One Door Closes and a Gorilla Pops Out of Another
Feb 1st, 2010 by Kristin
Last week was a helluva few days for many reasons but mainly because—hello—did you know moving sucks? We went to Mammoth this weekend for a very quick 48-hour work trip (SVV promises to blog our awesome time for me when the moving dust settles), which proved more stressful than not as we flew into San Jose yesterday morning, drove straight to Foster City, picked up a moving truck and some eager immigrant movers at Home Depot, and transported all our belongings in the following seven hours, with the added assistance of my dear Moose who loaned us her pointer fingers and organizational skills (she’s a good egg, that one). We still can’t get our Internet company (ahem, AT&T, ahem) to actually show up when they say they’re going to, meaning I’ve missed out on a lot of work time waiting in an empty apartment and also that while all our furniture and boxes are physically in the new Presidio Heights pad, Scott and I and our desk sets and spare bed remain in San Mateo because I have (eek) one week left on my next book deadline and, alas, that requires a constant Internet connection! Whew, that was a long sentence. But ant army invasion (as in hundreds of thousands, no exaggeration), work annoyances and Internet snafu aside, I was particularly bummed last week as this amazing assignment to Mozambique I thought was going to happen with a good friend/photographer fell through much to both of our dismay, but then it was easy to make lemonade out of lemons, because what do you know, out of the blue, this happened:
(I’m LunaticAtLarge lest you don’t follow me on Twitter, and if that’s the case, may I ask why not? Ha. I’ll follow back, I promise! I’m not a Twitter snow, like some I know.)
Anyhoo…that’s right, people! Eight days ago, Rwanda was little more than a movie and a whole lot of tragic past in my mind, and now! Now, I get to go explore its nooks and crannies, see its gorgeous landscape (Lonely Planet calls it one of the most beautiful countries in all of Africa), hang out with gorillas, and have an all-around good time for a week prior to my journey to South Africa with my mom (could the timing have worked out any better?). Even more exciting is a long-time blog friend Katie Hammel (and new editor of BootsnAll as of today) was the other winner, so our inaugural IRL meeting will take place in Kigali! How about them apples?
How did this happen, you ask? Well, Twitter, of course. How else do good things materialize in the year 2010, after all? It started when a few of my travel-y friends Tweeted about the Rwanda government’s call for travel writers and bloggers to win a tour/contest by doing little more than following them and reTweeting the message. Only, you know me: I don’t do anything half-assed. So my next few Tweets looked something like this:
Moral of this story? Persistency pays off. And not only did I harass them incessantly, but I even went to their Facebook page and left comments, including my blog link and professional site. And then I went one step further and TwitPic’d SVV and a baboon to show the uncanny resemblance and how not only is my dad a certified ape (it’s true; you never saw a darker, hairier Caucasian), but my fiance is also a descendant of the primates. (If you saw him scurry up some 20-foot-tall scaffolding, you’d be inclined to agree.)
And then, before I knew it, Ben from the agency repping Rwanda contacted me and would I be free to go on a week-long tour of Rwanda in mid-March? And, um, even though I have one major FIRST EDITION (meaning, a bazillion times more work than an update) book deadline that falls after that time period on April 1 (I REALLY hope that editor doesn’t read my blog), I responded “HELLS TO THE YEAH.” No need to worry: I will be reporting back here frequently with all sorts of good multimedia material and, likely, writing some stories about the experience for some of my outlets. (If you’re a travel editor with a need for Rwanda coverage, e-mail me!)
The only “minor” catch is that I’m responsible for getting myself to Kigali, which is no easy endeavor. As luck would have it, my ticket to Johannesburg from San Francisco, which Mom and I have yet to book as we were waiting for word on Mozambique, is no more expensive to fly in 10 days earlier. However—and this is a huge however—I’ve found that flights within Africa? NOT CHEAP. In fact, the most economical flight of all is via Kenya Airways and is a stifling $900. So if anyone has any tips on how to get there for cheaper, PLEASE let me know. And if you’ve been to Rwanda and would like to give me some tips or recommendations worth checking out, I would love to hear them. As of now, the only thing I know for sure is that there will be gorillas. Or, even if you’ve never been and weren’t even the slightest bit aware that Rwanda’s a country in Central Africa with a turbulent past (to which I ask, where have you been in the last 15 years? unless, of course, not born yet is the answer), is there anything specific you’d like to know about first-hand while I’m there?
What an awesome opportunity! Congrats!
OMG wow, what a fantastic opportunity for you – I hope you have an amazing time!!
eek! I’m so incredibly excited for you! I want to jump up and down for YOU.. that is how excited I am. I must say.. girl… you work your butt off to do what you do. I love it. That being said, my question is this … how safe is it to travel there now? I only now of their past and not of their current standing. As someone who likes to travel, though hasn’t had much experience yet… I’m still concerned about certain countries (or entire continents.. ahem.. Africa) that get bad raps. I’m from the midwest. When I moved to China, my father was so angry that I was moving to “Red China”. I mean… “They’ll tell you how much toilet paper you are allowed to buy!” So, I sort of have a small town mind hammered into me… but somewhere amidst all of that fear is a small part of me that says .. “Seriously Emily? Just get out and see for yourself.”
Have I rambled ? I tend to do that.
So yeah.. safety. AND … how do you feel about traveling to countries that are typically seen as “Dangerous” by the average homebody?
Sad for me, but excited for you!
SO JEALOUS! I have to start actually entering contests on Twitter.
Love the title. And I think you need to blow up that picture of Scott and the Gorilla and frame it for your hallway. Or maybe I’ll do it for a wedding present! Because then it would be rude not to hang it! And Scott would get to glare at me for the next ten years! HA!
YAY! I hope the rest of your move is miraculously smooth sailing, and I love the line: How else do good things materialize in the year 2010?
SO TRUE
Have fun in Rwanda!
Congrats, congrats, congrats! Of course, we expect to see pictures…
(Also, having moved twice a year for the last two years, I feel your deep, deep pain. Best of luck.)
Wow!!! That is amazing! Congratulations, and we can’t wait to hear all about it!
(Sidenote: you just moved pretty close to me! Awesome! Welcome to the neighborhood!)
MIL FELICIDADES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Congratulations! What an incredible opportunity!
I saw a friend’s pictures of his trip to Rwanda and now I can’t wait to see yours! Have you tried booking through travel sites based in Africa rather than the US versions? That made a huge difference in price when I was booking inter-Asia travel a few years ago…
That is going to be an amazing trip! Two friends of mine (both female) travelled there about two years ago, and commented on how safe and clean the country was – hopefully it has only gotten better.
Looking forward to the stories and the pictures – Africa is one of my favorites.
I can’t think of anyone who deserves it more!
I am so jealous of you! And hurrah for the new apartment! Very exciting, friend!
Fantastic!! Can’t wait to hear more about this adventure!
Oh, yeah – moving sucks! Our last move, I was 3 weeks out from surgery and still in a cast and on crutches!
Rwanda! I can’t wait to hear about his adventure!!
Hi,
Love your site. My friend is just got to Rwanda for a 2 year teaching program. She might be able to help with logistics. If you want to reach out: http://janebrokaw.blogspot.com/
Amy in VA
My good friend Amy filmed a documentary there. http://www.lanesisland.com/about.html
Please let me know if you would like her contact information. I hope you can find a flight without breaking the budget, although it might be worth it to spend a little more for a foreign carrier. I’m not sure about Kenya Airways specifically, but generally African airlines have less than stellar safety records.
Congrats! That is awesome! Unfortunately, I’ve experienced the same thing re: intra-Africa flights, it was almost cheaper to fly back through Europe to get from Kenya to Mozambique a few years ago. In the end, I flew into Malawi (via Kenya Air) and took a bus the rest of the way. Not super helpful, I’m sure. Have fun!
You’re awesome and your life makes me smile. Also? Hell yes to you moving. The end.
You’re so lucky! And also crazy persistent and hardworking, so I guess I can’t hold it against you. Enjoy your trip. As for inter-African flights, we got a decent rate on an Air Uganda flight, so maybe you could look into some kind of connection through Kampala?
wow – congrats! I would love to go to Rwanda. Have so much fun!
Congrats on the free trip..even if you have to pay 900 dollars for 10 days in Rwanda that’s not too bad!
Well done on winning the trip can’t wait to hear about what you get up too.