living the nouveau colonial lifestyle

I often sit at my table in the morning, drinking my cup of tea and think about all the experiences I live here - and more than once I've had to mentally pinch myself to make sure I was actually awake and that this life is my reality. and on weekends like the one just gone by I can understand how you can conceive these cheesy happy end hollywood films; sometimes life really is like these films depict it.

I woke up on saturday morning fairly early despite going to bed quite late feeling fresh, funky and full of beans. so I made myself a cuppa and stepped out on the terrace to welcome the beautiful day and was positively surprised to find that all my flower pots had been filled with bougainvillea buds and a huge arrangement had been placed on the railings of my terrace. well - starting your day with a big bunch of flowers - what more can a girl want? and from that moment on I just knew it was going to be a great weekend.

after my cuppa and contemplation I set to work and finished painting my house - thoroughly enjoyed singing along to the music with the sun filtering through the windows as I was painting away. what a way to start the day!

and in the afternoon I went to see the monthly moto polo match down on the football pitch. moto polo - what in the four and half is that you might be thinking now. and you are right - but it's simple really - does exactly what it says on the box. it's playing polo on moto taxis. a mad idea of those that are conceived one late night on a porch with the difference that this one was actually realised. so you have some muzungus who convinced some moto drivers to join in for moto polo - and it has been going on for about six months now I think. and it is FUN.
it reminded a lot of a colonial game of crickett, the guys all in gear and getting ready for the game, discussing tactics whilst smoking cigarettes and taking swigs of beer to psyche themselves up. the girls were finding shaded spaces along the pitch from where we could watch the guys play their game. it was a great display of what you might call gender games: the guys secretly loving the fact that there were all these girls who had come to admire them - and let's face it - moto polo is a very masculine sport (although I still think we should start working on a girl's team). and us girls not only there for the actual game but to admire the guys and play our part in that game.

after the game we went to someone's house where we reinacted the kind of film where teenagers in southern california have parties in their parents mansions whilst these are on holiday. but minus the swimming pool and the actual mansion - but we had good music and booze, a garden and a rugby ball, a hammock and bagels - I mean, really, what more do you want? it was an afternoon of total carefree-ness and I felt like being 16 again - just better. but then maybe that's what your thirties are all about ;-))

and because the weather was so nice we spent all of sunday afternoon with a state of the art picnic by the lake in nyarutarama. there was sun and music, spanish ham and cheese, belgian saucisson, home made bread and home grown salad, wine and beer, a chocolate cake and a bottle of real champagne and last but not least good company. so how could you not have an amazing day?

it's hard to put all of this into words; I get asked by my friends whether I'm ok, whether I have people to share time with and whether life isn't a bit hard in rwanda. sure, there are days where things are difficult - but the good ones prevail! and if you want to know what it's really like - come and visit me ;-))