Where do you live? Now that's a tough one....

Where do you live?
Such an easy question in the US and typically meriting an easy enough response in return. In the States, we begin in 2nd grade or even earlier teaching kids their address and how to label envelopes with the address of others. Well, here the concept of an address exists somewhat, perhaps in theory. Purportedly the streets have names and indeed there are a few that actually exhibit signage in the business district, but for most residents the above question is a source of much consternation.

The word street hardly begins to describe what runs in front of our house (pictured above with our house on the right below surface level). At best, it can be described as a dirt path. If it has a name, no one is aware of it. We have no number decorating our gate. Typically when asked where we live, we tell people, “behind the Ministry of Justice.” If more specifics are required, we continue with yet another possibly recognizable landmark, the International School of Kigali (ISK). Foreigners will recognize this landmark but Rwandans rarely do. We continue with further precisions like, “Take a left at the bar that’s really a converted shipping container, when the cobblestones end, descend the hill and look for the 2nd dirt road to the left; go down a short way and our house is just after the cornfield on the right. Our house sits below the level of the street and has a driveway set at a 45 degree angle. It’s got a white colonnade fence and is recognizable by its KK Security sign attached to the front gate.” (Whether the sign is a deterrent or an advertisement that there’s stuff within of value to potential criminals remains to be seen.)

Of course, we Americans take such simple “amenities” for granted. Precise addresses are vital to American businesses and commerce and contribute to the overall efficiency of our country. Home delivery of mail, what a concept, does not exist in most of Africa, and with little wonder given such realities. It is so unbelievably time consuming just trying to figure out where something is located or where someone lives. Reid and I heard about a Greek restaurant that we wanted to try out. We’d been able to get a general low-down on its location, but after several attempts still haven’t been able to find it. Seems like with all of the NGO’s on the ground here, one of them would take on the challenge of ascribing street names and numbers!

Once again, we can’t help but compare Kigali to Windhoek which was so well organized and labeled (we actually had made acquaintance with an urban planner who taught at the Polytechnic in Windhoek) and can’t help but wonder why the Rwandans haven’t mastered such simple basics yet especially given the government’s big push to be cutting edge. Large sums are being spent on instituting a fiber optics network throughout the country (we saw evidence of it on our trip to Nyungwe) and yet no one can tell me on which street we live! Heavy Sigh!