Goodbyes are only temporary

Well folks, our time in Cyanika is quickly coming to an end. All of our days of death defying bus rides, adorable preschooler morning greetings, and miles and miles of walking are no more. The last drive to Cyanika was strikingly beautiful, more than I have ever noticed, perhaps because I have taken it for granted the last few weeks. Miles and miles of eucalyptus forests line the road, surrounded in early morning mists that seemed to dance as the sun rises in the sky. All of this at the base of an enormous volcano. This country has been good to us.

Sabinyo Volcano, near our worksite

Friday marked our last meeting with the Community Vision Board (CVB), composed of local cell and umudugudu leaders desiring to bring water to their people. We reviewed with them the pros and cons of pipeline and rainwater catchment that were discussed in previous meetings with both the CVB and the Executive Secretary of Cyanika. This time, we also gave our official recommendation that after this assessment, we believe that implementation of a rainwater catchment system provides the best solution to expand the populations access to water, while providing a money-making opportunity for the community. The CVB readily backed the idea. We went on to outline next steps in the process, such as what we will be doing from Colorado, and what they can do in the mean time while we work on the design. The community responds with such eagerness to all of our suggestions, promising to mobilize their communities for the undertaking. Community members even donated their personal land to create new catchment systems for them and their neighbors. There is a great sense of community and compassion for ones village in Rwanda, which we have experienced over and over again this trip.

Final community meeting

After a round of "see you laters" (because everyone hates goodbyes, we spent the rest of our day sourcing materials in Cyanika and Musanze, where shop keepers helped us find the best prices and were surprisingly not trying to give us outrageous abazungu taxes. 

Now, we must turn to our handy dandy checklists to fill the rest of our days here! We are compiling our myriad of surveys, writing the 522, using GIS, and finish up water quality testing to name a few tasks.

Working hard in our gazebo!

Saying goodbye to Alberto. Our favorite Italian.

But first...we took a break to visit the local Chinese, yes, as in fried rice, egg rolls and teriyaki chicken, restaurant by the name of "Green Garden." Necessary background information: We have passed this restaurant EVERY night on the way to dinner, and made some quip about its risks of food poisoning and salmonella. And on more than one occasion, someone in ur group swore that we will never eat there. Ever.

But alas, craving something different than heaping piles of cassava, rice and beans, and not to mention our near daily ration of pizza, we caved. After all, Chinese in Africa could be good right? 

Turns out, no lives were lost, and the food - while not Chinese in nature by any means - was a welcome change to our palates. We hyped the risks up for nothing, the dramatic college kids that we are.

tomorrow.....we hike Bisoke Volcano!! Stay tuned.

Bì ag rince go deo,

Jordan