Ok... so maybe I didn't take a million pictures, 4,690 to be exact, but it sure feels like a million. So I've uploaded them into a flickr account so everyone can see all of my pictures. If you're on my facebook I'll also be uploading them there, but this was an easy way to upload them so everyone can see them. If there is one that you're wondering what it is, feel free to comment on it and I'll reply ASAP. Please know that if you want to use any of my pictures you need to contact me for permission, and you will need to give credit to me as the photographer. Enjoy!
Day 1: Kigali
Day 2: Kigali
Day 3: Kigali
Day 4: Kigali
Day 5: Travel & Butare
Day 6: Butare
Day 7: Butare
Day 8: Butare
Day 9: Butare
Day 10: Nyungwe
Day 11: Nyungwe
Day 12: Nyungwe
Day 13: Travel & Bisesero Memorial
Day 14: Boat Ride & Gisenyi
Day 15: Travel & Ruhengeri
Day 16: Ruhengeri
Day 17: Today I was sick and missed out on the activities
Day 18: Kigali
Day 19: Returned Home, no pictures during 20 hour flight.
Mike's Rwanda Trip Blog
I'm a Holocaust and Genocide Studies masters student at West Chester University of Pennsylvania. I've been given the opportunity to travel to Rwanda to study the country and it's history with genocide. My trip coincides with the 20th anniversary of the Rwandan Genocide. I will be blogging from Africa as much as possible, including pictures and videos, so that everyone back home can see what I'm experiencing.
Sunday, June 22, 2014
Wednesday, June 18, 2014
Day 18 & 19: Coming Full Circle and the Long Road Home
Hey all! Sorry for the delay in my final 2 days of postings. Between running around and seeing the sites we missed our first time in Kigali, shopping for more stuff to bring home, and trying to pack all that stuff, it just wasn't possible to blog. Now I'm well rested and have fast internet, so I can post about my last day and a half in Rwanda.
So we all got up and had some breakfast at the guest house in Musanze and left the guest house by 10am. From there it was a short, paved, 2 hour drive down to Kigali. Once we were there we went to the hotel, grabbed some lunch and then split up. Previously we had missed a planned memorial visit so Dr. Gaydosh and I took one driver to that memorial while everyone else went shopping. Unfortunately it was a Sunday, so most stuff was closed. They couldn't get us into the main building, but after some "persuasion" the well armed police officer took us for a walk through the outside part of the memorial. There are some pictures below to give you an idea of the memorial. On the way back into town we stopped the an infamous ETO school, which is still used as a school today, but was the site of a UN base that house refugees, until the UN pulled out, leaving the refugees to be massacred. Below there is a picture that has the signage, which should provide a good idea of what happened. It was a little weird taking pictures there because it is an active university. Students came up and translated to the guard what I wanted to do, and they guard let me in, but the students looked unhappy that I wanted to take pictures, which is the first time during the whole trip that I felt unwelcome at a genocide site.
From there we went back to the Kigali Memorial Museum to find out if we could buy 20 year anniversary banners from anyone. The guy there put us in contact with a man who said he could make them. I wanted one for myself and to use when I go and lecture, and Dr. Gaydosh wanted one for the HGS room. It will be interesting to see if in 20 years where the country is, and if the banner still resides in that room.
The following day we went ran around and packed and then waited at the airport for the banner guy to come drop them off. Luckily he showed up in the middle of a rain storm and gave us the banners minutes before we needed to board our flight. From there it was over 20 hours of travel to get back to the U.S. Coach wasn't bad, and Bethany and I kept each other entertained on the trip, laughing many times at things that were probably only funny to us. Once we got back I forced myself to stay awake and then finally passed out around 10. I plan in a few days to write a reflective post on my impressions, etc. now that I'm back in the states, but wanted to finish off the actual day to day part of the blog first. Below are pictures of the memorial and the school.
Saturday, June 14, 2014
Day 17: Sickness in Musanze
Today was a super light day for me. I stayed at the guest house because I was still quite ill this morning. I decided to take my cipro and that seems to be working. Must have been a bacterial infection. So I rested, watched movies, and napped. I'm finally feeling mostly better. We leave for the US soon, I'm sure I'll post again before I leave and plan on writing a reflective post when I return.
Friday, June 13, 2014
Day 16: Hiking Volcanoes to See the Monkeys
Bee keeper's nests. Made from wood there were tons of them during our walk. |
A curious monkey tips his head out to see what we are up to |
Thursday, June 12, 2014
Day 15: Boats, Cars, and Volcanoes
Today we got up early and had the most amazing breakfast. Sitting on the lake shore the workers brought out our food by the truckload. We ate it fast because we had another boat ride to catch. We rode out onto lake Kivu and stopped on a micro island for a group picture. From there we went to a natural hot spring where we were greeted by children that folks is by the hand to the spring. Once we got there the children each took a hand, rinsed it. Following the rinse they took leaves from nearby plants and used them to scrub our hands and then rinsed them again. After that we got back on the boat and went back to the hotel. We loaded up and hit the road. The workers at the hotel were awesome and sent us on our way with a surprise doughnut wrapped in a banana leaf.
Along our way to our next town we stopped at a former orphanage, made famous from Gorillas In the Mist (where Sigourney Weaver goes to write her letter of resignation) and we got a tour. We also got to see more dancing, something the original owner enjoyed every Sunday. I got to go up and join the drummers, which as a former drum line member was awesome. From there we heard out to the next town near volcanoes national park. We stopped at a twa village after lunch and they sang and danced. We got to meet these people and have discussions with them about their life and culture. From there we did some more shopping and then dinner. Soon we will go back to our rustic hotel and hopefully get a good night of sleep. I'll add a couple pictures now, using my phone app, and I'll try to add more later. There isn't wifi at the hotel, so I'm probably going to use my phone for the last days here.
Wednesday, June 11, 2014
Day 14: A boat ride, Travel, and Gisenyi
Today we got up early and took a boat ride on Lake Kivu. We
went out to an island where we went for a brief hike and saw a bunch of fruit
bats. They guide hit the trees and the bats went flying everywhere. Sadly poor
Bethany got pooped on, which I’m sure was disgusting. Luckily we had plenty of
wet wipes and hand sanitizer. We boated back to the shore and loaded up the
cars. We then headed out for another 4-ish our car ride where we rocked around
for a long time. We stopped at Gishwati, the field station started by Dr.
Chancellor a few years ago. We stopped and met everyone, and got back on the
road to get to Gisenyi. We checked into our hotel and then went right out to
get food since we hadn’t eaten since breakfast. Then we went shopping and
experienced the town. The local market where everyone from the town buys
everyday items was a unique experience and many of us were shocked. It was a
good experience, but it was a different one for sure. We bought a few things,
and then returned to the hotel where some of us bought more stuff at a local shop
outside the hotel. I’m glad I brought an extra bag just for the stuff I’m
buying! Off to bed now, tomorrow is another early boat ride and then back in
the car!
View from my hotel room this morning. You can see the sun rise and the fishermen sing as they come to shore from a night of fishing in lake Kivu. |
View from the boat |
The bats take to the skies! |
Tuesday, June 10, 2014
Day 13: Travel and the Bisesero Genocide Memorial
Today was a long day. We got up early and left the hotel by
8am. After about an hour of driving on the highway the paved road ended and we
spend several hours bouncing around the car on some wicked dirt roads. The
views were amazing though. About 3.5 hours into the drive we stopped at the
Bisesero Genocide Memorial which is currently under construction to see what
was there. We were able to see the areas they had built, but not filled with
anything, along with a memorial to those
that fought back against their murderers. The people, about 50,000 of them all
hid there where men with spears stood guard to help protect. However, they were
not able to hold off all of the murderers that had guns, grenades, and many
hand weapons. Some survived the first wave of attacks, but the French arrived,
and told them that they would arrange transport into a safe zone for them. The
French then left to arrange transport, and when they left, the murderers
returned and killed all of the remaining people, who thought they were under
French protection. We were taken down to tin shed and inside was the skulls and
bones of 1,040 victims. Below were coffins filled with as many as 50 people’s
skeletons each. The plan is to move all of the remains into a permanent
location where visitors can see the remains of all 50,000 victims. From there
we drove a few more hours, getting lost part way, to our hotel which is right
on lake Kivu. It is beautiful, and I’m sad that we are only here tonight, and
leave in the morning. Below are pictures from the memorial. I look forward to posting tomorrow!
The pictures of the bones in the genocide are not mine, but
ones I found online. When we got there they said the government has to give
permission for us to take pictures, and we didn’t know this in advance. But I
wanted everyone to see what we saw today.
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