The day in Kigali

PC allowed the volunteers to travel into Kigali last Sunday so we all jumped at the opportunity and went on our merry little way.  We had tons of fun!! Did some fun (and much needed) shopping, ate YUMMY food, and just relaxed, taking in all of the beautiful sights within the big city.  For breakfast we ate at Bourbon Cafe, which has everything from omelets to apple pie.  I wasn't feeling too hot since I was still suffering from my treacherous cold, so I just had tea and a chocolate croissant; yumm!! I have been craving one of those things for weeks and I finally got my hands on one! Go mee!!  For lunch we went to a Mexican restaurant called Mezze Fresh...and yes, it was definitely something to write about.  The set-up of it was just like Chipotle and it tasted just as good!  My mouth is watering just thinking about it!  I had two steak  tacos with the works...every sauce they had, cheese, guac, sour creme, and even some special mango salsa they had...if you can name it...it was on my taco!

We did our shopping at Kimirongo Market (it was much like an indoor swap meet) and did some serious bargaining!  I must say, I am rather proud of myself because back in the states, bargaining was certainly not my thing.  But here, it's so easy because the vendors are so eager to make a sale.  Of course when they first see that muzungus (or foreigners) are at the market, they hike all of the prices waaaaaay up, so we have to fight to get them to take the prices allllll the way back down.  They think we're just tourists who don't know anything so when we start to speak the language and tell them that we know they are over charging us, they make the funniest "you caught me" face and proceed to say, "Well how much money do you have?"  After quite a bit of back and forth, I was able to get a scarf to go from 3000 RWF to 1500 RWF and I got a good deal on some postcards!  They were originally 300 each, but I ended up with 6 of them for just 700 RWF (yes I know, I'm the bomb!).  The trick is to give the price you want to pay and when they say no, catch a slight attitude, put the item down on the table, and pretend to walk away (this last step is key in getting what you want).  As soon as you turn your back, the vendor comes running and says,
"Okay! I sell to you!"  And then you smile, knowing that you've won, give them the money, take your purchased items, and proceed to the next vendor who you already know will try to rip you off.  It's actually kind of fun.  I'm sure it'll get annoying to have to work so hard to get something for a fair price for two whole years, but as of right now, it's not so bad.  We'll see how I feel about that in another few months!

All in all, the Kigali trip was a hit and we all had tons of fun!  The hardest part was coming back to the training site.  After having that little taste of city life, the villages didn't seem all that appealing anymore.

Love and Peace Corps,

Dametreea

P.S.  I almost forgot...we saw the President while we were in the city!  Well, kind of.  While riding on a bus to the market, a Mercedes SUV passed us going about 110 mph and then the bus suddenly stopped.  My first reaction, of course, was fear...I didn't know what the heck was going on!  I turned around to look out the back window of the bus and saw the twin of the car that sped past us.  Me and Phyllis asked a guy next to us what was going on and why on earth the bus had stopped and why this suspicious fancy car was sitting behind us.  The man then told us that the president was in one of the cars and the Mercedes' had stopped in the middle of the road to stop traffic so that the President's car could get through.  I felt relieved and excited all at the same time!  Relieved because nobody was going to run onto the bus to kill us all...and excited because I crossed paths with the President of Rwanda! ...kind of, that is... lol

Written 7/15/12