- you see large sections of green grass and colourful flowers between buildings and in round-abouts.
- you notice city workers watering and caring for such greenery.
- you learn that walking on the grass is illegal.
- you learn that jay-walking is also illegal.
- you notice that these laws are actually being followed and enforced.
- you find zebra crossings at most intersections downtown.
- you see more city workers hard at work repainting the zebra stripes.
- you also spot pedestrian signal lights at some of these intersections.
- you notice that all vehicles actually stop for pedestrians crossing the road.
- you get asked for money in three different languages (English, French, and Kinyarwanda) by children wearing shoes, sweaters, and braids.
- you are almost always walking up or down a large hill.
- you walk on sidewalks.
- you can easily distinguish boda drivers by their green vests.
- you note that bodas will only take one passenger each.
- you discover that bodas actually carry helmets for their passengers.
- you see a female boda driver.
- you notice that vehicles are driving on the right side of the road.
- you notice that vehicles mostly stay in their own lanes.
- you regularly see traffic lights.
- you realise that drivers actually stop at, and seem to understand the purpose of, traffic lights.
- you realise that drivers also seem to know how to properly use round-abouts.
- you only notice the power go out one evening out of five... and the hostel has a working generator.
- you pay "American prices" for common items.
- you consistently have difficulty locating an internet cafe.
- you find wonderful coffee and delicious ice cream at Bourbon Cafe.
14 years ago
1 comment:
Fantastic! You've described the Kigali (from Uganda) experience perfectly. The Indians in this computer lab are looking at me strangely - I think because I'm laughing out loud (and not just because I'm tall and blond).
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