Road to Rwanda

Today was crazy. I can't believe we made it to the other end of it.

I left off yesterday saying that we stayed up with Emily who was very very sick. At 5am, most of us were up because of the commotion of having someone sick, and someone else hurt their ankle, and everyone rushing in and out. We decided that everyone should just get up so that we could leave as soon as possible. All we had were two lanterns and some flashlights to pack everything up because the electricity was still out. We were tired and stressed, but there was an energy going through the group that we needed to get to Rwanda as fast as possible and all in one piece.

We told Kate and Aryn about Emily and then went to work packing up the bus. I crawled in through the window to unlock it because the driver wasn't awake yet. We had the bus packed and ready to go at 6am and then, when everyone was ready to go, helped Emily into her seat. It was a long and crazy bus ride. Poor Emily was sick the whole time, so we stopped often for her. We drove for two hours and then hit a road that was impassable because of the rain and erosion. So we had to back track and start all over again. Everyone was surprisingly very upbeat and cheerful, and I really appreciated that.

We stopped for a buffet lunch in Kabale before continuing on to the Rwandan border. at the border we went through customs to leave, crossed the road, and then went through immigration to enter Rwanda. Emily was such a trooper having to walk through everything and fill out forms. Driving through Rwanda was amazing. It is so incredibly beautiful. I thought it looked like pictures I have seen of Ireland with the rolling green hills. They also build terrace gardens up the sides of the mountains. Rwanda is very different from Uganda. At customs our bags were searched so that they could make sure we weren't bringing plastic bags into the country. Rwanda has a ban on plastic bags because they are trying to keep their country clean.

Compared to Kampala, Kigali is immaculate. Everything looks very clean and organized. And, OH MY GOODNESS, they have traffic laws! and they drive on the right side of the road! and people use cross walks! Can I get back in the habit of following rules? We dropped Emily and Kate off at the hospital. Emily will be there over night to get re-hydrated. I am so glad we got her to the hospital, I was worried the whole trip. Our guest house is really cool. It is on a hill and there is a separate house for the boys and girls. The porch overlooks the city. Emily, Shelby, Susan and I have our own room in our own little section of the house. It's smaller and different from Kampala, but very comfortable and nice. I was excited that the internet worked well enough for me to Skype-call my parents. It was fun telling them about safari, but they had bad news for me from home. Opa isn't doing well and he will likely pass away this weekend. I wish I could be there to go to the funeral when that happens. We had dinner and now we are relaxing. Now for phase two of my semester - RWANDA!