Kigali visit #2: visa retrieval

        On Wednesday I received an SMS update from the Immigration dept on the status of my visa.  It read: "Please, you have to pay 60.000 FRW (about $110 USD) because you have been working without a permit since October.  Please pay this at the Rwanda Revenue Authority no later than tomorrow."  Good.  I'm now back in Gisenyi and I need to go pay a fine in Kigali, 3 hours away, by tomorrow.  Good.  

        Thankfully, Sr. Gisele suggested that we try to have one of the Sisters in Kigali pay it for me.  It worked out just fine.  I called to make sure that someone else could pay on my behalf, and they said its ok.  So Sr. Lumiere paid it for me.  The next day I received another update that said that my visa application had been approved and that I should come pick it up the next day.  So I never needed the police clearance form…I guess they just assumed I've got a clean record.  Really though, the government is just a money-thirsty enterprise.  Throw the rules out the window and make her pay a fine, that's the solution.  Don't get me wrong, I'm glad I didn't have to request the police clearance form, but I find it very peculiar that they would just agree to accept my application without this very important document, in exchange for a couple of pretty pennies.  This is probably not at all unusual, sadly.

            So we had to cancel two of my classes (which means Sr. Charlotte went to meet my students and tell them to go home…we have no way of telling them beforehand to save them the trip).  Sr. Delphina's two brothers from Italy were visiting her, and they came with Sr. Lumiere to see our mission here for the day.  So I went back to Kigali with them.  That worked out very nicely.  I also lucked out that I came on the feast day of St. John Bosco, the founder of the Salesian Sisters!  All the students at the Sisters' school came for a party.  First we had Mass in the gym, then Sr. Rosaline explained that today is a day for a celebration, so we will have some dancing.  And at that, all of the children leapt up in the air for joy and let out squeals of glee.  Some of the teachers put on a mix for them with popular Kinyarwanda songs mixed with some popular American reggaeton (Gasolina and Rompe were among them).  And they just went at it.  It was kind of like a high school dance with circles of children busting their moves, but there were also some who were just in their own little dance zone, workin it by themselves. 

Some of the girls came to dance with me, so that was fun.  But truth be told, I was a bit shocked.  A lot of the kids really just want to imitate what they see on tv, so naturally, they all tried to look like strippers.  There were even girls humping the poles of the basketball hoops.  Pre-teen pubescence and the negative impact of the media really is a global thing.  Well anyways throughout all the dancing, I was semi-participating if I had a partner to dance with.  But I was not about to go just join a group and start poppin and lockin with them.  Oh no, I am not about to make a spectacle of myself.  But that's exactly what most of the kids were expecting.  Lots of them came up to me and said "Dance! Dance!  You must dance!"  And then they'd just look at me, watching to see if I'd put on a show for them.  Yeah, that's totally not what I do.  It made me miss the good times going to UWMBDA’s with friends back home :(  But after that we did some zumba and they sang and danced to some English Christian kids’ songs with accompanying motions.  That was really cute and they were very into it. 

    

         But after that we did some zumba and they sang and danced to some English Christian kids’ songs with accompanying motions.  That was really cute and they were very into it. 

        I gained even more practice getting around on my own, as I had to take a moto-taxi from Rugunga (the Sisters' place) to Immigration, and then from Immigration to the bus station.  I successfully picked up my passport with visa inside!  Yea!!!!!!  But the guy told me that now I need a green card.  Thankfully he said I can do that at the immigration office in Gisenyi, which handles smaller things like that. 

        I also met up with Emmanuel, a guy I met on the bus last time I was in Kigali.  It turns out he works in the Ministry of Education, which is right smack next door to immigration!  So he gave me a little tour of his building (nothing too exciting, pretty much your typical office) and we hung outside and chatted for a while before I caught my moto to the Virunga station.     

        Also I forgot to mention that I had a roll of fabric strapped to my back this whole time.  Yes.  The Sisters back home apparently needed Sr. Lumiere to buy them some kind of fabric for school uniforms and send it home with me.  So Sr. Lumiere threaded a piece of cloth through this long roll of fabric (don't worry, it wasn't too heavy), and I wore it like robin hood probably carried his quiver of arrows.  I felt like a real traveler.  It was also nice to get a call from Aimable, Clementine's brother whom I spent most of last Saturday with, who just wanted to say hello.  When I told him that I was in Kigali but heading home very soon, he immediately said "Ah!  Why didn't you tell me you were still in Kigali?!"  I had to explain that I did in fact go home to Gisenyi last week, and I just came for the day.  And to top off the events of the day, I made another random friend while waiting for the bus at the Virunga station.  P.S. - I really must commend the bus drivers.  Their parking lot is really small, and the driveway is this narrow alley between all the crammed-in shops in the heart of the city.  So these drivers really know how to maneuver their way around pedestrians, moto-taxis, other cars, cars parked randomly along the streets (basically you just shove your car wherever it fits, and in any orientation.  There really are no designated parking spaces.) and other buses.  But anyways, I had a nice time meeting a guy named Rodney from Uganda, who spoke very good English.  It was cool to be able to talk a bit faster and more colloquially.  

One other thing I wanted to mention about transportation in Rwanda: road rage totally does not exist here because drivers are happy!  The road is just a 2-lane 2-way thing from Gisenyi to Kigali.  And whenever anyone passes another vehicle, you always either tap the horn lightly or put on your signal.  This is simply to greet the driver, because frankly, there aren't that many of them out on the road.  There are quite a few semi's, often hauling crates of Primus (a very popular locally-produced beer) and they move pretty slowly.  So when you come up on the tail of one of them, he gives you permission to pass by putting on his blinker.  Then you blink him back as you pass him, or give a little honk to say thanks.  I've also seen drivers just stick their arm out the window to wave to the oncoming cars.  I got a very nice vibe of "lets share the road" during all my trips to Kigali and back.  Too bad there are so many cars on the road at once at home…if I try to bring this back it'll only lead to mass confusion :(

I've noticed that things that were at first real shockers do not phase me as much.  That makes sense I guess, since I've been here 3 months.  Amidst all these trips to Kigali, I remembered my very first time driving this route with the Sisters, from the airport to Gisenyi.  I remember being shocked at how inefficient it was to drive.  The whole way was incredibly slow because the road was in such terrible shape, filled with potholes.  Well, now I see that actually most of the way is a nice, smooth road.  There are a few stretches of crappy road, but they are certainly not the majority.  So my perception has changed a bit.  And of course, those things that at first were so totally "African" are now commonplace.  Like seeing a lady balancing a huge jug of water on her head, or people saying weird things like "Good appetite" with a rockin accent, (meaning enjoy your meal), or seeing concrete houses with steel roofs and no glass on the windows.  I sometimes need to take a step back and remind myself of what a blessing it is to be here, and to pray for the people who live in these conditions every day.  It certainly makes living daily life easier, but I must not overlook the things right under my nose. 

It’s a good thing and a bad thing to be habituated.