Joey and I got up early that Saturday and quickly packed up
our bags and belongings. We had a bus to catch at 11am and some Kigali streets
to navigate on our way to the bus station in Nyabagogo. We arrived at 11:07 and
the bus was already long gone. So we decided to wander around a little bit in
search of some food. We wound up at a place that got us some much needed
omelets, and they even tossed some spaghetti in mine, though there was again a
severe lack of flavor. Oh well, we finished them up and waited for the bus.
We eventually boarded the 12:30 bus (first tickets and thus
the primo spots) and talked for a while on the ride down to the far
southwestern part of Rwanda. We were heading to Kamembe which is at the
southern tip of Lake Kivu. The ride was gorgeous and after a couple hours we
stopped for a quick bathroom and food break. We picked up some more samosas,
water, and Joey got some brochettes while I stuck with an ear of grilled corn.
The ride was awesome and for one of the first times in Rwanda we passed through
areas of land that weren’t occupied or settled. Sure, they were national parks
with both gorillas and absurdly high entrance fees, but it was kind of nice to
pass through a place and just look at the vegetation and mountains all around.
Our mission in trying to get to Kamembe early was that there
was a concert going on there that night. The concert was part of a series and
it was called “Primus Superstars,” sort of like the American Idol of Rwanda but
in Rwanda all the big stars perform so they can help make ends meet. Well,
turns out it was a daytime concert and we arrived as it was letting out so that
was a bit of a bust. So instead, we met up with some other PCVs and grabbed
some food at a restaurant nearby which was actually pretty decent.
We heard about an after party at a bar in the center of town
so we made our way down there and we were able to smooth talk our way into the
VIP section where a lot of the performers were hanging out. We met a good
number of performers but the one who stays in my mind the most is Riderman. We
talked with him for quite a while and the more we did, the more I realized he
was a Rwandan version of Kanye West. One of the bigger names in hip hop there and
with a superiority complex bordering on the absurd. Don’t get me wrong, he was
a charismatic and interesting guy but when he proclaimed, “I’m just the best
rapper around,” we started laughing. He looked at us shocked and we quickly
realized he wasn’t joking. It was fun hanging out with him and Joey got his
number so he could hit him up next time he was in Kigali. (Side note: I’ve
gathered reports that after my departure, Riderman decided to not return Joey’s
text messages. For shame.)
Joey and I split a hotel room that night and the next day we
had fun relaxing down by the lake and going for some quick swims. After only
about 15 minutes by the water, however, I felt my neck and back getting pretty
hot so I had to insist on sitting under some shade. That equatorial sun is no
joke, I’ll tell you. Our beach spot was pretty great. Some other Rwandans were
there swimming and eating and we had a great view across the lake over to
Bukavu in Rwanda.
We made our way to the bus station around mid afternoon and
took the 1.5 hour ride to Joey’s post. We grabbed a few supplies for dinner and
then made it to Chez Joey where we quickly started working on some dinner as
the sun had just set. That night we made grilled cheese sandwiches and some
pretty good tomato soup. Up to that point, it was one of the best meals I had
in Rwanda. We washed it back with a glass of some pineapple wine Joey had
fermented at his place and then watched some TV on his computer before Joey
worked on some lesson planning for his classes the next day.
The next morning I got up with Joey and we wandered into his
village center so we could grab some tea and I could get a general bearing on
the village and where things were. He showed me where the high school was and
then I turned around and went back to his place while he taught. Joey has a
pretty unique post for Peace Corps. For starters, it’s got a huge cement
factory in town which is staffed with over a hundred Chinese workers. I only
saw one of those Chinese workers before my last night, though, as they
generally keep to themselves, make money, and don’t integrate too much into the
local community.
That afternoon I read some, wrote some notes, and then had
lunch with Joey on his lunch break. Around 4, I left his house again and met up
with some of the high school kids who played basketball after school at a
little court near the health center. Joey ran some drills with the girls group
and played a little with them while I played with the boys. I think however
teams were picked was a bit unfair because while I wasn’t paired with any of
the best players, I was certainly paired with the two tallest who were a little
shorter than me. We won a lot of 3-on-3 games and lost a few and everyone had
some fun. I got a little frustrated towards the end because some of the kids
had just resulted to playing rough and making some hard fouls on me, but I
quickly got over it because I was a good six inches taller than most and I
would have probably done the same if I was in their position.
That night Joey and I made an excellent dish of rice with a
pork peanut sauce and watched the movie Kinyirwanda, which is about the
genocide, though told from a very different point of view than Hotel Rwanda. A
bit of it got a little preachy about the current government and it was no surprise
to me at the end when I saw the Rwandan Ministry of Arts had partially funded
it.
On Tuesday, Joey got out of class pretty early so we decided
to go for a swim at the river that ran near his village. It took about half an
hour to meander our way through rice paddies and with a trail and team of
little Rwandan boys showing us the way. We made it to the river, swam a bit and
then I sat and watched as Joey launched the kids into the river, to their
squeals of joy and excitement. That day Joey had an English club meeting at
around 3 so I went along and it was pretty interesting. I will say one thing
I’ve noticed in all my travels is the way people pick up traits and try to
emulate the leaders. The president of the English Club acted a lot like Paul
Kagame, president of Rwanda. He was direct in what he was saying sometimes, but
he was certainly long winded and easily distracted into other lines of talking.
He also tried to hit me up for some money to help with an event coming up
(which Joey promptly shot down) and how he asked for some “assistance” almost
echoed how I’d seen Kagame pander to international crowds and ask for help in
the country’s development.
That night, we decided to have a two-person party. Joey was
in charge of grinding the beef with his meat grinder and doing mostly all of
the cooking while I did a little prep work, made us some of those pointy party
hats (so everyone knew we were having a good time), made some drinks, and kept
a steady train of LMFAO, Pitbull, and Jason Derulo pumping on Joey’s speakers.
The cheeseburgers turned out amazing and we decided to cap our party off by
watching Blood Diamond.
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