That time Gary got his shoes cleaned at a car wash...

Hi all!

Since the last update, Gary and Cassidy have completed the community surveys at Kibaya and Ntarma. From what I hear, all things went well, however, Sonrisa and I were not able to help out. We have both been feeling a bit under the weather... probably due to the really, really poor air quality we have had during our stay so far. Hopefully this smokey smog will lift soon and we will all get to feeling better!

Anyways, on to better news. As Gary mentioned in his post, the community has been extremely gracious and welcoming towards us so far. My absolute favorite moment so far happened when Gary, Cassidy and I were surveying the community at Nyarutosho. Cassidy and I had stepped out from under the shade of the structure to get some air, when one of the villagers we had surveyed approached us. She gestured for us to follow her and after a brief hesitation, we did. We had really no idea what she had planned for us since she didn't speak any English. After a short walk, we arrived at her home. She was so happy to show us her livestock and home and offer us to sit with her. We had some very broken communication with her and her daughters, then we made our way back to the system. it may seem like a small gesture, but I just felt like it was really special to be invited into this intimate part of an already isolated village and I really appreciated her kindness.

And now for the main point of this post (sorry for the clickbait title). We had a pretty chill day today in Musanze. We went around surveying building materials to use next summer and ended up at the shopping center, where Gary paid to have a shirt made by one of the tailors. It took a couple of hours to make, so we left and came back. As we were walking back to the shopping center, Gary was insistent that he was also going to find a shoeshine to clean his shoes. I was doubtful, especially since he was wearing sneakers and how do you shine sneakers? Gary got his shirt and we asked our newfound friend (Hamisi) where we should go. He said he would take us to get our shoes cleaned and lead us to car wash right around the corner. After a brief conversation with the workers there, Gary was plopped down on a bench and his shoes taken from him. I was admittedly a bit smug at this point because I had told Gary that this wasn't going to work out for him and this was definitely an unexpected turn. Even better, at this point I had assumed his shoes would be returned to him soaking wet. A few minutes later, the man returned with his shoes. I excitedly walked over to see his work and I can now admit... I was wrong. Gary's shoes looked brand new and were returned completely dry. I still have no idea what he did to them, but it was definitely a memorable experience. Here is a picture of the whole exchange, with Gary's new shirt and all. 

That's all for now. I can't wait to get back and share more stories with the rest of you back home.

Casey