So, Im back in Rwanda, and I have to say that coming back here after two weeks (well, more like 12 days) in France was a lot easier than I had anticipated. Ive therefore encouraged my fellow PCVs to go see their families this Xmas, if thats an option. It was a really good refresher, since I was starting to feel a little claustraphobic lately.
Being away has actually made me appreciate Rwanda way more than I did before, and I realize that although there are some things here I wont EVER get used to (extremely slow internet, flaky people who dont show up or get back to you, the amount of religion) Ive realized im pretty lucky to have ended up in Rwanda. Its small, beautifal, and most people are very friendly. Ive never been anywhere in Africa besides Rwanda, so I keep comparing Rwanda to Western Europe; the US and even India, but Ive realized from doing some research and talking to people that Rwanda is ahead of a lot of other African countries. First of all they are developing EXTREMELY fast. In just the two weeks I was gone a lot has changed. The bank downtown is totally different, they now have two teller booths dedicated to Western Union alone. A lot of the buildings in Kigali that were covered up with green construction netting are now uncovered and almost finished. One downside to the rapid growth is rapid inflation. Transportation costs more than it used to (all the busses and taxis have uped their prices) and the menu at Bourbon is brand new, and about 500 RWF more for each item. Such is life.
I guess I also need to take into account the fact that I live in Kigali, and Kigali is a bit particular. As far as I can tell, it is growing and changing much more rapidly than the rest of Rwanda. A lot of the rural areas get left behind.
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