Finally settling in to Kigali

After a week "in the field," I came back to Kigali on Friday. Finally, I was able to unpack my bags. I left the States last Tuesday August 26th and lived out of a bag for a week and a half.

Friday night I went out with my roommates in Kigali. We first went to a place called Republica - chilled out bar and restaurant, then to a dance club called Cadillac. Good times. Even still at these places, Rwanda is easier than Nairobi.

Saturday afternoon I went into town to explore a bit. I walked out of my house, and grabbed a moto-taxi. These things are pretty legit here - guys on motorcycles with extra helmets for passengers. It cost me about 60 cents U.S. to get a 5 minute ride to the nearest taxi place - the MTN center (MTN is the local phone and internet provider). I then bargained with a taxi driver to take me downtown. I always ask before I speak to people, "Unaongea Kiswahili?" (Do you speak Swahili?) Its worked out really well for me so far - I've only met a few Rwandans in Kigali who don't speak Swahili, even if its choppy. Its so much easier bargaining and telling people where I want to go in Swahili than English, plus I automatically get a better price since they then don't think I'm a tourist.

I walked around downtown a bit, nothing really needed to purchase. I ended up buying a phone, some coffee and rice krispies. Even the city center is extremely hilly here. I wanted to get something to eat, but all the stores downtown were up-scale. I wanted to try some real Rwandan staple foods.


On the cab ride back, I told the driver to drop me off shortly before my house because I thought I saw a tiny restaurant near my neighborhood. When I arrived at the place, I sat down amongst just a few flys (always a good sign for eating local) and ordered a beef brochette and matokie (fried banana). It ended up costing me 400 Francs, or about 80 cents U.S. And, it was delicious. I don't know what spices they used, but the food was awesome. I think I'm going to frequent that place.