Flowers of Rwanda

Happy birthday Mama Wacu! More Rwandan flowers in my Picassa album here.

There’s an active volcano in my backyard

I moved to Gisenyi on May 11, but my temporary house wasn’t ready until the 16th and then I left town for a permagarden training (more to come on that topic). Now I’ve had a chance to get settled a bit, although I’m still waiting on furniture.

Besides sharing the house with my sitemate, which is not ideal for my language development, local integration, or identity formation as a volunteer in Gisenyi, I love the location. The neighborhood children are wonderful, the neighbors in general seem nice, and this is the view from the chair in my room where I’m writing this:

That’s Nyiragongo, the active volcano that lies about 20km (12 miles) over the Congolese border (which is maybe half a mile from my house). Did I mention it’s active? It glows red at night, lighting up the smoke billowing from its plateaued peak. You can also see the big dipper in this picture:

The intensity and shape of the red smoke cloud change by the minute, providing me with endless after-dark entertainment. The novelty might never wear off.

Farewell Nyanza

Nyanza was a beautiful town in which to spend my first 10 weeks in Rwanda. Here’s some photographic evidence:

Rwandan potters

Today we visited a cooperative near Nyanza that makes incredible pottery. Pictures below:

Fresh fish!

Last Thursday my counterpart, B., and I visited a few of the cooperatives I’ll be working with (more in a future post). We were in beautiful Nyamyumba, the sector to the south east of Gisenyi on Kivu, home to Rwanda’s beer factory and some incredible views of the lake and the clouds over the Congo.

We motoed up to a lake-side bar and B. asked about their menu. Next thing I knew, we were hopping back on the moto to travel 100 yards down the road where fishermen (abarobyi, “Ah-bah-robe-gee”) were bringing in their catch. After the requisite haggling (“the muzungu doesn’t have money”) we got 2 fish, which the woman promptly scaled, gutted, and strung up so I could dangle them off the side of the moto as B. drove us back to the restaurant.

(Please take a moment to laugh at my ridiculous Peace-Corps-issued moto helmet and the flattering chipmunk effect it produces. At least I was able to trade in the one with pink butterflies on it.)

Some time later, we were served the freshest fish I’ve ever tasted, perfect with a little lime and a side of fried potatoes.

A few other photos from my site visit are up on my Picasa.

Allegedly, it keeps the mosquitoes away

For the record, I still woke up with a few bites.