Mom's Return (continued)

At the end of the week, we left my town for Musanze, situated amongst the volcanoes of northern Rwanda, which necessitates passing through Kigali. Since that day was umuganda (nation-wide community service work that occurs on the last Saturday of each month), no buses were running in the morning. Fortunately, a very kind friend of mine in Nyagatare has a car and was willing to drive us to Kigali. As a thank-you, we took him to lunch at Mille Collines, one of the few places open during umuganda, where we ate at the poolside restaurant. Despite one of the most Western people I’ve met here, he was a bit confused by the strange muzungu food on the menu – like teriyaki chicken, lasagna, and pasta alfredo. He settled on a ham and cheese panini, which was not exactly his favorite food, but we all decided it was good practice for when he goes to the US (which I’m sure he will) and has to eat muzungu food all the time. After lunch, we boarded a bus bound for Musanze, and met a Marine stationed in Djibouti, who had come to Rwanda specifically to go gorilla tracking. While waiting at the bus park and riding on the bus, he made balloon animals for the kids, which was random and funny. Even more unlikely, he later told us that his wife is from Great Falls. It’s a small world.

Once in Musanze, we checked into Hotel Muhabura, a small hotel where Dian Fossey (of the book and movie Gorillas in the Mist) once lived. While in town, we had a chance to visit one of my favorite restaurants in Rwanda. The Volcana Lodge is a cozy pizzeria with some of the best pizza I’ve had in Rwanda, and it even has a fireplace!

We started the next day bright and early, with a 5:30am breakfast at the hotel. Then, we headed to the headquarters of Volcanoes National Park. The hotel’s driver took us to the meeting point for gorilla tracking, where we, along with a fellow Volunteer and her mother (who happened to be visiting at the same time), joined up with three other girls (one of whom I’m pretty sure this post was written about) and a guide. From there, we drove another 45 minutes down the worst road I have ever been on in my life, until we reached a small village near the edge of the park that “our” group of gorillas was closest to that day. We walked about 30 minutes to the park entrance, which was basically just a little rock wall with a makeshift step ladder allowing people to climb over it. By that point, it was already raining, and we had no idea how far we still were from the gorillas. We spent the next 2.5 hours or so climbing, slipping, and sliding through the rain and mud, up and down mountains, often seemingly dangerously close to the edge of cliffs. Because there was no path during much of the hike, one of the guides went in front of us, chopping through the brush with a machete. Every single person fell down multiple times – actually, at times, it was literally too slippery to stand up, and the only option was to somehow slide or crawl. We were all completely covered in mud within about an hour.

Just when we were beginning to think that maybe there weren’t any gorillas, we rounded a curve, and there they were. Just a few feet from us, lounging peacefully amongst the bushes, eating grass. We just watched them, observing the giant silverbacks and adorable babies, for about the next 45 minutes. They were extremely calm – other than that one would get up, run around a bit, yell, and beat its chest every little while – and seemed totally unfazed by humans.

We didn’t want to leave the gorillas, but it was soon time to start the trek out. Going out seemed somewhat easier than coming in, though that may have been largely because we were just so used to being wet and muddy that we didn’t really notice anymore. About 2.5 hours later, we stumbled, exhausted and filthy, out of the forest – and into a small village full of people waiting to watch us. Naturally. I don’t know why one of those people hasn’t opened up a tea shop, because I would gladly have shelled out about 3,000F ($5) for a cup of icyayi and a piece of chapatti (the normal price being 200F, or about $0.33). But, alas, we had to wait out the hour or so ride back to town. The hotel staff was surprisingly unfazed by the pack of filthy bazungu and, being amazingly kind, offered to wash our muddy clothes and let us order tea to be delivered to the room. A couple cups of icyayi, a hand-held shower, and a change of clothes later, and we felt almost like real people again. Tired, sore, and blistered real people, but it was a definite improvement. Then, we headed across the street for dinner at Musanze’s Hotel Gorilla, the nicest place in town. An early dinner of cheesy pasta, and we called it a night. What a great day!

The following morning, after a brief stop at a craft workshop, we hopped on another Virunga Ponctuel and headed west. After about an hour of winding through the mountains, we arrived at the lakefront town of Gisenyi. Situated on the shores of Lake Kivu, Gisenyi has Rwanda’s only beach (though I guess some people would say it’s not much of one). Because Gisenyi borders the Congo and is basically attached to the Congolese city of Goma (famous in the media for rape and conflict minerals), Gisenyi is something of a commercial hub. We spent the afternoon exploring the town, checking out the border crossing, shopping, and finally having a delicious pizza dinner with a fellow Volunteer who lives in Gisenyi.

The next day started with yet another delicious breakfast buffet, followed by a little relaxation by the pool. Then, the driver from New Dawn Associates arrived, ready to take us on a tour of a nearby coffee plantation and cooperative. We drove about an hour out of the city, into what felt like the middle of nowhere. The aptly named “From Crop to Cup” tour showed us every step of the very long and labor-intensive (and low-paying – most of the farmers and workers make $1/day or less) system of processing coffee. We started at a coffee farm, where we chatted with the farmers, and they taught us how to pick coffee cherries (unprocessed coffee looks nothing like what we would recognize as coffee – it grows in red, yellow, and green marble-sized cherries). From there, we went to the washing station, where the skins of the cherries are removed, and the beans are washed and sorted. It’s not until the skins come off that they actually begin to look like coffee beans. After the washing station, the beans have to be dried in the sun. Then come the final stages of the process – another papery skin is removed, and the beans can finally be roasted and ground. The tour ended with a cup of fresh, delicious coffee. After purchasing some bags of coffee beans – 2,000F ($3.33) for 500g – to take home, we made our way back to where we’d left the car (on the other side of a bridge not fit for a car) and headed back to town.

We spent the rest of the afternoon pampering ourselves at the Serena, laying on the beach, and eating at the poolside bar. We also met an interesting older British fellow, who lives in a fancy apartment complex next to Hotel Laico in Kigali, but comes to Gisenyi regularly for work. He claimed to work “in minerals,” which made me wonder if whatever he does is either straight-up illegal or at least somewhat suspect.

The next day, we headed back into Kigali, where we did some last-minute shopping, including some craft purchases at the Kimironko Market, Rwanda’s largest. Kimironko really intimidates a lot of visiting parents, I think, but, after Mom’s experience at the much more intimidating Marche Sandaga in Dakar, it didn’t faze her. We spent that night at Chez Lando, an oasis in the middle of Kigali. The following afternoon, after a final smoothie at Bourbon, I dropped Mom off at the airport, so she could begin the 42-hour trip, via Amsterdam, back home. And I returned to my real Rwandan life.

Mom's Return to Africa

As I mentioned before, stories from my mom’s visit would be coming! She came in March for two weeks, and we spent one week in Nyagatare and one week traveling.

Her visit got off to a good start, when her flight was early (when does that ever happen?) and her luggage was accounted for. We spent the first two nights at Hotel Gorilla in Kigali’s plush Kivoyu neighborhood on the edge of downtown. The hotel is a bit more outdated than the website indicates, but had hot showers, CNN, and a delicious breakfast buffet! During Mom’s first full day, I showed her around Kigali, including a visit to the Genocide Memorial, a stop at the Peace Corps office, lunch at Bourbon, dinner at Hotel des Mille Collines, and a 7,000F (just under $12) mani-pedi!

The next morning, we left Kigali for Akagera National Park, with a nice driver from Jambo Tours & Travel. I’d heard bad reviews of the park’s Game Lodge, but they seemed unfounded to me. It was charming and peaceful, with another wonderful breakfast and a nice restaurant that served excellent pizza! There is a bit of an issue with baboons – the hotel’s staff had to remind us to keep the room to our door closed at all times, to keep the baboons out and prevent them from damaging or stealing anything, which they have been known to do! But in our experience, they were more cute than annoying. We began our visit to the park with a boat trip on Lake Ihema, during which we saw numerous hippos and all manner of birds. The elephants that sometimes roam the shores eluded us, unfortunately, but the lake was lovely and the boat ride was great. We spent the afternoon relaxing by the lodge’s outdoor pool. It’s really hard to relax when you live under a microscope, so the peace and quiet of a calm afternoon at a beautiful (and empty!) pool in the middle of the park was greatly appreciated.

As the sun was getting ready to set, we headed back out into the park for a night safari. It was just us and our guide, driving through the night under the wide open sky. It felt like Africa. We saw a giraffe and tons of deer-like animals. Though the leopards I’d been hoping for weren’t out that night, driving through the empty savannah under the stars was a great experience. Mom was slightly alarmed at one point, though, when a group of motos appeared out of nowhere. Our guide seemed skeptical of them, but let them pass when they said they were just going to the village on the other side of the park. Poaching has been a problem in Rwanda, and two rangers in Akagera were killed in December, so it was a valid concern. Fortunately, though, these moto drivers seemed uninterested in both us and the animals.

After a lovely night at the lodge, we were up bright and early the next day, to begin a six-hour game drive through the park. The morning was full of wildlife sightings and photo opportunities. We saw numerous zebras and monkeys, more baboons (which seemed less accustomed to humans than the ones hanging around the lodge), and, during a stop at a small lake, a crocodile and more hippos. The drive ended with a delicious picnic lunch, which had been packed for us by the lodge, under a gazebo. We were both sad to leave the park, but it was time, and I was excited to show Mom my Rwandan home. We made the short drive from the north edge of the park to Nyagatare, and were dropped off right at my house.

I had initially been worried that Mom would get bored spending an entire week in Nyagatare. Well, so many people wanted to meet her, there was no time to be bored! There also wasn’t exactly any time to relax, but it went well overall. We basically spent each day visiting multiple people around town – and being fed multiple meals, snacks, and Fantas, of course. On our first night in Nyagatare, we visited Rebecca, one of my neighbors. Mom brought a rattle for her then one-month-old son, Noah – which she later told me he absolutely loves. Mom also had her first real Rwandan meal that night – ubugali (a gelatinous substance made of cassava flour) and beef. She didn’t exactly love it, but she got it down, and I was proud of her. Upon hearing she’d eaten that, and on her first night in Nyagatare, one of my friends later exclaimed, “Oh! That is too much African!”

As the following day was Sunday, we went to church in the morning, as I usually do. Mom had attended a church service with me in Dakar a couple years earlier, so the African style of worship wasn’t a shock to her. After the service, we had a lovely meal with the pastor and my supervisor in the church’s courtyard.

Later that week, we went to visit my friend Ezekiel’s family in the next district, which involved a 45-minute bus ride and about a half-hour walk through the countryside. There, we had an excellent meal – including peanut sauce, my favorite! – and spent some time with Ezekiel’s mother and siblings. His village is closer to what the Peace Corps is supposed to be, so I was glad Mom had a chance to see it.

I took Mom to visit the school I’ve been teaching at and to meet my students and colleagues. She brought candy (Life Savers) and ink pens for the kids, which they loved. We also went to visit the new girls’ secondary school, where I’ve just recently begun teaching as well. To get there, we had about an hour walk into the countryside, and then visited the nuns who work at the school. We toured the spacious classrooms and immaculate dormitories (most secondary schools in Rwanda are boarding schools), and were then treated to the best ikivuguto (something between yogurt and curdled milk) and amandazi I’ve had here!

Our last major trip out of Nyagatare was to visit a small organization I’ve been working with in the next sector. It was founded by two Rwandan men, who freely put their own time and resources into trying to help vulnerable people in their community. I’m continually impressed by them and their attitude – a refreshing change from the NGO workers who refuse to do anything unless they’re getting a per diem and think nothing of keeping villagers waiting for hours. While visiting them, we went to see a deaf school they’re working with. I’d actually never been to the school before, and it was really interesting to see. It currently has about 100 students and offers a very rare opportunity to deaf children in Rwanda. I was very impressed by the school’s staff, who seem to be extremely dedicated and are willing to do difficult work for little compensation in order to the help the students.

We spent the rest of our time in Nyagatare seeing friends here and visiting my favorite places in town. Everyone was extremely excited to meet Mom, and people now ask about her constantly.

Stay tuned to hear about the rest of her visit...