Thoughts on Walking

It’s a beautiful holiday Monday – Columbus Day – which means I have had the day off and have been able to hang out with Eric and Orion. We got up early (no surprise here, O wakes up about 6am every day) and had a quick breakfast and cup of coffee and headed out for a walk. On the weekends we try to walk a few miles in every direction of the house so that we get to know our neighborhood better. Rwanda is called “The land of a thousand hills” and let me tell you this is no joke. Kigali is really hilly with the “downtown area” being at the top of the hill. We live in Kiyovu a neighborhood that encompasses the downtown area – but we live a little down the hill from downtown. This means that walking downtown is really an aerobic workout. Nothing in Kigali is laid out on a grid so being able to walk the hills has helped me figure out where I am in relation to things.

Today we walked a long and winding route that took us past a little restaurant I have never noticed before – advertised itself as a pizzeria. This sounds promising and we decided to put it on the list of places to check out. You really get the chance to better inspect your surroundings when you are walking. I get to see what people have done with their yards – what plants are in the garden, what kinds of fencing they have used to keep my prying eyes out. Everything grows here – everything grows here like a weed! The weather is so mild that it is really an effort to tame the gardens. Kinda like trying to tame blackberries in the Pacific Northwest. Walking also lets Rwandans better inspect the Ali Family. We definitely stick out like the foreigners that we are – Eric’s dreds throw people a curve ball and we often hear “Rasta, Rasta, Rasta” that along with Orion’s stroller really make us a spectacle.

There are always many people on the road and this morning was no different. We were quite alone until we turned right onto a major road and seemed to be joining a parade of people. These folks were dressed up and walking down the side of the road. I didn’t see any signs or banners so I couldn’t really tell what the purpose of the march was. Maybe it was a church or a school event or maybe it was just a really busy street. Orion loved this – there were kids who walked with us for ½ mile or so – talking to him and giving him parts of the snacks they were eating. A super cute little 3 year old girl gave him a cookie. Yes, it was a parade!

I have been trying to place an Amazon order all day. I just kept checking our internet connection hoping that it would pop up – finally I called the folks that installed the system and through much repeated “pardon, excuse me, sorry” I managed to figure out that there was a problem with their connections. I really didn’t realize how much not speaking French would affect my ability to figure things out. At work – it’s not a problem my patients are English speakers – but out and about – holy smokes it can be a really daunting process to understand the when’s, whys, and what’s, not to mention the how much’s. One of the perks of working at the embassy is that anyone can sign up for language classes – our embassy offers English, French and Kinyarwandan classes. I guess it’s a good thing I signed up for French classes.