The Road to Kigali

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I have arrived in Rwanda after a full 48 hours of traveling on busses. Let me just tell you about those 48 hours, as it was quite an adventure.

I left Moshi at 3:00 on Monday afternoon. Took the bus to Arusha, about 2 hours away. I befriended a little girl on the way who gave me an orange. I arrived in Arusha and had to spend the night at a hotel because the bus to Kahama (another town in Tanz) didn't leave until 5:45 the next morning. The cab that took me to the hotels totally ripped me off, and charged me a "waiting fee" to stop at one hotel and ask if they had a room. I need to start getting a little smarter about people out to rip off the lone white girl. I'll get it soon, though.
And it's not regular people who want to rip me off or be dishonest, don't worry adults reading this blog and getting worried for me. All the people I meet want me to be safe and sound, it's just most of them want to see how much money they can get out of me in the process.

Anyway, i slept nicely in Arusha and got to the bus station at 5:30 to leave at 5:45. The bus showed up at 6:15 and left shortly after. For 4 hours, I commenced to fear for my life on a bus that I was sure would tip over on the next bumpy turn. We were speeding down a dirt road, and i felt like we were up on two wheels every time we went around the slightest turn. I said a little prayer and stuck on my iPod, so at least I could go down with some Kanye blasting in my ears! I also was planning my exit strategy should the bus actually tip over and crash.
We stopped for lunch around noon, and didn't get back on the bus until 7:30 pm. It was broken down for 7 and a half hours. I finished an entire book "I Was Told There'd be Cake", which was hilarious! (Thanks sis!) and was cracking up every few pages. Everyone sitting on the sidewalk waiting for the bus to be fixed was really wondering what the hell the only Mzungu (white person) was laughing at. I would show them the pages, full of English words, and try to explain that it was just funny. They thought I was crazy I'm sure. The bus got started around 7:30 pm, which would put me in Kahama around 1am with no time to get to a hotel for the night. So, we all slept on the bus in Kahama until our busses left the next morning. A nice Tanzanian man, who spoke a little English was watching out for me and actually woke me up at 4:30 in the morning to tell me that my bus to Kigali (well, not to Kigali, just to the Rwandan border) was leaving. I had no idea because another man I spoke with the night before told me the bus was leaving at noon the next day. I would have slept through my departure.

New bus, new cute baby to befriend. Surely, as long as there is a cute kid around, you can keep me on a bus for as long as you want. :-) 6 hours later, we arrived close to the Rwandan border, but had to pay $4.00 for a cab to take us the rest of the way. Customs, blah blah, and another bus, with another cute kid, 4 or 5 hours to Kigali. I could actually sleep on that bus because the roads were paved and the driver wasn't CRAZY.

Once in Kigali, Kate gave me the name of a cafe to sit at and wait for her. Before I got my coffe I went to the bathroom to wash my hands. No Joke, I washed them three times and the water was still brown from all the dust I had accumulated during the bus ride(s). I have never been so comfortable being so dirty in my life! I now understand why EVERY woman on the bus has a head scarf on. I will keep that in mind for my next ride.

So, I'm safely in Rwanda on the campus of the Maranyndo school for girls! It's lunchtime and my next entry will be about all of the wonderful education that is taking place here!

Cheers for now!
Lots of Love, Poa Kachizi Kama Ndizi!

Marissa

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Comments

[MaryAnne]

Would love to hear more...
... about Kigali. I live in Maine and work at a boarding school. We have a new student who is from Kigali and I would like to know more about the area so I can learn more about her and where she's from. I'm actually going to take her some clothes tomorrow as she arrived here with very little. She is attending on scholarship. I would love to hear/learn more about your experiences. Hope to hear from you soon.

[Ms Lolipopsky]

More about Kigali
Hi MaryAnne, It's funny. My friends and I were just yesterday talking about the possibility of opening a boarding school in Maine and bringing some of these wonderful students from Rwanda! Eventually, we decided we wanted to do it in Montanna, but just the same, it's a funny coincidence. I am not exactly sure what can be said about Kigali, or Rwanda, as I am no expert quite yet. However, I can tell you that Rwanda is a beautiful country with some wonderful people. I am currently living at a boarding school with my friend Kate, and tutor the girls at night as well as help them learn how to play basketball. I can tell you that they are wonderful girls! They study so hard and work so well together. The system here is very different from American schools though. Usually there is not much group work, apparently it's been hard to train that it's ok to talk to each other during group work in class. But, I've come half way through the year, and they have been well trained and are working very well with each other in groups. During their free time (about 1 hour each day) they have the opportunity to play sports, or dance and sing, as well as a few other activities. I went to watch the girls dance, drum, and sing yesterday and it was wonderful to see. So, I'm sure your student has a rich culture of that and I'm sure she will miss it dearly. Perhaps asking her about it would be worthwhile. and of course, it's impossible to visit Rwanda without thinking about the horrible atrocities that took place in this beautiful country 15 years ago. I do not know how old your student is, but I am sure that if not her, then her family was greatly affected by the Genocide. This is obviously a topic that can not be brought up out of the blue to someone, but is worth being sensitive about. One thing I thought would be beneficial is a counseling session, but my friend said that beginning on April 6 every year, they have 100 days of rememberance here. Also, something to keep in mind during our April months when we are so happy and cheerful about the approaching spring...and back in her country a great mourning and rememberance of an incredible Genocide is taking place. This is extremely long, and I aplogize, but I hope it helps. I am sure she will be a great student! The girls at this school have just set up e-mail addresses and I'm sure it would be cool if she has one too, perhaps they can talk to each other, and she can let them know about America and they can tell her what's going on in Rwanda. Just a thought. Let me know and I can tell my friend about it. Thanks for your comments. I look forward to your updates about your student. Sincerely, Marissa