Day 6: Dinner

I've given up trying to take photographs of dinner in Albert's dark living room (for the moment). Instead I thought I'd post these photographs of some plantain trees in Albert's garden. The plantain is the harder, more savoury cousin of the banana, and it often pops up in food (cooked) here. The old man saw me looking at the plant and informed me that in Kinyarwanda, plantain is igitoki.

 The old man also pointed at an avocado tree in the neighbour's garden (which I don't have a picture of) and told me that it is avoka.

I wanted to go for a walk as the only time I get to myself is usually when I'm sleeping, and even then, the mosquitos seem intent on interrupting my thoughts. I told Albert that I would go for a walk, and by the time I had my shoes on, Jado, the boy, had his on and was ready to escort me for my walk. In this situation, I think it's better to go along with it. As it happens, it was a very enjoyable amble. Jado taught me lots of Kinyarwanda, which I can summarise best in these phrases.

kugenda mu rugo n'amaguro = to go home by foot
kugenda mu mujyi na moto = to go into town by moto (scooter taxi)
kugenda ku kazi n'imodoka = to go to work by car
kugenda kunywa amazi/inzoga = to go and drink water/beer
kugenda kurya igitoki = to go and eat plantain
igiti = tree

Very good. Dinner tonight was rice, potatoes, mystery meat, salad, no sombe (which I have discovered is made from the leaves of the cassava plant; nothing to do with spinach), and a beer.

*If you notice any of my Kinyarwanda spellings changing through my posts, it is either because I don't know how to spell the words, or because I've recently discovered the correct way.

Day 6: Lunch

Friday's lunch: Spiced rice, rolled-up egg thing, fried plantain, various bean mixes, yam, peanut sauce, red egg, passion fruit, 2x mini banana. Yum. Each day I see these wonderful advertisements on my walk to and from Camellia. I thought I would share them.

House burning down in apocalyptic chaos? Quick! Phone the insurance company. 'A friend indeed'.

On an aeroplane during a terrorist attack? At least I'm insured!

Simply Rwandaful

Day 6: Breakfast

Good morning! Today's breakfast was another round of bread-omelettes (two), and milky tea. I managed to communicate to the old man that I'd like to know to know the name of the dish, and he called it a farin.

Albert's girlfriend was around for breakfast, and knowing she speaks English, I took advantage of the situation and asked her how to tell the old man that his food was good. She told me nibyza means it's nice. I repeated this to the old man, and he seemed very amused at my small attempts at Kinyarwanda.

He even went so far as to show me the flour, with which he made the chapatis. (I would have guessed they were shop-bought.)

Feeling good about my new-found ability to communicate with the old man, I gave him my empty water bottle to throw away (there are no bins in the house) but 10 minutes he returned from the shop with a new one for me. (Orakozi.)

Here is a photograph of the clean water tap - from my bedroom window - where the washing up is done each morning. Those pots will be from last night's dinner.

Shortly after breakfast, Jado (the boy) flagged down a moto for me, and of I went to work. At the end of my first week, I am much less afraid of good moto drivers (and much more afraid of bad moto drivers). I have stopped holding onto the drivers, and started holding onto the handles behind my seat. (Most others I see don't hold on at all.)

This morning's words:
farine = chapati-omelette thing
nibyza = it's nice

Day 5: Lunch

This afternoon I walked to Camellia again to buy my lunch. The other staff told me again to let the cleaner go, but I told them I need the walk.

In today's pot I put tomatoes, spiced rice, chips, a sort of root vegetable mush, fried plantain (yum!), fried fish, a piece of the meat with carrot inside, and some peanut sauce (which you can see at the top edge). I picked up my usual two miniature bananas, and the packing man had an orange ready for me. He's very particular about wrapping the bananas and orange up in tissue, and the fork. In fact, the Rwandans that I've met so far, do seem quite attentive and careful. The meal cost me the usual 2,800frw, and I bought a mango juice from the shop across the road for 500frw (which I believe is a bit expensive) (50p).

Here is a rubbish photograph of the outside of Camellia. Today as I was on the approach, a little boy ran towards me, then walked the remaining few metres to the restaurant with me talking in Kinyarwanda at me. I don't know what he was saying.

I learnt in the office that when somebody says bite (hi), you should reply byza. And that amakuru (news) can also mean do you have any news? or whassup, to which you should reply imeza.


Summary of words learnt today:

byza = hi
amakuru = whassup
imeza = whassup in return

Day 5: Breakfast

When I opened my curtains this morning, I saw the old man polishing my shoes. I felt instantly guilty about this.

This morning breakfast was at 8. The old man went to fetch the policeman's friend (the boy in the white vest) who lives in the hut in Albert's garden. This morning he was not in a white vest, and instead just had a towel around his waste. "He wants me to tell you to wait here and he will cook your breakfast." he said.

The old man brought in two eggy-bready things (like yesterday) and some African tea (without ginger). All I could do was say Orakozi over and over again like an idiot. The man just smiled and kept saying yes. After I'd cleaned my teeth I was horrified to see the old man in the living room untying my shoelaces for me. It was too late to stop him. Tonight I will undo them when I take off my shoes. I must also learn his name, when I can find somebody to ask.

Day 4: Dinner

After a very difficult moto (scooter taxi) ride home (Albert's house has no address, and his road has no name) I arrived back at 8.30.

Dinner was ready early, but Albert was not around, so I ate with Serj, Ernest*, and a guy in a black polo shirt, whose name I don't know. The green soup made another appearance as a starter. I asked about this, but Serj told me it has no name in Kinyarwanda, so they call it potage. For the main was sombe or Sombi, a dark green mush, which I believe involves spinach; rice, which Serj told me is called morcheri; and had chips, which the guy in the polo told me is called ifirite. I took a very small portion today as I'd come straight from a cafe where I had consumed a pot of African tea (very milky, with ginger) and a (huge) slice of (dry) cake (with lots of icing). The photo is dark again because Albert's living room is quite dark.

There was no meat this evening, but double the carbs. I've realised this is not unusual, no more than having a dinner with two or three types of meat is unusual.

After we ate, the guy in the white vest (from yesterday) turned up to eat. He asked if I made it home okay. Later on, the boy came in to eat too. This is the first time I've seen him eat. The lizard was in his usual corner of the room, above the TV. No sign of Albert tonight.

Summary of words learnt tonight:

sombi/sombe = green mush
potage = dark green soup (ever present)
morcheri = rice
ifirite = chips
amakuru = news (Rwanda TV was on during dinner)

*His name may not be Ernest.

Day 4: Lunch

Today for lunch I walked to Camellia (where I bought my lunch on Monday). The others in the office insisted the cleaner go into town and buy my lunch for me, but I was more insistent. From the buffet I took tomato, avocado, spiced rice, fluffy potatoes, chips, sweet potato chips, something that might have been chick peas, pork with carrots embedded inside, fried fish, carrots and green beans (mixed), and a pink sauce which somebody kindly told me was peanut (nothing like satay).

I asked for two of the miniature bananas, and the man who packed my food threw in a red egg (which I have just remembered is still in my bag). Back at the office, (where I ate my lunch) Christine told me that her doctor told her to eat two red eggs a day to give her more blood.

Today's photograph shows the size of the container compared to my laptop. The meal cost 2,800frw (it's more expensive to takeaway than to eat in) which is roughly equivalent to £3. Christine later told me that this is one of the more expensive places to eat in Kigali.

After lunch, Christine taught me some new words in Kinyarwanda. These are them:

yego = yes
oya = no
tugende = let's go*
umutaka = umbrella
ichai = tea

*I asked how you say 'excuse me' if you want to pass somebody. Christine said there is no word for this, you just say tugende.

Day 4: Breakfast

This morning the old man left my breakfast out a bit later than usual (8 instead of 7.45) and this was it: at first I thought it was an omelette, but I noticed the bread in the centre of the ring of egg. Very nice all the same. As I finished this one, he brought out a second. I had a lovely cup of African tea (without ginger), and, thankfully, no green soup*. Perfect!

The old man then (kindly) brought my (newly polished) shoes to me, and the boy called me a moto, on which I travelled to work. Woosh.

Before I left, they convinced me to let them wash my shirt (by hand). I said I would take it to a launderette but it got to the point where it would have been rude for me to say 'no' any more times.

*Yesterday I was brought three omlettes, followed by the same green soup we'd had for dinner the night before. I'm becoming less sure about this aperitif sauce.

Day 2: Dinner

This dark photograph is of dinner. We eat it in the living room (the only communal room) where it is served in huge saucepans, on the coffee table. You take it in turns to help yourself, once the last person has taken what they want. Tonight we started with a bowl of dark green soup, which Serj (whom I met tonight for the first time) informed me was 'an aperitif sauce'. He tried to tell me the ingredients but I find it very difficult to understand him, and he only knew the plants in Latin. The rest of dinner was a tray of sliced onion, carrot and tomato (salad*), something green, smoky, mushy, and quite nice, rice, fluffy potatoes, pork (or similar) in a tomato sauce, and green beans with carrots.

I ate with Albert, Ernest (Albert's cousin), Serj (I think he is also Albert's cousin), a boy in a white vest, and somebody.

There was a lizard in the corner of the room just like on the first night. He sat above the TV watching us.

*I was told to be careful of eating salad and raw veg without washing it myself in bottled water, but I didn't want to be rude and I was craving salad, so I had a small amount. It's too late now, but perhaps if I have a little bit here and there my body will become a immune to anything that I could catch. 

Day 2: Lunch

Today was my first day in the office. The staff are all lovely. There is a cleaner (who they just call 'the cleaner') who cleans, and fetches anything the staff need from the shop. He took me around town at lunch time to show me where I could get my lunch from. We walked in silence as I cannot speak Kinyarwanda and he cannot speak English. After seeing three places (Camellia, Simba, and Fantastic) I chose the first: a 'buffet'. You help yourself to what you want and put it in a foil container. I got the impression that this was quite an upmarket place, as there were lots of foreigners and formally dressed diners. The dinner cost me 2,800frw.

In the container I put plain rice, spiced rice, pork, beef, fish (there was a sign on the wall about taking no more than two pieces of meet and one piece of fish), some chickpeas (or similar) some other bean(ything)s, a few potato(/sweet potato) dishes... and something green. I'll try to do better at the descriptions if I go again. It may sound like I was being greedy, but everybody was doing the same. It's difficult to show, but the portion was very big. The cleaner said something to the man who packed my food for me, and he unwrapped a giant bowl of fruit, and took out two miniature bananas (I'll get photographs next time) and something which looked a bit like a small mango with a stem. The miniature bananas were a lot more flavoursome and sweeter than our English (not from England) bananas.

Back in the office (where I ate), I was informed by Christine's boyfriend that the mystery fruit is called a red egg. He said it gives you blood, and they all confirmed this. To eat it, I had to press around it, bite a small hole in the top, then squeeze the (bright red) seeds and juice out through the hole into my mouth. Quite nice, but not when you're thinking of blood.

I felt bad about the cleaner having to walk me round town, and I asked the others how to say thank you in Kinyarwanda. Orakozi is thank you to one person, and Morakozi is thank you to more than one person.

Summary of words learnt:

Orakozi = thank you (singular)
Morakozi = thank you (plural)

Day 2: Breakfast

Today I was surprised to see that, when I entered the living room at 7.45, my breakfast had been made for me, and had been left on a tray on the coffee table. I believe it was the same boy who made dinner last night, and who opened the gate when we first arrived at Albert's house, in his car. I don't feel too comfortable with somebody making all my food for me, especially as I don't see them, and don't know how to say thank you.

Breakfast was something like an omelette. I think it had green and red pepper in it, and it was very nice. There was orange juice, and a box of teabags (as well as the loose leaf Earl Grey that I had brought for Albert as a present). Oh and in the bag on the right was a freshly bought loaf of bread. The entire cutlery rack was left next to the tray, even though I was the only one there to eat.

I felt especially awful, when I noticed the boy had left my shoes next to my chair, ready for me to wear. As it happened, they were not the ones I was going to wear, so I put them back and took out my work shoes. First day today.

I was told I'd be picked up at 8, but at 8.15 nobody was here, so after a very confused conversation with the boy (him speaking Kinyarwanda, and me speaking English), he kindly stopped a moto for me, which is a scooter taxi. It was terrifying and the man charged me double what I was told at the beginning (1,000frw, instead of 500frw, which is approx. £1 instead of 50p). I thought I'd let it go on my first ride.

*Yesterday on the plane here, a Rwandan girl taught me that Murumuzi means good morning, and Albert told me Bite is a casual way of saying hello. Then when we arrived at his house, some small children crowded round to look at me, saying muzungo, which Albert diplomatically told me was me.

Summary of words learnt:

murumuzi = good morning
bite  = hey
muzungo = white person