All Play and No Work

I’ve received some feedback from my faithful readers that it sounds like all Johannes and I do is go on fun weekend trips, stay in extravagant lodges, and chase exotic animals. While this is partially true, I swear to all of you that we are also working hard during the week to pay for our adventures. Therefore, this post is dedicated to describing what we’re doing for a living while in Rwanda. For those of you who think this sounds a bit boring, tune in again next week when we’ll be back to our regularly-scheduled programming and monkey pics! ; )

Let’s start with Johannes, because of course, his job is the reason we are here in Rwanda! A coordination group exists for bilateral and multilateral donors who give direct budget support to the Rwandan government. The organizations take turns co-chairing the group (together with the government), and currently, for these six months, the World Bank is the co-chair. Thus, Johannes’ job at the moment revolves around leading this donor coordination group, including managing a large event with the Ministry of Finance a couple weeks ago. He is also currently evaluating the progress on the World Bank's country program in Rwanda and works with a couple of his colleagues on managing their projects. Let's just say he is pretty busy!

Johannes and Peace, one of his favorite Rwandan colleagues

For my part, I’ve been keeping busy with a few different consulting assignments. During my first two weeks in Rwanda, I wrote a mid-term review for a World Bank project – the Rural Sector Support Project (RSSP) – at the Ministry of Agriculture (MINAGRI). The most shocking realization for me was that the government employees here work very long hours – often from 7 am ‘til 7 pm. As most of you know, I’m not a morning person, so arriving at 8:30 am was usually the best I could do! ; )  Often I had the opportunity to join the team for a carb-heavy lunch, and I really enjoyed seeing everyone joke around and laugh together. The research was also fascinating to me, and I learned a lot about rehabilitating marshlands for rice production and developing hillsides to increase crop production and prevent soil erosion.

Ginger outside of the RSSP office

Since then, I’ve been a fixture around the USAID-funded Rwanda Justice Strengthening Project (JSP), which is part of the MCC Threshold Program. The project is implemented by Chemonics– my former employer from 2004-2008. I’m enjoying doing project management work again and feel especially lucky to have landed with such a great team. I work most closely with Sam, our finance and accounting director, who has a great sense of humor and faithfully teaches me new words in Kinyarwanda. I’ve also had the opportunity to bond with the staff at regular group exercise activities, including aerobics classes and power walks through hilly Kigali.

Ginger and Sam in front of the JSP office

In addition, I’m contributing to some of Chemonics’ new business efforts within Rwanda by performing research, conducting meetings, and recruiting local staff. This work is top-secret, so you’ll have to ask me about it offline sometime! ; )  And finally, I’m doing some volunteer work with Nest, a U.S.-based nonprofit organization that gives microloans to women artisan cooperatives and helps them identify markets for their handicrafts. Our local facilitator, Specioza, coordinates the artisans to make beautiful products – everything from jewelry to baskets – using traditional techniques and patterns.   

A Funny Thing Happened...

A week or so before I arrived in Kigali, Johannes was here by himself. One morning, a woman approached him outside our apartment building and asked if he needed a cook. He didn’t want to be rude, so he came up with what seemed like a legitimate excuse. “No, I’m sorry – my wife is coming next week, and she’ll take care of the kitchen.” Haha, yeah right! ; ) 

The slogan of the National Institute of Statistics: “If you don’t count, you don’t count!” Shout out to Prof. Zeevi at CBS! : )

One day while doing a short-term assignment at the Ministry of Agriculture (MINAGRI), I brought a box of chocolates to share with my colleagues after lunch. One of the women was very excited about the chocolate, and she started reciting a Rwandan proverb in Kinyarwanda. Her colleague politely translated for me: “When the rain falls, it falls again.” After pondering for a moment, I ventured, “Ah, so what she is trying to say is that I should bring chocolate again, right?” “YES!” they all exclaimed.

The price of a normal-sized box of Kellogg’s Mini Wheats at the nearby Nakumatt grocery store: $16!

So plastic bags are not allowed in Rwanda, which helps make this a very clean country. (Between you and me, I snuck a few in – my shoes were packed in them!) The grocery stores offer brown paper bags, for example, but sometimes you just need a plastic bag, right? Yet Rwanda takes this law so seriously that even plastic trash bags are outlawed. Yes, this means we throw our trash directly into the trash can – craziness, right? Luckily, our cleaning lady takes care of the mess that ensues.

One day at MINAGRI, we were approaching the deadline for my report, and I was getting frustrated about delays in obtaining the information I needed from my colleagues. In a moment of exasperation, I lamented to one colleague, “When you Rwandans say that something will be ready in 5 minutes, you actually mean one hour!” Without a moment’s hesitation, he responded with, “Yes, we’re sorry,” apologizing for all of his countrymen in one fell swoop.

The name of a restaurant near the Bourbon Coffee in MTN Centre that we haven’t yet been brave enough to try: Dolphin Seafood!

Johannes and I were shopping at Nakumatt, and we were contemplating purchasing a loaf of bread at the bakery counter. Johannes inquired, “What kind of bread is that?” pointing to a loaf on the shelf. The man working there pondered for a moment, and then responded, “It’s brown inside.” Hmmm, very helpful information! We bought the loaf of bread anyway, and it was pretty good! : )

The price of a box of Snickers ice cream bars at the nearby Nakumatt grocery store: $20!

Earlier this week Johannes and I went out to dinner with our friends Diego and Lewis. We each took turns ordering our drinks – a small beer for each of us. The waiter arrived shortly thereafter with TWO bottles for each of us. We were all quite puzzled until Lewis explained that, in the Burundian tradition, it is polite to bring two bottles when someone orders a small beer. In a sense, it’s like that old Lay’s potato chips commercial: “No one can eat [drink] just one!” The unfortunate aspect of their hospitality is that the second beer gets warm in the meantime, but oh well!

The Magic of Nyungwe Forest

Johannes and I had the most amazing weekend in Nyungwe National Park in southwestern Rwanda! We departed Kigali on Friday morning after depositing my first Rwandan paycheck and eating a delicious breakfast at Bourbon Coffee. After about two hours on the road, we stopped in Butare at the National Museum of Rwanda, which was really impressive. Everything is described in English, in addition to Kinyarwanda and French, so we learned all about population density, climate, traditional farming and hunting techniques, old-fashioned dwellings, jewelry, musical instruments, etc. Also in Butare, we stopped for delicious coffee ice cream at Inzozi Nziza (“sweet dreams”), an ice cream shop started by the women who own the Blue Marble ice cream shops in Brooklyn, NY. Inzozi Nziza is run by a women’s cooperative, and the members become shareholders and receive training in English, computing, and hospitality. To read more about this cool social enterprise, check out www.bluemarbledreams.org.

We all scream for ice cream!

The drive from Butare to Nyungwe National Park offers breath-taking views of rolling hills checked in red soil and bright green fields of banana trees, tea plants, and other crops. As one enters the park, the roads get worse but the views get even better. Johannes drove slowly, so we could spot blue monkeys (they’re not actually blue – that’s just their name!) and mountain monkeys (which have white beards) along the way. We also caught a glimpse of the marshy area where elephants use to roam freely. The Kamiranzovu trail (meaning “sinking elephants” because sometimes the animals would be swallowed alive in the swamps!) offers the most sightings of orchids (Nyungwe boasts 150+ different species of orchids alone!) and three-horned chameleons – we hope to try this trail on our next visit! 

Beautiful tea plantations with Nyungwe Forest in the background

A mountain monkey!

Eventually, we arrived at Nyungwe Forest Lodge – the five-star resort where we would spend the weekend. Johannes and I had planned this excursion to celebrate the ten-year anniversary of when we first got together, so we decided to splurge! And oh, was it worth it! : )  The lodge is situated on the western end of the national park amid rolling hills of tea plantations. We were greeted with passion fruit cocktails and escorted to our gorgeous room with a balcony that looked out onto the forest. Later in the weekend we would even see mountain monkeys swinging in the trees from our balcony!

Our room was one of four in this chalet looking onto the forest

Nyungwe is the largest mountainous rainforest in all of Africa covering more than 1,015 sq km, and there are so many different activities – everything from tracking chimpanzees to hiking to the source of the Nile – that it’s almost impossible to decide what to do. Saturday morning – after eating breakfast on the sunlit terrace at the lodge – we headed off on a 3.5 hour hike with our guide. The hike was wonderful and included spectacular views of massive mahogany trees and blue monkeys jumping from branch to branch, as well as a brief visit to the brand new canopy walk (which isn’t officially open yet) located 150 meters up in the air. I also learned a new word – “igishigishigi” – which means “fern” in Kinyarwanda and is so fun to say.

Johannes on the brand new canopy walk!

A view of the canopy from below - "like rivers in the sky," said our guide.

A blue monkey jumping from tree to tree

Back at the lodge, we enjoyed a three-course lunch, complete with a delicious salad that Johannes and I each inhaled, and then took a dip in the infinity pool which looked out onto the forest. We ended the evening with another three-course meal – the best I’ve had since arriving in Rwanda – including medium-rare filet mignon, red wine from South Africa, and malva pudding for dessert.

On Sunday, we headed out for another hike – this time on the Isumo (“waterfall”) trail. The hike originates in the middle of the Gisakura tea plantation and ends with spectacular views of a waterfall. Ultimately though, the highlight of the hike was actually when we were driving back and ran smack into a group of Ruwenzori colobus monkeys. Usually one has to get up very early and pay quite a bit of money to track them, but we were lucky enough to see them just like that. These black and white monkeys are habituated, so we were able to get really close and watch them play, wrestle, and even make monkey love.

Johannes and Ginger at the waterfall!

Gorgeous ferns everywhere!

Colobus monkeys up close and personal

It is difficult to describe how perfect the whole weekend was. Nyungwe is like no other place I’ve ever been, and well, the lodge was hands down the nicest place I’ve ever stayed, so it all added up to a fabulous excursion. Now Johannes and I are determined to work extra hard in Kigali and make it back for another visit before leaving Rwanda. Next time, in addition to the Kamiranzovu trail, we would like to go chimpanzee tracking – I just have to overcome my fear of setting out at 4:30 am!

Safari in Akagera

On Saturday morning, we got up early and headed out in our SUV, anxious to grab coffee and start the drive to Akagera National Park, which lies in the Eastern Province of Rwanda on the border with Tanzania. As we pulled onto the main road near our apartment, we were surprised to find the streets eerily quiet with no other cars in sight. Johannes quickly realized that it must be Umuganda (literally meaning “contribution”) – the last Saturday of every month when all Rwandans are supposed to participate in community service. On this day, one is not allowed to drive between 7 am – noon. Oops! We stopped by our coffee shop anyway and found it closed, so we returned home to eat breakfast and rethink our strategy.

After breakfast, we decided to just go for it since we were reluctant to sit around at home. On the other side of town, we got pulled over by a policeman, who took Johannes’ driver’s license for about 5 minutes and then let us go. Luckily, that was our only run-in with the law on Umuganda, and finally we were on our way. The road was well-paved, and we made good time as we drove past the southern park entrance and headed to Nyakarambi to check out an artisan cooperative that makes Imigongo (cow-dung) paintings. We decided to buy three of them, and by the time we had selected the best ones, paid, and were heading back to our car, it seemed like the whole village had gathered around to see what the “muzungus” were up to.

Soon we arrived at the Akagera Game Lodge situated on the beautiful Lake Ihema inside the park, and we had a look around followed by a drink on the terrace before the sun set. And then as we changed clothes before dinner, a warthog (like Pumbaa in the “Lion King”) walked by our balcony as a preview of what the next day would bring! We went to bed very early knowing that we were scheduled to meet our guide at 6:30 am for a game drive.

Johannes at the entrance to Akagera National Park

This was my first safari, so as you can imagine, I was pretty excited! And Akagera did not disappoint! We saw all kind of birds and animals. My favorites would have to be the hippos, giraffes, and zebras, but we also saw baboons, vervet monkeys, Nile crocodiles (the world’s largest reptiles!) and three different types of antelopes – impalas, topis, and waterbucks. While we saw lots of fresh elephant poop, sadly no elephants made an appearance. The roads were decent, and although the ride was somewhat bumpy, Johannes did an amazing job.

A baboon only vaguely interested in his visitors

An impala - the most common type of antelope in Akagera

A camera-shy zebra - doesn't he look fake?

Crested cranes - it's difficult to see but they are sharing the water with crocodiles!

Hippos!!!

Seeing the giraffes was probably the most amazing thing – we had driven north through nearly the entire park over the past four hours and were about ready to give up on seeing a giraffe when our guide spotted one. We stopped the car and got out to get a closer look. As we approached, we noticed a second giraffe nearby. Johannes was trying to get the best shot with his camera, so our guide kept taking us closer and closer until all of a sudden we looked up and noticed another giraffe practically right behind us. Don’t worry – they’re not dangerous – the big male just quietly started at us as we took lots of pictures! 

The first giraffe we spotted - sooo much bigger than at the zoo!

Then this guy snuck up behind us!

Life in Kigali

Our apartment is starting to feel like home after we moved the furniture around a little and changed a few light bulbs to give off a warmer glow. The place has one bedroom and one and a half baths, plus a nice balcony that looks out to the west providing great views of the rambling hills around town and frequent gorgeous sunsets.

Our bedroom, complete with a freakishly short bed

Blogging in the living room

View from our balcony

 The apartment building is located near the Belgian school. To be honest, I don’t know exactly where the Belgian school is, but in a city where few street names exist and those that do are rarely used, that is apparently the best way to describe how to get to our place. The World Bank office is a short walk away, which makes Johannes’ commute even easier than it was in DC. For the past two weeks, I’ve been working at the Ministry of Agriculture, which is on the other side of town – about a 15 min drive away.

We are renting a big old white Chevy Blazer, fondly nicknamed Otto, which Johannes drives skillfully around town, dodging motorbikes and mini-vans and pulling in and out of tight parking spots. I feel lucky to have such a talented chauffeur! The guys who supervise the gate to our building always wave fondly when we drive in or out of the parking lot and try to teach me words and phrases of Kinyarwanda.

Most nights we go out to dinner. Much to my surprise, Kigali is FULL of excellent restaurants – many of which I still haven’t visited. Those of you who know me well won’t be surprised when I later write blogs of restaurant reviews, but just for a preview, here are some of the highlights so far: fresh ginger and lemon tea and chicken couscous salad at Shokola, Sunday brunch complete with French toast and caramelized bananas at Heaven, vegetarian spaghetti and fried plantains at Banana, and mutter paneer and naan at Khana Khazana.

I’m not going to lie to you – I still have mad cravings for a huge delicious salad and a Chipotle burrito, but hey, it could be worse! Thankfully, we have also found good beer here in the form of Mützig lager, which helps me feel slightly better about missing my favorite beer season back in the US – Oktoberfest!

To work off all of these calories, Johannes and I have started taking tennis lessons at the Laico Hotel. Our coach, Bosco, is so patient and encouraging. At our first lesson, when Johannes told him that we were both beginners, he said, “Don’t worry – I’ll bring lots of balls.” : )  Today we had our third lesson already, and we're both showing signs of improvement.

Bosco, our tennis coach, testing my forehand (which is not good...YET!)

 

Johannes in action

Sweaty and out of breath after our tennis lesson

Weekend in Kibuye

Muraho! (that's "hello" in Kinyarwanda) And welcome to my blog! Here I will write about my adventures over the next 4 months in Rwanda. I hope you find it interesting to read!

I arrived here on Tuesday, August 31st, and on our first weekend, Johannes arranged for a relaxing getaway to Kibuye, a small town situated on Lake Kivu in western Rwanda. The drive took about 3 hours, and while Johannes paid careful attention to the big trucks and curvy roads, I dutifully waved to all the little kids along the side of the road who were excited to see a "muzungu" (white person). 

Lake Kivu is an interesting place, and not only because it is located on the border with Congo. The lake actually has the potential for limnic eruptions - what is that, you may ask? Well, it is a rare phenomenon unique where carbon dioxide of volcanic origin seeps into the lower strata of a very deep lake and accumulates there, becoming increasingly volatile. An external trigger, like a landslide or storm, can cause a cloud of this gas to burst out of the lake, thereby killing all oxygen-dependent creatures nearby. This actually happened at two lakes in Cameroon in the mid-80s, and once scientists identified the cause, they singled out Lake Kivu as the only other lake where such a phenomenon would likely occur. Of course, Johannes didn't mention this fact until we had already arrived at our hotel!

Moriah Hill Resort

The weekend consisted of a lot of lounging around, reading books and drinking coffee, as we didn't want to take on too much before I got over my jet lag (which honestly wasn't too bad). The highlight of our weekend was a boat excursion with Cassim, who drove us around for 2 hours on the lake. Our first stop was Napoleon's Island - its shape resembles his hat - and we got off the boat to walk around and see the thousands of fruit bats that inhabit the island. Here Cassim also informed us that the cows on the island can swim (!), so whenever they run out of grass to eat on Napoleon's Island, they can swim to another island. Craziness!

Johannes & Ginger on our boat tour

Looking for bats on Napoleon's Island

Yikes, they're everywhere!

The people were so warm and friendly in Kibuye, and as we hiked through the village, we would greet everyone with "Bonjour!" and they would reply with the same, emphatically waving both of their hands. And then we met some adorable kids who chased after us and smiled for the camera. A friend warned me that Rwandan kids are the cutest, and she may just be right!

Cute Rwandan kids!

Enjoying the sunset over Lake Kivu from our balcony