Superbowl, Rwanda style

"Two out of the three German guys watching the Superbowl with us at a restaurant owned by a British-Rwnadan are wearing Steelers jerseys which they bought in the market here in Gisenyi, Rwanda, earlier today. I love globalization." - my facebook post, kickoff at 1:37am local time

(The homemade nachos were the best nachos I've ever had...and complete with the only sour cream I've eaten in a year!)

Scavenger hunt update

MLB: Red Sox, Angels, Yankees, Cardinals, Pirates, Diamondbacks, Marlins, Blue Jays, Orioles, Pirates, Reds, A’s, Dodgers, Mariners, Braves, Phillies, Dodgers, Mets, Cubs, Astros, Twins, Indians, Rays, Giants, Nationals
NBA: Kings, Celtics, Bulls, Pistons, Sonics, Sixers, Blazers, Rockets, Knicks, Suns
NFL: Eagles, Patriots, Colts, Broncos, Texans, Jets, Rams, Raiders, Packers, Cowboys, Browns, Giants, Vikings, Falcons, Bears, Dolphins, 49ers, Seahawks, Buckaneers
NHL: Maple Leaves, Penguins, Bruins, Sharks, Canadiens
Other: WNBA Beat, MLS Galaxy, Yankees Suck, Charlotte Hornets
Sox bonuses: A Nomar jersey and an Ortiz shirt this week!

T-shirts from home

Yesterday in Kigali I got on the wrong bus. City buses in Kigali cost 180RWF, or about 30 cents. Or almost two sambusa! It ended up being entirely worth it when the bus drove past a guy wearing a genuine Yankees Suck t-shirt. In Remera, Kigali. Made my day, but I didn’t have my camera out.

Then today at a market in the middle of nowhere I ran across a t-shirt for Haverford College women’s tennis. Haverford is a sister school of my alma mater, Swarthmore, so it was rather uncanny.

Umupira/umupira: Soccer balls and T-shirts

In Kinyarwanda, umupira (oo-moo-peer-ah) means both t-shirt and football (the game and the actual ball). In honor of the World Cup, here are a few pictures of each.

Those who can’t afford soccer balls make them out of string, banana leaves, plastic bags, foil cracker wrappers, and other materials. They’re bound on the outside with yarn (left, diameter ~6”), banana leaves, or strips of fabric (both, right – diameter ~4”).

This kid at Day of the African Child had the biggest homemade soccer ball I’ve seen – it may even be regulation size.

Here are some action shots:

And here are some of the more random t-shirts I’ve been able to photograph. I assure you there are far more random ones that make their way here through the second-hand markets, but I can’t always get a picture.

Sounds of the World Cup

When I walk through Gisenyi on my way back from lunch or after work, during World Cup matches, the air is filled with the incessant buzz of the vuvuzela, familiar to anyone who has watched even a part of a game.

Here, the sound of the vuvuzela advertises the locations of hole-in-the-wall TV/movie viewing shops and homes with TVs, where it is the background to the Congolese channel that comes in clearer here than the Rwandan channel. The vuvuzela emanates from the ubiquitous radios tuned to Kinyarwanda and Swahili-language broadcasts. The vuvuzela sounds clearest from the bars, hotels and the occasional homes that have satellites, where depending on preference and reception it is accompanied by French announcers on the Cote d’Ivoirian channel, or African English on the Tanzanian broadcast, or British commentary on the pay satellite channel (in the nicer bars), or the channel from Mauritius where, commercials tell me, they have Pizza Hut and frozen “easy packs” of chicken and broadband USB cell modems.

But always, the buzz of the vuvuzela is everywhere.

Go Celts! A Sports Scavenger Hunt Update

First of all, go Celtics in the NBA Finals!

MLB: Red Sox, Angels, Yankees, Cardinals, Pirates, Diamondbacks, Marlins, Blue Jays, Orioles, Pirates, Reds, A’s, Dodgers, Mariners, Braves, Phillies, Dodgers, Mets
NBA: Kings, Celtics, Bulls, Pistons, Sonics, Sixers, Blazers, Rockets
NFL: Eagles, Patriots, Colts, Broncos, Texans, Jets, Rams, Raiders, Packers, Cowboys
NHL: Maple Leaves, Penguins, Bruins
Other: WNBA Beat, MLS Galaxy

Spotted around Gisenyi: A Brady Jersey, a very faded Bruins cap, a Bruins jersey, a Sox cap, and a “Faithful are Rewarded” Red Sox 2004 shirt worn by the shoe repairman who sits on the corner of my street. It makes my morning to see that t-shirt on my walk to work each day.

The Bruins cap completed the hunt for Boston teams, the first city I’ve completed – probably because I am fine-tuned to spot our logos. Similarly, I’m not sure if MLB is leading the scavenger hunt because I’m most familiar with MLB teams, or because they have better penetrated the Rwandan second-hand clothing market for some reason.

Fun in the Nakumatt book aisle

Nakumatt is the better supermarket in Kigali. A Kenyan chain, it is an East African-owned business that went international when it opened here in 2008. They’ve got it all, some things outrageously cheap and some hilariously expensive. A stroll through the book aisle, in photos:

To recap: Used babysitter's club books (less than $2), Harry Potter as "self help," and a variety of terrible looking but quite explicit erotic literature being sold in this very conservative country.

"Rolling circle on waist"

I bought a hula hoop for under $4 at Simba, the lesser of the two supermarkets in Kigali. The guys who work at the supermarket clearly had no idea what it was for, but were very helpful as I sorted through the pile to find one that wasn't bent. It came from China, and the receipt and packaging were pretty  hilarious:

More evidence Africa doesn't need your 1 million T-shirts

Some guy thinks Africans need Americans to waste everyone’s time and money sending Africa 1 million unwanted T-shirts. If the arguments regarding sustainability, efficiency of donor dollars, and undermining existing local markets didn’t do it for you, the availability of this t-shirt for $0.80 in the market should settling things.

TIA provides alternatives to a proposal that was widely criticized all over the web.

I know I'm late to the criticism party; I’ve been busy studying for my end-of-training Kinyarwanda exam.

Off the beaten track: the Nyanza market

If you’re traveling in Rwanda and want a unique local experience, you might consider visiting Nyanza at about noon on a peak market day. Peace Corps Volunteers and our fabulous trainers come from all over the country, and everyone agrees that the best and cheapest second-hand clothes shopping is found in Nyanza. On Monday and Thursday, the back section of the market is crowded with women sorting through clothes heaped on tables or piled on tarps on the ground.

Brand names abound: Gap, H+M, American Eagle, Zara’s, J Crew, Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein, etc. Just be sure to inspect for stains, holes, and missing buttons. Counter intuitively, silk and other blouses are cheapest, as low as $.09 (RWF 50), while T-shirts and tank tops (Old Navy and Target abound) might cost you as much as $.70 (RWF 400). On the male side, Armani and other designers can be found for $.90 (RWF 500). In addition to great clothes, you are sure to find some laughs at relics of errant fashions past, be they neon or ruffled.

Nyanza is also home to the former King’s residence and the Rwesero Arts Museum, both worth a visit.

The district capital, the town of Nyanza lies just off the main Kigali-Butare (Huye) road, with buses directly from Kigali (2 hours, RWF 1400) and Butare (40 minutes, RWF 500). The Volcano bus station is across from the market in a courtyard with the Nyanza Sun buffet, a solid post-shopping lunch option (RWF1000). If you’re feeling like Western food, head just uphill from the Kobil station to the Hotel Heritage ($2.50-$5; croque madame and ham sandwich recommended but avoid the “Pizza”).

And if you feel like making a detour on the way to Nyanza, be sure to check out Gatagara Pottery.

Outfits of Umuganda

Umuganda presented an opportunity to photograph some of the clothing that makes its way from the West to second-hand shoppers in Rwanda. Here are some gems:

Above left, this guy laughed at me for not hoeing well, but he had figure skates on his sweatshirt.

Above right, Harry Potter would have had the hoe going on its own with a few simple incantations. But I’d put a lot of money on this guy never having read or seen Harry Potter.

I’m jealous of this sweet Ferrari shirt, below left as he cuts up cassava branches...

Above right, I wonder if the ladies in Norfolk appreciate the fantastic workout that comes from hoeing – great for your upper back and arms!