Visits with friends and family Dec 2014 - May 2015

Where has the time gone?  Our last entry was in December just after our wonderful Tanzanian safari...now look...it's June 2015 ALREADY...WOW, has time flown....let's catch up...

We hope you all had enjoyable holiday's and that you rang in the New Year peacefully, lovingly and joyfully.

In Dec, Buddy had a friend, a long-time old pal of his come visit.  Joe and Buddy were Peace Corps Volunteers together waaayyyy back in the 70s in Mali.  They've both been director's of multiple Peace Corps countries, they went to the same grad school and later lived and worked in Dallas and their friendship has stood the test of time.  Joe lives in Oregon and came to spend 3 weeks, visiting, touring Rwanda by bike and by bus and seeing a part of this globe he'd never seen before.

Leonard, Joe and Buddy

We had a Peace Corps Admin staff party at our house during Joe's visit.  Not your normal Christmas party--it was sunny, warm, filled with pizza, drinks, gifts and bocce ball.  Everyone had a good time.

Buddy, Joe and PC Rwanda Admin staff

Aly with the PC Rwanda Admin staff

New Year's Eve was spent quietly...just the two of us in Kigali.  WOW...2015...what will it bring?  What adventures, what trials, what tribulations???

January started out a bit rocky...it was a Thursday night in early January and Buddy had a little 'incident' which passed mostly unknown to the majority of you out there...he woke up one evening shortly before midnight with his ticker beating about 4x the normal resting heart rate...he woke Aly up and we called the PA at the Embassy and were told to meet there in 20 minutes.  We arrived at the Embassy shortly after midnight and stayed throughout the night.  A series of meds, tricks and treatments were given, but Buddy's heart rate never did slow down so plane tickets were purchased and plans were made for Buddy to head to Johannesburg, South Africa that Friday to see a cardiologist.

Aly was no way not going, so Friday night, we were on a plane headed to South Africa being accompanied by the Embassy PA.  We were met by the pre-arranged taxi and driven straight to the hospital in Pretoria where Buddy was admitted directly into the Cardio-Care unit, similar to the ICU in the US.  He had been hooked up to a heart monitor and had had a variety of injections over the previous 24 hours, all tricks attempting to drop his heart rate, none of which seemingly were working.

Around 4am (about 28 hours into this ordeal), miraculously, somehow the heart rate was back to normal and nobody knows if it was due to any combination of the drugs or if it converted to normal on its own.  Regardless, the following day the Cardiologist ordered a series of tests--a stress test, EKG, and an Echo CG.  By noon that day the doc diagnosed Buddy with A-Flutter.  He was then referred to a specialized Cardiologist called an Electro-Physiologist Cardiologist, of which there are only 9 in the entire country of South Africa, and we found out only about 500 exist in the US in this specialty.

Buddy was released from the hospital after 2 nights and agreed to see this specialized doc a few days later.  The appointment with the Electro-Physiologist Cardiologist went probably better than anyone could have expected and he suggested that with Buddy's problem, basically a misfire in the right atrial chamber of the heart (A-Flutter), that he had about an 85% chance of this never happening again if he agreed to a certain 'procedure'...and by the way, this was the 2nd time this had happened in Buddy's life--the 1st was in Abilene in Dec 2012.  Well, with those odds, we had to take the doc up on the offer of this 'procedure' called an Ablation and he just so happened to have an opening in 2 days...(with only 9 docs in the entire country and with 1 with an opening that quickly, we felt we had to move forward)...so a week after we arrived in South Africa, Buddy was re-admitted to a second hospital and was prepped for this 'procedure'.

Three hours later, Buddy is groggily wheeled out of surgery and of recovery and is wheeled up to the Cardio-Care unit and was told not to bend at the hips for 7 hours.  He was instructed to lay flat but keep the circulation moving in his body by moving his upper body, his arms, hands, feet, etc, but DO NOT BEND at the hips/groin.  The procedure he had, had small tubes inserted up the veins from the groin to the heart where the doc 'cauterized' the place in Buddy's heart where this misfiring was occurring.  The procedure was 100% successful and Buddy was released the following morning with minimal repercussions and almost no restrictions.  If you are interested in reading anymore on Ablations, see the link below, or you can do your own internet search...it is quite a specialized procedure and we were lucky to have it done in the country where there are fabulous doctors and the 1st successful heart transplant took place in 1967.  If there is anyplace working overseas where you'd want to have a heart issue, it's no doubt, South Africa.

http://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/cardiac-ablation/basics/definition/prc-20022642

Buddy was released from the hospital and was told to take it easy, and after about 3 days to resume all normal activity.  During this time of recovery and in between doctor and hospital visits, we were lucky enough to visit some wonderful old friends.  We met up with our fabulous old neighbors when we lived in Pretoria back in 2005, Avril and Tony (here's a photo of them from back in those days--with their son Ayton).  Avril come to visit Buddy on his 1st day in the hospital and it was just like we were still their neighbors.

Buddy, Avril, Ayton and Tony back in 2006

We were also lucky to go out a couple of times with our old pals from Burundi days back in the 90s, Cosma and Amy--life savers who gave us a cell phone with a local sim card to use, gave us some South African Rand and came to visit and take Aly out for lunch on the 1st day we were in country.  What would this world be without friends...we thank you ALL for being there for us and hope we can return the kindness if/when you ever need.

Amy, Buddy and Cosma

And speaking of old friends...it really is a small world.  We found out that the PA in the US Embassy Med Unit, Karl, used to work for Buddy in Peace Corps in Zaire in the early 90s!  When the PA in Rwanda told the PA in SA that it was Buddy coming down, Karl said, 'I know Buddy'!  Thank you Karl and Mary for everything!

Everyone took remarkable care of us and we are blessed to have access to such fabulous health care.  We were able to return to Rwanda after a whirlwind 2-week, 2 different hospital, multiple doctor visit with no major surgery (after only a 'procedure'), to no medications, no restrictions and with only the advice of 'continue doing what you're doing'!  Wow...okay...so here we go...

January, the beginning of 2015 came in a bit like a lion...let's hope the rest of the year goes out more lamb like...

Feburary was planned as a home visit for Aly to return to the US for her annual doctor visits, plus see some friends and family and to bring Aly's mom back to Rwanda for a visit....another whirlwind trip...after only a few days back in the office from South Africa, Aly was off to Texas for 2 weeks of planned vacation.  Buddy stayed in Rwanda.

It was fun to see some family and friends and to get great reports from all the docs--still cancer free and it's now been 10 years since that ugly diagnosis!!!  Woo hoo!!!

Gigi, Aly's mom came back with Aly and spent almost 3 weeks in Rwanda with us.  She has been to Rwanda before, years ago, but so much has changed since then.  Aly and Buddy had to work (oh yeah, did we say Buddy is now working with the Regional Security Office in the Embassy!?) so Gigi was able to read about 25 books, get some rest she didn't know she was behind in, eat some good food prepared by someone else (thank you Elie!), visit some old friends of Aly's and Buddy's whom she'd met years and years before and generally just have a good relaxing vacation.  One night we were invited over to a friends house for dinner...

dinner with Christianne and Julianne (sisters) and their families

Then one weekend we drove up country through all the blooming Jacaranda which lined the roads.

We stopped at a Cooperative where women make Imigongo (manure art--literally cow dung mixed with mud and molded into shapes then painted with natural paints) all done by women with designs inspired by tradition.  This traditional art is specific to Rwanda and dates back to pre-colonization.

We drove to see one of the only waterfalls in the country (outside of the rain forests), Rusumo Falls, which is on the border of Tanzania and Rwanda in the southeastern corner of the country.  The Akagera River surges between the two border posts.

Rusumo Falls with the Akagera River

Buddy and Gigi up country

rice paddies

We made our way to the only savannah national park in the eastern part of the country where an old friend of Aly and Buddy's is the manager of the Akagera Safari Lodge.  The Akagera National Park is Rwanda's answer to the likes of the Serengeti and the Masaai Mari in neighboring Tanzania and Kenya.  There are large mammals to be found (elephant, buffalo, antelope, giraffe, etc), but nothing like the numbers next door. The big draw is the fabulous bird life (over 550 species in this little park of about 418 sq miles) and the peace and quiet and relaxation of getting out of Kigali.

views of  the Akagera looking out towards Tanzania

Gigi, Buddy and Charlotte, our good friend who we've known
since 1992 when Aly was a Peace Corps Volunteer and Charlotte
worked with Peace Corps Burundi

Gigi, Charlotte and Buddy

Gigi and Aly

We returned from a weekend of not only sight seeing, but buying fun art.  Here is a sampling of what we came home with.,.Imigongo, reed-made coasters and trays, banana leaf Christmas ornaments, cloth made items and more.  It was a fun weekend.

Our house boy Elie, who has worked for Aly since the early 1990s is from Burundi and works for us in Rwanda.  Gigi and Elie met back in 1993 and they have a long lasting friendship...Gigi also has a new friend, Dodos, our gardener who both called her mama Gigi.

Elie, mama Gigi and Dodos

Another old time friend, Consolate, who met Aly back in 1992 in Burundi also remembers Gigi from back in the old days!  Conso is a 2nd daughter to mama Gigi.

Conso and mama Gigi

One of the weekly entertainment activities we partake in is bowling at the ONLY open-air bowling alley within hundreds (if not thousands) of miles of here...the Mamba Club.  Tuesday nights you'll find us there...bowling a game costs $3 with real bowling shoes and balls, electronic ball return and semi-manual pin re-set!  Beers cost extra!

Gigi showing us her techinque!

toasting the last night in town at the Mamba Club

It was a fun 3 weeks!  Shortly after Gigi left, another old friend came to visit...one of our pals from Abilene, TX who used to work with Aly with refugee resettlement.

Brent and Aly

The 1st weekend in April we had planned to take a long weekend and we decided it was our turn to visit other friends of ours who are now living in Amman, Jordan.  We met Carol and Don back in Abilene, TX in 2008 and quickly became friends not only because they were volunteers of Aly's with the IRC, but also due to the fact that they had traveled and lived in interesting places, similar to what our lives have been like.  Don is now working for a private security company in Jordan and Carol is the house manager, cook, and A+ social organizer!

The trip to Jordan from Rwanda takes 2 flights, the 1st a 6-hour flight to Dubai, then a much shorter 3-hour flight directly into Amman.  Don and Carol had a fun filled 4 days planned for us...from meeting us at the airport and going right to lunch (Don had to work),

Don and Carol

Aly and Carol at lunch with some of the best fresh mint/lemon
 drinks which were soooo refreshing

Buddy and Carol

to seeing a bit of the city

Jordan used to be called 'the White City'

seems everything is made of limestone

traffic in Amman

to a dinner party at their house with a few friends over and the food was delicious...

Carol with her 'fantastic spread'!

Carol and Don's apartment building--they live on the 2nd floor

We had an all day outing to the Dead Sea which was fabulous and about 1 hour drive from Amman...the drive took us from the highlands, passing numerous olive tree orchards to the lowlands of the Dead Sea.

rock terracing

olive orchards

the not-so-clear views of the barren drive down to the Dead Sea

outside a Military check point--Jordanian flags

roadside nut and herb stop

our 1st view of the Dead Sea with a new hotel going up

the Dead Sea

Don and Carol had heard from friends that parking and using the facilities at the Marriott and accessing the Dead Sea from there was the way to go.  You could swim in one of their many swimming pools, order something to eat and also walk down to the Sea to experience the thick, salty water.  So that is how we spent our afternoon...

the BEAUTIFUL lobby of the Marriott

The hotel was swanky, they didn't allow any outside food or beverages and the pools were delightful...

At the entrance to the hotel--this is -1,224 ft

Hubbly Bubbly is a sheesha or hookah, smoked EVERYWHERE
in Jordan by both men and women

one of the pools with the Dead Sea below

Down to the Sea we went...

before getting in--you can see  people floating

Buddy getting ready

the mud is said to have minerals to help the skin so many
give themselves mud treatments

WOW!

And a bit of hanging out by the pools as well...

Aly having fun on one of the slides

After a lovely afternoon....and with the sun beginning to set...we too set sail back to Amman...

the massive hotel with its many pools and the Sea behind

For our last full day in Amman, we visited the ancient Greco-Roman city of Jerash, about an hour north of  Amman towards Syria.  Jerash, or Gerasa as it was known way back when, was considered one of the Decapolis cities--ten cities on the eastern side of the Roman Empire (lots of history here---you'll have to do your own internet searches to fully understand as it is pretty fascinating!).  Jerash was occupied from somewhere between 3200-1200 BC to 749 AD when a major earthquake destroyed most of what remained of the multi-century city.  Jerash is thought to have reached its peak in the 3rd century with about 20,000 inhabitants and a total of 800,000 square meters inside the walls.  It is one of the worlds best preserved ancient Roman sites and is the 2nd tourist destination in Jordan, after Petra (which we did not make this trip).  The city remained buried until a German explorer discovered Jerash in 1806 and excavations have almost been continuous since the 1920s.

The map below shows the layout of the walled city...

The below photos are a few we took while spending 3-4 hours walking through the ruins...

Hadrianus Arch-Hippodrome in the left background

Hippodrome from the inside

friends along the way

visitors--many women are out visting Ancient Jerash

women, scarves and phones everywhere

hubbly bubbly anyone?--a break along the path

The South Gate

Cardo Maximus (the old main road)

Buddy and Aly with the Oval Forum

old meets new (Gerasa and Jerash)

Carol and Don

beautiful stonework at the Tetrapylon

and beautiful architecture

looking towards the North Gate

a view into the new world

columns along the Cardo Maximus

views from the Tetrapylon

panarama view of Jerash

resident grass mowers

beautiful wildflowers

South Theater

Artemis Temple remains

Panoramic view from Artemis

fascinating stonework

beautiful

still standing

North Theater with fabulous views

the North Gate with modern Jerash beyond

Mosaic in the Christian Church

one of the older 'roads'--looking to modern Jerash

the Oval Forum from the Zeus Theater

green almonds--very bitter tasting

views of the hillsides not far from Jerash

after our Jerash visit, a Jordanian Military friend of Don's took
us for coffee at this roadside coffee bar (hubbly bubbly optional!)

We spent 4 lovely days visiting Jordan (thank you Don and Carol!!) which wasn't nearly enough time to do everything, but we did get a good taste of Amman and the nearby countryside.  Maybe another trip could afford us a visit to Petra, the very famous archaeological site and ancient city built back in the 5th century BC, a world heritage site and Jordan's most visited tourist attraction and is listed as one of the 28 places you should see before you die....who knows if we'll ever get there (Buddy has been there before)..

We returned back to Rwanda to a crisis.  The remainder of April and much of May was spent with Aly working long hard hours as one of Rwanda's Peace Corps volunteers died while he was vacationing in Tanzania.  Too much to go into, but let's just say, nobody wishes this on their worst enemy...

The latter part of May, Aly took a quick trip to the US, mostly for work with a few days of pleasure added in.

Thanks to Lindsey and Maurice for taking Heather and Aly to the National Cathedral...that was a fun free day in DC.  A few photos of that visit...

the National Cathedral in DC

friends Lindsey, Maurice and Heather

gardens at the Cathedral

 Aly spent just a couple of days in DC (work and pleasure), then went to West Virginia for a training, and then took a bus to NYC to visit friends Catherine and Terry in Brooklyn.  A Broadway play (A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder), which was very good, frozen yogurt at midnight in Times Square, a day trip to Governor's Island, walks around Brooklyn and a day in Manhattan filled the time...what a wild city!

Catherine and Terry walking around Brooklyn

Brooklyn Bridge

Manhattan skyline from Governor's Island

Catherine's carrots or Aly's yogurt?

our Lady of Liberty

Empire State Building

Prospect Park arch in Brooklyn

Subway in Brooklyn

One WTC

North Reflection Pool at Ground Zero--very moving

One WTC

God Bless

WTC reflecting pool

the Hope Bell in the cemetery near Ground Zero

painted ladies of Times Square

Times Square

While Aly was off in the US, Buddy stayed home to work, to 'man the fort' and take care of our new family addition.  We found Kimi in the bushes near our front gate about a week before Aly headed to the US.  He was very tiny, scared and hungry.  He has already doubled in size.  Shots and neutering will soon follow.

Kimi

It has been a long time since we've posted to this blog...we hope it was worth the wait.  We are both back in Rwanda and ready for the summer, ready for new groups of trainees to arrive, ready for a new boss for Buddy (who should arrive sometime this year) and definitely ready for more adventures...