here via my laptop and wireless internet! This place is amazing and so is the view from the outdoor veranda that I'm sitting on. The internet connection is surprisingly good, although Taylor informs me that our internet at the project site is not nearly as good. The coffee in Rwanda is tremendous. It may be some of the best I've ever had. By the way, I took a moto downtown- which is basically a taxi motor bike! It was a little scary, but much cheaper than any other mode of transport.
I start work tomorrow. I'll have two weeks of rotation, before I start my real job in the lab.
That's all for now! Take care.
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