The other Rubona

I spent this weekend in Gisenyi, specifically in the other Rubona in Rwanda, the one that appears on the map. I walked passed the Bralima brewery where Primus beer is brewed, and a half hour leisurely walk later I came upon little kids in a pile of blue, a meter high, on the side of the road leading to the center of town. I squinted, because I need new glasses, and crossed the street to see blue Primus wrappers, meters high. They lay a midst broken Primus bottle glass that the kids were walking on, barefoot, collecting the glass in bags.

I don't know the story behind this. It was a Sunday, so maybe the kids go to school. But I really wish they had shoes.

The area is an odd combination of mud houses and budding mansions. In Kigali you see this to, but Kigali has defined neighborhoods with more mansions, and so many houses, often seemingly on top of each other, that the difference seems less stark to an outsider. The store fronts are also an interesting combination of newly built store strips with decorative pillars and older metal shacks. All-metal shacks is actually nicer than Rwamagana District shops, which are almost all mud and stone except the roofs. Metal's expensive.

Speaking of expensive metal. I met up with a VTC student in Kigali during vacation. He is from Kigali and in Rwamagana District's Rubona to study because the VTC is public and cheaper here. The house he lives in was having it's metal roof, which by law must be metal in Rwanda, painted red and the windows filled in with glass, two other characteristics required in local Kigali law. The cost of doing all of this was less than being fined, though there are certainly many who have yet to fulfill these requirements.

Ok, back to the other Rubona.

I saw a couple with matching outfits. It was. Urgh. Well, if they are on their honeymoon or something I suppose I will allow it. One very vibrant green material with flowers and swirly stems was cut in half and made into a tastefully tailored shirt and shirt with a matching head piece. The other half went towards her beau or husband's also, on it's own, lovely tailored shirt. And they walked down the street, smiling, holding bands, enjoying the moments of sunshine. I saw them multiple times all over the city, always holding hands in a serene stroll down the beach, around the shops and market, and past the forestry hills. Which also matched their outfits.

I have seen mothers and children wear matching outfits, but this is the first matchy matchy couple I have seen in Rwanda.