Monday, October 27

13 October 2008 (Day 13 Burundi)

Awoken by rooster at 4am with repeated crow as if he had a snooze bar on him, we had a wonderful breakfast before heading out to see the mountains around Bujumbura. After viewing the city from the mountains & learning about how up to 2 months ago there were ten thousand rebels living in the mountains who would try to bomb the city to get attention, we then headed back into the city to see Rita's office & meet some of her coworkers at World Relief. Vicky did a bit of coaching and then we headed back to Rita's house for a huge delicious lunch and then an hour of down time before heading back to the airport.

At the airport Momma Itafari flew through passport control, much to my dismay as I stood there having my passport inspected over & over & over again. The lady did not like my new additional pages which have legitimately been placed there, but since it's been a few years since my original was made they have a different design & apparently looked suspect, but as I don't speak Kinyaburundi and she didn't speak English I just stood there and tried to smile, until she finally made a huffing noise, stamped the passport and let me through.

Vicky & I brought some pringles for ourselves and a large chocolate bar for Sistah Heatah (Lauren) and of course the always needed fanta l'orange. We sat chatting about hairs in apple juices, Dead Rita's Wisdom (Vicky's book) and assorted other topics until the point where we were in such hysterics we could barley speak! Coming up for a breath of air I suddenly realised we'd not hear anything about our flight and yet it should be leaving "any minute", we were immediately calmed when we looked around & noticed nobody else had moved an inch since we arrived so we'd no missed it or anything.

We decided to move our seats for a better view of the one & only exit (which btw doubles as the VIP entrance - NO joke!) About ten minutes later a few "official" people start to gather by the door and then walk outside and look out at the horizon. Low & behold a Dash 8 appears, lands, a few passengers disembark, they call us to board and we're ready.

The sky had turned rather dark during these last few minutes & it was starting to spit with rain as we headed down the runway, but I thought nothing of us and just prayed for a bump-free flight . . . no such luck, but thank goodness it's only 30 minutes until we arrived safely in Kigali, Rwanda! It was rather bumpy I gave the seat my death grip & saw a bit of lightening of course to add to my worries - VERY scary for me, but not Vic, she's a pro at flying & her husband even built a plane which she's flown!

We taxied back to our home away from home, which we were so happy to see, picking up Sistah Heatah along the way! We met Poppa ASSIST (Emmanuel) at the Iris who brought us the wonderful news that I could stay an extra week as they'd found me a seat on the plane! My sistahs & I went to celebrate at Heaven (the restaurant just 3 streets away).

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posted by Sara @ 5:57 pm 0 comments

12 October 2008 (Day 12 Burundi)

Vicky & I were both running late today but scarfed down our "strawberry shortcake" breakfast before Alfred picked us up to bring us to the airport for our trip to Burundi to visit Vicky's mate Rita.

We should have known African time we'd not be late, as our flight ended up being an hour delayed. Thank goodness for Lauren & her texting ability who kept us amused in the waiting area. Lauren's nickname had become Sistah Heatah because when a boy asked her name & she told him, he replied with "that warms my heart to know your name" so the same just seemed appropriate. Vicky's name was of course still Momma Itafari and at the time my name was Scientist Sistah Sara, but that didn't last much past the weekend, when I became known as Sistah Mudugudu (which means neighborhood, now this name wasn't given to me it was self appointed, cause I liked the sound of the name, and with Poppa ASSIST & Momma Itafari liking it as well, it just stuck!)

The flight to Bujumbura was only 30 minutes but even in that small amount of time Vicky managed to get a hair in her mouth thanks to the Rwandan Airways apple juice - I was smart and had a fanta l'orange . . . I think she learned her lesson to always have a fanta!

Upon arrival we bought our less than 72hour visas for $20 and then turned the corner to see a lovely smiling face waiting for us, Rita. Big hugs all around and then out into the warm Bujumbura, Burundi air. We went straight back to her house to meet Eric and have a lovely lunch. After lunch we went to the zoo to visit with the crocodiles, alligators, snakes and a few deer. Then on to the beach where we saw traditionally clothed dancers & drummers. After a relaxing fanta l'orange (no apple juice!) we took a quick tour of the city before being back home before 6pm.

We had dinner around 7pm, during which a grenade exploded somewhere near by, but it didn't seem to phase any of us - just sounded like fireworks to me, so I continued enjoying my meal! We had learned earlier in the day that it's not safe to be out & about (even driving) much past 6pm especially when it gets dark.

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posted by Sara @ 5:44 pm 0 comments