Traveling Back Home

  Well,  I am now in Amsterdam Airport on my way back home.  Land in Atlanta tonight, staying with Josh then off to the parents' house tomorrow.  Finally back to South Bend on Monday.  As I think back on my time in Rwanda, it was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life.   I just now that this has been I really life changing experience.

I haven't updated in a while, so I will try to summarize some my travel over the last week.   I took the public buses up to Musanze.  These are like big charter buses, not the most comfortable.   However, it only about $3-4 for the 2 hour trip.  I trek the gorillas at Volcanoes National Park.  The Mountain gorillas can only be seen in 3 countries (Rwanda, Uganda, and the DRC).  Rwanda has the largest population.  My driver was able to get me into the trek for the Susa family.  The Susa family is the largest of the family, and the family that Diane Fossey lived and studies.  The trek to the gorillas was very difficult about 3 hours up the volcano through thick vegetation and nettles.  However, it was well worth it as you get to spend an hour with these amazing creatures.  We were so close to them often just among the group.  Occasionally, one would try to come up to touch you and run by and try to slap you.  However, the guides rightly so discourage this behavior as we share so many genes with the gorillas our diseases can easily be passed to them.  The pictures are just a small sampling of what I was able to get.

  My next day was spent in Kigali, which is the cities capitol and largest city.  There were so many people here is was hard to believe where they all live.  Kigali is fairly higher tech and much more Westernized than the more agricultural rest of Rwanda.  It is always a reminder that you are still in Africa when you have to pass security guards armed with AK-47s to get into the bigger stores and the banks.  The best way to get around Kigali is the Moto-taxis which are motorbikes.  It is nice that the government requires them to provide you with a helmet.   I was a little skeptical at first, but seeing as a car taxi is 5-7x as much I ended up taking them everywhere. 

 

The next day I went out to Akagera, which is in Eastern Rwanda on the Tanzanian border.  It is more like a traditional safari park.  Unfortunately, after the events of the genocide and the aftermath and poachers the big cat population is extinct in the park as are the Rhinos.  However, I did get to see giraffes, zebras, tons of different antelope, hippos, and crocodiles.  Unfortunately because of the heat, we didn't find the elephants.  Also, my memory decided to fry and a lost about half of my pictures from Akagera.  I had already downloaded the rest of the pictures onto my computer, so at least those were safe. 

Yesterday, I spent in Kigali and went to the Genocide Memorial.  It was very good and definitely a must see if you are in Kigali.
  Though after 5 weeks, it is definitely going to be nice to get back home to the regular events of everyday life.  It is truly amazing the little things you take for granted until you don't have it.  Like reliable internet, a cell phone, DIET COKE and DIET MOUNTAIN DEW, nice easily traveled roads. 
  For a first experience in Africa this was definitely a great one, and I will definitely have to do this again.  Though I don't think I am the type that is cut out for long term mission work, I could definitely see myself doing more trips like this in the future.  So ends this chapter of my mission experience.  The first, but hopefully not the last.  I leave you with one last picture of the beautiful sunset on Lake Kivu.