Sudden Goodbyes

My dad made this picture. Hah, priorities.

Well, I guess updates might be a bit more regular from now on.

Quite a bit has already changed in just a week.

I have a funky new look. Got on a bike the other day to discover that all visors have been removed from passenger helmets. A really good move. You're also supposed to cover your head. Just discovered I should have been doing this for years as it makes the helmet fit. Slid on some shades to stop bugs getting lodged in my eyes.

In truly wonderful news, my Christmas package from dad finally arrived. Think he posted it about four months ago. Packed full of chocolate, so my C19 hoarding is going well. I now have chocolate and dried beans. I'm going to survive the apocalypse.

 

We're not on complete lockdown yet. Restaurants are still open but bars have been told to cancel live music and DJs. It's pretty quiet. My friend Giulia remedied this buy buying a piano from a couple who are leaving. Me and Dés helped move it and I fixed a couple of keys. Going back to tune next week. It's always heart-in-mouth watching them shift pianos, but they haven't dropped one yet.

 

 

 

 

 

As of midnight tonight, Rwanda is closing its airport to all commercial flights. This is because the majority of our eleven cases so far have arrived with travellers. This is an attempt to stop that happening. It's left a few people stranded, so myself and a couple of friends are opening up spare rooms for people who are in desperate need. Most of the guest houses in Kigali are also discounting their rates, some offering rooms for $10 a night which is pretty much unheard of. Rwanda is known as more of a luxury tourism destination, not the sort of place to get stuck on a backpacker budget. 

This morning, I went to say goodbye to my lovely friend Nick. He's a Peace Corps volunteer and they've all just been evacuated back to the US. Going to miss him. He still had about another six months to go, but it's leave now or maybe never.  

As we weren't allowed to hug or touch, we took this cute photo with him standing a few meters back.

Our first attempt at optical-illusionary photography didn't work out so well...

Took this photo on the way out. There were about a hundred suitcases piled up outside, ready to go. 

No idea when I'll see him again or where in the world. Wishing him a really safe journey home.

It's definitely strange times. It hasn't been a hard decision for me to stay. I've survived malaria here a few times and if I'm going to be sick, I'd like to be tucked up in my own bed in a nice compound where friends can throw food over the gate. And community is a huge part of it. There's so many development workers staying because they have families or just because they have a lot of faith in the government to handle this. Rwanda's been on high alert for Ebola since 2015. Some of these health steps aren't new to us, just on a larger and more rigorous scale. I feel safe in Rwanda, I have a lot of friends here and we're a good group of people who look after one another anyway. I have food, shelter, cats and health cover. Just going to ride it out.

It's going to be interesting with April approaching. That begins with Genocide Memorial Week, and gatherings have been banned to help stem the spread of C19, so people might not be able to come together for memorial services. Churches are also closed. Bars and restaurants are open but with social distancing and no music events. 

It's a time of uncertainty, but I must admit, I feel okay about it. A bit concerned for my parents, as the UK's response doesn't seem that on it. I think Rwanda's doing a better job. But there's nothing I can do now. Can't leave, just got to ride it out. Do the best we can for each other. Turikumwe, komera (we are together, be strong).