Ebola

A couple months ago, there was an outbreak of Ebola in Uganda, so even today there are still several signs about the disease posted at the border. I hope I don't make anyone anxious or worried by mentioning this; the outbreak was in a different region quite far from where I was and it is now over. I just thought the image of a handwritten, magic marker sign for something so serious was worth sharing. (In case you can't read the sign, I've typed what it says below.)

TRANSMISSION:

- is transmitted by direct contact with the blood, secretions, organs or bodily fluids of infection persons
- contact with the body of the deceased person
- contact with clothes, greetings
*incubation period: 2 to 21 days

SYMPTOMS:

- fever
- intense weakness
- muscle pain
- headache
- sore throat
- vomiting, diarrhoea, rash
- internal and external bleeding

Border crossing

I'm not sure there are words, pictures or video that can describe the border between Rwanda and Uganda. It's probably one of the craziest places I’ve ever been, even though it may look relatively calm in this picture.

The stretch of road between the two countries is small and narrow, flanked on both sides by fields, but it's full of people. There are men selling packaged cookies, lollipops, chewing gum and bottles of water from cardboard boxes they carry on their heads. There are commercial trucks lined up in rows as if they've been there for years, waiting for approval and permission to pass through the border. There are money changers seeking dollars, francs and shillings, who each offer "the best price" for whichever currency they are selling. There are men who meet you as soon as you exit your bus on one side of the border and immediately begin trying to convince you to take their bus/taxi/moto/car on the other side of the border. There are young boys and women begging for money on the side of the road. There are men with plastic grocery bags who run up beside the huge petroleum tankers, quickly remove the cap from the tank, and quickly fill their bag with as much petroleum as possible in a few seconds. It's almost a world of its own, and it's amazing to watch.

Ugandan scaffolding

While hiking near Lake Bunyoni, I saw yet another amazing example of construction technique. I'm amazed to think that this scaffolding could actually hold any one person, let alone a construction crew with bricks and tools.

Hiking to the caves

On Saturday, we decided to leave the island and hike to some nearby caves. We paddled a dugout canoe to the mainland and from there took off with a guide from Nature’s Prime. The beginning of the hike was a little tough as we began the ascent toward the mountain ridge across from the island. The altitude just makes everything harder than it seems it should be. However, once we made it to the top, the view of the lake was absolutely breathtaking. From our little island, I hadn't realized how big the lake really was and how many different islands there were.

As we continued the hike along the ridge of the hills, wend were joined by a young boy. It wasn’t long before I realized that our guide didn’t actually know where the caves were, and this boy was the one leading us. I also realized that he probably didn’t know how much the altitude of the Ugandan mountains can affect those of us who aren't used to it. Several times during the hike, we heard comments like "I believe this is the first time you have done a long walk" or "I believe you do not have mountains in your country." As frustrating as that may have been, I didn't have any additional energy to argue, so I continued to hike. Our new "guide" led us down tiny paths on the opposite side of the mountain, then back up toward the ridge, then down again, and finally he pointed up toward some rocks, where I assumed there were also caves. As we began our final ascent toward the caves, we were met by almost a dozen smiling children. They were thrilled to see us and joined us in our hike toward the caves. I couldn’t help but laugh as the children ran up the mountain beside us while I struggled to climb up the tiny path. Once we arrived, I think I was more excited to be around the children than to see the cave as they laughed and played and jumped all around.
After a little time at the caves, we decided to return to the island, only this time, we took a dirt road that led back to the ridge and then ran along the ridge line and saved us trekking up and down the backside of the mountain. All in all, the entire round trip was about ten miles of beautiful hills, valleys, forests, cropland and villages around lake.

Nature's Prime Island

On Thursday, less than twenty-four hours after Hudson’s arrival in Rwanda, he and I took off to explore Lake Bunyoni, the “place of many little birds” just across the border in Uganda. We took a bus from Kigali to the border, then a taxi to a landing on the edge of the lake, and then a small boat across to Nature’s Prime Island.
Nature’s Prime is a relatively small island, but it has several cabins and safari tents in which visitors can stay, a restaurant that serves three delicious meals a day, and a very friendly and welcoming staff. It’s an incredibly relaxing place.

We stayed in a small cabin that was more like a treehouse than a cabin. Although one side of it was at the same level as the ground, it was built on a hill so that the other side was in the trees and, like most places on the island, looked out over the lake.

I think one of the most surprising parts of the cabin was the shower. Although it looks pretty basic, it actually had hot water, and it also had an incredible view.

The main lodge building on the island was a large, open (but covered) structure with a clear view of the lake. There were several tables where meals were served, as well as a large fire pit surrounded by couches that was a perfect place to spend the evenings.

Nature's Prime was the perfect place to spend a relaxing weekend. There wasn't much to do other than canoe around the lake in the island's dugout canoes, go for a hike on the mainland, sit by the water or the fire, read and relax; I think it was exactly the vacation from work I'd been looking for.

Tulips and callalilies

I have never had a green thumb. Actually, whatever is the complete opposite of “green thumb” is more of what I have. I mean, I’ve even managed to kill a cactus before. Yet for some reason, I decided to spend the afternoon working in my garden. I started by planting almost three dozen tulip bulbs that I bought during a recent layover in Amsterdam. Afterwards, I was so motivated that I decided to transplant several callalilies that were hidden in my backyard to the front yard. Nothing’s turned brown or shriveled yet, so I’m hoping I might have a chance of having flowers in a few more weeks!

A new home

In mid-December, the project purchased a new house for expatriate staff, and since we don’t have very many expats right now, it has now become my house. Though I am now settled and very happy with my new home, it has been quite a process to get to this point.

When I first saw the house in December, I was appalled. It definitely matched some of the worst houses I’ve worked to rehabilitate in the U.S. The previous owner had not taken good care of it, so it was filthy, and I do mean the mice / cockroaches / holes-in-walls / completely-overgrown-yard / broken-everything kind of filthy. Plus it had a really strange floor plan, without a kitchen but with a number of tiny, seemingly-useless rooms. After that first visit, I was ready to refuse to move and find my own housing somewhere else, but since I knew the project had plans to do some work on the house, I decided to wait one week.

Almost immediately, workers came and began replacing the broken windows and screens, installing a hot water heater and building a kitchen sink. The other immediate steps – hanging mirrors in the bathrooms and picking our material for curtains – surprised me. With so much major work to be done, mirrors and curtains were about the last thing on my list, but for some reason it was decided that they needed to be done, so I went along with it. Soon after, I selected paint colors, and in a day the house was painted, though the colors aren’t really the ones I picked at all, but I’m not complaining. A refrigerator and stove were added soon thereafter, and a trip to the furniture market brought beds and sofas and tables and cabinets. The other big shopping trip was to T2000, the closest thing Kigali has to a Wal-Mart. I think I made everyone’s day there as I loaded up basket after basket with sheets, towels, blankets, mosquito nets, kitchen supplies, etc. I’m confident I was the biggest spender of the week, if not the month.

Although it sounds like all of this could have been accomplished in just a couple days, it has taken right at a month. Certainly there are still a few things that need to be done – cockroaches still appear frequently; I’m waiting on some more cabinets from the market; the washing machine out back spews water everywhere – but the house is definitely livable, and now that I’ve moved in and gotten settled, it’s really starting to feel like home. I’ll add some pictures soon.

Happy new year

It is one full week into 2008, and I am still being met with greetings of “happy new year” or “bonne année” or “umwaka mweza”, not only by friends I haven’t seen since before the holidays, but by coworkers, taxi drivers, waiters and just about everyone I meet. It’s as though “happy new year” has replaced “hello” as a conversation opener. It strikes me as strange that a phrase that I associate with one night of celebration would be used for a week thereafter. Perhaps I also notice it because, having spent new year’s eve standing in line for the MARTA in Atlanta and then returned to a place where January may be the hottest month of the year, I had almost forgotten that it was indeed a new year. Thankfully I have everyone in Kigali to remind me. Though I do chuckle a little bit at each new year’s wish, I really like the idea of remembering a new year and the fresh start that it brings. It’s encouraging and nice to have a reminder that extends the celebration beyond a single night and a single day.

What about Africa?

This afternoon I decided to spend a little time reading about everything that’s going on in the world. I had been reading about the elections on CNN.com, so I decided I might as well check up on the rest of the world on the same website. (CNN isn’t my usual source for news, and you'll soon see why I prefer the BBC.) Since I do live in Africa, it seemed logical that I start by reading up on the news here. So I went to CNN.com and looked for a link to news on Africa. Sure I saw links to stories about the election aftermath in Kenya, but that wasn’t exactly what I was looking for, so I kept searching. I found Asia and Europe listed clearly at the top of the page (even before the U.S.), but the closest heading or link I could find anywhere on the page for Africa was one labeled World. I clicked but I still didn’t see Africa. So I scrolled down the page, past Asia and Europe (shouldn’t these have their own pages since they were listed separately on the main webpage?), then past the Middle East, then past the Americas, and there, at the very bottom of the page, I found Africa. I clicked on the link, and to say I was disappointed with the news page I found would be an understatement. (You’ll understand my point if you go to CNN.com and compare the Africa page to the U.S. page, or even the Asia or Europe pages.) On the Africa page, there was a list of ten stories, all related to either the aftermath of the Kenyan elections, Libya’s role on the U.N. Security Council or Al Qaeda in Algeria. It’s funny how each of those topics seems to reflect an American interest. Or really, it’s not funny. It’s not funny at all. What does it say about the American media and the American people when, on the website of one of the nation’s leading news providers, it’s easy to find stories about the latest sex tape scandal or Britney Spears but nearly impossible to find articles about the African continent, especially those not directly related to U.S. interests? Is that how little we care about this continent?

A day in Amsterdam

On my way back to Rwanda, I had a fourteen hour layover in Amsterdam, during which I decided to explore the city. I have to confess, all I knew of Amsterdam before this trip was that it was home to the Anne Frank house and "coffee houses" that sell marijuana, so I was curious to see what else there was to the city. After arriving at the airport around 7:20 a.m., I found my way through passport control and customs, stored my carry-on luggage in a locker and caught the 8:01 a.m. train to Central Station. With a twenty-minute train ride, I was hoping to be able to see a little of the area surrounding Amsterdam, but because the Netherlands is so far north, it was still dark for the entire ride, so instead I continued working on the crossword puzzle I'd started in Atlanta. Once at Central Station, armed with a small travel guide, one hundred euros and my warmest winter coat, scarf and mittens, I began my adventure.

I had decided to start my self-led tour at the Anne Frank house, which my book told me I could reach by taking one of the trams from the Central Station. I checked this plan with the information desk, where I was informed that the house was only ten minutes away on foot. Since there were still forty minutes before the house opened for tourists, I decided to walk. On the way, I passed through the Dam, which is the center of Amsterdam where the original dam was built across the Amstel river in the 13th century. On the square, I saw the Nieuwe Kerk (new church), which is beautiful on the outside, but unfortunately now used as a museum inside.
Next to the Nieuwe Kerk is the Koninklijk Paleis (Royal Palace), which is the official home of the reigning king or queen of the Netherlands.
As I continued my walk toward the Anne Frank house, I passed over several of Amsterdam's canals, all of which are lined with beautiful canal houses and old warehouses that have been converted into apartments.
Many of the canals were also lined with houseboats.
Soon I was at the house where Anne Frank and her family hid for two years during World War II. (I'll write more about this later.) From the Anne Frank house, I continued walking and passed by a house built by the Vanderbilts (yes, the American Vanderbilts of the Biltmore Estate). In this picture, I believe it's the third from the house.
Soon I arrived at Amsterdam's flower market, which was incredible
After spending some time in the flower market, I decided to take a canal cruise to tour the city.
Afterwards, I continued toward the Museumplein area, which is home to several museums. The largest and perhaps most impressive is the Rijksmuseum.
Nearby is the Van Gogh museum, which is home to the largest collection of Van Gogh's works. There are over 200 paintings, 580 drawings and 700 letters.
After the museum, I was exhausted, so I headed back to Central Station to take the train back to the airport. In front of the station, though, I couldn't help but laugh at the parking garage made especially for bicycles!