When I relocated to Kigali just under two years ago, many people thought I was a bit crazy. Old friends and family outside Africa wondered why I would give up a comfortable life in Austin, Texas to move half-way across the world without a house or job to go to. And new friends and contacts here in Rwanda and East Africa wondered why I would choose to live in Kigali? I heard many versions of the same joke: “You go to Nairobi to do business. You go to Kampala to party and have fun. And you come to Kigali to go to sleep.” Yes, Kigali is certainly a lot more sedate than my former home cities of Hong Kong, London, Milan and New York but I have really enjoyed the relative peace, quiet, safety and lack of stress here over the last two years. My Kinyarwanda teacher Denyse tells me, “There is no need for “comfort food” here in Rwanda. All food is good and appreciated.” After the first year of getting familiar with my new surroundings and learning the ropes, this last year of Corona-enforced solitude in my Kimihurura home has allowed me the cherished time to do a lot more self-refection, career/life prioritization and both professional and creative writing. It has been very tough at times not hugging and having breakfast tacos with my grown daughter Emma in Texas and not being with close friends, particularly those who have been sick or suffering loss or heartache. But thanks to relatively reliable Wifi, WhatsApp and Zoom have afforded some level of virtual closeness with Emma and with many other friends, colleagues and even clients whom I would probably not have been in such close contact with otherwise. I even did an animal communication course via Zoom, which came in handy when I inadvertently poisoned my Texan cat Coco last Summer and when one of my adopted street dogs Scout escaped recently. They are both fine now. As more and more people get vaccinated – including me, hopefully – I know that this period of relative seclusion and tranquility is going to end for both good and maybe not so good. On the positive side, there will be family reunions and social celebrations again. Some local friends here in Kigali will finally be able to get married properly and I will be able to visit my daughter in Texas in June. And renewed mobility will provide a much-needed remedy for growing “Zoom Fatigue”. One client at a large global foundation just told me that she had 57 web calls last week! Unfortunately, there will also be pressure to get back into the “busyness” of a return to more “normal” working life, with a barrage of daily, consecutive work meetings, which will now be face-to-face as well as on Zoom; renewed commutes and longer days in the office; irascible bosses and staff gossip; and crowded airports and cramped airplanes. Hopefully, we can all find a way to retain the good that has emerged during the last year of Covid challenges and restrictions and to avoid repeating old mistakes and unhealthy patterns of behaviour. The “Three Ms” of Mindfulness, Meditation (or prayer) and Mentoring can help us all to keep up grounded, centered and on track, both personally and professionally. And regular exercise, balanced diet and enough sleep will help too. And I will continue my search for definitive answers to the following questions about living in Kigali: 1. Why does Kinyarwanda have 10 classes of nouns and at least nine ways of saying the number Six - gatandatu, batandatu, itandatu, esheshatu, bitandatu, atandatu, dutandatu, hatandatu and saa kumi nebyiri? 2. Why do people not use the beautifully groomed public parks for picnics or even just jogging or walking their dogs? 3. Why do people pass you on the right in their cars in the road but on the left when walking on the pavement/sidewalk? 4. Why do some taxis have steering wheels on the right and why do many taxi drivers not carry any change at all for a RWF 5,000 note? 5. Why are there somewhat scary, tall, thin, white grimacing mannequins outside clothing stores? 6. Why can you usually get dry wine in a restaurant but not always sweet wine? 7. Why do Rwandans love cows and milk but not see protein-filled yoghurt as a healthy lunch or produce and consume different kinds of cheese (such as fresh Parmesan, which I will begin asking visitors to bring again)? This is the third in a new monthly series of personal columns, entitled “Letter from Kigali”. Each month, local resident and writer, Jeremy Solomons – who was born and educated in England of Jewish, Lebanese and Persian heritage and naturalized in the USA - shares a unique perspective on what is happening in Rwanda, Africa and the rest of the world. The views expressed in this column are entirely those of the writer who can be reached at jeremy@jeremysolomons.com
