Work, Sleep, Food

Several people have messaged to ask for details about the following:

Work
There are a couple of American businessmen that I met a while ago who have funded aid projects and invested in businesses in Rwanda. They are very close friends to a Rwandan Bishop named John Rucyahana, who I also had the good fortune to meet several months ago. Essentially, I work in between them. I am here to follow up with the American business interests, but I must go through the Bishop to really get anything done. The American men have entrusted the administration of their different projects to the Bishop's network and resources. Primarily, these projects are: the establishment of a construction supply company in Musanze, Rwanda; the construction of a church and school; and the establishment of 24 savings banks (not building establishments like we think of them, but cooperatives between neighbors) all over rural Rwanda. So on any given day I am mostly hopping between these things, with a few surprises mixed in. Some days this means going around to meet with people, other days surveying progress at different sites, some days even hammering and hauling supplies where they might be short-handed. I rarely know what I'm doing next more than a few hours ahead of time. But these projects are also in far-flung villages, alongside local people. It's been a lot of fun.

Sleep
Most of the time, I make it back to Musanze to sleep. I have my own room here. The Bishop has a guest house for visitors. There are 10 rooms, a courtyard, and even a swimming pool. The picture from this post is a view from home - down the hill outside. My room is simple - bed, desk, bathroom. But electricity and hot water are fairly reliable. The guest house also sits behind a larger hotel that also belongs to the Bishop. It is very nice. In Rwanda, he is a very important man. He is often hosting international aid groups, or foreign diplomats or executives. So I'm close to the hotel, and there are plenty of interesting people in-and-out to meet and talk with. On the rare occasion I don't make it back here in the evening, I have stayed out with people in houses. In the villages most people live in simple concrete block or mud brick houses with a metal roof. If you are picturing mud huts with thatched roof, that's not so much the case in Rwanda. I've slept on cots or pallets, depending on what's available. So far the most distinctive night was in a 'hotel' in Kigali, two weekends ago. The hotel I had called gave away the room I reserved, but told me they had an 'extra'. I told them I'd look at it for no more than half-price, with breakfast included, and they agreed. So I followed the porter to the roof, over a sheet-metal walkway the crossed a narrow alley, to a single shack on the roof of the building behind. There was a couch, bed and toilet, so I stayed. I slept with my knife under my pillow. But, 6 nights out of the week I make it back to my own room.

Food
I usually take breakfast early, and am off to work by 7. I get breakfast for free at the hotel. Eggs, fruit, juice & coffee every morning, always fresh. I eat breakfast better here than in the U.S. The main meal here is lunch, and people usually take later, around 2 (ish - time is a very vague concept here; more on that in another post). So people eat a lot at this one meal. There isn't much variety - always some combination of soup, potato, rice, beans, meat - but there's a lot of it. Essentially they rotate between about six different meals, and the meat and potato/vegetable are all that change. They load lunch with carbs to last you the rest of the day. I usually take lunch at the hotel, most days of the week. Other days there are lunch meetings elsewhere or I am too far out to return. I rarely eat dinner - usually just coffee and bread called chipati to settle my hunger. I'm losing weight. I miss food at home. But Rwanda does trump America with fruit and coffee - both are incredible. There are also some very upscale places to eat around here, because so many visitors come through the province. But many of them are still expensive by American standard. There is a bar called Volcano about a half-mile away, and I go there a couple of nights each week. It is as nice as any bar at home, and it's the hub for American/Canadian aid workers who are here (about 12-15 full time; everyone knows everyone).

Hope this helps to answer some questions. I try to take a couple of days every two weeks to take off and go around on my own. That always proves to bring the best adventures.

In about 3-4 weeks I'll leave Rwanda to travel on my own a little bit. I don't know how or where yet. Getting into August, I'll be working in Kenya for a safari camp called Muthaiga (www.muthaigasafaricamp.com), taking care of guests and tracking animals. That will go through October, then I'll travel around a little more.

Happy 4th of July. I miss you all. Peace & Love.