from an article in today's new times titled 'men equally should replenish wardbrobes':
tweed is a very heavy wool fabric. today, tweed suits are popular in rwanda, because of a permanent chill in the air (did i miss something?). the average wearer of tweed (again, did i miss something?) is more mature if you get the meaning. stay away from tweed, especially if you are packing a few extra pounds (or packing heat). tweed is not a larger man's friend.
okay, you look at linen and you think of hanging out at the beach (rwanda is landlocked) or clubbing. and you probably enjoy that leisurely walk with your pants rolled up a touch. stop dreaming! as a fabric goes, linen wrinkles quickly, stains, and doesn't wear well. it is not acceptable for a suit, unless you really are one of the lucky few that actually do live on a beach in a tropical place like mombasa.
just being here is a trip!
oh, to be back, roaming the streets of kigali. the slight smell of charcoal in the air, the milles collines (thousand hills), the gentle people (except for those watching the manchester united/liverpool football match - oh, the screaming!) ... all a sight for sore eyes!
a bright sunny day and breakfast with my colleague sifa - she disdains all offers of food, whilst i eat for two - rwandan cheeses, fresh baked scones, whole yogurt, honey from 'upcountry', and delicious local roast french press coffee - a great way to start the day! we head off with alain on this glorious morning, thinking that this is a whole lot better than the wintry weather of the northeast ... birds chirping, 78º and sunny!
we loop around kigali, through the minority muslim quarter, along a road built by qaddafi, to the bourgeois neighborhood with it's own mcmansions, and onto a residential area filled with bougainvillea and villas peaking through stone walls. very civilized. we enjoy a lunch on the terrace of soleluna, an italian eatery with a large, wood burning oven that turns out the most tasty thin crust pizzas ... divine!
back to the kigali international airport to pick up manlio, our jdc associate, who is flying in from addis ababa, ethiopia to participate in this week's efforts. we bump into kiki, le grand patron of the architecture firm here - fetching a friend in for his sister's wedding - and stumble upon p-diddy lookalike (his driver, who almost plunged us off of a number of hillsides during my last visit, careening around corners at hundreds of kilometers per hour - yikes!).
we collect manlio (roman), no worse for the wear, a long flight with a stop in entebbe (en-ticing!). we arrive back at the hotel mid-afternoon, and quickly convene on the terrace for tea and talks. we are joined thereafter by erik, our newest addition, an expat from bruxelles who will assist with technical details. so at the table we are canadian, american, italian, belgian, rwandan - our own UN.
we finish up in anticipation of tomorrow's long day - visiting the site for the project in rwamagana with the entire extended construction team - should be exciting (especially as i'm not driving with the aforementioned p-diddy). can't wait to see the progress! manlio and i have a bite of dinner later on, swapping travel stories and anecdotes about our sephardic wives (his is egyptian), and i stumble upstairs ... almost bedtime, hoping i can get to sleep before 2 am tonight (a goal which has eluded me to date on this journey!).
i will be wearing neither tweed or linen tomorrow!
tweed is a very heavy wool fabric. today, tweed suits are popular in rwanda, because of a permanent chill in the air (did i miss something?). the average wearer of tweed (again, did i miss something?) is more mature if you get the meaning. stay away from tweed, especially if you are packing a few extra pounds (or packing heat). tweed is not a larger man's friend.
okay, you look at linen and you think of hanging out at the beach (rwanda is landlocked) or clubbing. and you probably enjoy that leisurely walk with your pants rolled up a touch. stop dreaming! as a fabric goes, linen wrinkles quickly, stains, and doesn't wear well. it is not acceptable for a suit, unless you really are one of the lucky few that actually do live on a beach in a tropical place like mombasa.
just being here is a trip!
oh, to be back, roaming the streets of kigali. the slight smell of charcoal in the air, the milles collines (thousand hills), the gentle people (except for those watching the manchester united/liverpool football match - oh, the screaming!) ... all a sight for sore eyes!
a bright sunny day and breakfast with my colleague sifa - she disdains all offers of food, whilst i eat for two - rwandan cheeses, fresh baked scones, whole yogurt, honey from 'upcountry', and delicious local roast french press coffee - a great way to start the day! we head off with alain on this glorious morning, thinking that this is a whole lot better than the wintry weather of the northeast ... birds chirping, 78º and sunny!
we loop around kigali, through the minority muslim quarter, along a road built by qaddafi, to the bourgeois neighborhood with it's own mcmansions, and onto a residential area filled with bougainvillea and villas peaking through stone walls. very civilized. we enjoy a lunch on the terrace of soleluna, an italian eatery with a large, wood burning oven that turns out the most tasty thin crust pizzas ... divine!
back to the kigali international airport to pick up manlio, our jdc associate, who is flying in from addis ababa, ethiopia to participate in this week's efforts. we bump into kiki, le grand patron of the architecture firm here - fetching a friend in for his sister's wedding - and stumble upon p-diddy lookalike (his driver, who almost plunged us off of a number of hillsides during my last visit, careening around corners at hundreds of kilometers per hour - yikes!).
we collect manlio (roman), no worse for the wear, a long flight with a stop in entebbe (en-ticing!). we arrive back at the hotel mid-afternoon, and quickly convene on the terrace for tea and talks. we are joined thereafter by erik, our newest addition, an expat from bruxelles who will assist with technical details. so at the table we are canadian, american, italian, belgian, rwandan - our own UN.
we finish up in anticipation of tomorrow's long day - visiting the site for the project in rwamagana with the entire extended construction team - should be exciting (especially as i'm not driving with the aforementioned p-diddy). can't wait to see the progress! manlio and i have a bite of dinner later on, swapping travel stories and anecdotes about our sephardic wives (his is egyptian), and i stumble upstairs ... almost bedtime, hoping i can get to sleep before 2 am tonight (a goal which has eluded me to date on this journey!).
i will be wearing neither tweed or linen tomorrow!
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