First walk through Kigali

I wake up in the morning when sunlight shines through the window. It is still early, but I hear music from somewhere and other noises. Beatrice is around after a few minutes and I have breakfast and take a shower. The tap is not working properly, so it is a bucket shower, but I don‘t mind and it is warm enough for cold water only. I brought some souvenirs from Germany that I present to Beatrice and the housekeeper. The niece is not at the house but in town, at her shop. The morning is quiet. I read a lot, sit in the sun on the stairs in front of the entrance door and talk with Beatrice. On TV, the upcoming  independence day is discussed, followed by international news about, among other issues, the Euro crisis. Angela Merkel in Rwandan TV. I must agree with Beatrice when she says that she is a strong lady. Three languages are spoken in Rwanda. Kinyarwanda, English and French. Once, I think it is a conference that is shown in TV, the language actually used is English, the subtitles are French and the translator uses the local language.

After lunch, pasta and potatoes and soup with vegetables and meat, Beatrice and I walk into town. I need to change money and get a local simcard. The cars on the road are almost all in good shape as well as the street itself. Motorcycles wind their way through the cars, the drivers all wearing yellow vests with tigo advertisements and helmets. They also carry a second helmet for passengers. The sidewalk is lined with tidy shops. Some are painted in blue, yellow or red, displaying the logo of the networks tigo, mtn, airtel. Handmade signs indicate whether you can get a new hairstyle here or buy shoes. Most of the people I see are dressed nicely, all men in shirts, the women with nice skirts or elegant trousers. I am looked at, but not approached in any way. No hands try to touch, no one says anything. The sun shines, but it is not too hot. Here and there, a young armed soldier stands on the sidewalk, watching the road. 

Beatrice shows me some shops. One sells beauty products and looks not too different from the perfumery where I bought the perfume for Beatrice, just in a smaller size. Another one sells German products and has a counter displaying meat and sausages. We see a lot of churches. One immense site is surrounded by a wall that is too high to look across. It is the church of ,les temoins du Jehova‘. I know those. The buildings on the side of the road are mostly tall and modern. A man is painting the kerb with yellow paint. 

Kigali is situated on hills. From some points, I have a great view to the other side, across nice houses and trees between them. Beatrice and I sit down for a drink under a sunshade of a spacious bar. She greets a man sitting on one of the other tables and I try to respond the greeting in Kinyarwanda. ‘Mahura’. Unfortunately, I got it wrong. ‘Murahu’ is the word. There is something like a small garden in front of the building with a thatched roof and a man is watering the plants. It looks nice. Next to the bar is a big official building with guards posted in front, the Rwanda Governance Board, I think.  

The sky already looses its bright blue, when we start walking back home. We walk slowly and I look around, trying to take in as much as I can. Just when we turn right leaving the big tarmac road, a small group of kids runs towards us and one of the youngest hugs my legs. They laugh and are gone again. We are making our way down the slope and another small boy runs towards us. He, too, runs into me, but I get the impression, that it was not on purpose, as he immediately continues running up the road. It is getting dark, when we reach the blue and white gate.

The power is off and as it gets too dark to see anything, candles are lit and Beatrice and I sit in the big room with couches and table, where we usually eat, and talk about education and gender perception. 

It is not late yet, but the warm light of the two candles makes me tired. After all, without electricity there is not much we can do anyway. Before dinner is ready, I use my laptop to show Beatrice pictures from Germany and my stay in Ghana, but after dinner, we soon retreat to our rooms. The candlelight creates beautiful shadows on the walls.