Murakaza Neza

Muraho! It is the end of our second full day here in Rwanda, and our experience has been nothing short of adventure. The team got in late Tuesday night after over 20 hours of flying. I passed the time munching down on chocolate bars I got during our layover in Amsterdam and watching Avatar: The Way of Water. The chocolate was delightful. The movie, however, was a little disapointing, but I'll save this review for another blog. We finally landed in Kigali in the evening on 7/18 and anxiously filtered through customs, wondering if we had forgetten to remove any plastic bags in our luggage. Fun fact: plastic bags are illegal here in Rwanda. We were immediately greeted by Jean D'Amour, who piled us all into his car and shuttled us to our hotel for the night in Kigali. We all sat down in the hotel resturaunt area and indulged in our first taste of Rwandan cuisine: rice, plantaines, pasta noodles, and a beef stew. Our hotel stay was beautiful, and everyone was so friendly and welcoming to us. I woke up to my first actual view of the landscape here illumitated by the sun. I knew that Rwanda was a georgous place to visit coming in, but this is one of the most breathtaking places I have ever been. There is lush green vegetation sprawling everwhere here, filled with exotic plants and vibrant fruit blossoms. There are rolling hills everywhere, although I think they are large enough to be called mountains. The city of Kigali is immaculately clean, and there was not one single bit of trash that I was able to spot. I got to see more of the area as we headed to the Kigali National Geonocide Memorial, where we were able to learn about the tragic yet integral part of Rwanda's history. It is hard to specify my emotions coming out of this; all I can say for sure is it was one of the most powerful exhibits I have ever witnessed. If you are to ever visit Rwanda, I believe this is a very important first stop. To add in a mix to the emotions, we saw Kevin Hart while at the Memorial! We saved approaching him for another time, but hopefully we stumble into him again during our time here. Huge Kevin Hart fan by the way. We then continued our journey with a long car ride through the countryside to Musanze, where Jean lives. We made several stops along the way to check out villages and scenic views. Words really can't describe how beautiful this place is--this entire time I have been captivated by the visuals of blooming tropics mixing in with towering mountains. There is something about Rwanda that radiates life. The ground is incredibly fertile due to the nearby volcanoes, the air is clean and crisp, and the people are warm and welcoming. Rwanda truly is a special place, and the team and I are beyond greatful to experience such a beautiful country. We ended our first day at Jean's home, where he made us a delicious meal of cooked fish, rice, potatoes, and "false lemons" (a citrus fruit that looks like a lemon but tastes like an orange). Jean has been the most generous host, completely acommodating all of our needs with a nonstop smile on his face. It has been a busy couple of days, and we are all winding down now with a game of cards. Signing off, Cooper