Exploring Kigali (Post #4)

 My first day in Kigali was bright and beautiful.      

Linda met me and after a delicious, fresh breakfast (the food was all amazing!) 

And up the hill we went!  The Land of a Thousand Hills is a beautiful metaphor, but also quite literal.  It seems as though everywhere you walk in Rwanda, you are going uphill.  But then, the views are always gorgeous.  

I saw all sorts of life and progress going on.  

Beautiful flowering trees on the streets make the city look tropical.    

"Wisdom Driving School"

 People learn to drive, even though there are less cars in Rwanda than the US by far.

We walked around a commercial area and Linda took me to a place called Free Square.  On this Sunday morning, there were very few people out, so we had the quiet city to ourselves.  Later in my trip, I would see that is not typical.  But on this day, there was just one bunch of teenagers rollerblading in the square.

                     

This picture really shows the current story of Rwanda.  In the foreground, you see a small shack, probably a shop of some kind pieced together and getting by.  In the background, a huge high rise is going up.  All across the city, small older houses are being bought up, torn down, and replaced by big, modern buildings.  The progress is exciting and palpable, but I already wonder if the culture will be eroded.  Will people with less fortune be pushed out of the way to make another westernized city?  I hope if I return one day I will recognize some of the Rwanda I came to know on this trip.

But in another sense, you can see the opportunity pumping into this place. The young generation plows forth.

Next we stopped by a Forex Bureau to exchange some currency to Rwandan francs.  I had been warned that I needed to bring fairly new US bills in order to exchange them, but I underestimated how new.  

The gentlemen in the bureau drove a very hard bargain, no nonsense, and they would not accept any bills earlier than 2017!  "Look at his head!" they argued comparing the different faces of Ben Franklin on my $100 bills.  "One is big, one is not big!  Different!"  Well, it was hard to argue with that.  So I exchanged what I could and walked out with a stack of 5000RWF notes right out of a train robbery movie!  Those are the equivalent of about a five dollar bill, and that is the only denomination they gave me, so I had a huge stack cash in my pocket now.  

For some reason, even though the exchange is pretty straight forward, I had a really hard time with the cash.  Having to count out so many bills each time for everything was so foreign to my brain that has recently gotten used to having very little cash around.  Also, I was told that my credit and debit cards would work well in Rwanda.  Except, most of the stores don't have a machine, or the network works so infrequently that cards are really difficult.  So cash became a daily issue, but we managed.  The country is starting to push mobile money, which they call Momo, but you need to set that up in advance.  I expect that will be the easiest way to pay for everything in just a few months.  Economic change is sweeping in very quickly.

Before I left, many people asked me what the stores in Rwanda would be like.  I must say, in Kigali, they are small, but you can get most everything you need.  We went into one grocery store and it had everything from dry goods, to deli meat, to pots and pans!  One stop shopping.

        

Of course, there was a metal detector and bag check in the front of the store and a guy checking receipts 5 feet from the cash register at the exit, but otherwise, it looked like a small town America supermarket.

After this, I had to run back to the hotel and meet Manzi for some meetings.  We took a cab over to the Convention Center, which is absolutely gorgeous!

As part of the meeting, we had a performance from a theater group working on Post Genocide Reconciliation through theater and art.  It was very moving and creative, and we got to sit on the balcony of the Convention Center overlooking the city as they performed.  

The weather was hot, but beautiful.  I felt so humbled to be among these brilliant people working on solving the world's pressing issues. 

After the meeting, Manzi had another engagement, so I decided to walk back to the hotel.  I passed the fountain outside the Convention Center where people go to take pictures with their families.  I saw a bride and groom taking wedding photos, and a bunch of other people picnicking and relaxing on a Sunday afternoon.  There was great pride in this centrally located meeting place.

From there, it was a few miles downhill, past a large park, winding around across a small valley to my hotel.  People kept telling me how safe this city is, and it must be because there is an armed guard of some sort on every corner.  So I decided to enjoy the air.  As I went, two people came up to me and tried to sell me their art.  At first I said no, but then we started talking about the day and America and they were really interested in what I was doing.  My teenage self kept saying, "This is exactly what your parents warned you about," but they were non threatening and one had very good English, so I walked with them and talked about life.  

It turns out, they both live in a small village outside Kigali and walk into the city every day with the hopes of selling a few of their pictures so they can feed their families.  They seemed so young, but one already had children to feed.  Their craft was making traditional scenes on paper out of banana leaves.  The leaves turn different colors, so they turn them into art.  Later, I saw many such pieces in craft shops, but these guys were trying so hard to make a living.  They walked all the way to the hotel with me, showing me the best way and teaching me about the birds and things we passed.  I am so happy I opened my day to these strangers.  There was nothing scary or swindling in nature about them. In fact, when we got to the hotel driveway, they waited very patiently for me in the shade as I went up to my room, got them some cash and water, and came back down to purchase one of their pictures.  In thanks, they gave me a free card for my children.  It amazed me how respectful they were toward me and how much they wanted to learn about my life.  This is something I would never have done on American streets, but the mix of need and security is so different here in Rwanda.  It is still difficult to articulate, but I will keep learning.  

    

After a rest and some band aids on my rubbed toes (I didn't wear the right shoes on my hot weather walk home!) I went to the lobby to get some dinner.  I was surprised to see people pouring in from the streets for some big event.  I didn't quite understand, but the bartender said it was some kind of movie awards or something.  People were dressed to the nines, taking pictures and filing in one entourage at a time.  Quite a scene, so I ordered some food to go back to my room.  But as I waited, I listened to these two dj's pumping up the crowd.  What a party!

I left the commotion and went upstairs to a quiet dinner of fresh salad and locally grown avocado.  Then to bed to prep for a long day of meetings tomorrow.