Life is good

My first two days at work were busy, so it’s been nice to have a weekend so quickly to relax and finish settling in. On Friday night I went to dinner with three of my expat coworkers and a couple of their friends. We had a delicious Indian dinner and then stopped by a bar near our houses for a beer. Both the restaurant and bar were full of expats, but it was nice to get out. (Note: expat = expatriate = foreign, but in-country long term)

Yesterday, I slept late to get rid of the last of my jet lag and woke up to a beautiful day. I spent most of it sitting on my front porch - reading, doing some work, listening to the children sing and play nearby and just enjoying the beautiful day. It was so nice! Then, in the afternoon, I wandered down to town and visited the grocery store. There are about four different groceries within walking distance, but I just checked out the one closest to my house. It wasn't bad - it had all the basics, plus "fresh" bread and a decent meat selection. It had everything that I needed since I was just shopping for breakfasts and snacks; if I needed to do any more shopping, though, it might be a little more difficult. Still, I love where I'm living; it's such a convenient location to be so close to the city centre.

Today was great too. I met Taylor, one of my coworkers, at the CVCT site at Gatsata this morning, and we went hiking for most of the day. We wandered up and down several of the nearby hills (everything here is a hill) with no particular destination or plan. We passed through fields and villages and markets and rural areas. Sometimes we’d be walking on a dirt road that was wide enough for vehicles; sometimes we were on paths barely wide enough for a single person; and sometimes we were making our own path through irrigation fields. It was really, really nice. And everyone wanted to speak to us as we walked. People would come running out of their houses shouting "mzungu!", which is what the Rwandans call white people. Children would follow us and walk with us too, so excited to practice their English (which usually consisted of "Hello", "How are you?" and "I am fine") or their French (which was about as extensive as their English - but I was thankful for that because my French is just as limited). I saw a lot more of Kigali, and the views from the tops of the hills were nice enough that I was even able to start getting my bearings on where everything is in the city. (see pictures below!) I can’t wait to get out and see not only more of the city, but more of the whole country. Too bad I have to go to work tomorrow!

But life is good. I think I’m really going to enjoy being here.