"No money, no wife!"

The hard truth spoken by my ”moto-driver” this morning…

Work, weddings and videos

Posted by Mikkel

Time flies and it is already two weeks since I arrived…

At work we are quite a bit further: an updated strategy, an action plan for 2011, a budget (or half of it to be honest) and 7 job descriptions of my new employees beginning tomorrow. In these two weeks the organization “discovered” its own financial crisis and had the director from its most important partner disappearing (to later reappear in South Africa). So it has been more than hectic to say the least! 

First weekend away; view over lake Kivu

(Posted by Janine)

Arriving late Friday night, and leaving for the country side the morning after! A 2 1/2 hour busdrive brings you to a cloister in Kibuye, on top of a hill looking over the beautiful lake Kivu.

The temperatures here surely make you happy for a morning swim! And, the nuns and priests who were gathering and singing there on Sunday were fun to talk to and practice some first words in the local language 'Kinyarwanda'.

Backyard tabletennis after work

I could also tell you loads about my first day at work...

Kigali - day 1

(Anthropologists learn they should write down as many observations as possible the first days in a new place.)

What better way to start a day in a new place than with a jog:

1. Every ten seconds someone’s cheering “musungu, musungu."
2. Even though I deliberately put on my yellow Brazil shirt there is no way of blending in. No other white person on the street this morning, but luckily many Brazil shirts:-) Together with all sorts of obscure old company shirts from Danish, Dutch and other origin.
3. A young man join me running for 5 minutes with his wheelbarrow.
4. Just like me (at this particular morning) people´s main means of transportation seem to be their legs.
5. Going a little away from the main road you suddenly see lots of people (including way too many school aged kids) carrying big water containers.
6. Many young men are hanging out on the streets. Guess I would hang out there as well. If for no other reason than to watch the many beautiful women!

And then I forgot to mention that those “thousand hills” will either kill me or give me the condition of a marathon runner.