Our House in the Middle of Our... Kimihurura

This is where I've been living for the last three weeks, and where I will presumably be for several more months. It's a little bit east of the city center, sort of on the top of one of the hills opposite Kigali proper.

There's room for five separate tenants, but only three live here now. It's reasonably nice, and the rent includes utilities, internet, 24 hr guard, 3 days a week housekeeper, and laundry.

The kitchen (no ants, but plenty of cockroaches)

It's in the suburb called Kimihurura (the 'K' pronounced like 'ch'), which is populated mostly by ex-pats and wealthy locals. There's a few nice places to eat, like Papyrus, an Italian restaurant that features their own dairy where they produce cheeses and delicious yogurt. There's also Executive Carwash, the bar where I went this summer to watch the World Cup games on a giant outdoor screen. Tonight we're going to try Flamingo, a local Chinese place that I've heard is pretty good.

Our spacious backyard, perfect for tossing the football around... maybe four square? That brick structure is actually a huge grill that doesn't appear to have been used in quite a while.

The best part of the house- the gazebo in the front. Perfect for relaxing and reading during the day, at least before the mosquitoes come out.

View from the front. My room is on the back, a couple rooms up from that big dish that's just taking up space because we don't even have a TV.

My room, back when it was nice and tidy. I'm going to have to buy a desk. And some rugs- tiles don't work well in a bedroom.