I have had persistent guilty (and usually hastily suppressed) thoughts of writing a blog entry this whole week that I have been in Kigali. I even sat down once for 15 minutes to hammer something out after the network fizzled and it became clear that  my already vain attempts to access my email would surely have no endgame.  In the end, however, the onslaught of 14-hour workdays proved too much. But now it is Saturday, I have had a good night’s sleep for the first time since leaving Washington, and I’m going to give myself a few minutes before going out to enjoy the achingly blue sky outside my window.

When I tell people that I’m going to Rwanda, their reaction invariably falls into one of three categories: (1) solicitious concern (“Well, okay, but isn’t it dangerous?”); (2) blatant skepticism (“You need a new job”); or (3) a disturbing incarnation of Robert Young Pelton (Wow, you’re so lucky….Have you ever been shot at?). I may indeed need a new job but, for the record, Kigali is an immaculate, pleasant city of tidy shopfronts and well-swept streets that sprawls in a mostly good-natured fashion over a number of the “thousand hills” that are said to make up Rwanda. So here are a few snapshots from the past week. [N.B. I had intended this post to include real snapshots of Rwanda, but the SD-card reader I bought at Nairobi Airport proved to be a dud. Lesson number one: Keep the electronics shopping to Asia.] [4/27/09 Update: Or Europe — I bought a 4-in-1 reader for less than the cost of the one I bought in Kenya]

(1) Cash Society

I asked the driver to take me to change money first thing Monday morning, so he took me to the Banque de Kigali, which is housed in what in Kigali passes for an imposing edifice in the center of town. The receptionist informed me that, no, there are still no ATMs in Kigali that accept international ATM cards. Not to be discouraged, I proceeded to exchange what I have to admit might seem like an obscenely large proportion of the country’s per capita GDP. However, the rich foreigner got his comeuppance; claiming that he had no large bills (the largest denomination in Rwanda is the 5,000 franc bill, equivalent to about US$10), the bank officer handed me 239 1,000-franc bills, 20 2,000-franc bills, and a dizzying array of smaller denominations of francs, as well as a generous serving of piastres and centimes. For those fortunate few who have never had to walk out onto a street in Africa with enough money on their person to make a down payment on a small house, that translates into a three-inch high, brick-size wad of cash. Here’s that pile after I pleaded with the bank to exchange 200 of the 1,000-franc bills for 40 5,000-franc notes.

(2) Matt Damon and Diesel

I was having coffee with a local businessman yesterday when I  learned that I have had my closest brush with Hollywood stardom since sitting down at the table next to Dustin Hoffmann at the Coral Tree Cafe in Brentwood some time ago. The person I was talking with had had breakfast with Matt Damon (?!) and a Canadian business delegation (?!?!?!) just that morning. Apparently, Diesel Jeans is interested in making clothes in Rwanda with the aim of marketing them at that particular segment of socially conscious and ludicrously wealthy consumers who are willing and able to part with $500 for a pair of jeans and a good cause. The narrative does seem compelling — “fair-trade” (presumably) apparel produced in a country that has risen against the odds from a human tragedy of unspeakable proportions. I have to confess to some nagging discomfort with the idea of making a profit from this narrative, but this venture, if it comes to fruition and is conducted fairly, could create jobs for people who sorely need them, establish a manufacturing base in a country with almost no manufacturing activity and, just maybe, begin to change the way people think about Rwanda. If a foreign entrepreneur with what turns out to be a brilliant business idea stands to profit, then I suppose it’s a win-win situation.

And just in case all that feel-good stuff doesn’t win consumers over, Matt Damon will be modeling the clothes.

(3) Muganda

One of the reasons that Rwanda is so clean is because, from 8am to noon on the last Saturday of every month, the entire country stops what it is doing and performs mandatory community service. For this event, which is called Muganda, the entire country comes to a standstill — stores close, taxis stop running (woe to the traveler who has to catch the 1:45 pm flight to Nairobi and who has not planned ahead), and every able-bodied citizen reports for whatever activity their neighborhood has been assigned, such as sweeping litter off the streets, cutting grass, etc. Muganda is also the reason that I was not woken up by the roar of trucks at 6:30 am and that I, as a lazy foreigner, have the time to work on my blog this morning (because I can’t go anywhere anyway).

(4) Bourbon Coffee

In case 4 hours of mandatory community service don’t jolt you awake, a perk-me-up is always available in the delectable form of Rwandan coffee. Back in the U.S., a cheap cup of coffee is a cheap cup of coffee. In Rwanda, almost every cup — except maybe the one that had been warming for a little too long in my guesthouse’s coffeepot this morning — is guaranteed to send a coffee lover into spasms of delight. The overall excellence of Rwandan coffee is probably explained by the country’s proximity to Ethiopia, where coffee was first cultivated. And because this is after all the Land of a Thousand Hills, conditions are pretty ideal for growing coffee. If you ever happen to find yourself in Kigali, check out Cafe Torero, in the city center, and Bourbon Coffee (UTC Center and MTN Center).

(5) Congolese food

There are a number of good restaurants in Kigali (my favorite is Republika Lounge where, incidentally, the Rwandan-Canadian owner gave me a bear hug the first time I met him and told him I grew up in Toronto), but very few seem to serve Rwandan food. When pressed, my Rwandan friends mumble vaguely and unhelpfully that the locals eat mainly beef or goat with rice or potatoes. So if you ever find yourself in this part of the world and want to return home being able to say that you have partaken of African food besides Ethiopian, go for the Congolese dishes that do seem to appear on many Rwandan menus. I realize that I am doing Congolese cuisine a disservice by trying to encapsulate it in one sentence, but here goes: Think chicken or fish with light sauces, rice and (very) hot spices. It’s delicious.

(6) Avoid Kenya Airways

Kenya Airways canceled my homeward ticket that I specially reconfirmed earlier in the week (Kigali must be one of the last places left in the world where you need to reconfirm your flights, though obviously it’s still a crapshoot). They’re not bad once they’re in the air, but before that they tend to do things like bump you off the flight because they feel like it. Unfortunately, there are not that many options for getting to Kigali….

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