You know how they say your life flashes before your eyes?...

I had some excitement on Saturday afternoon. Although, frankly, I can do without this brand of excitement!

Pip and I were at a friend’s house in Gikondo, a part of Kigali near to where we live in Kimihurura. We stayed longer than we planned and were in a hurry to get home since we had someone coming to our place. So instead of the 40 minute walk or the 20 minute bus ride we opted for motorbike taxis. These are much cheaper than car taxis – 300 rwf compared to 1500 or 2000 rwf for the same distance. I try not to take these very often and only when I am with someone else, but they are faster, cheaper and more convenient than other modes of transport. Also, I really like riding the motorcycles which is funny since I hated Dad’s so much when I was a kid! On Saturday Pip’s moto left ahead of mine since I took extra time to make sure that my helmet was tight enough. Good thing!

About half way home I was in the left lane and a minibus taxi driving in the right lane decided to pull a u-turn right in front of us. Let me tell you, this scared the crap out of me! I can still see the bus and remember how it felt realizing that we couldn't avoid it. My driver did manage to avoid actually hitting the bus, which is good since that would have really hurt, but we still ended up on the pavement. We ended up sliding on the bike's side. I remember laying on the pavement thinking, ‘I can’t be ok. Where does it hurt because I can’t be ok” Everyone stopped and the police came and we caused a big scene - it is not everyday that a muzungu is in a moto accident in Kigali. But I was totally fine. When two guys helped me up, I didn’t even have a scratch on me, which is a little crazy since I was wearing a tank top and we slid on the pavement a couple of meters before stopping. I have a few brightly coloured bruises to remind me of the occasion from where the bike and I collided and from where I hit the pavement, and I am still a little stiff. Nothing is broken and I don’t even have a cut or scrape on me. A couple days from now I will hardly notice, but you will not find me on a motorbike again anytime soon!

I know that I am lucky. It could have been worse but God was definitely watching over me and his hand was on the whole situation. My driver was also fine, just really really angry with the bus driver. Even the bike seemed like it would be ok!