Lightning Round Part 2

My posting has dropped to all-time lows, mainly because I have been swamped at work. In a few more days it should be smooth sailing til the end of the year. However, while I've been busy, I still have found time to:

1) Have Thanksgiving dinner at the American club. About 200 people attended, and they did a good job of importing all the favorites (though nothing beats our family's stuffing). Although we sat with friends and had a good time, I vastly preferred hosting our own Thanksgiving for ~15 people in Belgium last year, so I've resolved to try to repeat that here next year. That will mean finding a local poultry farmer, paying him to kill the turkey, and then plucking it ourselves, but I think its worth a shot!

2) Attend the Mille Collines Road Rally. There were 17 entrants, and we are friends with two of the co-pilots. The race went from Kigali to the NW part of Rwanda (volcano/gorilla region). The cars were fast and loud (except for the two Belgian entrants driving Peugeots!) and the track was scary! Cliffs on one side, freefall to a river on the other. Local kids turned out in droves to watch the cars zoom by, and were really into it. The best part was going to the pit stop and seeing the drivers make tons of repairs in the 15 min of allotted time, while being surrounded by throngs of children. We took a break to drive up to the Virunga Lodge - a chichi eco-lodge that costs 800 dollars a night (and really isn't worth that much!) but does have the most stunning views I've seen in Rwanda: a 360 degree panorama of volcanoes and lakes.

3) Start decorating the house. I commissioned a huge painting (6 feet by 3 feet) from a local artist, and it should be ready next week- really hoping it turns out nice. We have bought some local cow dung art for the walls, started painting the rooms, etc, had a carpented build some furniture...all to be shown off to the 3 guests we have coming for Christmas, where we'll do the full tour of the country - cannot wait!

It's a bit strange to be in the holiday season in such warm weather - first time I've been sunburned in December! Hope you are all well