Curious Travels - Observations of the World

Travels of Emil Munthe, telling small stories from the world surrounding us. Currently discovering the thousand hills of Rwanda. See also Mongolia and China

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Expo 2014, is a annual trade fair held in Kigali. All the big beer brands have stage, here the Primus stage with Bruce Melody performing.

This was a special good convert, not that his music is extraordinary in any way. But it is the first time I heard anyone performing live. All other concerts have mostly been playback, which seem to be the standard here. 

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Emy and his family in Kinunu, a small villages situated along the Congo Nile Trail halfway between Kibuye and Gisenyi.

Their cow is donated by the Girinka project.

"The word Girinka can be translated as ‘may you have a cow’ and describes a centuries old cultural practice in Rwanda whereby a cow was given by one person to another, either as a sign of respect and gratitude or as a marriage dowry." Rwandapedia

Since the program started in 2006, more than 180.000 families has benefited from the the program. Besides a cow the family also receives training on Breeding - Nutrition - Housing - Health - Management and Record Keeping.

The children in the house, portrayed with Lego I donated when visiting the home. 

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Panoramas from the Congo Nile Trail, Kibuye (Karongi) to Gisenyi (Rubavu) section.

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Musanze caves are a collection of old vulcanic caves just outside of Musanze. They gave the new name to the town known as Ruhengeri before 2006. 

The story tells that they were made by an old kind centuries ago. During the genocide in 1991, they were used for mass killings, and has therefore been considered hunted for years. Today the Rwanda Development border has opened them as a turist attraction.

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Thoughts about oxygen concentrators from my daily work at Ruhengari Hospital:

Ruhengari Hospital in the Musanze province (Nortern Rwanda) most used and most broken equipment is there extensive use of oxygen concentrators. When we arrived to the hospital less than two weeks ago, the workshop was filled with around 10 broken machines and more were to follow! During the first week we were able to return 7 back into service! In general they fail in 4 different ways:

Power supply, loose wires or broken powercord. This type of failure is coming among all machines in the developing world and extremely easy to fix.

Leaks, the tubing is old and worn out or other parts is leaking. Depending on the severity and location of the leak, it might be difficult to fix as the concentrators uses pressures at around 2.36 atmospheres.

Lifetime, an oxygen concentrator has estimated lifetime of around 35 thousand hours, due to the active material, zeolite, which will wear out. Once this time is hit the concentrator will begin to output lower concentrations of oxygen. Replacement canisters are as all other spare parts not possible to acquire in the developing world, but at fix might be made by cannibalizing another broken machine.

Motor, most of the machines run on durable ac motors, but occasional failure occur. In such case it is difficult to make a simple fix.

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I recently bought this acrylic on canvas named "Me and my sisters" by Rwandan artist Innocent.

In Kigali there are few art galleries, most of them are formed by cooperatives of few artists. Besides being there work space and display space most of them also offer, drawing, dancing and other cultural lessons for the local kids.

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Notes on the origin of the bantu word Muzungu (plural: Abazungu).

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Clean shoes and respectable clothing

In Rwandese culture it is very important to dress nicely. Especially the shoes should be kept clean, which is sometimes challenging when walking on dusty dirt roads. 

The above picture shows my friend Richard, cleaning a pair of shoes. Most people I know seem to clean there shoes once a week or so.

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Art on the wall outside Uburanga Arts Studio, by Benjamin Rudahigwa Mwizerwa, Will Karekezi and others.

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Part of my training here in Kigali is studying the hospitals in the capital. Here is images of the better working parts of CHUK,  the university teaching hospital.

It’s interesting how they deal with power outages, fx. when they do planning for the CT machine they have to account for some scans being ruined or delayed due to power outages. 

Read more about the Engineering World Health summer institute at http://ewhdtu.tumblr.com

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Bisoke volcano is at an altitude of 3,711 meters and a 3 hour hike from the base at 2561 meters. A well preserved path runs all the way up, but can be extremely muddy and slippery.

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IPRC soccer stadium used as written examination location. 

Hundres of students seated in nice rows, 2 meters apart for a written examination. No tables provided. Everything heavily guarded.

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Yesterday I was approached by Olivier a senior from highschool. He was doing a project about robotics, where he had trouble designing a timed controlling circuit for some hydraulics.

This is not necessary representative for the level in highschool, but I was really amazed how much he new about electronics. He will for sure be fine engineer when he grows up.

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Typical dinner setting in Rwanda, rice and beans are the most important components of most meals. 

Drinks are not present at the table, as they should be bad for digestion if drunk during eating. Instead African tea is served after dinner.

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Kigali, Rwanda

I safely arrived to the thousand hills of Rwanda. Where Kigali is a pretty sight at night quiet similar to a night sky.

For the next month I will receive teaching in Kinyarwanda and French besides technical training at the Integrated Polytechnic Regional Center. All to be top qualified for volunteering at a village hospital in July, helping out the local hospital engineer. 

The program is organized by Engineering World Health, an international organization with the aim of improving world health by spreading engineering knowledge.

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Hey Emil! These pictures are amazing :) They make me want to visit Mongolia! Did you have a good time?

Thanks. I can only recommend Mongolia for travel, in fact I'm leaving this Monday only to return in September... Just remember to escape to the country side, which is the real Mongolia, with its infinite steppes, beautiful mountains and friendly people. Travel by horse is a must in my opinion!

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At the 1st International Mongolian Jamboree, there was a quite impressive culture night with various performances from all the participants. Traditional singing and dancing from the different aimags as well as more modern contributions.