Merry Making

Happy Festiveness.

Spent Christmas day at Jo's place where Maia also flew in from the UK to join the revelries. She brought loads of goodies in her suitcase, so we made real mince pies.

  

 

 

Plenty of booze involved, including mulled wine and fizzy pop. This first one in Amarula, the African equivelent of Baileys.

  

   

Christmas isn't really a big thing here - the weather's too good. Plenty of lounging in the sunshine, nibbling nice things and admiring the view.

 

 

We had much hilarity with a present hunt where the girls, Zuba and Taia, hid all the presents, then couldn't remember where they put them all. We're hoping Zuba will find the rest sometime before next Christmas.

For the first time, Kigali is absolutely draped in Chstistmas lights. It's been really lovely. Blackpool, eat your heart out!

The past few weeks leading up to the holidays have been extremely busy for me. I landed a decent report-writing contract recently but it's for end evaluations for a programme which is wrapping up this year, so everything has to be completed by 31st so I've had my head buried beneath the paperwork, but should be finished by Monday, at which point I can relax a spend a bit of that hard earned cash. 

There has been time for a few shenanigans, though. I was kidnapped by Maja and Vincent and forced to go to Fuschia. It's a terrible name for a nightclub. All I remember is 1:30 in the morning having the conversations: "Where are we?", "Fuchsia." "How do you spell that?" "Fusci-, no, wait, Fucia-, no, Fuskia?" Anyway, we had fun.

 

And Sameer popped over from Kibuye and we went for a very posh meal at The Hut, which involved an indecent number of passion fruit mojitos and cheesecake.

 

 

In other news, celebrating what might be my last Christmas in Rwanda. Went to get my visa renewed, expecting my usual two years, but was only issued with one. No reason given, just told I need another inspection. When you're a business owner, they come to visit your place of work - in my case, my house - to see what's going on. Not sure if it's that I'm not making enough money, not working with the right people, complaining too much about noise issues on social media, or that this time next year I'm eligible to apply for perminant residency. No idea, but guessing it's nothing too serious otherwise I wouldn't have a visa at all. Just a bit of an unsettling way to enter the New Year. Will be doing a thorough spring clean to minimize my possessions in case I don't get the next one. 

Good news in leg-related going on, though.

It finally seems to be on the mend. Still extremely weak, and I've lost quite a bit of muscle mass, but I can walk pretty normally now and I'm starting to feel the tendon a little. Quite a bit of scar tissue in there, so I have a lumpy leg, but I'm okay with that so long as I'm mobile.

 

Where'd my calf muscle go?

In much better news, mum and dad chippen in towards my Christmas present. The Korean church in Kinyinya sold its piano - to me. It's the first piano I ever put a new string on and I'm extremely happy to have an instrument in my house again. The one we're building has gone to Dés now that I've finished stringing it. Shouldn't be too long until we know what it sounds like. You can find more on our project blog. I do plan to rebuild my original piano, but this one is a worthy substitute. Plan to get Bonani to teach me to play, rather than massacre it.