On motorbikes...

The arrival of my motorbike helmet to take out to Rwanda with me has got me thinking - how do you stay on a motorbike wearing a long skirt and riding pillion over roads like these? I've never ridden a motorbike before, although for the past four years I have envied them as they weave through the traffic. I have felt like I've spent too much of my life sat in a traffic jam along the evil Coronation road or M5 in Bristol. Getting around by motorbike taxi will be a whole new experience for me, I'm looking forward to the challenge! Perhaps I will return as a hell's angel...

Road in Rwanda

Traffic jam on the M5

Feeling inspired :-)

I was searching through things about Rwanda on the internet and I came across a really inspiring initiative called Project Rwanda where they are promoting the use of bikes for business, fun and transport. I loved the Rwandan wooden bikes, I wonder if I'll come across one on my travels!

The link to the website is http://projectrwanda.org/

My flight details came through a couple of days ago which has made it all seem really real. I'm so excited, but also wondering how I'm going to fit everything I need into a couple of bags. I was looking at some weird vacuum bags that suck all of the air out of your clothes in order to save space but then I'm worried that all my clothes will get so wrinkled that I will never be able to iron out the creases...so maybe I'll have to try to exercise restraint and limit myself with what I take...but then again...perhaps it is worth a try. 

Two months today I will be living here!

Thats right, in two short months I will be on a plane to my new home for two years. I am really excited but there is still such a lot to do! I am working my way through the list of vaccinations at the moment and the people in the travel clinic are beginning to know me by name. I know approximately 9 words of Kinyarwanda, the Rwandan national language and the French verbs are still getting the better of me! I've started to brainwash myself with repetitive French language CDs in the hope I'll kind of absorb it and become fluent in French in a traffic jam on the M5.