Reflections on Rwanda

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I have spent a month in Rwanda and have enjoyed the experience, although I’m now ready to go home. I have finished everything I needed to do for work, including a three hour training presentation this morning. My flight out is at 7:45pm this evening. I'm just wrapping a few things up here at the office and will then walk home, get some lunch, take a shower, finish packing, and head to the airport at 5:00pm. Just four flights later (three in business class so I can't really complain too much), I'll be back in NC!

I’ve seen quite a bit of the country and enjoyed that, especially the safari in Akagera National Park. I wish I had seen the gorillas and I thought I had a permit for a day before finding out that what was promised did not really exist. Hopefully, if I come again, I’ll have more advance notice and can reserve a permit to see my gorilla friends. I have heard from so many people that the experience is just amazing!

Rwanda ia an interesting place and worth a visit, although no more than a week is needed to see what the country has to offer. Bring lots of cash as there are no ATMs and very few places take credit cards (those who do charge 6% on top of the total).

Interesting fact about Rwanda: In the last election wome took 56% of the seats in parliment! To be fair, there is a law in place requiring women to hold 30% of the seats, but they won 56% in the last election! Women make up approximately 55% of the population so the distribution of seats in parliment well reflects the people being represented. In contract, women make up 51% of the US population, but hold just 17% of the seats in the Senate and 17% of the seats in the House. What's wrong with this picture?











Here's a really bad joke from a good friend:

I liked the story about Mwami (King) Musinga Yuhi V and his house made of thatch. You may be interested to know that, originally, in an effort to save space, the King had his throne winched up into the rafters of his hut and only lowered it during important state occasions: but the throne was too heavy for the hut's flimsy construction and, one evening, crashed to the ground, nearly killing the king and several of his attendants. After that the King ordered that his throne should be left permanently on the ground because, as he observed philosophically at the time...

"People who live in grass houses shouldn't stow thrones."

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Photos

Favorite Trip Photo
Tell me this hippo isn't grinning and getting ready to wink at me!

Best Meal in Rwanda
Hotel des Mille Collines: goat kebabs, chips, steamed vegetables plus the only Diet Coke I've had since 25 Jul 2009!

Favorite Place in Rwanda
The King's Palace in Nyanza

Favorite Pet
Lizzie the Lizard who lived in my bathroom for a week or so before the cleaning woman chopped off her tail and I finally caught her to set her free.

Favorite Would-Be Pet
I still think a vervet monkey would be a lot of fun to have around the house!

Favorite Scenery Photo
Along the road from Butare to Kigali

Most Haunting Sign: Hope is simply remembering so it will never happen again!
This little girl survived the genocide, but everyone in her family, shown in the photo she's holding, was killed.
On display at Camp Kigali where the Belgian Peacekeepers were killed at the beginning of the genocide.

Strangest Pizza Ever
Pizza Africana: tomatoes, cheese of some kind, bacon (really?), pineapple, and banana!

Last Sunset in Kigali
Technically, the last visible sunset - this was Tuesday evening. Last evening was cloudy and quite cool with no visible sunset.

Stork Babies Ready to Leave the Nest
I'm not even sure how they still both fit!