Tonight (Friday) is the last one in Rwanda …at least for a while. It is hard to believe that it’s come already. We watched the sunset as a group tonight, and I don’t like the idea that in a few days we’ll all be separated, although maybe watching the sun set still. I have loved being with these amazing people. I have grown to be comfortable with them, and I want to still share life together. I feel so torn between home and them – but I don’t really have to make that decision, it’s just that I feel that way. If any of y’all (or all y’all?) are reading this, I love you!
Today was spectacular. Kelcy, Campbell, and I watched the moon set and the colours of the sunrise this morning around 5:30. It was freezing, wet, and gorgeous. Birds serenaded the morning in brilliant chorus, and we were blessed to take it in. Then Kelcy and I hung out and got ready for the day, etc. It is so nice to have so much time in the morning, which is about half the reason I’m a morning person. I even had time to spend an hour sketching the view from our porch and eat a great English breakfast. What a great start to the day.
We visited Iby’iwacu Cultural Village, and the best way I can describe it is to tell you to think Colonial Williamsburg, but different. People live there as they did when there was still a king. We got to tour the village, see the king’s house, be welcomed by dancing and drumming, see a traditional healer and a blacksmith, shoot arrows, grind flour, and dance. It was so much fun, and also really eye-opening.
Before we went into the king’s house, we had to have a king to give us permission to enter, and we had to choose our king. We all knew we were going to choose Parker, which we did (and he was a great sport). Then Kelcy was our queen. (Her birthday is today!) We were on the tour with two Australian people, one of whom was chosen for the advisor, as he was the eldest and most to be respected and heard. Then they invited us into the house and we had fun in there, learning about what went on there.
Once we told the guide that Blake was a doctor (pre-med is close enough, right?), he always called him Doctor. I tried shooting an arrow and it literally was a flop several times, but the awesome [former] Twa man helped me out so that I almost made it to the target that was 15 feet away. Okay, so maybe I’m not a natural. It was still fun. The dancing at the end was also so enjoyable. The warriors were dancing after returning home from winning a battle. The guide called it the ‘local military ballet.’ Dancing here is so fascinating – it involves great use of eyebrows and smiles, head shakes/flips, jumps and stomps. And loud exclamations.
It was so great to see these people working in the village in this way because they (1000 people) all used to be poachers and hunters of buffalo, gorillas, etc., and are now working to protect those animals. The money that goes to the village goes to support them, which is awesome. I think that it’s a special kind of redemption story – a man used to hunt and poach (one has killed 200 buffalo and 5 gorillas), but now he does the opposite. All of us have the choice – to move from sin to righteousness, brokenness to wholeness. And not through our own strength. Neither did these people stop strictly of their own volition; they were asked to stop and given a new chance at something else. That to me is so beautiful. Isaiah 2:4
Walking to and from the village (from and to the bus), there were children all along the way. It hurt to see them, some hardly clad at all and others with dirt and mud on their faces, and with deep, needy eyes. I wanted to scoop them all up and kiss them and make things better. That’s the idealist in me. Obviously that can’t happen quite like that. But I want to know what can make that situation a little better. I mean, something that would really help in the long run. The kids wanted to sell us pictures they had drawn, or they just followed us, and I just want to do something to fix it. What makes me so lucky?
The rest of the afternoon was so pleasant and relaxing. I journaled a bit, conversed with a bird, watched people play Frisbee, and became chilly. And today is Kelcy’s birthday!!! She is 20 and doesn’t look a day older than she did when she was 19. But she had a pretty sweet birthday. She had a nice sunrise fest, cheery greetings at breakfast, and cards and bubbles. Then she got to be Queen of the Cultural Village and share her wise words with the people there. Then ‘Happy Birthday’ was sung to her in seven different languages, in this order: English, Kinyarwandan, Spanish, Mandarin, Gibberish, French, and Italian. Ms. Coldwell surprised her with a delicious, rich, moist, satisfying birthday cake. Then we encouraged her around the campfire after supper. Sounds like an okay day!
We also took some group pictures and then watched the sunset together while talking on the porch. We saw the dancers from last night come in and waved to them. Supper was delicious as usual. Our end of the table had an intense discussion about make-up. Enough said, I believe.
And then after supper, we were thinking of what to do, and somehow we all ended up around the campfire chatting. Then we all went around and encouraged Kelcy for her birthday. And then we decided to do that for everyone. It was just the perfect way to close out this trip. I have noticed that few things are better for unity than encouragement. And unity is what we’ve been learning about so much in Rwanda. It was so beautiful tonight. I felt so blessed and loved. And after that was done, some people just said general things about love and goodness and our team and life things. It was lovely. Then we did a ‘Team Muzungu’ with our hands in the middle over the fire, and then we prayed. I love ceremonies because they mark a certain moment or event in time (and I love memories too), and this was relieving to me as a closure for our team. Not an end, just a marking point. We really do have something special, and I think none of us wants to let that fade.
I love my teammates so much. I started out calling them teammates, but I will now call them friends. I have been individually blessed by each person. And even though we are so tightly knit as a group, I still feel as though I have so much more to learn about each one. Which means that we simply cannot be disbanded because we’re not done.
Things of note:
• Butterflies love Fred. Well, one certainly does.
• Put hot rosemary on your back if it hurts. Rwandese healers all agree.
• Nick is going to become an expert pirouette-ist.
• Smoke follows something…but what is it really?
• God is moving all the time.
02 June 2010
The Nest
Thursday, 27 May
Today we left Kigali for Musanze. It was a pleasant last breakfast and then we were off. It was a beautiful drive, up and up and up and down and up, around so many curves and hillsides. Everything was green. There were fields on steep hillsides where people would probably never farm in the United States. People were walking along the road in different parts. It was quite a ride, with changing air pressure all the time and ups and downs. Nobody got very much carsick, which was nice. I was staring out the window the whole time.
When we got to Musanze, we hung out in a parking lot for a while to stretch and stuff. People played with a foot ball, and others played games. A guard was watching us suspiciously. Then we went to the Sonrise School, a boarding high school where the Engineering team has been working the whole time. Then we hung out some more while Ms. Coldwell had a meeting. Some of us spent some time with kids by the road and took pictures and such. The headmaster of Sonrise had chased them off the property because they apparently go to a different school.
We had a tour of the school, which was neat. They have computer labs and IT people teach those classes. I got to speak with an amazing student who is our equivalent of a junior in high school, I think. His name is Emanuel, and he is so well-spoken and wise. He wants to go to school in the United States and become an engineer. He also enjoys public speaking. He told us, “I don’t know if I’m smart, but God is very smart and He gives me the brain.” He is remarkable.
Travis entertained some students with his awesome dance/miming. Then we saw the water purification system that the engineers have been working on. It is impressive, although I don’t understand much of how it works. But their hard work means that the students can have clean water right there at the school. That’s so great.
And at last we arrived at the Gorilla’s Nest, a fantastic, peaceful place where we spent the next two nights. As we came out of the bus they gave us small warm towels to refresh us (which has also happened on the plane and at restaurants - I could get used to that...and did). After moving our stuff in, some of us played Nertz for a while before joining others for Frisbee fun. Allison’s skirt ripped so she just tore off the bottom part and made it a little shorter yet still appropriate and fashionable. Allison is hardcore.
The view from our porch is a hill going down to trees which stretch to far-off mountains. On our right are the volcanoes. The place is designed as a little village of individual cottages, some of which have grass on top and remind me of Hobbiton. It felt like a pleasant English neighbourhood.
Before supper, we gathered by the campfire to watch a traditional dance group. They were so fun and at the end got nearly everyone to join in. It was exceedingly pleasant. Then the sun went down, we ate with the amazing Engineering team, and I basically went to bed right after that. My roommate, however, stayed up very late. :) Typical.
Things of note:
• Nick and Campbell colliding mid-jump is hilarious.
• Joel falling down a hill is equally as hilarious.
• Rwandan speed bumps really work.
• Rwanda has its own smell.
• The excitement and happiness that people show about us muzungus makes it seem as though we are innately awesome. What is really so special about us? I’m not sure.
Today we left Kigali for Musanze. It was a pleasant last breakfast and then we were off. It was a beautiful drive, up and up and up and down and up, around so many curves and hillsides. Everything was green. There were fields on steep hillsides where people would probably never farm in the United States. People were walking along the road in different parts. It was quite a ride, with changing air pressure all the time and ups and downs. Nobody got very much carsick, which was nice. I was staring out the window the whole time.
When we got to Musanze, we hung out in a parking lot for a while to stretch and stuff. People played with a foot ball, and others played games. A guard was watching us suspiciously. Then we went to the Sonrise School, a boarding high school where the Engineering team has been working the whole time. Then we hung out some more while Ms. Coldwell had a meeting. Some of us spent some time with kids by the road and took pictures and such. The headmaster of Sonrise had chased them off the property because they apparently go to a different school.
We had a tour of the school, which was neat. They have computer labs and IT people teach those classes. I got to speak with an amazing student who is our equivalent of a junior in high school, I think. His name is Emanuel, and he is so well-spoken and wise. He wants to go to school in the United States and become an engineer. He also enjoys public speaking. He told us, “I don’t know if I’m smart, but God is very smart and He gives me the brain.” He is remarkable.
Travis entertained some students with his awesome dance/miming. Then we saw the water purification system that the engineers have been working on. It is impressive, although I don’t understand much of how it works. But their hard work means that the students can have clean water right there at the school. That’s so great.
And at last we arrived at the Gorilla’s Nest, a fantastic, peaceful place where we spent the next two nights. As we came out of the bus they gave us small warm towels to refresh us (which has also happened on the plane and at restaurants - I could get used to that...and did). After moving our stuff in, some of us played Nertz for a while before joining others for Frisbee fun. Allison’s skirt ripped so she just tore off the bottom part and made it a little shorter yet still appropriate and fashionable. Allison is hardcore.
The view from our porch is a hill going down to trees which stretch to far-off mountains. On our right are the volcanoes. The place is designed as a little village of individual cottages, some of which have grass on top and remind me of Hobbiton. It felt like a pleasant English neighbourhood.
Before supper, we gathered by the campfire to watch a traditional dance group. They were so fun and at the end got nearly everyone to join in. It was exceedingly pleasant. Then the sun went down, we ate with the amazing Engineering team, and I basically went to bed right after that. My roommate, however, stayed up very late. :) Typical.
Things of note:
• Nick and Campbell colliding mid-jump is hilarious.
• Joel falling down a hill is equally as hilarious.
• Rwandan speed bumps really work.
• Rwanda has its own smell.
• The excitement and happiness that people show about us muzungus makes it seem as though we are innately awesome. What is really so special about us? I’m not sure.
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