A Computer Problem

One of the things I regret about this trip is that I did not bring my computer, my little netbook which I love so much, along with me.

I was assured that there were plenty of internet cafes in Kigali (that was true) and I would have no problem making blog entries. On that advice, I left my computer at home.

Alarm bells should have gone off in the you-should-really-bring-it-anyways sort of way during the orientation weekend, when it became very clear that about half a dozen people had brought their computers with them, including the person who advised me against bringing mine. I had a chance to change my mind. David said I should bring it, but I said, no, it will be one more thing to worry about, and I will have to haul it with me everywhere (like it weighed a tonne!). I pointed out that I had carried it around with me in Washington last summer and it quickly became heavy. Dave said I could keep it in my backpack in its little neoprene sleeve. Like a bonehead, I said I would leave it at home.

What a huge, collosal mistake that was.

Yes, there were internet cafes in Kigali. Half of the time that we went into them, however, there was either a line-up, extraordinarily poor connections, or no connections at all. They were also unbearably hot inside (the cafes). None of them would let me insert my photos and card reader into their CPUs, so I could not upload photos.

The Centre St. Paul claimed to have wireless, but the people who managed to connect could only do so if they were sitting on a curb stone outside the head Sister's office (the centre St Paul is run by nuns. Wheeler-dealer nuns. Taxi drivers were afraid of them.) I thought I would be able to post using my ipod touch, but it is tricky to make long posts using it, and of course I could not post photos.

Had I brought my computer, even if I could not find a wireless spot every day, I could have typed out my entries on Word and then posted them and the photos when I had a chance. Considering that we spent a week at the Milles Collines, I could have done a lot of posting.

It really does bug me, but I have learned an important lesson: the next time I go on an important trip, or any trip, I will be bringing a computer with me.