I went with a roomie to Gisenyi today, just a quick day trip, mostly with just enough time to go down to the lake and back. We stopped at one place asking for directions, a hotel which has a separate building of apartments for rent. $200 a night—Kigali lux prices, in a place that’s barely more than a village. But the man assured me this was well worthwhile: “Each has three bedrooms, a sitting room, and a chicken, so you can cook whatever you want.”
Hey, I can’t blame the guy. I’ve been speaking pidgen Kinyarwanda for weeks, inverting the syllables of words I learn with abandon. My language skills right now are the worst kind of knowledge–as in, very little, so that instead of listening demurely, I babble nonsense with the utmost confidence. Much like those crazy people my friend met, I guess.
Just an aside – I get vaguely and irrationally jealous of all the people around you in that far away land. How can I compete with a day trip to Gisenyi lake? I cannot. And I don’t speak a word of Kinyarwanda, not even with inverted syllables.
But I can make awesome evil sock monkeys. And I can drink sake like a fish water (that is to be said with a strong Japanese accent).
Man, I loved swimming in Lake Kivu in Gisenyi. Did you actually go in?
I used to go to the Kivu Sun when I was at zero and swim in their pool, if only just to feel posh for a day.