Correspondence Home

Me and David, my landlord and friend at our house

I recently had two friends from Seedpod, the old co-op I lived at in Boston, write to me. I thought I'd shared to help describe what my life is like here. The first one here is from Janalyah, the 7 year old daughter of Sparklle who brought much joy to our house:

"Dear Andrew,

I really miss you.  You missed the time after the blizzard.  Becca, Alisia, Diego, and me had a snowball fight.  I missed when we used to play connect 4.  You also missed another movie night this time we watched Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.  I hope you will come back soon to visit us.  I will still give you 8 blow pops (this was a bet we had made over a Connect 4 game she lost).  I hope you write a letter back.

Love, 

Janylah

(questions)

Oh and, how is the weather in Africa?

It rains every day very hard and I often get drenched. The temperature is usually very pleasant and constantly around 80 F. In about a month or so the rain should slow down as the rainy season ends and the dry season begins (there are two each of these a year here).

Did you meet a lot of people?

Yes I am meeting lots of people! Most people want to say and get to know the foreignors here, especially the Americans, which they like very much. Many people ask for my phone number even though I know I'll never see them again. Sometimes they even call, just to say "hello" or ask how I'm doing, it's very strange and different than the U.S. Outside of the capital city Kigali where I live, people are even less used to seeing white people and most people say "muzungu," which means white person, as you walk by. Everybody is very nice and welcoming and I have a few people at this point that I consider friends. My roommates are great, one is also from Boston and the other is from New Zeland. We just went on a crazy trip together this weekend with a Belgian guy and Moroccan guy, just a little younger than me, who are also working in this country. We visited a small town on the lake called Kibuye - that you can see here: https://maps.google.com/maps?q=kibuye,+rwanda&ll=-2.060865,29.348602&spn=0.778147,1.352692&hnear=Kibuye,+Karongi,+Western+Province,+Rwanda&t=m&z=10

Dis you get a good job?

I think so. My job is interesting and I get to travel a lot in the country. It's challenging and different than my last job and there's a lot of opportunity because we are a new company. 

What do you live in?

I live in a house shared with a few people (as mentioned above). Our house is on a dirt road behind one of the main roads where many of the government buildings and the American Embassy is - our neighborhood is called Kacyeru and most of the roads do not have names and the houses don't have numbers so it's always difficult to explain to guests how to find our house ("the one behind a blue gate near a small boutique" we say)."

The second email here was from a previous Seedpod roommate Natalie:

"Hey Face,

Also, can you answer the following questions for me and I'll do the same?

1.  Where do you use the bathroom?

At work I like to go to the bigger and nicer one near the reception which has a one way window allowing me to see people entering the building but they can't see me! I usually stop afterwards to get some nice cold water from the water cooler and to say hi to angel at the front desk and try to say something in poor and goofy kinyarwanda 

2.  What did you eat for dinner last night?

Tomato-e and onion peas, pork chops, and sweet potatoes! The house boy usually cooks

3.  When was the last time you talked to Maya?

Besides tonight we talked just earlier this week. I think Tuesday? Skype is difficult though here. You need a lot of patience with the break ups and poor reception. . 

4.  Are you lonely?

Here I have some friends but no one I'm that tight with yet. A good mix of expats from all over and Rwandans  I keep myself pretty busy though with work and sports so I don't think about it too much. I have a routine sort of now. I hang with my roommates a lot also who are cool.

5.  How many hours do you work a week?

50-60, a lot and travel in the country brings it up! I don't even have Easter off!

6.  What do you wear on a daily basis?

Nice pants, like kakis and button down shirts with a belt. It's definitely more

Formal here in the business world. I can't get away with the same outfit that I could for EE

7.  How do you get your exercise?

Soccer and tennis primarily. But I also run; it just rains so much it's tough. Oh and also I've gotten into ultimate frisbee here. It's quite a scene really, but sadly and not surprising at all to you probably it's mostly bazungu (white people). I think the rain will slow down in a few weeks/month, I hope at least!

8.  Are you getting enough protein?

Yes, I'm eating way more meat now. It's such a big part of the diet here. I try to get some fish here and there but hard to find tofu and soy. Peanuts are around and delicious and the traditional eating out for cheap is the East African buffet classic - hundreds upon thousands of carbs. Pasta, rice, potatoes, chips(what we call fries), sweat potatoes, beans, and usually one green and beaf pieces in a flavorful tomato Based broth"