Hi everyone! Thank you all for your advice about what to do with the living arrangement situation. I finally decided to take the apartment I was telling you all about. Being with my boss 24/7 is great and all and I enjoyed it plenty while I could, but it is time for me to experience living on my own in the middle of Africa.
Martin and his girlfriend were very nice to have offered me to stay with them for another month, but I felt it was time to take the leap. I also did not want to give up the opportunity since I was not sure that I would find anything better.
So this week, I settled into my new apartment. It is great for many reasons:
1- Safety: I live on top of a bank, so there are two armed guards at all times. Everything is locked and Emmanuel, the grounds keeper, is always around.
2- Cleanliness and space: It is the nicest I have seen in my budget and there is plenty of place to host a party. (All my coworkers keep asking me when I will invite them over, so I need to learn how to cook and buy enough forks for everyone soon!) Seriously, I have seen uglier apartments in Montreal for triple the price so I cannot complain. I even have a balcony in my room where I like to sit at night when I am bored and spy on people (or keep working or write my blogs).
3- Proximity: It is only a 10 minute walk from work, which is nice. There is also a market nearby and the famous Chez Lando hotel/restaurant is just around the corner. I am already friends with Willy, the waiter, and he is making me taste something new every time. The famous stadium and U.N headquarters is also right beside where I live. I think I saw a volleyball game being played one night, which excites me like you wouldn’t believe. I just need to find someone to bring me as I am not sure how safe it is for a white chick like me to go by myself. Apparently crowds can get rowdy.
4- Utilities and Equipment: The place is fully furnished with a small fridge, a two burner camping stove (only 1 works right now but they are suppose to fix it), a foam bed with foam pillows (my cuz Val will have to heal my back when I get home), a mustard yellow living room set, a coffee maker, a kitchen table with 3 chairs (don’t ask where the 4th went) and a shower.
However, I will have to get used to a couple of things:
1- Water is turned on only 3 hours a day (4 if I am lucky). This means that a flushing toilet is a luxury and I need to hurry up and fill all my water basins when they do turn it on so that I can cook when I come home late and wash my face at night.
2- Hot water is also an unknown concept to Rwandans. Washing has therefore become a most painful (yes painful) chore. I basically heat water in my pot for 30 minutes and mix it with my huge cold water filled basin. (The water becomes lukewarm at best). I then must stand in the bathtub and poor the cold (cuz by now its already cold) water on me using a plastic juice jug bought at the Chinese store. I cringe just thinking about it and totally understand why many Rwandans prefer stinking rather than washing more than once a week. I am seriously thinking of adopting a similar strategy, but I am not sure I would be able to smell myself…Seriously, I wish this to nobody back home.
3- I must lock every door with a different key. This is great safety wise, but if you know me, it can be a total pain when you forget or lose one somewhere. I already managed to leave one set of keys in my jacket in my office at work. By the time I finished work in the office next door, Christelle (who shares the office with me) was long gone and I was locked out.
4- The fridge is empty ….and there is nobody to clean up after me. That’s when reality hits… But I guess I need to figure this one out on my own! Good thing I have a friend who went to the market with me on Saturday and helped me buy enough to get started. You see, over here the price seems to change depending on the colour of your skin so she helped me to learn the real value of things. El Cheapo aime ca!
Alright well I hope this is enough to get you all up to date with my living arrangements! Send me your comments! And by the way you are always welcome if you would like to visit! I will be waiting and by then I should have learnt how to cook! (It can’t be too hard; they seem to fry absolutely everything!)
Martin and his girlfriend were very nice to have offered me to stay with them for another month, but I felt it was time to take the leap. I also did not want to give up the opportunity since I was not sure that I would find anything better.
So this week, I settled into my new apartment. It is great for many reasons:
1- Safety: I live on top of a bank, so there are two armed guards at all times. Everything is locked and Emmanuel, the grounds keeper, is always around.
2- Cleanliness and space: It is the nicest I have seen in my budget and there is plenty of place to host a party. (All my coworkers keep asking me when I will invite them over, so I need to learn how to cook and buy enough forks for everyone soon!) Seriously, I have seen uglier apartments in Montreal for triple the price so I cannot complain. I even have a balcony in my room where I like to sit at night when I am bored and spy on people (or keep working or write my blogs).
3- Proximity: It is only a 10 minute walk from work, which is nice. There is also a market nearby and the famous Chez Lando hotel/restaurant is just around the corner. I am already friends with Willy, the waiter, and he is making me taste something new every time. The famous stadium and U.N headquarters is also right beside where I live. I think I saw a volleyball game being played one night, which excites me like you wouldn’t believe. I just need to find someone to bring me as I am not sure how safe it is for a white chick like me to go by myself. Apparently crowds can get rowdy.
4- Utilities and Equipment: The place is fully furnished with a small fridge, a two burner camping stove (only 1 works right now but they are suppose to fix it), a foam bed with foam pillows (my cuz Val will have to heal my back when I get home), a mustard yellow living room set, a coffee maker, a kitchen table with 3 chairs (don’t ask where the 4th went) and a shower.
However, I will have to get used to a couple of things:
1- Water is turned on only 3 hours a day (4 if I am lucky). This means that a flushing toilet is a luxury and I need to hurry up and fill all my water basins when they do turn it on so that I can cook when I come home late and wash my face at night.
2- Hot water is also an unknown concept to Rwandans. Washing has therefore become a most painful (yes painful) chore. I basically heat water in my pot for 30 minutes and mix it with my huge cold water filled basin. (The water becomes lukewarm at best). I then must stand in the bathtub and poor the cold (cuz by now its already cold) water on me using a plastic juice jug bought at the Chinese store. I cringe just thinking about it and totally understand why many Rwandans prefer stinking rather than washing more than once a week. I am seriously thinking of adopting a similar strategy, but I am not sure I would be able to smell myself…Seriously, I wish this to nobody back home.
3- I must lock every door with a different key. This is great safety wise, but if you know me, it can be a total pain when you forget or lose one somewhere. I already managed to leave one set of keys in my jacket in my office at work. By the time I finished work in the office next door, Christelle (who shares the office with me) was long gone and I was locked out.
4- The fridge is empty ….and there is nobody to clean up after me. That’s when reality hits… But I guess I need to figure this one out on my own! Good thing I have a friend who went to the market with me on Saturday and helped me buy enough to get started. You see, over here the price seems to change depending on the colour of your skin so she helped me to learn the real value of things. El Cheapo aime ca!
Alright well I hope this is enough to get you all up to date with my living arrangements! Send me your comments! And by the way you are always welcome if you would like to visit! I will be waiting and by then I should have learnt how to cook! (It can’t be too hard; they seem to fry absolutely everything!)
6 comments:
Salut Pat!
T'as l'air bien installée comme je vois! Et tu resteras la tout au long de ton stage? As tu internet dans l'appart en plus?
Pauvre toi avec pas d'eau chaude, c'est vraiment un gros challenge ca! Mais la temperature dehors est comment? Tu pourrais pas laisser de l'eau sur ton balcon pendant la journee et que le soleil la rechauffe?
J'ai hate d'entendre parler de ton party Rwanda style! Tu leur fera du paté chinois, pas complique Steak ble d'inde patate. Bonne chance!
xoxoxox
Gab
PS: C'est quoi le petit fish que tu tiens? C'est pour manger?
Did you catch piranhas again?? Mmm....
Your apartment looks pretty nice, actually. The hot water thing could get a bit annoying, but depending on the weather it might actually feel good sometimes! At any rate, cold water is better than smelly feet, right?
So sorry to hear about the keys, though. El Nino cannot be having an easy time with that! Oh my!!!! You should probably have a few sets made and keep one in each of your pockets... in all your clothes. That way, there's one everywhere you look!
Keep having fun! It sounds like you're really getting good at this!
Steph :)
xxx
Hey Pat!
Your apt is actually pretty nice... I expected a real dump, but u seem to be living it up in Rwanda!...apart from the fact that you only get water 4h per day if ur lucky that is! Just think of it this way - most ppl in Africa dont EVER get clean running water! lol way to put things in perspective eh! haha I know how much u HATE cold showers, and so if i know you well enough (which im pretty sure I do) ur cursing ever minute of it! lol You'll really appreciate hot showers when you get back!
I love food...taste lots of new things for me!
Miss u xoxo
hey hey!!!
ur appartment looks nice and big and clean....yah the shower part those suck but like steph said if it's extra hot and humid...a cold shower is always welcome...if not...just put cold water on one part of the body at the time...that's what i did in south east asia when there was no heater.
pat you should host a potluck at the same time as i do...and do you have internet in ur appartment cuz we can skype each other on that night...that would be coooool!
love you and miss you
xxxxxx
Un concept qui pourrait te reconcilier avec l'eau froide et mettre fin à ton envie d'arrêter de te laver: se laver "à la débarbouillette"! LOL
Sérieusement, dans une situation ou l'eau est rare, c'est vraiment la meilleure solution. La température de l'eau est moins dure à endurer... mais pour ce qui est de laver les cheveux, là t'as pas le choix! Dis toi que ça réveille... et que si j'en suis pas morte, moi qui suis si douillette, c'est que tu devrais survivre! ;)
L'appart est nice, et à ce que je vois, bien situé, alors amuse toi bien et profites-en! ;)
PAT! We had a raclette tonight... we missed you :(
Also, Kristelle got really drunk (are we surprised?)!!!!
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