Rwanda 2020

Status: 5 cases in Rwanda Got a little worried on Monday that I wouldn't be able to leave.  Status: 7 cases in Rwanda Got more worried on Tuesday, when I went to all the flight agencies to maybe catch a flight out that same night. All these worries because of the EU closing and there not being any flights. So went to the German embassy and right in the entrance I see that we got an email from uni asking us to fly home as soon as possible. Check with the embassy, and they say the same thing. Very nice staff btw! Go back to my flight agency, the sales clerk Kevin now already knows me and my intense stare. He says he can rebook it for 109 USD. I say "No, my friend got it rebooked for free". Show him the screenshot of the website stating this free rebooking due to Corona (Thanks a million, Mary Anne!), he nods once and proceeds. I got back to the office with a new ticket leaving Saturday. Great! That gives me time to prepare and to enjoy my last days here... Status: 8 c

Rwanda has now closed down all schools and church services. But otherwise, people are rigorously washing or desinfecting their hands at all public buildings, offices, restaurants. It's very impressive! I asked my mentor if the virus would affect office time and his clear answer 'No, it won't'. So far, so good. I still have about ten interviews and a workshop to do next week, so I'm hoping it'll stay like this! There's only been one registered case on Saturday... Happy news is that I spent half my day at the pool today and that I had delicious Ugandan Rolex for dinner. Trying not to get freaked ort and hoping I can come straight back to the Netherlands. People with a car, get ready to pick me up from Brussels in case there are no more trains going...  Orders for pasta, beer and passion fruit can be handed in at any time.  Stay home and send me some funny photos!  Me and dodo, the leaves of the amaranth plant, eaten like spinach.  Enjoy

The title is really all the explanation needed, but here is a little more info on our gorilla hike today: We seemed very fit, and were put into a group of overall 8 people who had to walk a very long time. Down, up, down, up, down, up, and some more down... First we felt flattered, but I soon was worried that I, the youngest of the group, would have to make everyone break for me, when my breath was coming in short stabs. The weather was lovely however and after some time, our ranger was kind enough to stop. We also had to guys for security with us, with very large guns, but very friendly smiles. They specifically told us that the guns were needed and that we didn't need to be worried. I am guessing that man tourists looked more than a little afraid before. After five weeks in Rwanda, guns don't worry me too much anymore though. (Is that good or bad?) At the time of our break, probably 45-60 min into our hike, the scouts had still not located the gorilla family we were

And because the other post was pretty much photo-less, here are some of my everyday life in Kigali and our trip to Uganda, Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.   Baguette in Kigali    Mamba Smoothie in Kigali    Very quiet border. We had to sanitize our shoes, got the temperature taken and had about 5 different people look at our passports. In the back were sheep and goats grazing. Mom making friends in Ruhinja   Diverse monkeys to be seen from the car   Stunning landscape at every road turn. On the right of the photo are women washing their clothing.

It happened again - I got trapped in a very long church service. But this time unplanned.  I was invited to have dinner at my friend Alice's family house last Sunday. We had planned it the month before, when I'd had to cancel due to a headache. Unluckily, I had another mild headache that day (even after a spa treatment and hanging out at the pool), but I figured I couldn't cancel again and thus took off to the North of town. It took some time to locate Alice when I arrived, because street names are more of an offer than a necessity. Also, the road she lives on is not paved, and may possibly not even have a name/ number, I didn't check. She lives with her mother, her sisters and her younger brother and her dad. But I soon gathered that Sunday is a day to meet others as well, because the living room was soon busy with others as well. The living room is also the entrance in Rwandan architecture. It is very common that the guests will only see that room, as the bed room

Muraho! (Hello!) Last Friday was another fine day to travel across winding roads to the North. This time however, not to leave the country, but to visit our (Laura's and mine) friend Beth. Eternally thankful for anti-puking pastiles (not the ones Fred and George came up with), because this country is really so mountanous. Consequentually, the roads go up and down. Luckily, the speed limit is 60km/h (Conservative German politicians, look at that!). There were many many road fatalities in Rwanda and thus the government decided to do something about it. Next to the speed limit, they are also educating the population on other measures of road safety, as I read, for example by going to church meetings, to reach a wide number of people (next to usual media outlets of course). Another law: Helmets are mandatory on motorbikes (boda-bodas in Swahili).    Me, my helmet and I. I am getting more adventurous with taking photos on the boda-boda for sure. In the long distance buses, seat