Arrival in Kigali

The flight from Nairobi was short - 1 1/2 hours. Pretty cool looking out the window while we flew over the Serengetti, Lake Victoria, and approached Rwanda - the land of a thousand hills.

I bumbled around in customs, trying to figure out my Visa stuff. As an American, it turns out I don't need a Visa and don't have to pay anything. But, no cool stickers for the passport. Only a small stamp which the guy squeezed in on a page with other countries on it anyway.

After picking up my bags, I found a guy with a piece of paper with my name on it. I changed $100 (about 55,000 Rwanda Francs) and got in the car with him. He spoke Swahili which was nice, so we could communicate that way. All Rwandans speak Kinyarwanda and French. Some can speak English, and some can speak Swahili. We went to the T-S office and I met my boss. She told me to continue on with the cab driver who would be taking me to the VolCon "house." I felt like this is the "Real World."

I arrived at the house and no one was there. The place is sweet. I can't believe its Africa. The whole community is a bunch of fenced in houses with small yards. The interior of the house was also a shock - compared to how I lived in Peace Corps. Its a 3 bedroom house, gated with a guard, with 2 showers, wireless internet, marble flooring and carpet. Its amazing.

I crashed out for a few hours (I was still a bit jet lagged). When I woke up, I met one of my room mates, who is actually leaving September 12. She had made dinner and asked me if I wanted any, so of course I accepted. We talked a bit about me, her, T-S, Rwanda, etc. She works for Bain consulting and is a Harvard grad. She also told me that another of my room mates, C-C is also a Harvard grad and worked for McKinsey. They both work in Kigali and don't travel much for work.

Later, I spoke to my boss. My boss was specifically looking for a former Peace Corps Volunteer because she thought PCV's could handle Africa/Rwanda better than most. According to the T-S website, and my own observations, VolCons typically are people working for the big consulting firms - Bain, McKinsey, Booz Allen, who decide to take a few months off from their careers to go do something "socially responsible" and adventurous in Africa.

Tomorrow morning, I head out to Butare, about 2 1/2 hours South of Kigali. T-S will be conducting trainings on proper coffee production for a class of about 17 farmer co-operatives. I'm going with my boss and she's picking me up at 6:30. She's already told me that I'll be travelling a lot more than the other VolCon's, which is cool with me.

Picture 1: My neighborhood and street

Picture 2: My house