I’ve been living in Kigali, Rwanda since the end of July but haven’t really settled into a routine until now. When I first arrived I spent a month living with a friend at a school and was still finding my feet in the city. I was meeting lots of new people and I took a few trips away from the city as well. I was away for most of November and December and I’ve had a bunch of friends come and go as well in that time.
But now I’m living in a house that I love, in an area I really like, and I’ve got a great group of friends who are here for the long-ish term (at least in Kigali expat terms). I’ve joined the gym, I bought a bike, and I’m starting to realise that Kigali feels like home a lot more than anyplace I’ve been since I started travelling.
My weeks are slipping into predictable routines with Monday spent sipping mimosas in the sun in the backyard with a friend while attempting to learn French (Mimosa Monday), Tuesday is reserved for drinks with some friends at a local Italian restaurant with cheap wine (Boozeday Tuesday), Wednesdays are turning into a night where someone cooks a meal, Fridays are for dancing, and Sundays are for vegging out at a cafe all day. Plus there are a few weekends away in the works to various parts of Rwanda.
Normally this kind of predictability would terrify me but lately I’m loving it. The lack of updates on my blog could also be evidence that I seem to be slipping into a comfortable place where time sort of slips by without me noticing and suddenly I realise I haven’t written a post in ages. What’s happening to me!
I think one of the main reasons for me becoming so comfortable here is that it’s just such an easy place to live for an expat. I’m not going to say life is easy for many Rwandans by any stretch of the imagination but, for us intruding do-gooders and business people, things are great. The city is super safe, super clean and really beautiful. At least I think so but I have a thing for sunshine and rolling hills. There are a bunch of weekly events to get involved in, good restaurants, and lots of interesting people around. Kigali isn’t the most lively of towns so people are eager to do things during the week and make their own fun
I’m sure the friends I’ve made and the people I continue to meet here is the major thing that’s keeping me here. I’ve grown pretty tired of passing through places as a traveller – saying goodbye almost as quickly as I’ve said hello. I’m pretty much done with that, I think.
Walking around Kigali or zipping through the streets on a mototaxi just puts a smile on my face. I know what the next week will more or less have in store for me and I like that. I’m finding myself really enjoying the moment rather than looking or planning too far ahead. Plus I’m really loving working on this Kigali website (even if you have no interested in Kigali, have a read… there’s some pretty entertaining stuff in there) and feel like I want to get to know the city as well as I can to be able to provide a really great resource for people.
Are my backpacking days behind me finally? Will I end up staying here long term? I’m not really sure but I’m really enjoying this place at the moment and happy that the sun is shining and that it’s Mimosa Monday! I’m off to make a drink…
Sounds like a lovely life! I’m always interested in reading about life for expats in African cities. It is a nice feeling when you start feeling at home in a new place. Hope you keep enjoying it and look forward to reading more.
I love how you’ve thrown your arms around Kigali! Thanks for the guide website, too — it’s definitely the next stop for us, and you’re putting together a very valuable resource.
As to routine: I don’t know why a lot of permanent travelers disparage routine as the root of all evil in the travel experience. Boring? Hell, no. To me, living in a place until you have a routine is the only way to really experience where you are.
I see it as sorta like yoga; it’s only when you’ve been in the pose long enough to tweak the tiny subtleties that you’re able to experience it for what it truly is. Cultural macrocosms, cities, countries, neighborhoods and apartments are the same way, I think. Even with a routine, you’re still always learning, but the routine helps you to go deeper.
Keep up the awesome!
I always enjoy your updates – I admire and envy you in equal measure!
Wonderful. I felt the same way after a few months in Munich. What happened with the Uganda thoughts?
Glad to hear you are enjoying getting into the routine, there are certain routines that I can recall that I miss now, like every Tuesday we would all go out to the local wing place to go for their wing special. Small things like that are really fun looking back on it.
I love what you’ve done with your Kigali website! I love how the front page is so welcoming, I like how you present the community, and invite people to join.
-Jean
That’s great Kirsty. After all that traveling, I’m sure you were yearning for a place to call home. I’m sure you’ll get the itch to travel again soon enough. For now, just enjoy your new home and don’t let things pass you by too quickly.
Sounds like you are having a great time there, would love to visit that part of the world at some point.
How are you finding the visa situation there?
@andrea Ya it’s not at all what I was expecting, but I love it!
@gary Uganda is still in the back of my mind. It all seems a bit overwhelming so, for the moment, I’m just enjoying being in Kigali. I’ll be visiting a friend in Uganda soonish so might think more about things then.
@jean Ya…it helps that I’ve got a great group of friends to do fun things with. Thanks for your input on the site… I’m really proud of it and think it’ll be a great resource. It’s not quite done but almost there.
@port Visas are free for Canadians, Americans, Brits and a few other countries for three months so they’re not really an issue. If been travelling before it expires so it’s not an issue but if I wanted to stay put without leaving every three months it could become a pain. I think I might be able to extend it once without leaving. People who don’t get the free visas have more of a hassle, I think.
What is the internet like there?
Nice to see your happy, I’m enjoying the freedom of traveling with the bike but continue to see it’s difficult to get a lot done staying in a place for even a week at a time. Having traveled down to Malaysia with the bike twice now and now in Malaysia I probably have about six places across Southern Thailand and Malaysia I could easily stay in for a few months at a time I think my next year is going to be spread across this area rather than trying to take in the whole of SE Asia a week at a time.
This really resonated with me… After a year across Africa and another across Asia, I settled in Bangkok for a bit – I got a post office box, my own internet connection, I started having ‘my’ cafes and restaurants and bookshops, I too joined a gym… after being rootless for so long (which I loved while it lasted) I was really happy to drop by each Wednesday night to the foreign press club party, make friends, and actually have people to call whom I could see the same day. I ended up staying in the city for two years before my itchy feet got the better of me again…
Sounds a lovely place to stay for a while! Really not what I’d have imagined of Kigali…
But, if the urge takes you to stay, or live, or just be for a bit, don’t fight it.
Hi all,
I am currently studying in my 3rd year of a Design degree in Leeds, England and looking to to base my final project around the digital nomad lifestyle. By the end of the project i aim to produce a new product/piece of furniture/accessory to aid a digital nomad. Can anybody help with with my research by identifying what some of the most useful pieces of equipment and why, and more importantly if there is anything that does not work well/could be improved or even invented! The sort of thing when you say “if only I had that” or “that would be useful” !!!
Any information would be much appreciated, or if you can’t help do you know anybody that could aid me in my research. Thank you
So u think it’s going to be your home in future? It’s nice when you don’t have much stress on your mind and you enjoy your life like this.
It is good that you are wanted to be grounded for awhile. Most people can’t and don’t have the opportunities you have, but I think its good that you have gotten into a routine and enjoy where you are. I hope you continue to be as happy as you at the moment.
It’s great to see that you have chosen to settle down for a while (or longer) and are enjoying the routine life. Sounds like it’s really peaceful and idyllic there and you have really good people to enjoy time together with.
I personally love when I settle into a routine after being on the move for awhile. Specially after long trips. I am really happy you are enjoying living in Rwanda. Sounds like your having a nice time.
- Robert
I thrive on my routine, but as a part of the routine look forward to the changes and breaks too. Only you can really decide if the permanent or serial expat life is your thing over continuous travel. Being able to build relationships with people and a place is one of the things that I have really liked about being an expat. That foreignness of travel is still present, but with some stability. Yeah, sometimes the stability feels overwhelming, but travel is never not an option.
do the job you like , and you dont have to work a day
hehe, thanks for the nice article. Not so easy to find information about Africa. Everybody knows just America and Europe;D
Having a schedule does make life a lot easier. I always function better when on a schedule.
Your routine seems so laidback — I’m kind of jealous! And personally, it totally feels good to bounce in back and forth between having a grounded routine and exploring aimlessly, so I wouldn’t be surprised if your back on the road soon enough!