First impressions of Kigali

After an exhausting 36 hour journey, I finally made it to Rwanda on the morning of May 15th, 2009. As our plane descended out of the clouds, I craned my neck towards the window to catch my first glimpse of the African earth below. I knew that Rwanda was often referred to as the "Land of a Thousand Hills" but I had no idea that they would be so luscious, terraced, and ubiquitous. I felt a strong urge to escape the confines of the plane and dash up those green hills with my arms spread wide and sing "The hills are aliiiiive with the sound of muuuuuusic" just like Julie Andrews did in The Sound of Music. In the middle of my excitement, I think I might have started to sing out loud because I got a weird glance from the passenger next to me. Either I did begin to sing out loud or I just had a big stupid grin on my face (probably the latter). Needless to say, I was eager to see the land up close (also because I detest flying and could not WAIT to be out in the open air again).

The rest of the first day passed by in a blur. I do clearly remember walking through the front door of our apartment in Kigali, sauntering towards the comfy looking couch, and promptly collapsing on it. I think I stayed in the horizontal position for nearly the entire day and night.

Once I finally awoke to the world the next day, my parents and I made it our business to locate Project San Francisco, my new work place for the next 3 months. I was told via email by the admin coordinator there that it was "near Hotel Serena." Well those were just about the most vague instructions I've heard this century because there are umteen unmarked NGOs and clinics next to that landmark. But I also quickly realized why they said an exact address might be useless in locating the clinic: it was in a back ally with no road sign. Note to self: when trying to locate places in Kigali, it is wise to just consult locals rather than google map an address.

Later that day, I met the acquaintance of an American woman living in my building who said that the US ambassador was having an afternoon party that was open to everyone. I got giddy at the prospect of my first social event in Kigali and making some friends. Well, my ideas of what my new friends would be like were quite different from reality. I hadn’t really known what to expect but at the same time I didn’t expect to meet only hippies and hippy families. A note on the hippies: I'm really not quite sure why Americans and Europeans feel the need to wear dreads and bandanas upon setting foot in foreign soil. The Rwandans at the event (and the majority of those I've seen on the street) tend to dress as well as they can. I wonder if they interpret white people's dreads and overall hippie appearance as a bit insulting. I don’t think you have to be a hippie to take a step back from tradition and explore what's really out there in other parts of the world, but if I find out that those dreads, Tevas, and bandanas DO in fact help me immerse in Rwandan culture and internalize my African experience, then maybe I will pony up. Just maybe. For now, I’m going to be exactly who I am back home, and let this experience teach me a different concept of what it means to be happy and successful.