African Adventure: The Greatest City in the World

Tuesday - July 25, 2017 Kigali is one of the best cities in the world!! Real roads! Lights at night! Boda bodas! The weather! Beautiful jewelry shops! SMOOTHIES!!! AND BURGERS!!!!!! I'll never get over the taste of home in a fruit smoothie and a cheeseburger. Plan of action: get a SIM card for my little phone and go to the clothing market. Since some places don't have wifi, and family needs to know I'm alive, I went ahead and got 200 minutes for the next two weeks. Hi mom! It's really interesting to see the advertisements for phones here. There isn't any for iPhones, although some people in Tanzania had them, but it's some Galaxy look alike phone. All their advertisements are centered on how great their selfies can be. So don't say that taking pictures is a selfish, North American thing. A boda boda away and into an incredibly overwhelming market. Each little shop is very close to each other and each vendor wants you to buy their things, obviously. So to avoid them attacking you with "HEY COME SEE MY SHOP," keep your head down. If you look up just to even see a dress on display, they'll immediately bring it down for you and try to get you to pay. I bargained a bit for a few items that I actually wanted. I got two scarves, another pair of fun pants and a long dress for my grandmother. Parts of this market also can custom-make items for you. This is where I spent most of my money and I have zero regrets. Got my mom a long, flowy dress and for myself, an off-the-shoulder top. The most difficult part is picking a fabric to use. It's really rough, wax fabric but when you wash it, it gets softer. Let's hope. Other people in the group got a variety of things, a bomber jacket, a dress, pant suit. Honestly just tell the vendors what you want and they'll make it for you. My girl Anikka has my back.

Another boda boda ride away to Kigali Heights and I was transported again to a place that could belong in Miami. There's a Radisson right next to it for crying out loud. I bought gelato here too. GELATO. I haven't had that in a million years. The Tiramisu flavor was so worth it. I don't even like cone and I got it in one to try it out. Exactly what I needed and wanted in my whole life. The others got coffee and we enjoyed the rooftop feeling for about half an hour. Everyone should come visit Kigali. Incredible city. 1000/10. Walking back to the hostel, there was a security guard on every corner of the way. As a woman, even I feel safe here. As a group, I think we've gotten a lot closer too. Many of us just bonded over wine and a rooftop jam session where I taught some of them how to basic salsa. I love these friends. So much wine on National Wine Day.