Today’s coffee break takes place at Shokola Café in Kacyiru Sector, Gasabo District. For a long time, I have been a regular here. Located in the same building as my beloved Kigali Public Library, the café could hardly be more convenient.
Upon arrival, I place my order and pick a random book from one of the shelves. Yes, this artistically designed café has bookshelves. The growing trend of placing books in coffee shops appeals to both coffee enthusiasts and avid readers, myself included.
The book I select is The Road to a New Countryside by Wang Tai, Zhao Jingyu, and Li Haitao. After a lifetime of reading, this is probably the first time I have come across a book written by three authors.
I almost put it down after the first few pages. However, the more pages I turn, the more absorbed I become. Before long, I am traveling from one Chinese village to another. Along the way, I encounter farmers planting, tending, and harvesting a wide range of crops, including wheat, soybeans, rice, maize, and shrubs I can barely recognize.
This part of China is different from the places I have seen in documentaries. Whenever someone mentions China, my mind usually conjures images of vast metropolitan areas, sprawling industrial zones, enormous infrastructure projects, and bustling markets.
The places I am visiting today, through the power of literature, are completely different. The skies are blue, the hills are green, and the tranquility described in these villages feels far removed from the fast-paced image of China with which I am familiar.
"Do you need anything else, sir?”
The question, posed by my barista, interrupts my journey through rural China. Unbeknownst to him, I have traveled to East Asia without leaving my chair.
Before ordering anything else, I look through the café’s transparent walls. In the distance, I can see the Kigali Golf Course, Vision City, and the hills surrounding Rwanda’s capital.
It is a beautiful sight, and for a moment, two very different landscapes meet in one coffee break: the Chinese countryside on the pages before me and the green hills of Kigali beyond the glass.