A weekend away
on Camilla Gore (Rwanda), 30/Jan/2011 16:48, 34 days ago
I became very adventurous this weekend and I ventured out of the village for the first time to go to Christine’s birthday party in Butare across the other side of the country. The first thing I had to do was to take my first ever moto (motorbike taxi) ride. First of all I had to put on my horrible white vso standard issue helmet which makes me look like the white robot Eve from the film Wall-e. I was a bit scared at first but after a few minutes I found it quite fun. Its a lovely way to see the countryside whizzing past. Then I had to find a bus that went to Kigali, which I achieved after a few minutes of wandering around looking lost.I had to change bus in this bus park on the edge of this city. While I was stood waiting I received a text from the vso programme director to say that there had been a grenade attack at a bus park the previous evening. I found out later that it was that same bus park! There was no sign of anything untoward, yet less than 24 hours before 2 people had been killed and 29 injured there, according to an email from the foreign office which I read when I got home. It just brings it home that you have to be vigilant when travelling out and about, although there is nothing you can ultimately do if you are in the wrong place at the wrong time.I had to change bus again when I got to Kigali. I had a bit of a disaster when the bus arrived in Butare because I didn’t know I had arrived. Some people stayed on the bus so I assumed we were going to a more central location. But as the buildings thinned out I had a feeling something was wrong. Apparently the bus was headed towards Bujumbura in Burundi! Fortunately I realised very quickly, got off and found a moto. He didn’t seem to know where the cathedral was and took me to the wrong place...eventually I managed to get him to understand where I wanted to go but I arrived feeling very dishevelled! Still I guess I have learned a lot of lessons.It was lovely to catch up with volunteers old and new in Butare, and catch up with everyone about their first few days. I’m glad I made the effort as I think its going to be important to have regular face to face contact with people. Fortunately the journey back was considerably less eventful, and I even found a moto driver who had heard of the village where I lived! So all’s well that ends well as they say.