Beatrice had the idea of going to Rubavu for the weekend. I think it is a good idea. I have been in that area before for a field trip with Richard and I liked it.
Beatrice, Emmanuel and I leave the house at 8 am, drive to the office with the car and take a bus from there to Nyabugogo, a big bus station. Looking for a bus to Gysenyi, we are approached by two young guys trying to get us to join a small car. At first Beatrice refuses, but after a discussion, she decides to have a look. I don’t know what they are saying exactly, but as far as I can tell this is a private car. The man and the woman are going to Gysenyi anyway and want to make use of the empty seats in the car. We agree to go with them. I am a bit suspicious when I hear the disturbing noise the clutch makes, but somehow it improves with time. The driver is even faster than Jane. In each bend, I am pressed either against Beatrice to my right or Emmanuel to my left. At one point, the driver overtakes another car, when suddenly a truck comes towards us. In my mind, I turn myself into a thin sheet of paper and miraculously, the three vehicles pass each other without crashing. On our way, I already recognise many places, certain villages, the refugee transition camp, the tea fields.
In less than three hours, we arrive in Gysenyi. We are supposed to meet a priest here, a former student of Beatrice, but he is at university. Therefore, we leave our bags at the reception of the hotel and move on. Next to the hotel is a catholic church. People are gathered around it. They are having a ceremony here, maybe a communion, and it looks as if they are too many people to fit in the church. Here, we meet Emmanuel Senzoga, the JADF Permanent Secretary, who I interviewed on my earlier field trip to Rubavu. He knows Beatrice as well and accompanies us on a walk.
We walk along Kivu beach. It is windy today and the waves make the lake look like the ocean, but the sun is shining. It is a bit strange to walk there with the PS. However, I am feeling good. I am enjoying myself. Now the picture-taking starts. Both Beatrice and Emmanuel take pictures of each other, in the usual poses, standing in front of a tree or the water, making serious faces. I call them Rwandan pictures. The PS comments on some things we pass. There are two pieces of free land, for example. Do I want to buy one of them? They are close to the water. We end up at Tam Tam, a restaurant/bar/beach/music-place. The sun is hiding behind clouds now, but the wind has weakened. I sit on the stones, my feet in the water, watch how others swim and play in the lake and listen to the music until we have food. It is fish and chips. Real fish, clearly identifiable without doubts, with head and fins. It tastes good. The PS has another appointment, but we stay a bit longer.
From Tam Tam, we go to town. Beatrice needs to go to a bank for money, but it is closed. That means we have to manage with what I have brought with me. Before going anywhere else, we decide to check at the hotel, if the priest is there, as he did not respond to Beatrice’s call and text message. He is not there. After a short rest in our rooms, we continue. It is dark now. We follow the road along the bank. Lights are reflected on the water and I hear the sound of the small waves brushing against the stones. Even now, or maybe especially now, the lake looks very inviting to me. In other circumstances, I would go there and swim. We are approaching the border to the DRC now. I recognise the giant tree that is actually a number of intertwined trees, where a couple of motorbikes are waiting for passengers, and know that we are close to the hotel we were staying at during our field trip.
For dinner, I want to go somewhere where they serve plantain. It is my favourite dish and I know they have it here in Rubavu. We walk along a stone road now, covered with black volcanic rocks. It is not really easy to walk here as the ground is very uneven and the rocks make you trip and there is almost no light except for the moon. Sometimes a car comes along the road, blinding us. The light makes other people walking along the road look like beautiful ghostly shadows. After a while, we end up at the same place where we had lunch with Richard and Josef, La Corniche. Emmanuel takes food from the buffet, but Beatrice and I order brochette and plantain. Instead of the usual soda, I ask for juice. They are out of pineapple juice, but the waiter offers me ‘a drink from Kenya’. I agree and then find out that what he brings me is Alvaro, a drink I used to take in Ghana. There I am, a plate full with plantain in front of me, Alvaro with pineapple taste in my hand. Sometimes, food can make me happy. Indeed, I am in a fantastic mood right now. I can hardly stop smiling. All is good. We are even planning to go out to dance tonight. Richard mentioned the place to me and after dinner, we walk there. Of course, we are way too early. Music is playing, but nobody is there. We wait at a restaurant above the club, sitting on the balcony overlooking the lake. Now, however, there is not much to see, obviously. The sky is black, the water is black, the trees are black. Some lights from Goma are shining through the darkness. I am tired. Blinking becomes risky as my eyes are likely to stay closed. At 10:30 pm, we decide to check if somebody else is an early dancer. In fact, another small group has arrived, two boys and a girl, who are already dancing. One of the boys in a blue and white polo shirt is a really good dancer. We sit down on a couch and watch them, until we get too cold and move to the dance floor ourselves. Emmanuel told me that he likes dancing, but he doesn’t really dance after all. One side of the room is covered by a mirror and some dancers watch themselves, check in their reflection how their moves look. The guy in the blue and white shirt, let’s call him Joe, approaches me. I dance with him a little bit. Joe was dancing with another girl before, but now he calls her ‘sister’ and wants me to meet her. He doesn’t accept a ‘no’, so I greet her. Now and then, we sit down at the side. I am not sure if Beatrice and especially Emmanuel enjoy themselves. Their faces don’t indicate great joy, but when I ask when they want to go, Beatrice says we should stay a bit more and we dance again. She also dances with a guy for a while and Emmanuel joins us from time to time as well. More people have come now. There are other good dancers, especially another group of two guys and a girl. One of the guys stays at the side most of the time, but the other two dance together. The guy is good-looking, with great eyes and a great smile. Other friends join them. Sometimes, they swap partners between the pairs, but they always find back to the original constellation. This is just how it fits best. I dance again. Joe comes back and dances with me. He says I am a good dancer and wants to follow me, imitating my moves, but I would prefer that he doesn’t. He dances much better if he does it his own way. At some point, I say goodbye and retreat to Beatrice and Emmanuel. I have danced enough and we decide to leave. The party is just really starting now and the room is getting full, but we are tired. At least, we did go out. I did dance.
