Rwandan Adventure – shopping
Yesterday we went for a walkabout with Bright, our host, and did some shopping. The shops here are just concrete enclaves, some with shelves inside, some with cabinets displaying goods, others just a seeming jumble of goods. We also went to several markets where wooden shacks hold all sorts of goodies, from electrical equipment, televisions (probably second hand), toiletries, and general household goods, as well as fly-ridden fish and small piles of grisly meat and animal entrails. If one is served meat in the home it is best not to ask what it is. It could be beef, goat, or rabbit. And there are many displays of second-hand shoes, those that we discard of in the west, that are sent out to Africa, repaired locally and sold in their markets.
We were seeking out a mirror as there isn’t one in the bathroom for shaving or doing one’s hair. Bright, accompanied us. As soon as they see that there are Umuzunges with him the price goes up. Everything here has to be bargained for. We purchased a cardboard backed mirror in a tacky frame for 1,000 rwandan francs, just over £1, though if Bright had been on his own it would probably have been cheaper. We then sought out toilet paper and a toilet brush. It seems strange that these have not been provided for us – but then we did not like to ask. The toilet rolls were 20p each in their currency, but the brush was £1.50 in one ‘shop’ and £2 in another. So we sent Bright off on his own somewhere else and he chose a bright pink one for £1. Deal done, and forthwith we can have a clean loo, though the cement splashes on the porcelain and round the bathroom do not enhance the picture one has of a pristine place to bathe in! But this is Africa and they manage with what they have and we do too. When in Rome......
Whilst out shopping we saw some chairs on a patch of muddy ground. We asked the price – two rush-made ones for £4 for the two, or two wooden dining chairs for £5 the pair. As there were not enough chairs in the house for us all to eat dinner at once, with the three girls eating theirs standing up in the tiny dark kitchen, we thought this would be a welcome gesture. Bright chose the rush ones and we gave him the money later to go back and get them. We did get some shy thanks from the mother, but wondered if we had interfered too much. Was she embarrassed that she did not have enough chairs for us to have to go and buy some, or was she embarrassed by our generosity, or did she think she could have done something more useful with the money. We will never know. Sometimes the best intentions can fall foul. We also tried to buy some strawberry jam to go on the bright yellow sweet maize bread the family serves up. But at £1.50 a jar – the cheapest we could find – we gave it a miss. For that we could buy nearly one chair and it seemed ridiculous to be ripped off by taxes and importing costs. Anyway we are now Rwandans and will eat what they eat. We also tried to get some pictures printed from our camera disc but it would have cost £1 for each print!!!!! Maybe this was the umuzunge price! I will wait until I get home and visit Tesco’s emporium and get them for about 40p each and post them to the family.
Whilst out we stopped for lunch at the Vision 2020 restaurant on the high street, which looks like that of a wild west town. We are still seeking out the saloon! A buffet of cold chips, Irish potatoes, sweet potatoes, matoke, pasta, fabulous spinach, peas, marrow, and rice cost £1.20 each, though meat was 30p extra and chicken £1.80 extra. The meat was, of course, very chewy, and a mistake on our part though Bright devoured his with relish. Meat in this culture is expensive and served extremely sparingly in the home. We finished with small sweet bananas. For beverages we chose a litre bottle of local Primus beer 40p, a small can of diet coke £1 and a Fanta 30p. So, for three of us the whole meal cost £7.40p – cheaper than Macdonalds!
I WAS AWAKE FOR MY OPERATION!
(Sun 04/03)
Me and Sir Jimmy Savile
(Thu 03/11)
What not to wear!!!
(Wed 15/06)
Rwandan adventure Our sponsored child
(Mon 06/06)
Rwandan Adventure - Lunch Was Alive!
(Mon 23/05)
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