Rwanda..

It all began on a Thursday evening when 7 volunteers decided to take a 2 A.M. bus from Kampala, Uganda to Kigali, Rwanda. Since all of us are in our early 20's we decided to go out for food, drinking, and dancing before we boarded our bus. Kampala night life is amazing. The best part is they play all American Hip hop and some Uganda Hip Hop which sounds like Reggae. After shaking our booties we started our journey to Rwanda which would take about 10 hours. As we headed out of Kampala the roads were very bumpy which we thought would pass but didn't for the whole time. Long story short it was the most bumpy, cold, unpleasant bus trip I had ever taken. We arrived on the Rwandan boarder around 9 in the morning and passed the boarder with only minor crisis(Americans get in for free, Japanese, Australia, and Irish people don't(1 for America)). Once we got into Kigali we went straight to our hostel that was owned by Ethiopian Rastafarian's. The compound we stayed in has multiple purposes. One Love(the name of the hostel, yes the Bob Marley song) researches and makes prostetic legs. The grounds were very nice and the rooms were very spacious. The money spent for the rooms supports the compound so it was nice to contribute. We all headed into town to exchange money and realized that NO ATM would accept our international credit cards. After an hour or two of acting like chickens with their heads cut off we found a place and exchanged our money from Shillings to Franks. Coming into Rwanda I did not consider the change in language and money. I was thinking to myself oh crap I just learned some Luganda and now I have to learn French!
The city of Kigali is amazing. It is very clean and very modern. It is very different than Kampala because the people are more reserved and very French in a sense. Hellen, another volunteer had missed the bus the night before and was apparently still meeting us in Rwanda. Our cell phones did not work in Rwanda and we were a bit concerned about Hellen's arrival. At about 8:00, well 7:00 Rwandan time, apparently the time change is from Rwanda to Uganda, Hellen came limping in. Hellen had fell in a ditch in Kampala but toughed it out because she was not going to miss Rwanda. Ofcourse the assertive one I am said I would take her to the hospital. As we were about to leave we met the owner and his brother which offered us a ride to the hospital. The hospital in Kigali is very nice and clean. It was very empty which I took as a good thing but looking back now it is because not many Rwandans have insurance. We got x-rays and hung out with some very cute Rwandan doctors. Hellen had not broken anything and was given bright pink pain killers that looked more like candy. The whole hospital trip cost us 15,000 Franks which is about 20 dollars! As we were leaving the hospital we spotted the rasta owners again. They stayed around to make sure we were ok and took us home. They were our heros that night.
The next morning we had planned a trip to see the memorials. We had to wake up at 5 in the morning and drive a long way to go to where they were located. I was not prepared for what I was about to see. We headed to a church where people from the Genocide in 1994 had been murdered. We walked in to see a simple church. As we walked around I could see some stairs leading down under the church. We walked down and saw a display of about 50 skulls and many, many bones. These skulls belonged to the people who died in the church. I was a bit shaken but stayed strong. The two who ran the church were telling us stories of the massacre. I started to walk around the back because there was another memorial. I walked past another set of stairs and saw about 100 more skulls. I could not take seeing all of that. These skulls were skulls of children, some infants. It was so hard to understand how someone could do that to someone else. There was a tin roof above the memorial. There was something hitting the roof that sounded like rain but it was a beautiful clear day out. I think the sound was the tears of the children who passed away, coming from heaven. I was very upset and had to be alone. I started to walk up to where our car was and saw many children. I went to them and tried to speak to them but they did not know english. From being in Uganda and now Rwanda I have learned to talk with my expressions and hands. The children love to touch you and were amazing by my piercings, stretch marks, hair, nails, skin, freckles, big butt, and anything else they wanted to touch. The children are the ones who got me through the first church.
The second church was off in the bush more. The scenery of Rwanda is amazing. There are HUGE hills and it is very green. It was hard to believe that somewhere some beautiful such horrible things could happen. The next church we went to was similar to the first except many more skulls and bones. The church also had the children's clothing hanging all over the walls. It was very difficult to not only see the skulls but to see what the children were wearing at well. The skulls were sometimes shattered and some with large fractures. We pulled ourselves together and headed to the museum. The museum was very informational. It talked about why there was a division between the Hutus and the Tutsis. It also talk about other genocides throughout time and how to prevent future ones. One of the saddest things I saw was a room full of large portraits of children. Under each it told what there favorite song, food, or something of that nature was, how old there were, and how they passed away. Seeing an infants picture, reading there favorite food was banana's, and hearing they died because someone threw them up against the wall was alot to take in. I'm still trying to process all of the things I saw but the hardest part is to walk down the street and know that some of these people are murders. They murdered these people like goats. They say there were bodies everywhere. My teacher told me they threw them in Lake Victoria and many washed up onto Ugandan land. No one ate fish in 1994. Its also hard not to think do the people of Rwanda think that the Genocide was a good thing and in a sense it worked. After the genocide the UN threw money at Rwanda and that is why it is as developed as it is now. This was a very heavy day for all of us.
In the evening we were looking for some much needed R&R. We headed out to dinner and than dancing after. Rwanda night life is amazing. We went to this amazing restaurant where Ewan McGregor was(think Star Wars). We were all a little star struck, especially those who had never seen a celebrity before. We had an awesome amazing time dancing like crazy. I would definitely love to return to Rwanda someday. It was an eerie, exciting, sad, and fun time if that can all exist in one. I was very happy to return back into Uganda. It was not like I felt unsafe in Rwanda but it was nice to come home.

I love Uganda

I love Uganda. It has only been two weeks but feels like a lifetime. The people here are so special, friendly, and ready for change. I have only been here a very short time but I have realized that in order for me to make a difference in Uganda 6 weeks is not nearly enough. Many of the children in my class are looking for someone to love them. I receive "love" Letters everyday from my students. They ask me to be their friend, to never forget them when I leave, and they often tell me their stories and ask for guidance or just someone to talk too. There are so many ideas running through my head to help these children but not nearly enough time to implement them. I am so inspired by the volunteers I have met not only because they are here but their readiness to return. I am excited for the remaining time I have left but saddened by what little influence I will have on these children. I will never forget them and I hope they will never forget me.