In the morning we tried to get to church. We left about 45 minutes before it was to begin, but naturally, Sunday was also the date for a marathon throughout Kigali. You would have thought the church we were trying to reach was the point of focus or something, because every next road Bosco took was taped off for the runners. We basically drove all the way around the church, down random streets and one verrrrry steep alleyway thing, before parking and walking. We walked up a steep hill (not uncommon here) and down another one, to the church gates. Where we were told that church was canceled due to the marathon.
After that, we walked up that steep hill and down that other one, and then went to lunch at the Bourbon Café – the nearest thing I’ve had to American food, in the form of sandwiches and hamburgers and smoothies. And a great view.
Celine Dion was on the radio that afternoon in the bus.
The afternoon was pretty relaxed until eight of us walked down to the football field to see if anyone there wanted to play. The field is downhill of a very steep slope from the road. We were on the sidewalk at the top and the kids saw us and started yelling for us. Then Blake held up the ball and they cheered even louder. So we decided that was inviting and we headed down there. It was so fun. We sort of hung around a bit for a while, but then decided to play. We picked teams and went for it. It was so wonderful because no one had to learn the rules or explain in a language that wasn’t their own. We all knew what to do, and no language barrier could bother us. How lovely.
I hadn’t played in so long, but it came back to me a little. Some guys said that I was good,… for a girl. That cracks me up. The teams would call the smallest boys ‘Petit’ when they called to them, and they called the girls (Allison and me) ‘sister.’ I had such a great time. By the end, our white football was red from the dirt. And the boys kept asking us when we’d be back. One older fellow did a sweet handshake with Campbell and told us he is very Rasta. And he loves marijuana. What do you say to that second bit? Options: ‘Oh!’ ‘Good for you!’ ‘Mmmmm….’ ‘Oh okay.’ ‘How delightful!’ ‘Ah.’
On the walk back uphill, we bought flowers (thanks to Taylor and Blake) from a street vendor to give to our dear professors. Then for supper we walked down one hill, found not what we wanted and walked back up, and then walked down another until we reached a restaurant called Hot Racks, which apparently had opened two days before. We had delicious Filipino food, but it was so dark that we had to use our flashlights to see what we were eating. Then we could turn them off to actually eat. Some people loved the meal and vocalized it often. :) Michael Jackson music videos were playing in the background. There were also some sweet lights in another part of the restaurant, basically creating a dance floor. That place was groovy.
All in all, it was a very pleasant day and my legs were ready to fall off by the time they met my bed.
Things of note:
• Emily knows how to walk with things on her head; she could totally live here. I am perpetually fascinated by that skill that I see in women walking down the street. Baskets, bags of potatoes, huge other things, whatever you like.
• Purple food is somehow just difficult to process.
• Playing football in a skirt is actually feasible.
• It seems that most restaurants we’ve been to use the same glasses. I’m supposed to find out why.
• I love my team.
