New residence (and developments)

At the beginning of December, I moved out of the house in Kibagabaga. In August, the young brother in our Chinese congregation named Adiel had moved in with Jacques and me at Kibagabaga for a couple of reasons. First, because Jacques was connecting with his girlfriend (now fiancée) almost all the time, he realized that I was in need of some company, which was true. Also, Adiel wanted me to teach him piano, and in furtherance of that end, moved his keyboard (along with himself, for convenience sake) into our house.

However, it was inevitable that we would have to move out of that house when members of the family from Belgium, especially the mom, were to come. So in advance of that, in December Adiel and I decided to move to his family's house located in an area called Gahanga. This area is about 12 km (7 mi) outside of town, and sure enough, it does feel like I'm living in a village, particularly since I haven't seen another mzungu since living here. However, one big difference is that the houses out here are big, and there is construction of more houses of this size going on everywhere. So I guess it would be more appropriate to say these are the suburbs of Kigali.

What is life like in the 'burbs? Well, there's an open-air market, just like in other neighborhoods. The main tarmac road is new, smooth, and wide enough for two cars. In fact, you can go 75 kph (45 mph) on this road, which is about the fastest I ever drive in Kigali. It sure is fun! The road is of this quality because it is the one leading to the new airport they are building; when it will be finished I don't know. Other than that, I notice that here outside of town, I get stared at. A lot. Not like in the city, where I think people are more used to seeing non-Africans.

So I'm here at the house of Brother Kalimunda, his wife, two daughters, and son. Everyone except the wife and hired hand go off to work during the week, leaving me pretty much to my own devices. Of course, there is congregation work, some preaching during the week, and I still have a once-a-week piano teaching job, which is about the only reason to go out in the car. Otherwise, it's just marking time.

Three more months, to be exact. That's because on April 1, I will be returning to the U.S. and leaving Rwanda for good. My parents are needing some help due to the limitations of their age. My younger brother and I have worked out a tentative arrangement where we each spend half the year close to my parents, which means I can spend the other half of the year somewhere else. Thus, there is the possibility that I can return to East Africa late next year. But that depends on how the COVID-19 situation is by that time also.

So...it has been a wild ride! Never dreamed that I would be living here in Rwanda for 7 years!

Conclusion to 2nd language course

Well, our second Chinese language course was interrupted by the pandemic, after seven weeks of classes. That left nine weeks remaining. We, the instructors, decided that we would complete those nine weeks by sending homework (actually, placing it on dropbox.com) and assigning the students to complete it and send it via e-mail to us. We also asked each student to send us an audio recording of a presentation that he/she would create, using another student as the assistant.

So, no more live classes from March onward. It was a disappointment, to be sure, but necessary for everyone's safety. That made the last class in June somewhat of an anticlimax.

But on the evening of Sunday, September 6, we decided to hold a special program for the students with demonstrations, talks, and interviews--similar to what we held for the students of the first course, except that we had no Bible dramas and, of course, no food. The program was presented on Zoom, and there was no limit to the number of friends and family members that could be invited. So we ended up with audience members tied in from various places in the world! The total attendance was several hundred!

Most of the students have transferred to the Chinese congregation. This almost doubled the number of publishers! We're now well equipped!

One significant consequence of the coronavirus lockdown

This is now, as of today, July 27, 2020, Day No. 135 of the coronavirus lockdown here in Rwanda. The latest totals: 1,821 cases and 5 deaths, for a total population of about 12 million, which is surprisingly low. 

But there is one interesting conclusion that I've come to in the last few months. Actually, I came to this conclusion years ago, but in view of the current pandemic, it has solidified in my mind. And that is this: America is one of the most emotionally repressed, touch-deprived countries in the world. It is uncomfortable, in American culture, to tell people that you love them. Really. Whether it be your family members, friends, or even spouse. Touching anyone except in certain society-approved ways, such as shaking hands, is viewed as a perversion. You can hug someone only if you haven't seen that person in a long time, or in the case of men, if it is in the context of, say, a sports victory.

Yet, scientific evidence shows that infants who are touched not only survive but thrive. Those who are not are more likely to sicken and die. But when a person, especially a boy, reaches adolescence, suddenly all the touching stops. Then, for the rest of your life, you are basically expected to 'man up' and not show or receive any affection. Is it any wonder that in America antidepressants and feelings of isolation are so common?

But in many parts of the world, such as the Middle East, Africa, and India, verbal and physical expressions of affection are common. I've visited quite a few African countries and lived in two of them (Malawi and Rwanda), and I can tell you, culturally people do express their feelings more. There are differences between countries; for example, Rwandans tend to be a bit more reserved whereas Congolese let their emotions out more readily. But for the most part, there is a lot of love here! For example, in text messages between brothers in the congregation, they tend to use the word "dear" frequently in addressing the person, such as "my dear Brother Brian." We're not talking about a standard business letter salutation here! Well, I am very proud to say that I have never, not even once, used the word "dear" in a text message. But I might be influenced to change that position....

The result of expressed affection and greater social and community ties is this: the use of antidepressants is uncommon. In the Chichewa language, in Malawi, they don't even have a word for "depression"! (But as Africans adopt more Western ways, such as the idea of living alone, a common practice in America, they are more prone to depression.)

Another example: there is the matter of men holding hands in public, a practice that seriously offends sensibilities in America. But here in Africa--and I have photographic proof--it is common and no one raises an eyebrow. When I lived in Malawi, there was one time when my Bible student Romain and I had to go somewhere, and as we were walking side by side, he grabbed my hand and held it for what I felt was an uncomfortably long time. I was trying to figure out a way to get out of this situation, but eventually I realized that this was just a gesture of friendship. That is all it means in this part of the world, and if you pull your hand away, it is taken as a slight and rejection of the other person's friendship. Sometimes you see a guy sitting on another guy's lap. This is interpreted completely differently here, if you realize that Africa is most overwhelmingly heterosexual compared to America or Europe. (And in India, I saw 25 people all trying to sit on one standard-size bench!) The American concept of "personal space" is just non-existent in this part of the world.

But getting back to the subject of hugs, okay, when I return to America for a visit, I get hugged by everyone because they haven't seen me in a long time. But that one hug is all I get. Here, in my congregation, there was a time recently when I had an older tablet that was replaced by a newer one that came from my parents. The older tablet had an issue, but not one that couldn't be easily fixed. So I decided to give the tablet to a sister in the congregation who didn't have one. Well, after the meeting when I gave it to her, she was so overwhelmed with gratitude that she hugged me (for quite a while) on the spot. Whoa, it's really hard when your American sensibilities start to kick in!

So the realization has come to me, after over four months of lockdown, that not having the physical presence of other people is very psychologically tough. Sure, you can see them on a computer screen or a phone, but that's just not the same as seeing them in the flesh. And getting hugged.

I can tell you this: if or when this lockdown ends, and we are allowed to use our Kingdom Halls once again, at the first meeting I'm going to hug all the publishers. Every one of them. And tell them I love them.

Latest on the coronavirus lockdown

Yesterday was Day 60 of the coronavirus lockdown here in Rwanda. (Confirmed cases of COVID-19: 287, no deaths.)

Needless to say, our Memorial was held in lockdown, like the rest of the world, so it was not necessary to have all seven congregations in our Kingdom Hall meet together while across the street at the stadium the government held their special program on Genocide Memorial Day. Everything was completely shut down. It was kind of strange on the evening of Memorial sitting in front of a computer screen, by yourself, with just the bread and wine on the table. Have we ever experienced this before? I think not.

Last week the government relaxed the restrictions somewhat, allowing businesses to open with essential employees only, restaurants opening until 7:00 p.m., public transportation (but not motos) now operating with distance between passengers. The police will not stop you now, so you can go anywhere you want as long it's not outside the city. Face masks are required for everyone in public.

When you go to the market, there is a line to enter, with marked squares on the ground to stand on, placed apart at the appropriate distance.

Around our neighborhood (Kibagabaga), it's pretty strange seeing all these face masks. It's somewhat like a 21st-century Sci-Fi movie. (Oh, wait, we are in the 21st century.) One guy was wearing a dog muzzle, imagine that. Obviously, that's to prevent him biting someone. Which I feel like doing out of frustration, sometimes.

Stir crazy! That's how I would describe everyone's current feelings. You don't realize the psychological effect that staying at home all day, every day, has on a person. OK, for the first week or two it's kind of a novel thing, reading, watching movies, etc., but after that, it feels like being in...prison.

The situation with schools is that they will be closed until September. Prior to this, the Rwandan school system operated from February until November, with the major holiday period being December and January. But the government decided that this year, schools would switch to the traditional calendar adopted by Western countries, that is, September to June. The change would take place gradually over a few years. But the coronavirus situation has now forced schools to change immediately to the September-June calendar. This means that kids will have six months off from school (which has brought joy to their lives), although many schools are now struggling to initiate some kind of online instruction.

And because the branch has not yet given us permission to hold meetings at the Kingdom Hall or do any public preaching, it still feels like lockdown. Phone witnessing and letter writing are forms of preaching that are rare here...until now. The problem is that if you didn't have many phone contacts (like me), you're up a creek. Most of my Chinese contacts are on WeChat, which is a messaging app that is not recommended to use for preaching because it is monitored by the Chinese government. I can't see accompanying others by Zoom or phone on their Kinyarwanda return visits and Bible studies. So what is left? I did manage to write six handwritten Chinese letters during April. This was a first!

So, as they say in Kinyarwanda, "Komera!" (Be strong!) This is something we all need, that is, strength during this difficult time.

Stuck at home!

So it's Day 11 of the coronavirus restrictions in Rwanda....

There are now 40 confirmed cases of coronavirus in here. None of which are Chinese, by the way.

On the first day, March 15, we were told that the restrictions would be in force for two weeks. Then, last weekend, they were extended until the first weekend in April, for the time being. The authorities have strictly enforced limited travel. Within the city you can go only for essentials, such as food and medical care. Out of town trips are prohibited. Almost all flights are cancelled, except for two specific outbound flights, one on Qatar Airways and the other on KLM, on a specific day, for those foreigners who need to get back to their country of origin. Otherwise, too bad!

Bethel is under a lockdown, which means no one can go in or out. This means that commuters have to stay home and work there, if their job allows some type of remote computer assignment. During the siege of ancient Jerusalem, no one could go in or out also. Is there a parallel here?

What is it like staying at home and not being able to go anywhere? Our household is composed of me, my roommate Jacques, and his teenage Bible student Diamant (who by the way is a good kid, quiet, doesn't make much trouble, and knows how to cook). Well, it's basically like this: read or study, get on the computer, eat, and then take a nap. Rinse, repeat. All day long. After a while you don't even remember what day it is, sometimes even what time it is. But there is one discovery I have made: when you spend more time with the people you live with, you get to know them better and become closer. Also, I've decided to take a walk of at least a half-hour every day. And you know what? Now I'm looking at birds, clouds, nature. It's a great experience! We should have these restrictions more often!

So today we had to go out in the car for the first time because Jacques had a couple hundred euros sent to him by the family in Belgium that he had to exchange for Rwandan francs at a Forex (foreign exchange) in order to pay property taxes on two houses the family owns. Forget about going into town to this Forex that he says has the best rates. We decided to go as far as Remera (Bethel, Kingdom Hall, stadium), which has quite a few Forex locations. Also, we needed to go to the market to buy food.

Do you know that in the 4 km (2.5 mi) we drove till we got to the only Forex open in the neighborhood, we were stopped no fewer than 6 times by police! They pull you over and ask where are you going, what is your purpose, etc. The streets were virtually deserted, like a ghost town. Some people were running around wearing face masks. One policewoman told us that because we had three people in the car, which violated some rule requiring that everyone be at least one meter apart, one of the passengers had to get out and walk. So Jacques got out, I drove on for about a hundred meters and dropped Diamant off at a bus stage, picked up Jacques and then returned to get Diamant. What we didn't say (but only because I don't speak Kinyarwanda) to her was that all three of us have lived in the same household for months, and if any of us were infected, we would have gotten sick by now. Come on!

Returning from the Forex, we stopped at the Kimironko market, which had a long line of people and a couple of handwashing stations at the entrance. The inside of the market had undergone an amazing transformation. Instead of the bustling, claustrophobic place that open-air markets usually are, many stalls were empty. All vendors who sold anything other than food were conspicuously absent. The ones selling food were mostly around the perimeter. I said to myself, I'm not breathing in here, I'm not touching anyone (which is pretty hard to do). We bought our stuff and hightailed it out of there, passing by the bus park, which was completely empty.

Last Saturday we successfully used Zoom to videoconference our meeting for just the Watchtower Study. It's kind of neat: you control your video and audio and can comment by pushing this button that says "Raise Hand." Then, a little icon of a hand shows up next to your name. The only drawback with Zoom is that the free version only gives you 40 minutes for each "meeting." When the meeting is cut off, everyone has to "join" again using the same meeting ID number. For Saturday's meeting, though, the brother who was the host got a popup with a promotion giving us uninterrupted service for our meeting. Unfortunately, for Tuesday's midweek meeting, we didn't have the promotion and so we had to reset 3 times.

My understanding is that Skype doesn't have a time limit on meetings but the number of participants is limited to 50 (Zoom is 100). That's no problem for us, because we have only 22 publishers. We may switch to Skype after doing some testing.

Oh, something else about the meetings. We decided that talks, parts, or comments can be given in any language you want. The whole idea is that of mutual encouragement. Most of the two meetings we have had have been in Kinyarwanda, because that is everyone's mother tongue (except me). So, I don't know, should I switch to the English congregation?

What about preaching? Since these restrictions started, the only means of preaching allowed are letter writing, telephone, e-mail, and text. But here in Rwanda, those methods of preaching are almost never used. So this is an opportunity for all of us (especially the pioneers, who are affected the most) to step out of our 'comfort zone.' Last week I wrote my first letter in Chinese characters. I read characters all the time but never write them. I used the sample in the be book with a few small changes. It took me an hour and 20 minutes! Handwritten letters are more personal than printed ones, and besides, they take longer to produce. We can leave these letters, along with a tract or invitation, at confirmed Chinese homes where the residents are hard to reach.

Also, this coming Friday, Jacques plans to conduct a Bible study with Diamant, starting in the morning and going all afternoon! Six hours of preaching time!

And here's my final comment to anyone burned by the stock market (tanking 30% in a month): Zoom is a very fitting name. Look up the stock.

Memorial complications

Well, I don't know about your Memorial, but the ones here in Rwanda this year will probably be unique in the worldwide field. How is that?

It turns out that April 7, every year, is Genocide Memorial Day. This marks the anniversary of the day when the Rwandan genocide started in 1994. In Rwanda, this is a very serious holiday. Everything shuts down: government and local businesses, transport (except for a few hours in the early afternoon), sporting events, meetings, etc. The only things allowable are government-sponsored events.

In the U.S., you can preach on any holiday you want, including Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Day. But in Rwanda, on Genocide Memorial Day as well as another serious holiday, Heroes' Day (February 1), we do not preach. I don't know what would happen if we did, but it would be a serious offense to people's sensibilities. So we stay home. It's even difficult to go anywhere due to the transportation shutdown.

The problem is that our Memorial, the Memorial of Christ's death, happens to fall on April 7 this year, the same as Genocide Memorial Day. I checked the date of every Memorial since 1995 and none of them fell on April 7. So this will be a first-time occurrence. On the evening of April 7, every year, the government arranges an event called "Walk to Remember." Thousands of people walk from the Genocide Memorial Museum, which is located in a neighborhood called Gisozi, to Amahoro Stadium, a stadium that seats about 20,000 and is located in a neighborhood called Remera. This stadium also happens to be right across the street from Bethel, and behind Bethel is the Remera Kingdom Hall, which is where 7 congregations meet (3 Kinyarwanda, English, French, Chinese, and Sign Language). The distance from Gisozi to Remera is about 10 km (6 mi) and the walk starts around 5:00 p.m. This means that the major roads are blocked during this time. Once everyone arrives at the stadium, a program of speeches, interviews, testimonials, and videos begins. The program lasts all night.

Then, the week following Genocide Memorial Day is called the Week of Mourning. Up until April 13, other events are planned which vary by location and time. During that period, we limit our preaching to certain times of the day.

So, of course all of us were wondering, could we hold our Memorial celebration that evening at the Kingdom Hall? Considering that it is so close to the stadium, with police and soldiers all over the place, would it be considered offensive?

In mid-March, members of our Rwanda Branch Committee met with governmental officials to discuss the matter. We explained to them that this is the most important religious event we have during the entire year, and that it must be held on that night, the anniversary of Jesus' death according to the Jewish calendar.

I don't know specifically what else was said during that meeting, but the result was that the officials said, okay, you can have your meeting, but only from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. No other time. Not before, not after. This applies to every congregation in the entire country. So they really did us a big favor.

Unfortunately, some congregations had already printed their Memorial invitations with some other time. We in the Chinese congregation hadn't printed ours, because we weren't sure what the direction would be.

Logistically, now, the problem will be to squeeze all 7 congregations into the double Kingdom Hall. We do have, in addition to our small parking lot on site, a fairly decent-sized parking lot behind the Kingdom Hall where the Sign Language RTO is located. It was decided that the 3 Kinyarwanda congregations would meet, all together, in the larger parking lot under a massive tent. This would mean 300 brothers and sisters, not including interested ones. English would take the upstairs Hall, French the downstairs one, and Sign Language the small parking lot under a tent. Chinese would be in the back room of the upper Hall.

Another thing we wondered about is whether interested people would come, (1) because our invitation campaign is severely limited by the coronavirus, and (2) because many would be afraid to come on the same day as Genocide Memorial Day. Or they might be confused between Genocide Memorial and our Memorial, both of which use the word "Memorial." Or they might try to come but find that the roads are impassable. So we don't have an idea of how many visitors we will have. But even with only publishers attending, you would still have more than 500 people at the same venue.

The direction therefore is, try to come to the Kingdom Hall that evening before 5:00 p.m., because otherwise you might find the route blocked. Don't bring your car. Be prepared to find alternate routes upon leaving. I can still park my car at my previous house, and then walk 6 minutes to the Hall. The roads of that neighborhood should not be affected by blockage.

If, by the time that April 7 comes, we are still under coronavirus restrictions prohibiting large gatherings, then we will have to meet in small groups either watching a streamed talk, or else, as I joke to some of the sisters, 'you can give a Memorial talk to a small group wearing a head covering.'

There is no question that 2020 will be a year to remember....

Coronavirus

Amazed by what is happening on the world scene? I've been in the truth for 50 years and never, never have I seen the hysteria the coronavirus is causing. Even SARS, MERS, and Ebola were not like this. Here in Africa it has not affected us to the extent of China or Europe, but about a week ago the first case in Rwanda was discovered. It was an Indian man who was traveling from India to Rwanda. The authorities quarantined him immediately. Then, a report appeared yesterday stating that now there are a total of five cases here. In the rest of East Africa (Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania) there is only one reported case in Kenya. A few more cases in West Africa and South Africa. But the governments here have some experience with monitoring the Ebola virus. Anytime you cross a country border, they check your temperature by putting a probe against your neck. So they are taking this situation very seriously.

The meetings here in Kigali have been canceled for two weeks by order of the Ministry of Health. Assemblies have been postponed. We had a Chinese class going on that has to be canceled for the time being. Preaching is allowed but we are careful. Our congregation is doing only cart witnessing (and phone and letter, but those are not commonly done here). Other congregations may have door-to-door activity but with caution. Now I'm afraid to get on a public bus. Fortunately I have a car so I can get around. I've heard about the price gouging in the U.S. for things like hand sanitizer, antibacterial wipes, etc. (I brought back quite a bit of hand sanitizer from the Dollar store--because it was cheap--when I was in California even before this all happened. Anyone want a bottle for $100?) And hoarding of all kinds of basic supplies. What is the world coming to?

Also, maybe some of you have heard about the devastating locust plague in East Africa. Millions of locusts have wiped out crops, causing the authorities to believe that a famine is imminent. A report I read, interestingly, stated that China is planning to send 100,000 ducks to Pakistan, one of the affected countries, because unlike chickens, which can eat 70 locusts a day (and are also harder to manage), ducks can eat 200 locusts a day. This, they say, is more effective than pesticides. So, then what? We're going to have a duck plague! All due to climate change, is the conjecture.

So...we need to trust in Jehovah. (Prov. 3:5) Never more than now do we need to follow carefully the direction given by Jehovah's organization!

Anniversary dinner and 2nd Chinese course

In November of last year, we made one year as a Chinese congregation! There were tentative plans for a celebration, but because I was in the U.S. for such a long time, nothing was arranged. After I came back, however, we planned our big dinner. It was held last Saturday at a Chinese restaurant called Lao Tangren. (This is the same restaurant that I am the "manager" of, allowing me to get a visa.) We reserved a room in the back with a large round table and a Lazy Susan that could accommodate 20 persons. This occasion was not only to celebrate our first anniversary, but also to show appreciation for the pioneers' hard work. I and another elder hosted this dinner. For many of the brothers and sisters, this was their first experience eating Chinese food. With chopsticks, no less.

There is another recent development. Ever since we have become a congregation, many of the pioneers have been called to work at Bethel as full- or part-time commuters, LDC, or the Assembly Hall. Now most of the pioneers are in one of those categories. One elder and four out of the five ministerial servants are now Bethelites. The result is that though the weekend field service is very well supported, service during the week usually consists of me and the special pioneer couple, with a few joining in the afternoon. Our circuit overseer jokingly said to a brother in the Service Department that 'you created this congregation, and now by calling in most of the pioneers to work at Bethel, you are destroying it.'

In a way, this is a good problem to have. The proposed solution was to ask the branch for another language class, so that we can get some 'fresh blood,' as I like to put it, that is, more pioneers to support the ministry. After all, that is why we are a congregation in the first place, right? Anyway, that was our argument in a letter to the branch. We also mentioned that it would give the congregation greater stability if we had some married couples and 'older' persons (though that is a relative term, because the average age in the congregation is around 23 years), because you never know when some of these young ones will get married or move out of the congregation. In fact, we just had three sisters that graduated from SKE and were assigned out of Chinese. Benjamin and his wife Alice, who are the special pioneers (and he is the coordinator) also graduated from SKE and, thankfully, were assigned back to Chinese. Prior to this, I thought, I'm going to have a heart attack if they leave Chinese.

So the upshot is, the branch approved our request for a second language class. Hooray! It started at the beginning of this month with 32 students. One has since dropped, leaving 31.
Benjamin and I are the instructors. We are scheduled up to late May, after which I can finally get away for about a week or so on a trip to Tanzania.

So that's the latest. Next week is circuit assembly, then Memorial in April, and then....

Jet lag (three times)

Okay, it has been a long time since my last post. That's because I just returned from the U.S. after more than four months there. The situation is that my brother and his wife have been spending extended time in Germany, where my sister-in-law is from, taking care of her mother, who is seriously ill. So I was elected to house sit for them during that time. Also, someone needed to keep an eye on my parents, who are getting up in years. Although they are doing well for their age (my dad still drives at 92), one never knows what could happen.

So, here I was, in a big two-story house, with just a cat for company. She is 12 years old, and slowing down. Sometimes she'll eat, and other times not. And then, there was a day when she apparently couldn't make it to the litter box in time and made messes in various places of the house.

But, all that excitement aside, I did have access to my brother's and sister-in-law's cars, which gave me mobility, although at first I was completely unused to fast speeds on the freeways (in Rwanda, about the fastest you can go in town is 40 mph). So I preached with the Sacramento Chinese congregation five or six days a week. I also attended the English meetings of my parents' congregation. And this was an additional experience: I had the opportunity, on an informal basis, to sit in on a few vocal recording sessions and practice sessions at the Sacramento RTO.

In October I set a goal of putting 130 hours of field service time in, just to see if I could do it. Well, apparently not. After three weeks, I had 90, but was so exhausted that I unfortunately backed into another brother's car in the Kingdom Hall parking lot. My brother had previously added me to his insurance policy for just that reason. But I did manage 107 hours after all.

All that food in America of course resulted in weight gain, which is usually the case, of about 8 kgs. (17 lbs.).

Then there was the big TV at my brother's place, so that I could keep up with American football (something that never happens in Rwanda). Amazon Prime, Netflix ... so this is what I'm missing living in Africa!

Finally, it was time to come back to Rwanda. Carrying five phones, five tablets, and a laptop, no less. I arrived on a Thursday, and then it was time to "hit the ground running." On Saturday, there was scheduled the orientation meeting of the second Chinese class, then the regular congregation meeting, then the pioneers' meeting with the elders. The next day, Sunday, was the KM School for Elders. I had parts in all these. Even with jet lag. (Time difference between California and Rwanda = 10 hours.)

Okay, it has been 11 days since returning, and I had reasonably adjusted to the time here, but then yesterday evening my roommate and best friend Jacques and I went to this restaurant in town called Lavana. It is an upscale place and one that I discovered while checking the Internet in the U.S. as being the only place in Kigali where you can watch the Super Bowl on a big screen. (For Rwandan readers = championship match of American football.) Of course, while in California I followed the San Francisco 49ers, and now here they were playing in the Super Bowl!

The only drawback to this is that the game starts at 1:30 a.m. and finishes at 5:30 a.m., local time. So it was a struggle, once again, to stay awake, although drinking a Coke helped somewhat. We ordered fish tacos and pizza, my favorite in the middle of the night (ha!) and settled in, in the same room with about 30 people or so. There was some cheering, if one realizes that at least half the people were Rwandans and it is not their nature to be loud and boisterous. Except for this one couple from San Francisco sitting behind us, as well as a Burundian man from Toronto, who very obviously supported Kansas City.

Jacques, who knows nothing about American football, although he did tell me he played rugby in the past, was quite energetic and vocal, even hugging and dancing with the Burundian guy during particularly exciting moments. He even rooted for Kansas City, just to be contrary. So he got quite the experience, especially seeing the lavish half-time show. I hope he doesn't suddenly get the desire to emigrate to the U.S.

Anyway, it's back to the regular routine. Good to stay busy!