Kigali

So the internet cafe near our hotel in Kigali averages 1 email/20 minutes so we have not been able to update this blog while here. There's a lot that's been going on and I, for one, have really come to love this city. It is beautiful, has character and the people are amazingly friendly.

We have had OLPC-related activities throughout the week, usually from 8 in the morning until 5 in the evening. During these, we have learned more about the XOs-both on the technical and the learning front, met with the President of Rwanda, come to know some awesome people from other Corps team and generally become better persons. Ok scratch that last one. But the rest of it is true.

Everything has gone pretty smoothly and we are more than excited to head out to our deployment site for action. Except perhaps that our XS server developed some problems after someone tripped over the power cord during installation. Some geniuses from KIST(the soon-to-be Rwandan MIT) figured the problem out to be with the hard disk and the bios, so hopefully they'll have them running before we leave for Sierra Leone.

A word on the visas: if you apply for a Rwandan visa online, you will get a 15-day visa for 60$. Whereas if you apply directly to an embassy/consulate, you get a three-month visa for the same amount. Since our blogs are supposed to be helpful for future OLPC teams, I just thought I'd add this nugget here.

I will try to get some pictures of Kigali up before we leave for Salone.

Until then,

Faaez