Another busy few days in Rwanda for our group! Since the last post on Thursday, we have had a full weekend worth of work and adventures. On Friday, we returned to the orphanage to finish up the painting job. We had almost completed the corridor but during our inspection we found what looked to be finger prints and designs in the freshly dried paint. Not sure exactly who the culprits were, but we have some ideas. So we began to retouch and finishing what little there was left to do.
In order to complete the job, we had to make one final run up the hill to the Union Trade Center to get the paint. On the way, the few running the errand were stopped by some kids who talked us into a quick pick up game of soccer. We weren’t able to play long, but it was fun to get to know some of the kids we have passed by each morning we head into the orphanage.
By 11am we had pretty much finished the job and so were able to go hang out with the kids. By this point, we have almost learned everyone’s name and demeanor so it’s become even more fun to interact, talk and play. We’ll be back on Tuesday to wish the kids, sisters and workers a goodbye before we head home on Wednesday.
The rest of the day was mostly relaxed in honor of our paint job well done. We went to our lunch spot up the hill, ran some errands and finished off our afternoon at Hotel Des Milles Collines. We sat by the pool and a few of us made the wise decision to order apple pies – amazing. From there, we were picked up and headed home since we were to have an early start on Saturday.
Since we had shuffled sometime around to accommodate different activities, we used Saturday as sort of a free day. So the group went two directions – one east to the national park and one west to the national forest. I was in the group headed west, so I can only fill you in on our day at the forest, but we were able to see pictures from the park and they looked fun. The girls saw giraffes, elephants, zebra and other African wildlife.
For those who went out to the forest, the drive was a long one. It was about 3 ½ hours and then another 45 minutes once we entered the forest. Part of the scenery we had seen before on our drive to Murambi, but the view in the park was new and beautiful. The sunrise was definitely one of the highlights – the sky started to brighten before we could see the sun over the hills, but when it did peek out, it was a bright red circle.
The forest is considered to be African rainforest and home to tons of flora and fauna. When we pulled into the overlook spot, there were already monkeys running around. This place was awesome – the temperature was cool and the landscape lush. Our group decided to do the canopy walk which included an hour and a half hike through the woods with some of the walk on a small walking bridge above the trees. On our walk we saw a few monkeys scattered around before we made it to the canopy portion. The canopy was a small walking bridge, maybe a foot wide, suspended from metal landings with ropes. Though the guide assured us that it was secure, the bridge was still definitely vulnerable to swaying and leaning. The rest of the group handled it well but I was terrified (refer to pictures when we are able to post). We survived though, finished our walk, and headed out of the forest back towards Kigali. On our way out though, we were stopped by a ton of baboons hanging out in the middle of the road. They walked right beside the car which made for some good photo ops.
On our drive back, we stopped for lunch with our driver, Manny at the Dewgrass (spelling?) restaurant. We grabbed lunch and then met with a few people who were contacts of Raul. These contacts hosted us for the afternoon/evening at the National University of Rwanda, medical campus. They were interested us in providing a short presentation of the public health initiatives that they are part of in exchange for feedback. We spent an hour or so listening to their projects – one which spreads HIV/AIDS and sexual health information to soldiers and another which spreads this information to rural populations. We were able to ask questions and offer advice. Following this quick stopover, we got back on the road to finish our trip home to Kigali.
Today, we were back to Kigali City School. Cyrus was able to organize an event for the students that our group has already offered to sponsor as a part of our up and coming sponsorship program. The event was designed for us to meet with our kids, talk, and get to know them so that we could continue to stay in contact over the year. Before we arrived, we picked up snacks for us to share at the school. It was great to be able to spend even more time with these great kids. We learned about what sports they like to play, favorite subjects and that most everyone’s favorite food was chocolate. Luckily, many of the snacks that we brought (and promptly demolished) were candy and chocolate.
After our visit, Cyrus Nkusi, the Headmaster at Kigali City School hosted us at his house just around the corner. There we got to chat, hang out and visit. Cyrus showed us the video of his wedding from earlier in the year and we shared stories and pictures of ourselves. His wife and him also prepared us an amazing dinner. Following dinner, we sat outside and enjoyed the evening before our ride home picked us up.
I hope this post makes up for the delay in my blogging. I hope to be able to post again to keep everyone up to date on our final two full days in Kigali. We will of course be busy trying to make the most of our remaining time!
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