This and that

After our official program was over, Robert went home to the US, and I opted to stay a bit longer to get to know the country a little better.   I moved into a less expensive hotel not only to save some money, but also because I genuinely prefer to have a more casual experience when I'm traveling.    And I'm so glad I did!

It's been a completely different adventure. I'm staying slightly outside of the city center in a suburb called Remera in a hotel called Chez Lando. The hotel itself is ok, it's expensive for what it is, but it's clean and just fine. But it's the people who work here who have been completely worth the price of admission.
When I arrived, the manager John Baptist greeted me, and when I asked him where I could buy a Paul Kigame button like the one he was wearing (I've done a miserable job of gift buying on this trip so far), he immediately took it off and pinned it on my shirt. When I offered to pay him for it, he said he wanted me to take it back to America. Many people I talked to are very very proud of their president and the direction their country is headed and really want the rest of the world to know.

Throughout my trip, I've spent a lot of time waiting in hotel lobbies here (despite the meticulous nature  of many people, their concept of time here is still a little hard to grasp - sometimes things start an hour late, sometimes 20 minutes late, sometimes right on time... I'm never quite sure how to figure out which one it's going to be or why. (Except I know that if ever I am running a few minutes late, guaranteed that will be the one time the driver shows up right on time.)  During Phase 1 of my trip - English was really the primary language we heard. But here in the 'burbs, the main languages are Kinyarwanda and French.  Which may explain some of my communication meltdown tonight.

As I waited (and waited) in the lobby for my driver who was supposed to show up and take me to an interview, the night receptionist (Diogene) was quietly singing along to some beautiful music on a cassette tape.  At one point, he looked up and told me that this was Rwandan gospel music, and it was his mother singing on the tape. His mother and sisters were killed during the genocide, and for many years he had nothing to preserve his mother's memory. But then, last year, a man he knew from his village said he had a tape of Diogene's mom singing in a choir, and eventually he made Diogene a copy. And now it makes him so happy to hear his mother sing again.  While I was there, he listened to it for hours as he worked the overnight shift.  (He was also a big fan of country music and later played a little Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton for me.... it was more than a bit surreal, really, to hear "Islands in the Stream" half way across the world.)

You're not supposed to ask people about their experiences during the genocide, but every now and then, someone will quietly volunteer up a story that will just blow your mind. And you know that almost every person here has a similar shattering story.

I continued to wait for my ride, and finally realized I had been waiting over an hour. I asked Diogene if he was sure that no one has come by for me - and he suddenly remembered that not one, but two people had stopped by asking for a Patti.  But since the hotel staff insisted on registering me here by my passport name (Patricia) he sent them away (even though I had repeatedly told him my name was Patti when I first arrived and that I was expecting people to come pick me up.)    Argh.

Ya can't really get mad at a guy who has just opened up and told you a story like that.

I headed back to my room - upset and mopey and disappointed and frustrated because I've badly inconvenienced several people even though I had been here waiting in the hotel all along.   This was supposed to be my last night in Rwanda and now I would spend it alone in my hotel room.    Precisely not what I wanted to do in my limited time here.   Then, all of sudden, outside I heard a loud "Boom".
I sat up.
"Boom." "Boom."   And a roar of people outside. (Or was it screams? A cheer? I really couldn't tell.)

I went outside to my beautiful third floor balcony and looked out toward the noise...only to see the most amazing firework display right in front of me. It went on forever, and soon enough, there was musical accompaniment (Black Eyed Peas "I've Got A Feeling".)   Turns out, there was a huge national music and dance festival going on at a stadium very close to the hotel.  And I had the perfect view to it all.

It made me so happy  --  just another sign that life here is surprisingly normal.

I wish I'd been at that festival.  But in the end, my hotel balcony really was the second best place to be in Kigali that night.