For those of you who have not yet booked into Costa Rica for Christmas, please consider the following, as noted in today’s edition of the New Times:
“At the first sight, Jambo Beach Muhazi, one is immediately attracted by its new grass-thatched huts, different from the previous look. Under the new management, Jambo Investment Group, renovations have been made giving the place a new ambiance. Despite the fact that the beach misses the lake side sand and is also very small, people enjoying the remaining option of boat riding and sitting by the side of the lake as they share a bottle or two, a buffet, or some sort of snacks. Nothing is as exciting as taking off in one of the two available boats, or seeing the crane bird that has attracted foreigners to take its picture”.
So, let me get this straight. There’s two boats, a crane bird, and a partridge in a pear tree, right?
Before I get into the day, which was amazing, let me start with my late afternoon. Today we worked through lunch so we could get Sifa, my peer, back to her family at a decent hour - the resulting and unexpected benefit for me was my early arrival back to my luxurious home (how will I ever cope with Windex again!). On the way here, we had passed through a different part of the center of town (ie. one block away from where I was the other day) and it was mobbed with people. Don’t forget, we’re just below the equator, so even though it is light out well into the evening at home, the sun sets (pitch black!) at 6:30 at night. So, at 4:30, the city took on the certain orange glow, with the light changing rapidly minute by minute. I quickly changed and walked back into town, so happy to see a bit more in the daylight hours.
When I reached the main commercial area, I was in heaven. Even I, who as you know, can blather on and on, was at a loss for words. There were so many people out, just hanging, strolling, shopping - sharply dressed (now I know where the men get those great pointy shoes!), eating, meeting, greeting... it was, to be quite corny, a literal kaleidoscope! I cannot possibly describe it ... suffice it to say, it was balmy, sunny, relaxed, and easy. Although it was completely full of life, it was not noisy, polluted, or ‘scary’ - on the contrary, I felt secure and really enjoyed myself, photographing everything I could to savor the flavor of the day (eat your heart out Baskin Robbins).
After walking for a couple of hours, I headed to an indoor ‘mall’ which contained an Arab run supermarket - actually, more like Target Kigali. Very cool, with every product organized in an orderly fashion - German toothpaste, Kenyan yogurt, candies from Uganda, and lots of stuff from Dubai. As my lone bag is stuffed with work clothes and a small wardrobe for Paris, I limited myself to purchases which were flat (there were none). There is not ONE t-shirt to be purchased in Rwanda that actually says Rwanda! No bumper stickers! No national flags - frustrating, as my usual purchases are unavailable ... sorry, kids!
Back to square one ... an early wakeup call, down for a huge breakfast at 6:15 (I’m addicted to the roast tomatoes with cheese - yup, 6:15 in the morning - don’t ask!). Off to the workout room overlooking the pool, which incidentally puts any ‘centre de remise en forme’ I’ve seen anywhere else to shame! Malheureusement, the South African gentleman on the treadmill next to me was humming loudly, almost chanting whilst walking, throwing off my rhythm and obstructing my audible association with BBC playing on the tv. It’s always something ... never mind about global warming! Let’s sweat the small stuff!
I may have lead you astray yesterday. I’m not so sure they say ER-wanda here ... I’m beginning to think it’s actually ‘RANDA’ ... you say potato, I say potato, etc... We had a very productive meeting with the architects yet again, they have mysteriously switched back to setting the conference room with bottled water and not the short-lived mango nectar I had briefly grown accustomed to. A good choice I think, despite the article I read in the New York Times the other day detailing the efforts of Alice Waters is spearheading - upscale and socially conscious restaurants should only be serving tapwater. Bottled water uses additional resources (plastics, transportation to deliver the water, energy, etc.) and she has encouraged others to follow suit. As restauranteurs produce more profitable income from the sale of this beverage than any other item on their menu (so much for seared foie gras!), they have decided to let her lead the way. Go ask Alice.
I digress. As we were preparing to leave for our working lunch, Kiki (the grand patron) informed us that a retaining wall in Kigali had tumbled over, burying alive 20 people. It was directly across the street from the Indian restaurant that we were going to, so P-Diddy, our driver, immediately rushed us to the scene of the accident. Horrible, as they were using bulldozers to dig out the survivors or deceased. As it turns out, 3 people were killed, not 20, but obviously tragic nonetheless.
We had a great Indian lunch, in a faux Indian temple with Rwandans dressed up in faux Indian clothes (does this mean the chicken was actually tofu?). Yummy, and we got a lot accomplished, before speeding off to meet the contractor for our project. Their anacronym is FAIR - let’s hope say. They seemed happy to receive us, even though the scale of our very large project is minute compared to the tower blocks they are constructing. At any rate, they were gracious and set us up in yet another conference room with the obligatory beverages (I had loaded up on Indian chai masala at lunch so I had reached my quota). They pledged their assistance and commitment to this venture which is helping to build their country (although everyone is actually from Congo, Uganda, or Kenya). After a tour of the concrete mixing facility (conjuring up nasty images from the episode of Six Feet Under when someone meets their untimely demise in a similarly scaled mixer), we hit the road for a grand tour of some of the contractor’s other projects. I rode shotgun in the right-driver-sided BMW ... no wonder it feels like home! We walked through the sites, and Fred, the contractor, was a real pleasure. He and Kiki actually had traveled to Israel a while back to visit Yemin Orde, the model for this project ... they loved it there! I am looking forwarding to my own visit to the village next month when we are in Herzliya.
When I returned to the hotel after my grand afternoon stroll, I was totally invigorated! I did some more work, then Alain (aka Will Smith) called and said he’d drop by for a drink. I was just going down for a light bite on the terrace, so I enjoyed my samosas (delicious!) and beer while reading the paper. Alain joined me and we had a very lengthy discussion about Rwanda’s reconstruction and recovery ... how the country has banded together, but every April, when the rains begin, it is difficult for people to forget the horrors of the genocide. We discussed the great economic opportunities that exist here, in the ‘virgin economy’ (sorry Richard Branson, hope I’m not infringing on the trademark!). The Rwandans are constantly being encouraged by the press and the government to continue to elevate the standards of their work ethic, and to strengthen their resolve to help educate, make women equal partners, wipe out malaria, fight poverty and ignorance, etc.. There is even a model for the three child household - the first three are free (school, medical care, etc.), the you pay for the services of the children born after... Jane, we could actually live here after all!
And speaking of Jane, we had a little phone conference, and she’s off to Paris tomorrow. I, on the other hand, am traveling to Butare to see the countryside, visit the Kings House, and see the museum. It is actually the architects that are taking me on my excursion - when we return to Kigali in the late afternoon, I have been informed that I will take a shower (okay, I guess I will then) and we will all go out for a farewell dinner (with Alain and Sifa too, others joining I’m sure). Too soon to leave, not enough time, but overall, extremely fulfilling and fascinating!
Kisses from Kigali,
Harley
“At the first sight, Jambo Beach Muhazi, one is immediately attracted by its new grass-thatched huts, different from the previous look. Under the new management, Jambo Investment Group, renovations have been made giving the place a new ambiance. Despite the fact that the beach misses the lake side sand and is also very small, people enjoying the remaining option of boat riding and sitting by the side of the lake as they share a bottle or two, a buffet, or some sort of snacks. Nothing is as exciting as taking off in one of the two available boats, or seeing the crane bird that has attracted foreigners to take its picture”.
So, let me get this straight. There’s two boats, a crane bird, and a partridge in a pear tree, right?
Before I get into the day, which was amazing, let me start with my late afternoon. Today we worked through lunch so we could get Sifa, my peer, back to her family at a decent hour - the resulting and unexpected benefit for me was my early arrival back to my luxurious home (how will I ever cope with Windex again!). On the way here, we had passed through a different part of the center of town (ie. one block away from where I was the other day) and it was mobbed with people. Don’t forget, we’re just below the equator, so even though it is light out well into the evening at home, the sun sets (pitch black!) at 6:30 at night. So, at 4:30, the city took on the certain orange glow, with the light changing rapidly minute by minute. I quickly changed and walked back into town, so happy to see a bit more in the daylight hours.
When I reached the main commercial area, I was in heaven. Even I, who as you know, can blather on and on, was at a loss for words. There were so many people out, just hanging, strolling, shopping - sharply dressed (now I know where the men get those great pointy shoes!), eating, meeting, greeting... it was, to be quite corny, a literal kaleidoscope! I cannot possibly describe it ... suffice it to say, it was balmy, sunny, relaxed, and easy. Although it was completely full of life, it was not noisy, polluted, or ‘scary’ - on the contrary, I felt secure and really enjoyed myself, photographing everything I could to savor the flavor of the day (eat your heart out Baskin Robbins).
After walking for a couple of hours, I headed to an indoor ‘mall’ which contained an Arab run supermarket - actually, more like Target Kigali. Very cool, with every product organized in an orderly fashion - German toothpaste, Kenyan yogurt, candies from Uganda, and lots of stuff from Dubai. As my lone bag is stuffed with work clothes and a small wardrobe for Paris, I limited myself to purchases which were flat (there were none). There is not ONE t-shirt to be purchased in Rwanda that actually says Rwanda! No bumper stickers! No national flags - frustrating, as my usual purchases are unavailable ... sorry, kids!
Back to square one ... an early wakeup call, down for a huge breakfast at 6:15 (I’m addicted to the roast tomatoes with cheese - yup, 6:15 in the morning - don’t ask!). Off to the workout room overlooking the pool, which incidentally puts any ‘centre de remise en forme’ I’ve seen anywhere else to shame! Malheureusement, the South African gentleman on the treadmill next to me was humming loudly, almost chanting whilst walking, throwing off my rhythm and obstructing my audible association with BBC playing on the tv. It’s always something ... never mind about global warming! Let’s sweat the small stuff!
I may have lead you astray yesterday. I’m not so sure they say ER-wanda here ... I’m beginning to think it’s actually ‘RANDA’ ... you say potato, I say potato, etc... We had a very productive meeting with the architects yet again, they have mysteriously switched back to setting the conference room with bottled water and not the short-lived mango nectar I had briefly grown accustomed to. A good choice I think, despite the article I read in the New York Times the other day detailing the efforts of Alice Waters is spearheading - upscale and socially conscious restaurants should only be serving tapwater. Bottled water uses additional resources (plastics, transportation to deliver the water, energy, etc.) and she has encouraged others to follow suit. As restauranteurs produce more profitable income from the sale of this beverage than any other item on their menu (so much for seared foie gras!), they have decided to let her lead the way. Go ask Alice.
I digress. As we were preparing to leave for our working lunch, Kiki (the grand patron) informed us that a retaining wall in Kigali had tumbled over, burying alive 20 people. It was directly across the street from the Indian restaurant that we were going to, so P-Diddy, our driver, immediately rushed us to the scene of the accident. Horrible, as they were using bulldozers to dig out the survivors or deceased. As it turns out, 3 people were killed, not 20, but obviously tragic nonetheless.
We had a great Indian lunch, in a faux Indian temple with Rwandans dressed up in faux Indian clothes (does this mean the chicken was actually tofu?). Yummy, and we got a lot accomplished, before speeding off to meet the contractor for our project. Their anacronym is FAIR - let’s hope say. They seemed happy to receive us, even though the scale of our very large project is minute compared to the tower blocks they are constructing. At any rate, they were gracious and set us up in yet another conference room with the obligatory beverages (I had loaded up on Indian chai masala at lunch so I had reached my quota). They pledged their assistance and commitment to this venture which is helping to build their country (although everyone is actually from Congo, Uganda, or Kenya). After a tour of the concrete mixing facility (conjuring up nasty images from the episode of Six Feet Under when someone meets their untimely demise in a similarly scaled mixer), we hit the road for a grand tour of some of the contractor’s other projects. I rode shotgun in the right-driver-sided BMW ... no wonder it feels like home! We walked through the sites, and Fred, the contractor, was a real pleasure. He and Kiki actually had traveled to Israel a while back to visit Yemin Orde, the model for this project ... they loved it there! I am looking forwarding to my own visit to the village next month when we are in Herzliya.
When I returned to the hotel after my grand afternoon stroll, I was totally invigorated! I did some more work, then Alain (aka Will Smith) called and said he’d drop by for a drink. I was just going down for a light bite on the terrace, so I enjoyed my samosas (delicious!) and beer while reading the paper. Alain joined me and we had a very lengthy discussion about Rwanda’s reconstruction and recovery ... how the country has banded together, but every April, when the rains begin, it is difficult for people to forget the horrors of the genocide. We discussed the great economic opportunities that exist here, in the ‘virgin economy’ (sorry Richard Branson, hope I’m not infringing on the trademark!). The Rwandans are constantly being encouraged by the press and the government to continue to elevate the standards of their work ethic, and to strengthen their resolve to help educate, make women equal partners, wipe out malaria, fight poverty and ignorance, etc.. There is even a model for the three child household - the first three are free (school, medical care, etc.), the you pay for the services of the children born after... Jane, we could actually live here after all!
And speaking of Jane, we had a little phone conference, and she’s off to Paris tomorrow. I, on the other hand, am traveling to Butare to see the countryside, visit the Kings House, and see the museum. It is actually the architects that are taking me on my excursion - when we return to Kigali in the late afternoon, I have been informed that I will take a shower (okay, I guess I will then) and we will all go out for a farewell dinner (with Alain and Sifa too, others joining I’m sure). Too soon to leave, not enough time, but overall, extremely fulfilling and fascinating!
Kisses from Kigali,
Harley
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