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Published: October 10th 2008
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The very moment Rwanda 2008 came true From Luzern after mountain climbing, I went to Bern and watched the NY Rangers destroy the Bern team by a score of 8-1. I also quickly met Rangers coach Tom Renney, shook his hand and thanked him for everything he has done for Hockey Canada. Then I went to Geneva and spent a night in the airport for an early flight to Brussels. From Brussels, I went to Brugge, a classic old town which is a higlight of Belgium. # nights in Brugge, then back to the airport for my long awaited flight to Rwanda.
After the 9 hour flight I was landing in Kigali. It was a weird feeling. Knowing that for a long time that my goal had been to get to Rwanda. It was a definite feeling of accomplishment, but there were also a lot of unknowns as I entered Africa and didn't know what to expect. I made it to the place where I was staying and slept most of Sunday the 5th.
I went out to explore Kigali on the 6th. It was very interesting. Being the visible minority was something I have never experienced, and the feelings that come along with it are
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Kigali,Rwanda also unusual. I had to quickly get used to everyone looking/staring at me as I walked the streets or rode on a motorcycle taxi. I also had to get myself to believe that it is a safe place. Which it really is.
I ended up meeting a guy who had a driver taking him to Uganda the next day, so I of course jumped on it, and added another country to my list. The 8 hour drive to Jinja, Uganda allowed me to experience African highways, border crossings ( many stories for a later time), and villages. Taking some "short cuts" that our local drive knew took us through small villages down bumpy dirt roads. Real Africa. Every village we passed through we were greeted by stares, and all the children calling at us "Mzungo! Mzungo!" which rougly translates to "white person". The term is used in completely genuine good will as the kids haven't seen many ( if any) white people in some places, so we were quite a commodity. It was a thrill to have kids have at us, and see their huge smiles when we waved back. I stayed 2 nights in Jinja exploring the town,
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Traffic and motorcycle taxi...been there done that then made my way back to Kigali with the same driver. Also crossing small villages, and experiencing the same calls from all the kids, and getting long stares from every other grown person. It was a very weird feeling wondering if I was the first white person that a 50 year old man had ever seen. None the less, all the people were extremely nice, and the "security" issues that plague parts of Africa are really non existant in a lot of Uganda and Rwanda. I have walked streets alone and not encountered a single problem, with many smiles and greetings from the people I pass. That's not to say I wasn't prepared for the worst. It was a HUGE step for me the first time I walked out into Kigali from the house where I was staying. HUGE. I can't express it in words here, but when I get home I will better be able to tell the story.
After I got back from Uganda I called a lady that I had first emailed from Switzerland. She is from the United States, but runs an orphanage here in Rwanda. I had asked her if I could come help
out and play with the kids for a few days. She was more than excited for my offer, and today I made it to Gitarama where I will spend 4 days at the orphanage before I fly back to Belgium. The choice was between seeing the mountain gorillas or doing something like this. At first it was a hard choice because the gorillas are world reknown and spectacular. It would have cost 500 american dollars to see the gorillas for one hour. After thinking about it I realized that it really wasn't that hard of a choice. 500 american dollars will go so much further for the kids in Rwanda than for me seeing gorillas for an hour. So that's where my money will go.
I expect to completely enjoy the next 4 days in Rwanda, as I experience the "real" Rwanda. Not a package tour, or just a trip to the gorillas. This is the Rwanda I had hoped I would see, and the crazy dream that I thought up a couple years ago for my "Rwanda Trip" is completely paying off. Thank you to everyone who believed in me that I would chase my dream down and
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Ugandan village live it....
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