Arriving in Rwanda on September 1st was an
amazing experience in itself. We flew from Milan to Frankfurt, from Frankfurt
to Ethiopia (with stops in Sudan and Uganda), and finally from Ethiopia to my
now beloved Rwanda. We witnessed the sunrise over the Alps, the sunset over the
Nile River in Sudan, and a nighttime lightning storm in Uganda. We finally
reached the Kigali Airport at 1am and stayed the night at a motel close by.
The next morning I got my first real glimpses of the city. I
remember waking up to singing and music and having one of those moments where I
couldn’t quite place where I was…and then it all came back to me that I was
waking up in Rwanda – such a good feeling.
The first thing that I came to love about Rwanda was the
colors – the houses, everyone’s clothes, the contrast between the deep red clay
and the green grass. Everything is so rich and bright that it makes the United
States and all of Europe seem so boring in comparison.
The second thing I came to love about Rwanda is how friendly
people are. Whether it was due to the color of our skin or not, people were
always saying “waramutse” (good morning) to us or waving with a huge smile.
Maybe it was because seeing a “muzungu” (white person) is pretty uncommon, even
in the big city, but people genuinely just seemed happy and open to everyone.
The third thing I came to love about Rwanda is the strength
this country holds. You all know about the genocide nearly two decades ago, but
looking at Rwanda now, you would never know the hell these people have endured.
The country is growing fast and is not letting anything get in their way.
Everyone has such a passion to cooperate to make up for all the time lost in
their dark past. I think that is something that makes Rwanda so unique, these
people have had to go through the worst things imaginable and yet are still
able to look so brightly into their future together.
The fourth thing I came to love about Rwanda is the tea. I
was never ever a tea person. It was always coffee for me since high school, but
now I drink at least 2 cups a day – always in the morning and occasionally in
the afternoon. There is African tea, which is made with steamed milk and ginger,
and then Rwandan black tea with steamed milk – both delicious. It might be the
steamed milk that I like so much, but I have already bought myself a small
stockpile of tea to bring home with me.
African tea
I have now lived in Rwanda for 5 weeks and was unable to
post blogs because internet connection was never a sure thing, but I did keep a
written journal, so I will now go through the highlights of my time here so
that the people I love can get a little glimpse into this incredible place.
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