Week in Kigali

Before leaving for site on May 11th, we spent a glorious week in Kigali. Here’s a slightly belated re-cap.

The first purpose of our time in Kigali was the Swearing-In ceremony, during which we officially became Volunteers. The ceremony was at the American Ambassador’s (Stuart Symington) house, which is beautiful. Also in attendance were a handful of current Volunteers, several Returned Peace Corps Volunteers who now live in Rwanda, representatives from some of Peace Corps’ partner organizations here, and some other officials from the Rwandan government and the Peace Corps. The ceremony consisted of speeches from the Ambassador, the Peace Corps Country Director, a woman (!) from Rwanda’s Ministry of Health, and some Volunteers. At swearing-in ceremonies in Rwanda, a few Volunteers give speeches - some in English, some in French, and some in Kinyarwanda. My good friend, Nora, and I gave the one in French, in which we basically thanked the many people who have helped us up to this point and reminded everybody that we’re here to serve where and how we have the opportunity to (something I need to keep reminding myself!). The ceremony ended with the oath – we raised our right hands and swore to protect, defend, and support the Constitution of the United States, etc. Following the ceremony was a reception featuring fantastic food, including cake!

The ceremony was covered pretty heavily in national media. An article and color photo appeared in the following day’s issue of the New Times, one of Rwanda’s primary newspapers. The ceremony was also on TV, and when I say I’m American or that I’m with the Peace Corps, people frequently say that they saw us on TV. Because of the Volunteers who spoke in Kinyarwanda, people also often say, “Oh! You are with Peace Corps – you speak Kinyarwanda! I saw you on TV!”

During the few days following the ceremony, we went all over Kigali, shopping for items for our houses. The best places to shop here include the main market, the two muzungu supermarkets (Nakumatt, a Kenyan chain, and Simba) and other stores known mainly by the nationality of the people who own them or the products they sell – the German store, the Indian store, the Chinese store, etc. I purchased the basics – plastic buckets and basins, laundry soap, pots, dishes, silverware, a frying pan, a kerosene stove, sponges, plus peanut butter, Nutella, and spices – and figured I can easily make do until my next trip into Kigali.

The other highlight of the week in Kigali was sampling some of the many great restaurants the city has to offer. There’s Heaven, which is run by the wife of the director of Access, one of our partner organizations – happy hour there is buy one, get one free, including draught Müutzig (draught beers are a rarity here)! Shokola (Kinyarwanda spelling of chocolat – though I’m not really sure why the restaurant is called that), serves amazing Middle Eastern food (I had vegetable couscous, and, after trading bites of each other’s meals, everyone agreed it was the best dish!) on a veranda and in individual cabanas. Unfortunately, my friend Kelly discovered part of a red fingernail in her ice cream (I’m not kidding) – yet the restaurant was so amazing, I still recommend it, and I’m sure she does, too. There’s also Zaffron, an Indian restaurant (East Africa is known for having great Indian food because there’s such a big Indian population in most countries in the region), which has a similarly great atmosphere. That night is the only time I’ve ever had Indian food I really loved – paneer tikka masala, Indian cheese with vegetables, and garlic naan. I also tried Ethiopian food for the first time, at Lalibela (a restaurant named for Ethiopia’s Churches of Lalibela). Lalibela has a similar outdoors setting, and the special that night was a buffet featuring all the staples of Ethiopian cuisine, so I got to try all the essentials, including injera and tibs. Plus, Lalibela is located at the One Love Club hotel, and part of the proceeds from the hotel and restaurant go to an NGO that supports disabled Rwandans. Bourbon Café is another key muzungu establishment in Kigali – it’s a coffee shop/restaurant that serves all manner of coffee and tea drinks, smoothies, pastries, salads, and sandwiches. Plus, you get free wireless with a purchase! (Interestingly, the people who own the two Bourbon Café's in Kigali are in the process of opening up two more locations – New York City and Washington, DC!) All these restaurants are extremely expensive by local standards, but quite cheap by American standards. Most of my meals cost 4,000-6,000 Rwandan francs (about $7-$10.50) for meals that would probably cost $20 in the U.S. Okay, I’m done rambling about all the great and exotic restaurants in Kigali. I don’t know if they’re really as good as I’m making them out to be, or if they just seemed really exciting after weeks on end of Rwandan food, but I think maybe Kigali really does have an underrated dining scene!