Life in Kigali

I have been in Rwanda for two months this weekend. When I first arrived, I did so with a dead camera battery and no recharger. So, I never posted pictures of my apartment or surroundings. So, I have taken some just now and posted below so that you can see that I am living quite well in my 4-bedroom/ 2 bath apartment. I feel very lucky to be living on the 6th floor, which is the top floor of the building. First, my views are excellent in all directions, and second, I don't have to listen to anyone above me.

This is the view of the back of the apartment building from my balcony.

My back balcony. On the weekend, I often sit out here and read and have tea in the morning.

The living room, all decked out with pleather furniture. I think the housekeeper must be an interior designer in training, because the furniture is always arranged differently after he has been in. It is sometimes very odd.

My lovely white-on-white-on white kitchen. It reminds me a lot of the kitchen on A Street before the renovation.

The spacious dining room and the front balcony in the foreground.

So, after being here for 2 months, I feel like I have finally hit my stride. For the first month, I was at a loss for what to cook because I couldn't get to the markets to buy produce (and you can buy very little at the grocery) and the meat and poultry offerings were very limited. However, now Scola, the woman who comes and does the laundry, shops at the markets for produce for me. She also cleans everything and preps it - this is something that takes a lot of work because all produce has to be washed twice in a bleach/water solution and then washed a third time in boiled water. So, when I come home from work, I have fresh fruit, fresh herbs, and all kinds of veggies to make salads and dinner. I love Scola and I want to bring her home with me!

I also found out just recently that a woman who works in the embassy will deliver fresh chickens. This is not cheap, but, since it is impossible to get a quality whole chicken at the grocery here, I was willing to pay almost anything. So, last weekend, I bought two chickens from her and she delivered them to my door as promised. Two chickens is a lot for one person, so I hacked up one into pieces and froze them. The second, I cut in half, froze one half, and with the other, made the most divine roasted chicken with herbed butter. The butchering was quite an adventure, since the birds were much more "intact" than what you get from Purdue back in the US. I will leave it at that. Fortunately, I had my trusty Wustof knife that I brought from home - otherwise, this task would have been impossible. Here's a look at my little birds, before and after.

Yesterday, I went for a run for the first time since I got to Rwanda. This attracted a good bit of attention since (1) you usually do not see people running on the streets here and (2) you never see white girls with blonde hair running on the street here. I think this was the first exercise I have gotten (other than the 20 minute walk each way to work) since the infamous death march up Mt. Bisoke. I have been feeling really restless not being to get out and go bike riding or take long walks. I only did about 2 1/2 miles but I think it was a good start. I could of course stay at work late and go the gym but I think what I am yearning for is more time outside in the sunshine. We'll have to see if this lasts into the week since it will mean having to run before work (it is dark when I leave work).

Friday I was able to get Tostitos at the commissary, which made me very happy since you can't really get any kind of snack food here. You know, I am not much of a snacker back home, but some chips and guacamole is good every once in a while! I am still dying for a proper cracker for my cheese but I should be able to make due until I get to Brussels.

All in all, I feel like I have settled in to life here FINALLY. It is definitely more challenging than living in Washington (which I expected) for many reasons, but it is still a relatively easy place to live and work once you know how things work. There are some things I think I might never really warm up to, like milk in a bag and the lack of garbage bags (remember that whole countrywide ban on plastic bags?) that makes your kitchen trash can always smell horrible, but otherwise, it is a lovely place.