There is a significant community of Russian Expats in Kigali. Two women from Russia, Irina and Elena, teach at KIST. They invited us to an "Old New Year" party given by friends of theirs last night. The couple giving the party were a woman who is from Russia, then moved to Israel, then to the US (Framingham, MA). Her husband works for US AID and is now posted in Kigali, working on programs to reduce malaria. They live high on one of the hills of Kigali, quite far from the center of the city, in an absolutely beautiful house with yard. I doubt that we would have ever seen this area otherwise. On the return trip we had a fantastic view of the city.
It was a great party - very international. Irina's explanation of why there are so many Russians here is that Russia has a great many highly educated people, and simply not enough jobs requiring that level of education.
Hi Jeanne: Great to know you arrived safely in Kigali and have started your classes. The weather sounds wonderful. If you have time I recommend Cape Town and Pretoria, South Africa, as vacation destinations. We loved it. Best wishes to you and Ron. Gouri
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