A Thousand Hills, A Thousand Smiles, and A Thousand Pictures

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.

Day 16: Hiking Volcanoes to See the Monkeys

Today has been a lighter day for me. I ate something that didn’t agree with me, so I only got to participate in the first event of the day, which was tracking the Golden Monkeys at Volcanoes national park. I’ve spent the rest of the day napping and hoping to feel better soon. So we got up this morning pretty early and had some breakfast made by the cook at our guest house. It was good and there was imitation nutella, which made us all happy. Then we drove out, picked up our guide, and drove to the trail head. We walked quite a ways just to get through fields that were filled with dark mud, until finally we were at the entrance to the bamboo forest zone. From there it was about another 20 minutes of hiking mainly uphill in thick, dark mud until we reached the spot where we left our bags to then walk about 10 meters to where the monkeys were. The monkeys are completely habituated, and we were able to stand as little as 1-5 feet from the little guys while they ate, played, and bickered. We got to spend about an hour with the little guys as they bounced from one chunk of bamboo to the next, stopping to eat the freshly grown chutes. It was really cool to be so close to them, and to see them interacting with each other. After an hour we made our way back to the cars, which was much easier as it was all down hill. On our way back to the hotel we stopped along the side of the road because the local people were participating in their day of remembrance for the genocide. Every year each area has a specific day where they walk to their local memorial and spend about 2 hours remembering those that were lost. We witnessed hundreds of children walking by to pay their respects. It was an incredibly somber moment, where I noticed the oddness of being a tourist and a the same time the local people are attempting to remember the atrocities of the past. These polar opposites of the spectrum can be a bit intense sometimes, but I’m glad I got to witness it. The rest of the group went on to see some more basket weaving, banana beer making, and for another boat ride, but I stayed back hoping I’ll feel better for tomorrow’s activities. Here is hoping! I only put 3 pictures up here because I’m using my cellphone for internet and it can get a bit expensive to upload a bunch of pictures.

One of the volcanoes looming in the distance, shrouded in fog and clouds

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

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!

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.

Day 9: Butare, Lessons in the Ethnogram

Today was a very short day in terms of things we saw. I also have to be very brief because I need to go to bed very soon. We have to leave the hotel at 5am sharp so we can get to the forest and start tracking the Chimpanzees. So we got up in the morning and ate breakfast. Then we loaded up the car so we were ready to leave as soon as we were done with our activity for the day. We went back to the campus and practiced our observation skills with the vervet monkeys. It was really cool. I have never had a chance to do something like this, and it was great to learn how it is done. I wasn’t sure what would happen, or what to expect, but everyone was really nice and took the time to explain to me how it worked and what to look for. So we followed the vervets around and noted their behaviors, social interactions, etc. We did that for about 30-45 minutes after a brief explanation and Q&A with Dr. Rundus. On our way out we stopped on campus at their genocide memorial for the students and faculty of the university that were killed in the 1994 genocide. They have what appears to be a grave as well as large boards with pictures of the students and faculty they lost in the genocide. Following that brief visit, we stopped at a co-op for some more shopping. Lots of fun things to take home were purchased. Then on to one more amazing lunch in Butare before we hit the road. It was a 3 hour ride through the country and one of the national forests. The roads were very curvy and many were one lane and many times we all made noises of surprise when we would come around a corner and a mac truck would be barreling down the middle of the road towards us. We made it safe and sound to possibly the largest, and nicest hotel ever. Compared it America it could use some upgrades, but it is massive! It has a livingroom and there are two twin bedrooms that each have their own bathroom. We were told our suite is where the president stays when he is in the area. Ok, well I have to head off to bed, I’m sure I’ll get a chance tomorrow after the chimps to blog some more. Goodnight!

P.S. I got an email from the student I met yesterday and he informed me that his final project for his undergraduate degree has been approved, and that he dedicated it to me, including pictures of me and him at the very end of it. It was very nice to hear that he was successful, and I was touched that he felt compelled to dedicate his undergraduate “memoir” or thesis, to me. So many amazing people here!

Mother with baby walking about 5-10 feet from me.

A pull off in the national forest. Words cannot describe how amazing it was.

Day 8: University of Rwanda: Cultural Exchange, Monkeys, and Trees

Last night I got 8.5 hours of sleep for the first time since arriving in Rwanda and it felt AMAZING! I can enjoy my time here even more now that I’m going to be able to sleep better. So I got up and grabbed some breakfast including some local coffee that was delicious as always. We left at 9:30-ish and drove down the road to the University of Rwanda. Here we got a brief tour and then went into a zoology lab where we were joined by many biology students. We each introduced ourselves and what we were studying in school, and why we came on the trip. Then we opened the floor for questions from the students. We received many interesting questions about animals, culture, and education in America. It was great to be able to talk about America and inform others about our lives, like they have been able to do for us.  After answering questions back and forth we exchanged contact information with several of the students and some of them joined us for a long walk to where we ate lunch. It was great getting to share a table with fellow students and we had a good time talking to each other. They taught me some more Kinyarwanda and I was able to say “Enjoy it” when everyone sat down at the table to eat. The other Rwandans really seemed to like it when we would speak to them in Kinyarwanda. I haven’t learned a lot, but hello, thank you, etc. can go a long way. The student I made friends with came to me after our introductions and questions and told me that he wanted to talk to me about my degree. He told me that he survived the genocide when he was only 6 years old. He briefly mentioned that he lost 10 immediate family members, and that only him and one other family member survived. We spent the rest of the day together, and we exchanged emails. He wants to email me his story, and said he would like to talk to other survivors and translate / email me their stories as well. This was very shocking, and I am very humbled that he felt comfortable with me to share such private and important information.

Following lunch, we walked back to campus where we were fortunate that the Vervet Monkeys had come out of the forest and onto the university campus. We spent a good amount of time watching them and taking a million pictures. I was surprised there were so many babies and at how amazingly cute the babies were. They were spunky little guys and girls though, as they would, at a very young age, bob up and down and try to act like they were going to scare us away, while their mothers sat behind them, scooping them up when they were ready to leave. It was an amazing experience. Even though studying primates is not my field of study, the chance to see monkeys in their natural habitat, just a few feet away, is something I will never forget.

Following looking at the monkeys we took a walk through the arboretum next to the university. It contains over 400 different plant species, and we got to see a few of them. One of them drops these large pods filled with odd triangular seeds. Our guide, a student, found us some pods and broke them open. We were then able to pull out the fist sized seeds and clean them off. They are really cool, and a lot of people use them as decorations. The student told us that some people open those pods up and find the two tiny seeds in them, and the rumor is that eating those two tiny seeds is like a natural Viagra. He also said that if you eat the insides of the pod they are antibacterial and they help with bad breath. We walked back, said goodbye, and then went to get some dinner. Now to the hotel to pack up so when we go to the university tomorrow we can go from there and then on the 3 hour drive to our next location.

Original university building built by the Belgians

Ildephonse and I after lunch

A curious monkey that comes out of the tree to see what we are

Family time. Mother with baby and another female grooming her

Strike a pose!

The little baby monkey wandering away from mom. He then acted tough and tried to do the motions that are supposed to intimidate. He was then quickly scooped up by his mother and carried away. 

Day 7: Our Lady of Kibeho & Tribal Dancing & Being a Muzungu

Hey everyone! Sorry for not posting like normal. I knew today was a smaller day, and I was so tired after being woken up 4 times the previous night. I'm happy to report the jet lag, or the worst of it, is over! I was able to sleep 8.5 hours tonight and feel great. It's amazing how much getting enough sleep can do for you.

So yesterday we took a long and bumpy ride to Kibeho, a hill where the there is a church to commemorate the visitation of the virgin mother in three vision to young girls. This is the only site in all of Africa that the Catholic Church has officially decreed the visions of the virgin mother to be real. We got to meet with the priest and a nun who gave us a brief history, and then we went to the shop and bought a few things. On our way towards the car we stopped into the newer church that is very large and got to hear two local people as they sang songs in Kinyarwanda and prayed. While I myself am not particularly religious, I do have a respect for other religions and do enjoy going to different churches and religious sites. This one was particularly interesting because one of the visions that one of the girls had was that of the impending genocide, more than 10 years before it occurred. This site has a lot of cultural importance for not just the region, but for all of Rwanda. The visit was brief, but it was an important one that I'm glad we got to experience.

A quick side note, since I haven't really talked much about what it is like meeting people and some of you may be wondering. The people here are AMAZING! I've never met people that are so nice, helpful, and truly interested in what I have to say. One of the things that I had to adjust to early on was being stared at. It never really bothered me, but from time to time I'd turn around and see a group of people giggle and quickly look away. It is completely harmless, and now we all joke about it in our group and like to say hello in Kinyarwanda and wave while we drive by. Everyone is always surprised that we are making the effort to learn some of their language so we can at least say hello, and thank you. Also, it is important to note that when driving around the country side you will here people, mainly children, shout "MUZUNGU!" and stare. The word is a mistranslation from Swahili, but roughly means white man. In its original language it meant traveler, but it was misunderstood, and mispronounced many years ago, so now it basically means white man. Yesterday on our return drive from Kibeho we were going particularly slow because of a massive rut in the road. There was a little boy about 5 or 6 standing outside of his house with his mother not far behind. He was staring so I waved and he waved back, then I said "Muraho" which is the formal hello. The kid stumbled back with his mouth hanging open and looked at his mother. She waved and started laughing. Just that one little moment was great, and every moment we are here we get to meet more people, and experience more things.

Ok, so back to what we did. After the church we went to the church's dining area where we had an amazing meal, and it was incredibly cheap. For a full buffet just for our table and a soda it was roughly $4.46! We took the long and windy road back towards the hotel. It is incredibly bumpy, but we actually liked it a lot. Our guide, Omar, joked that he was giving us a free massage, he is generous like that. ;-) When we got near the hotel we returned to yesterday's museum to see the one thing we missed yesterday... THE DANCING! Part of our trip included a paid professional dance group to show us their native dancing. We got to see a variety of different dances that come from many different parts of Rwanda. The dancing was one of the greatest things I've seen on the trip. We had a taste of it in the village of reconciliation, but this was professional quality, and was stunning to watch. I got a ton of pictures and some video too, so when I have reliable internet I'll post those on my facebook. At the end of the dancing everyone was taken onto the dance area and they danced with the dancers. Then they offered to pose with us and have our pictures taken with them. Once we did that they decided it would be great for us to dress in their dancing clothes and take a picture with them. So we did and then we made them all laugh when we started doing our own poses in the costumes. Manny and I posed like we were in gladiator warrior positions, fighting to the death and all of the dancers couldn't stop laughing. We got pictures of this to and it was absolutely amazing!

After that we went back to the hotel for a couple hours, and then most of us walked to into town and had a delicious dinner. We then walked back and hung out for a little bit before I snuck off to bed, which may be the best decision I've made, since deciding to come to Rwanda! Well I hope everyone is enjoying my blog, feel free to share it with anyone that you think might find it interesting. I'm very surprised and pleased to see that people are reading it and hear from people on the trip that their family members are reading it! You are all welcome to read it and I am grateful that you are enjoying it. All of my groupmates have been great and I am so happy that this is the group we have. We get each other, and help each other when needed. It is a great feeling to know that I have made friends so fast.

Below are some pictures. I have to head out for the day, but I have dancing pictures I will try to add to the bottom of this post tonight. Enjoy!

My netted bed. I've gotten used to it and kind of like it now.

Beautiful view of the day. Every turn reveals another beautiful view

The 2nd car bringing us to Kibeho. You can see the people on the side of the road staring.

Tea growing in a field. Yum!

Church on Kibeho

The WCU warriors

The fierce warriors go to battle

Day 5: Traveling & Butare (now known as Huye)

Today was a pretty light day. We got up and had breakfast, I was excited to find country potatoes, bacon, ickynumero fresh fruit, and ickynumero jelly. It was a great way to end our time at Chez Lando. We left around 9, stopped by the supermarket for a snack (jelly doughnut) and some cold bottled water. From there it was about a 2.5 hour drive to Butare, recently renamed to Huye, where we stopped at the King's Palace. The palace is a recreation of the hut the king of Rwanda lived in until a colonial palace was built by the Germans in the mid to late 30s. The two now sit next to each other and provide a stark contrast of Rwandan society before and after colonization. The hut was really interesting and showed the section for women, the section for men, and the bed for the king and his woman of the night. The king had as many as 40 wives, but only one was the official queen mother. We also saw the milk hut, and beer hut. Additionally, we got to see the ceremonial cows. they have massive horns that are as long as my torso is tall. They are trained by the herder to come out and present itself based on wistles and certain songs. The man sang to the cow while we got to pet it. It was crazy to stand next to this massive cow with massive horns and pet it. Then we got to see the calves that were not very old, the youngest was almost 3 weeks old.  From there we went to the hotel, which was a slight downgrade in quality, but I'm sure there is far worse out there. So then we had an amazing dinner in town and back to hotel to enjoy the worst and tiniest shower I've ever seen. It was best summed up by another student's father who said you can sh*t, shower, and shave all at once because it is all so close and there is no shower curtain. Tomorrow will be busier and I'll probably have a longer blog as we will be going to a museum and a genocide memorial.

Traffic Congestion

Rwandan Jelly doughnut for the road

View from the road

View from the road

Guy catching a ride up the hill

People walking down the road

King's Hut

Cow dug furnace

Tasting Sorgum, used to make beer

Grinding sorgum to make beer

Ceremonial cow

Me with the ceremonial cow

Herder singing to the cow

3 week old baby cow

Colonial palace for the king

Rwandan Flag