oh what - life is not perfect?

exactly 3 weeks ago today I arrived in kigali - and it feels like so much longer... my time in brighton seems so far away already and the 3 weeks in germany almost as though they'd never happened...


slowly, things are panning out here and I'm getting into a routine; not least because I've found a house which I love and which I share with an awesome flatmate. and seriously - how could you not get used to drinking your tea on the terrace when this sight greets you first thing?

but because not everything can be perfect, I have to accept the little disappointments along the way. for instance this morning I was told by the guy in charge of security at the UN that this house does not meet the standards... bugger! I told him there was no way I was moving - what do I have to do to be able to get clearance? I need to convince the landlord to build a wall around the back and put razor wire on it; then it will be fine. after all we do live 3 doors down from the prime minister - you can't find a safer area in kigali than this. so - when we meet the landlord this weekend, we'll have to convince him that he wants to build a wall round the house without putting the rent up - I might chip in a proper cooker seeing as we're cooking on a camping stove for now and that really isn't good enough for me!


oh well - I am not going to complain, the situation is solvable and there had to be a catch somewhere after all! life is still good - I'm still amongst the luckiest people on this planet and the smile is still all over the face - and seriously - if this is going to be my biggest problem, I don't have a problem at all!