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Girls Together, L-R:
Anja, Cathryn, Me, Giudi

Weird couple of days. Burn-out mode perhaps, always seem to have a dip after a run of good times.

Firstly, I'd like to retract what I said about the film festival. I am actually impressed - this year there's been a significant improvement in the dissemination of information both on Kigali Life forum and with a website that, unlike last year, is actually online. So, there has been some improvement in marketing.

Sunday wasn't so good. I had a horrible experience with a moto, words for whom are unpublishable on a PG-rated blog. The guy picked me up in Rujugiro and said he'd take me to Batsinda umudugadu for FRW 1,000. I'd never been before so I assumed he knew where it was, Cathryn had texted me rough directions.

Only, it soon became very apparent that he didn't know where it was as he stopped to ask other motos. Then he pulled down a dirt track, went back up it and back down it twice! I was getting seriously annoyed until he asked another moto and seemed to get directions. J (Cathryn's partner - whose house we were trying to get to) even talked to him in Kinyarwanda on the phone and he seemed to understand.

The guy took me everywhere. I saw parts of Kigali I know I could never find again: long dirt tracks, middle of nowhere, little wooden bridges, villagers who had maybe never seen a white person before by the way they were staring. I was on the back of that moto for over 45 minutes. I was fuming.

Finally, we pull up on a main road near B Club in Nyarutarama. Even I can navigate from Amahoro to Nyarutarama without such a dire fiasco, if only I knew that's where we needed to be.

Then he carried on a little way, pulled up by the side of the road, and I got off. Cathryn told me Coco was on his way in the car to get me. Sure enough, he was waiting. I was so angry, though. I was absolutely cursing the fact I only had a 2,000 note because if I'd had a 1,000 (as agreed) I could have given him that and left. I was absolutely spitting that I had to pay what he asked because I didn't have any change. It really pisses me off that some twonk on a bike can say 'yeah, sure, I know where it is' - not know where it is - and then charge you for the privilege. I was going to argue, but a massive crowd had started to gather and Coco sensibly guided me to the car.

I was so angry and shocked by the guy's attitude that I started crying, which is never a good idea in front of someone who hasn't cried since the war. He was really good about it. Anja has days like that too she said, but mzungu getting pissy over wrong directions v. person who's seen utter destruction and carnage - you do feel a bit silly. But then, I won't apologise. My stress tolerance and coping mechanisms are different. For me it's healthy to let it out. He tried to convince me to put a brave face on and smile, but I'm no good at that. Best thing for me is to get it out. Once it's out, it's gone. So, Cathryn and Giudi gave me much sympathy and whisky - all was soon better again.

The evening itself was brilliant: Coco, Anja, Giudi, Maxime, B, J and Cathryn. Had a lovely time. J has some beautiful baby chicks, but someone broke in the other night and stole his rooster and two hens. He was devastated - they're his babies :(

The house is nice, it's even got a very sanitary toilet. It's a proper toilet bowl over the top of a pit latrine. Good stuff. The best part of all was his garden! J is extremely green-fingered and grows all sorts of vegetables, some of which went into the food: rice, ratatouille, chips and salad. Nom nom nom. He moved there as part of the Kiyovu resettlement. They knocked down a huge area of poor housing in town to build a new business park. Part of the package was that they moved them to these nice houses out in the suburbs. Bit of a catch though, the disparity between what the developers paid for the land and what they made from the land is vast, and they only got the houses if they agreed to buy them! (FRW 3mil/GBP 3,000 each). Bit of a fiddle. Most of them reckon they're going to be re-homed again in five years with the rate new building projects are springing up.

Still, for the time being it's a nice place with a lovely garden. Good for relaxing with friends.

My house is feeling a bit basic today. I've had no water since yesterday. Quite shocked by this as the tank out back is HUGE, so where all the water went I have no idea. Hope this isn't a sign of things to come this dry season. I had hoped to leave the water problems behind. All of my clothes and dishes are outside waiting to be washed, and my guard can't wash them with no water. I don't want to start paying for water to be delivered. In the old house I always had jerrycans at the ready because water shortages were frequent, but this time I hadn't filled them because it's the first time it's happened. Luckily the water filter is full, so I have plenty to drink, just very little to wash with and none to flush the loo with which - disadvantage of an en suite - now smells bad.

On top of all this, I'm feeling a bit under the weather. I finished the antibiotics but my throat hasn't completely cleared. It looks to be getting better by itself now. White spots gone, but throat still looking a bit red. I'm just absolutely shattered, though. Sooo tired. Going to take care of myself today and see how it goes.

Tomorrow night is the Queen's birthday, which is a big celebration amongst the ex-pats. Got my official invite from the Embassy yesterday. You only get one if you're registered with the British Embassy or if you're a VSO. They take pity on VSOs. This means Martine will also be going, which is nice.

Something to look forward to. I'm writing the past couple of days off as a freak dip in otherwise generally happy and fulfilled-ness. Would very much like some water, though.

Maxime & B