exploring

Today we spent the day exploring Kigali after some of the group went to church. I accidentally slept in until 1230 when Ryan woke me up for lunch. I guess I really was tired! Anyway, after church, we had a bit of meeting around time and then we embarked on the highlight of the day, a scavenger hunt around Kigali.

Sam, Rae, and Mikaela traveled around with Sarah Mast (who I knew previously from in the US... weird) and saw a bunch of places as well as got to interact with some local people. We went to Kimeronko (spelling?), the market, and walked around for a bit. It was bustling with people selling everything from fruit to clothes to flour to cleaning supplies in stalls and under a large roof. It was delightful and I'm looking forward to going back and bartering with people. I want to see what kind of deals I can get on clothes, fruits, and gifts. And just learning how people buy things here differently.

It was excellent traveling in the matatus as well, buses/van things that cost between 100-250 franc to get around in Kigali and its outskirts. It was far more interesting, engaging, and sensual than traveling by car in America-- the sights, the sounds, the smells are all so unique. Everything is so much more colorful. Each person seems to have their own color scheme. I really like passing by all the many shops and market stores on the sides of the roads as well. The road that our driveway comes on to is peppered with everything from electronic stores to printing places to coffee shops to supermarkets. Or some combination of each.

We stopped at Aromas cafe for one of our scavenger stops and I met a worker, Muhamed, who I'd like to go back and talk to. Partly because he was one of the few friendly people I actually had significant interaction with, and partly because he spoke English. And also because he could serve me (hopefully) delicious coffee. I've heard it's good from that place.

We also waltzed around the center city, going in a few different shops and getting bearings for a few different things downtown. Afterward, we met up for dinner at Sole Luna, a pizza place near our house. It was yummy.

More soon. It's quite incredible... I hope to upload some pictures that I will take sometime soon.