Burundi Travel Blogs

Bujumbura
Jan 15, 2007

Bujumbura

Kigali to Bujumbura to Kigoma
Jan 16, 2007

... pack around our bodies, but then noticed that I wasn't the only passenger with a ton of belongings. I negotiated with the Burundi border officials at Kayanza Haut, the small town separating Rwanda and Burundi.  I explained to him that I would only ...

From Civil War to Simply Civil - Burundi
Jun 12, 2007

... (Helplessness? Friendliness? Sexiness? Manly virility? Who knows?) that makes people want to take care of me.  I left for Burundi yesterday with a cousin of a Rwandan friend of mine whom I was supposed to stay with in his little apartment he rents ...

Oh, Who Are the People In Your Neighborhood...
Aug 3, 2008 (5 photos)

... I'll have to reacquaint you with my living situation.   Claude, Kelly, Emma, and Justin Claude is a native of Burundi who moved to the U.S. several years ago after he married Kelley, a native of California.  If ever a couple has handled ...

The Orphanage at Gitega
Jul 12, 2008 (10 photos)

... town to town in an effort to sell them and make a living; and the tree that marks the geographical center of Burundi, planted by Belgian colonialists nearly 100 years ago.   The orphanage, which though quite beautiful, is rather remote and ...

American Visitors Part 1 - Heading Upcountry
Nov 13, 2008 (10 photos)

... , we headed east to Gitega where we spent the night in a small inn, the first night in a hotel for me in Burundi. I discovered that approximately $6.50 will procure a private room containing two single beds and the use of a community bathroom down the ...

Adaptations
Jul 22, 2008 (7 photos)

This entry is for those of you curious about some of the variations between life in the U.S. and life here in Burundi.  I've begun to realize that although things look quite different here, similarities sometimes sneak up in unexpected forms.   ...

Don't Send Packages
Jul 15, 2008

... to Burundi, the postal system does not work here quite the same as it does at home.  Once packages arrive in Burundi, two to three weeks after they left the sender's hands back home, the fortunate recipient gets a card announcing their arrival.  ...

End of Burundi Chapter 1
May 31, 2009 (7 photos)

... for whom I was homeschooling, for Christmas Eve. The celebration included an enormous feast with foods not easily found in Burundi, including imported European cheese and crackers, apples, homemade dinner rolls, and sweets galore. After eating as much as ...

Independence Day and general observations
Jul 5, 2008 (6 photos)

... through to completion.  Call me a quitter if you must.    In an attempt to summarize my first week in Burundi, here are a number of observations I've made: 1.      People drive on the right side of the road, like ...

Contact information - How you can reach me
Jul 4, 2008 (1 photos)

... above, and I will add you to my list.  Also, I can receive regular mail sent c/o Nikondeha, P.O. Box 2810, Bujumbura, Burundi, Africa.  Packages containing anything of value may or may not make it to me intact, but letters should be fine. ...

Thanksgiving with Burundian Family and Friends
Nov 30, 2008 (3 photos)

... of food or opportunities for thankfulness. Le Menu Roasted Chicken (turkeys are rare and not so tasty in Burundi I'm told) Mashed Potatoes with Gravy Stuffing Green Beans Carrots Buttered Dinner Rolls Tossed Salad Fruit Salad Mini Pizzas (from ...

One More Housemate
Aug 4, 2008 (1 photos)

I've gotten more comments regarding the gecko (and my fear of it) that I mentioned a couple of weeks ago than anything else I've posted so far, so I feel the need to give a quick update, even though I've already posted once today.  After ...

Risizi National Park
Oct 19, 2008 (8 photos)

Taking advantage of the national holiday Burundi celebrated last week, some friends of mine and I - thank you, Duncan, for organizing and driving - went to Risizi National Park which is just north of Bujumbura off the road that leads to Congo and ...

Chez Moi!
Sep 7, 2008 (10 photos)

After two months of living with American friends in a large, comfortable, sheltered even, house, I am now on my own and living in an apartment in the center of town.  If you have an image in your mind of a trendy, cosmopolitan, multi-storied building ...

The House Where I Live - for now, anyway
Jul 10, 2008 (7 photos)

... two adopted children, Justin and Emma.  They have lived in Surprise, AZ for the past several years but are contemplating a move to Burundi in the next year or so.  Three other Americans also live here - Sarah and Ron Gonski, and Grace Scale - and ...

The Sound of Joy
Sep 14, 2008 (9 photos)

This week I went over to the house where the 40 Batwa students will be living whom I'll be attempting to teach English and writing stories about for a church in Texas who is supporting them.  I got to chat with a few of them for a little while - ...

Much Rejoicing
Aug 20, 2008 (3 photos)

Next week marks two months exactly that I have lived in Burundi, and I think perhaps I'm beginning to feel a little bit at home here.  I still stand out freakishly and hear calls of "Muzungu" nearly every time I set foot outside the gates of our house ...

Burundian Graduation
Aug 17, 2008 (4 photos)

... because it was a while ago, this group of people is the group I'll be working with most closely during my time in Burundi.  (For clarification, Twa is the sort of universal term, Batwa is plural, and Mutwa is singular.)  Arthemon is one of only ...

Le Plage
Aug 26, 2008 (7 photos)

... the Great Lakes Region of East Africa.  It's the second deepest freshwater lake in the world and forms much of the border between Burundi and DRC (Congo).  I have been told to stay out of the water when there are no waves because that's when the ...

American Visitors Part 2 - Busekera and Kibira
Nov 16, 2008 (10 photos)

... , we returned to Busekera Thursday morning for a 3-hour hike into Kibira National Forest, the last remaining natural forest in Burundi. Because the Batwa originally inhabited the forest and still know much more about it than most people, several of them ...

Native Drums
Jul 28, 2008 (7 photos)

Last week my housemates and I had the privilege of attending a feast at Youth for Christ.  In addition to gorging ourselves on a number of Burundian delicacies - many different cooked vegetables, fried plantains, rice, sauce with beef (none of which ...

Straight Boojee
Jun 20, 2009 (3 photos)

... off at the only logical spot, the bar.  We dried off our outsides while moistening the insides. That night, our last in Burundi, we somehow found a Chinese restaurant, and indulged on decent Asian cuisine.  It was a nice end to a quick, but fun, ...

Boo Jum Boor Uh
Feb 27, 2007 (2 photos)

... asked to stay on the plane during the layover but as some walked outside to take a smoke break I went outside to take a picture. Burundi. Never been here before. Don't know when I'll be back. Click. Check it off. Back on the plane before the attendant ...

How I Fill My Time
Oct 26, 2008 (7 photos)

... In addition to tutoring, I also spend two afternoons each week visiting 40 Batwa high school students from various villages throughout Burundi at the large house in which they have come together to live this year so they can attend school with the help of ...

Burundi
Jul 30, 2009 (33 photos)

... , les fonctionnaires n ayant pas voulu me faire le visa a la frontiere. Et au consulat je fais rigoler quand je montre mon passeport francais. J attend donc mon visa rwandais, en visitant le burundi : Pierre de Livingstone, musee vivant, sources du Nil,...

The Batwa Project
Jul 7, 2008 (14 photos)

... go on to high school, if they even finish primary school at all.  Only 3 Batwa have graduated from university in all of Burundi's history, and there are 3 more in college right now.  What I'll be doing to try to help the situation is to get to ...

A city rebuilding from war - Bujumbura.
Apr 14, 2007 (2 photos)

... The journey from the border to Bujumbura was particularly beautiful, if very, very slow. The hills of Rwanda became mountains in Burundi, often uncultivated, covered in forest (thank God), and wild. The people looked very, very poor, and whenever we had to ...

An Unusual Wedding
Oct 7, 2008 (7 photos)

... the signing of paperwork by each couple followed by their having their photograph taken beside a picture of Burundi's President; speeches given by several dignitaries, including a Batwa Member of Parliament, various other governmental representatives, and ...

Just Passing Through
Apr 28, 2007 (6 photos)

... the entire city from the cliff side.  Bujumbura has a very relaxed atmosphere which is a bit surprising since Burundi has had a violent history since achieving independence in the 1960s.  Across Lake Tanganyika, Africa's deepest lake,  ...