Dining Out

The view from Heaven

Previously under the “Food” entry I talked about several different restaurants and the food served.  Today I’ll focus on a couple recent dining experiences which are a little different; more about place than food. 

First, Marty and I went to Heaven.  Don’t get too excited, we have not grown wings or begun singing with the choir eternal.  Heaven, in this instance at least, is a restaurant in Kigali.  Besides a beautiful view from up high in the hills, wonderful food (they have filtered ICE – the first ice I’ve had since we arrived!), they also show movies on Saturday night.  As there are no theaters in Rwanda, you can imagine this is a big draw, particularly for ExPats.  The rule of thumb is the first show is geared towards kids, while the second is more adult (I mean R or so!).  The night we visited with Gwenn, Reid, and their three children they showed The Green Lantern (the animated version) followed by Barney’s Version. 

A couple Sundays back, we visited the Hotel des Milles Collines, located in the older section of Kigali.  This is the hotel referenced in the film Hotel Rwanda, where the manager, Paul Rusesabagina (a Hutu),managed to save over 1,000 people (mainly Tutsis) from the genocide. 

[As an aside, I’ve noticed several references to him recently in the news.  He is now living in the US and was one of several people protesting against the current government of Rwanda at a demonstration in Chicago.  Other mentions cast aspersions on his role at the Milles Collines.  Interesting isn’t it?  History is never clear cut, particularly when those involved are still alive.]

We came for the Sunday brunch buffet, which was fabulous, but also to see a historic place.  We ate outside by the pool/bar area and you can see below that it is a gorgeous spot, though I wish I would have shot more of the flowers. 

We ate, and then sat on the patio and listened to the DJ who played all my 80s favorites.  I was in music hog heaven, and even Marty enjoyed many of the songs. 

Before we left, we wandered through the hotel.  It does not have many public spaces, and only a small lobby.  As we passed the door marked “manager” it gave us pause.  Wow, that is where Paul Rusesabagina worked the fax machine (all the telephone lines to the hotel were cut) to keep in touch with the outside world.  Looking at it now, so lush and landscaped with people laughing, enjoying their selves, it was hard to think of what it was like during those three months in 1994. 

On a lighter note, we leave tomorrow for a trip to the Nyungwe Forest National Park. 

Our Social Life in Kigali

During our almost three weeks here we’ve been to a variety of events.  First off we attended a cookout at the home of Susan, who is an official at the U.S. Embassy.  We meet many different folks from the U.S., either attached to the Embassy or part of other government or aid agencies.  A usual opening question was how long have you been here, and it was fun to say “it’s our second day!" Several were students, here for summer internships, but also career government employees and dependants.  The reason for the get together was the arrival of a volleyball net which got plenty of use during the day.  This was our first introduction to eating in Rwanda and right off we noticed a few differences.  While we had hot dogs, no buns, we used hoagie rolls.  Plenty of beer, but any type of chip – potato, corn, etc. – was in short supply.  We had a great time and I think the party only broke up due to the start of another party at a different house!

The following Monday was quizzo night at a local pizza spot.  Here I noticed that while the restaurant had a roof, it was open on two sides.  We soon found out that most restaurants in Kigali are the same – very open to the outside and nobody uses screens.  I don’t know if during the rainy season they have shutters to close up the sides or not.  This was where we acquired the tip that in Rwanda, cheese=Gouda.  Also, the menu contained toppings unusual in the U.S. including: aubergines, courgettes, and bolognaise to name a few.  Again, it’s helpful to know some French around here!  The quiz began at 8:30 but we arrived around 7:00 in order to get a table and order the pizzas.  And a good thing we did, because by the time the quiz began, the place was packed to the rafters. 

By the way, can anyone list the three words in the English language that end in –dous?  Or what the word (not the search engine) google means?  (See the next blog entry for answers.)  Our team ended up in the middle of the pack by answering 14 of the 35 questions correctly.  (Another aside: since the participants were a mixed bag of nationalities, the questions focused less on the usual social history type questions and more on language, geography, math, and science.)

Wednesday we attended our first ever Rotary meeting beginning *promptly* at 7:00 pm (all late arriving Rotarians are fined).  In Rwanda, and probably most of Africa, prompt beginnings are extremely unusual.  As we always say when vacationing in the Caribbean, “we’re now on island time.”  Held at the Laico Hotel, afterwards we enjoyed a drink in on the patio and listened to a very nice Jazz trio.

Through our work with the Library, we’ve met a wonderful U.S. family in Kigali through December.  Reid is the Human Resources for Health (HRH) Senior Technical Advisor for Tulane University in Rwanda and Gwenn is a retired teacher and a newly inducted Rotarian working on the Library project.  Gwenn invited me to an Expats Network Meeting, a chance for people from all over the world living in Kigali to socialize and connect.  What a great time!  The people I met were so interesting; their country of origin included the Netherlands, Senegal, the UK, South Africa, the U.S. Belgium, Japan, and I’m sure many other countries.  For anyone living in Rwanda for an extended period of time, this group is a wonderful resource.  And to top it off, one woman was selling jewelry made by street boys from cow horns.  It’s a project that aims to help the kids get off the streets, learn about earning and saving money, and make something lovely out of an item usually tossed out at the abattoirs.

But so far, the highlight, or the piece de resistance, has been the Rotary Club of Kigali-Virunga’s induction ceremony and dinner.  Held at the Serena Hotel, probably *the* luxury hotel in Kigali, it was wonderful fun.  The only negative is that this did *not* begin promptly on time.  Granted it gave everyone plenty of time to have a few drinks, however, the buffet was right behind our table and I was overwhelmed by the good smells.  But eventually things started rolling and it just didn’t stop.  There were speeches (none long), the induction of new members, a farewell from the outgoing president, a welcome from the new, words from guest officials, and presentations for service given over the past year. 

In the middle of all this we had dinner: what a feast.  The buffet included a variety of cold dishes, plain and spiced rice, fried fish, grilled bananas, a couple of Indian dishes, boiled arrowroot (if you’ve ever had vegetable chips that included a white stick with purple running through it, you’ve eaten arrowroot), mini-steaks, grilled chicken, the local sweet potato, and a variety of steamed vegetables.  The desert table included tree tomato, passion fruit, pineapple, and other fruits, bread pudding, mini-cheese cakes, coconut cake, Black Forest cake, sponge cake and more.  Needless to say, the diet was out the window.

But the best part was the band.  A local group of non-professionals (everyone had a “day” job) they were fabulous and the most eclectic mixture of music I’ve ever heard.  And believe me, my iPod knows eclectic.  They combined country (which I learned is huge in Uganda), jazz, blues, rock (sort of), and reggae.  At one point the master of ceremonies (who I feel could double for Louis Armstrong, but sounded like Mel Torme according to Gwenn) performed several numbers with the band.  What a voice and stage presence – he was really, really good.  Later, when we complimented him on his performance, he confessed in his younger days he thought about a singing career, but his father convinced him to become a banker.  As he said, “you don’t make much money in Africa with music,” but if anyone could do it, it would have been this guy.

We left while the band played a country version of a Springsteen song.  I'm not positive it was Springsteen, but Reid was pretty sure it was.  Anyway, that sentence pretty much sums up the evening!

Next up: Beth gets to be an archivist!

Internet Outage!

Well, we experienced our first long-term Internet outage so have been without a connection since Sunday evening.  The hotel is switching ISPs and there are troubles (sometimes things are the same everywhere).  So, we temporarily relocated to the Bourbon Café.  No, we have not begun drinking heavily; the Café is Africa’s answer to Starbucks.  Except, it is loads nicer!  Your coffee (a grande this am for me) comes in a lovely pot, with a side container of hot milk, and a tasty little cookie to boot.  Plus the service is AWESOME.  I tell you, we love this country.

Most important bit of news: Marty’s guitar arrived and we picked it up on Sunday – YEAH.  Plus we hear that several other folks brought instruments over here: another guitar, keyboard, and drums.  I sense a future jam.

Previously I mentioned sticker shock.  Here’s the scoop: The local currency is the Rwandan franc with an exchange rate of 600 francs to $1 (one) dollar.  This means you carry around A LOT of money, particularly as this is almost entirely a cash economy.  It also is not a ratio to calculate easily (how well can YOU divide a number by 600?).  But Jenn provided a great tip, which should help avoid the purchase of a $9 (ahem, I think the price was closer to $12) box of cereal.  You take off the last three digits and double what is left.  That’s a bit more than is correct, but it gives you a ball park figure.  For example: if something costs 5,000 Rwandan francs it is roughly $10.

According to an Embassy staffer, this is culture where people stare.  What that means is a blank look, eyes open, no blinking.  But it I don’t find it bothersome, as, quite frankly, I’m constantly looking around at everything/everybody and doing a bit of staring myself.  Also, I’ve found a big smile goes a long way – people usually smile right back.  Mainly it depends on who you’re dealing with.  Those working in the service industry and used to foreigners don’t find us unusual.  It’s more the “man in the street” that stares.  And why not?  We look different and I’m certain pretty odd to them.

There are no street signs.  I don’t mean the signage is not good, I mean there aren’t any – nada, nope, non-existant.  People navigate by landmarks and I guess eventually learn the roads.  So directions include the section of town, a landmark, and the number of streets or houses to pass to get to the location.   

Yesterday we met with Ambassador Stuart (Stu) Symington.  He is very, very interested in the Kigali Public Library and we hope that with his influence and connections we’ll be able to move the project forward by getting the necessary government officials involved.  Security was much tighter for this Embassy visit as we were visiting the Ambassador himself.  Tomorrow is the security briefing where we’ll receive our own badges for limited access.

HUGE news flash: Rwanda has Coke Zero!  We have been at several places where it was listed on the menu, but never available.  Monday we were at the Bourbon Café and lo and behold, on the menu AND available.  Marty had at least two.  Plus, the grocery near the Bourbon Café must recently have received a shipment, as we found a slew on the shelves; we almost wiped out their stock with our purchase.

Next up: More Pictures!