Rwandan training-wheels

We have explored and learned so much about Rwanda already thanks to our housemates, Nessa and Ciaran! (They are the "training-wheels" my title is referring to). The first couple nights and days we went out with them to get a sense of the area and how to navigate it. Going to the market for the first time was quite an experience. There were many tables with vendors selling various fruits and vegetables, and it was somewhat overwhelming just deciding what we wanted to eat for the next few days!

The market! I like the idea of cooking fresh and from scratch, so I am definitely excited about the market! I'm going to try to learn some numbers and other market-appropriate words in Kinyarwanda before I go again, otherwise it's just awkward trying to figure out how much to pay!

After walking to the market, we headed to a set of other stores to buy our internet modems. Some places have Wifi, but if you get a modem you can buy days of internet to use wherever you are! It's pretty great.

Another skill-set that was important to learn before they sent us off on our own - negotiating transportation. The most common and easiest way to get around is by taxi-moto (a motorcycle with a hired driver) but like the regular taxi, we have to be bold to negotiate a normal price for the distance we want, as they sometimes will try to get more money out of us since we're foreign. We also have to learn how to navigate and give directions by landmarks, not street names, as that's just how Rwandans do it.

Our first day on our own was Monday, which we had off of work since it is Rwanda's independence day. Shortly after lunch, we hopped on some motos and rode into town! Our first stop was the Belgian memorial, a really moving remembrance of just a few of the genocide-related atrocities. 10 Belgian peacekeepers were assassinated in this building.

The building where the Belgians were shot, as you can probably tell. We think this might have been a school building but we're not sure. The main room with all the bullet holes is left fairly bare as a memorial to the men who died there, while the other rooms serve as a mini genocide memorial with some reminders of human rights, shown below.

Human rights poster. It was nice for this memorial to have reminders of our goals as humanity in the midst of some of our biggest failures.

After this sobering reminder of the recent past of this nation, we headed toward the city to check out the big shopping center called Nakumet for things we can't get in markets. On the way, we found a nice, crafty shop that we spent some time looking around in. Also on the way, we passed a supermarket called Simba, so shout-out to my little gecko! (who, if you don't know, is named Simba).

awwww Simba <3 don't judge, I really like my gecko!

Walking into Nakumet was a strange experience... we were told there weren't even washing machines in Rwanda, yet this supermarket had rows of them for sale. It didn't quite feel like Rwanda anymore, that's for sure. We found some cleaning supplies, got excited about going home to clean the house, grabbed dinner at Lil' Vegas (so good!) and went home! I'd call that a successful first time out alone!