Rwanda Thanksgiving
Thankful for Traveling
I cross into Rwanda and hop into a taxi bound for Kigali. I get into the car, and it’s I’d took a , everything is reversed from what I’m used to seeing. In Rwanda, they drive on the right-hand side of the road, as Americans do. The car is a Prius, which I haven’t seen in two years, and it’s filled with the correct number of people. Then I’m riding through the countryside as my mouth continues to drop. It has the nickname "The Country of a Thousand Hills" for a reason. The land rolls like the sea turned green, the banana trees and the farmland cover everything that isn’t the road. The drive is stunning, in other words. And descending the mountain offers a beautiful view. We reach Kigali, meet Isa’s college friend, Helena, and see the hugs and excited laughter of a reunion months in the making. The next day, we’re picking up Henry and Amelia, who will be joining us for Friendsgiving with a couple of others later this week. After spending months apart, we’re all eager to catch up, so we head to a rooftop hotel for dessert, talking about sugar and sweets.
We booked a couple of activities to understand Rwanda better. First up is the Genocide Memorial dedicated to educating people about the Tutsi Massacre of 1994. The memorial takes you through its story from the beginning, on video, as people talk about their lives before the genocide and how much it changed afterward. It lays out the factors that made this tragedy possible and doesn’t shy away from what people suffered. I had to take some time to breathe when it dedicated a section to the kids who were murdered and how. You’ll get a glimpse into the fear they would have felt during that time.
After the beautiful yet profoundly moving memorial and a day spent reflecting on how different my life could have been, we visited a women’s center. They have established a center dedicated to educating young girls and women, equipping them with the skills to earn income and combating gender-based violence and inequality. Along the way on the tour, we see the business area where they are building a new mall, the no-car area filled with restaurants, and even the classrooms where their students attend. The tour ends with a vegetarian lunch, and the food is fantastic. Beans, rice, fried bananas, and a very spicy homemade sauce so hot I don’t think I let go of my drink during the meal.
So Wednesday comes around, and as you’re traveling, you have to be pretty flexible. That means we’re celebrating our potluck Friendsgiving a day early. Ratatouille, chicken, fruit salad, and mac and cheese are just a few of the dishes that make an appearance at our dinner but I know I fill myself up on the laughs and vibes that float through the house as we all come together to celebrate.
We call it a night because bright and early tomorrow, we’re heading to the Nyungwe National Park for a hike. Six of us rent a car, and we hit the road, stopping at the Ethnographic Museum in Butare for a quick history lesson before reaching our lodge on the mountainside. Local dancers greet us, and then it’s time for bed and getting ready for the hike tomorrow. It’s a beautiful hike, only six hours, but we see colorful flowers, monkeys, bushbucks, and waterfalls that backdrop a landscape. I drew the unlucky straw because on our way back into Kigali, we hit traffic. I don’t think I could’ve done my first drive in a better city, though, and we make it back safely, but exhausted, and say our goodbyes as people get ready to catch their planes.
Down to the three of us, Helena, Isa, and I take a day after the hike to explore the city a bit slower. Checking out the market, and getting lost in the city, finding a haven in an ice cream parlor. Next thing I know, it’s back to the two of us saying our own goodbyes and catching the motor to our taxi to an unplanned country on the trip, Uganda.
