To the uninitiated, Hritik Roshan is THE hottest Bollywood leading man at the moment. Dave said to him ‘Come speak to my wife’ at which point I engaged in an excited broken-English convo with a Rwandan boy that went something along the lines of ‘You like Hritik Roshan? Oooh I do too!!!’. A connection was made, pictures were taken and we drove off to happy waves from the children, as per usual. Apparently Rwandans love Bollywood and have a fondness for Indians, as the Indians in Rwanda tend to be honest business people who come from solid families. Rwandans are big on family, as are most Africans, I suppose.
Just before we arrived, we did a quick drive over to the border between Rwanda and the Congo, gaped as is customary for tourists (photos aren’t allowed) and then drove to the beach at Lake Kivu. I must admit a part of me was slightly chilled at the thought of being so close to an area of such horrific conflict. Apparently, day trips across the border are possible but we were absolutely not interested, as we had heard stories of other tourists being harassed and being put in compromising situations (i.e robbed of all belongings and left in their undies by the side of the road). No thank you.
Being at Lake Kivu felt very much like being at a lake in Canada. The water was cool and very clean, and the beach slowly but surely got very busy with locals coming by to enjoy their weekend. Beer and brochettes (goat kebabs) were on offer for food, while a DJ nearby blasted out some pretty groovy reggae and hip hop tunes with some Bollywood music thrown in for good measure. Again we experience the Rwandan fascination with all things Bollywood
The girls in the group started a game of Frisbee, to be joined by some of the locals who had never played Frisbee before. I was thrilled to not be the worst player on the team. A lovely Rwandan lady in a dress skirt and dress shirt was by far the most uncoordinated – I looked like an athlete in my prime by comparison. You only get that lucky once every so often in life.
Dave and the boys played soccer with Toufiq, the son of our driver who took us to Lake Kivu, and another boy with down’s syndrome who works at the beach, and who was a pretty remarkable soccer player. Toufiq on the other hand, had so much rhythm and style, I wanted to bring him back to Canada with me, only so I could show off his skills at dance parties. And he’s one of the sweetest kids I’ve ever met . The kids here are absolutely phenomenal – I think I’ve been spoiled and getting adjusted to regular North American kids when we get back will be a challenge.
The day ended with much beer, soccer, brochettes, Frisbee, laughs and just general fun. As Cathy said as she looked us over with beers in hand ‘look – here are my extremely hard working volunteers…’
- Dal
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| Stylin' |
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| The group |
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| Congo in the background |
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| Soccer Boys |
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| Fetch me a beer, kid. |
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| Cathy, Teste, the volunteers and random Canadians |
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