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| Marlou looks over the 'farm' and side yard of Vaeria's home. |
Nov. 15, 2015
Friend Patrick invited us to visit his home in Mulindi, just outside of Kigali. His mother, Valeria, is apparently used to the routine: Patrick invites friends to his house and asks his mom to cook a nice Rwandan meal! Which, it seems, she enjoys. She enjoys meeting the people that are a part of her son's life. One can imagine it, since she lost two sons (Patrick's older brothers) and her husband in the genocide. Patrick and Patrick's grandmother are the only family she has left.
It was truly impressive that she cooked such a wonderful buffet of traditional Rwandan food for
eight of us! Our group was the 3 Swedish students, the 2 Dutch students and us (Ruth, Isaac and Naomi), packed into two taxis to get there. The lead taxi was driven by a friend of Patrick's who knew how to find the house!
The wonderful meal of green bananas in sauce, "chips" (deep fried potatoes), green beans, dodo (a kind of Rwandan spinach well-cooked with light cream sauce), cabbage salad, meat stew and rice was shared in the living room as we sat in the circle of chairs and sofas. Afterwards we walked a short distance down the road to the small shop Patrick (aka true entrepreneur) has just opened. Then Valeria gave the group a tour of her large and very steep garden behind her house.
[Author: Ruth Ann]
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| The group arrives at Patrick's and Valeria's home. |
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| Naomi agreed, it is a lovely, pleasant house. |
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| Isaac and Patrick. Note Patrick's cool "Ikawa" (Coffee) t-shirt. |
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| Taxis in this neighborhood are bicycles, not motorbikes, like in downtown Kigali. |
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| Valeria and Patrick. |
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| Homemade Rwandan food. What a spread! |
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| Ruth's favorite East African soft drink - Stoney Tanglawezi (ginger ale). |
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| Naomi accepted Valeria's gift on behalf of our group -- a traditional Rwanda basket filled with bananas. |
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| Paparazzi wait outside the gate to Valeria's and Patrick's house. |
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| Tour of Valeria's plantation, which includes maize and banana. |
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| Our group's fan club. |
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| Isaac and the gaggle of kids outside Patrick's shop. |
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| Cultural intersection. |
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| We sat in a circle here -- first a round of soft drinks and then the delicious food. |
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| Laura and Marlou (from Netherlands) |
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| Stina, Emelie and Anna (from Sweden) |
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