July 6, 2007 –
The best news of the day was definitely getting my luggage and being able to change my underwear. I suddenly felt clean again even though I didn’t shower before. No wonder they call clothes second skin. There’s such a great feeling after putting on fresh underwear.
From what I’ve seen so far, Kigali is an amazing city full of life. There are people everywhere. Compared to Ottawa or Pickering, it seems like there are way more people hanging around, walking here and there, and the traffic can be more insane thanks to the lack of signs and traffic lights. The look of Kigali is charming itself. It’s built over several hills so if you looked at the landscape from the top of a hill, you’d see it go down, and back up, and then roll behind the horizon. And houses are littered all over. Decent houses, not all dingy huts (but there are those too).
The downtown area gets rather crazy at rush hour when everybody is trying to get on a bus to go home. Taking the bus is fun and interesting. It’s a funny system and any foreigner (muzungu) would be amused by it:
1- Wait at a bus stop with hundreds of other people (mostly women). To get downtown we take the bus going to mimujyi… pronounced “mi-MOO-gee.” To take the bus home from downtown, we take either Kimironko or Kacyru (ka-CHEE-ru). We lived in a neighbourhood called Kimihurura (Ki is usually pronounced like ch)
2- When it comes, keep yourself in front of everyone and get a hand on the door before it even stops. It’s IMPERATIVE to get in first.
3- Jump on as soon as possible because everyone will be trying to get in. And even though this seems completely un-Canadian, you have to push people out of the way. Yes, even older ladies because they’ll push you to. I almost lost a sandal. Good thing I didn’t go with flip-flops.
4- After squeezing in, you take the bus to your destination. Maybe I should describe the bus because they’re not like the ones in Pickering. For the most part, they’re the size of minivans, maybe a bit longer. There are four rows of seats and they cram as many people as possible. (About 4 per bench, three rows of benches. The front row has a fold-down seat that allows people to get to the back, and then the seat comes down for another rider and the money collector)
5- When you want to get off, you don’t pull the cord to ring the bell. You knock. KNOCK KNOCK on the frame above the window. The money collector/usher lets the driver know and he’ll stop at the next stop. Then when you get off, you pay the money collector, who sits by the door and basically directs traffic. He’s usually squished with the guy in the fold-down, practically leaning out the window. 100 francs to get home (20 cents)
Taking the bus is crazy but the experience is awesome. I haven’t gotten on a moto yet but it’ll happen soon enough.
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