Rwannnndaaaa rocks!

Last Wednesday, we flew from Tanzania to Kigali, the capital of Rwanda. We were all excited to finally be heading to the place we had been learning about for so long, but I think we were still a little nervous because we didn't know what to expect. Personally, I was wondering how it would feel to be in a place where so much has happened in the past few decades. Of course, we were all even more uneasy when we saw the airplane that we were going to be flying in. It was tiny, I would say it fit about thirty people. There wasn't even any writing on the outside saying what the airline name was! (it was RwandaAir.) That made us even more nervous, and we began contemplating where the plane came from. We decided that it was either stolen (haha) or was bought third hand after some other countries had decided it wasn't safe enough anymore. When we were up in the air, we all almost screamed every time there was a bump. But we made it, luckily! too bad we have to fly in another one of those on the way home.
As soon as we stepped off the plane in Kigali, we all knew how much we were going to love the city. Rwanda is sooo hilly (it is known as the land of a thousand hills). It's has even more hills that Chapel Hill! haha The view from just about anywhere is so incredibly beautiful, because you can see so far. I just love it! There are some pretty big buildings in Rwanda too, that have been built recently (they are probably twenty or thirty stories, which seems gigantic compared to the one-story houses and shops that make up most of Kigali).
We took a bus (all twenty two of us) from the airport to our guesthouse. It was so funny trying to stuff all of our luggage, backpacks, and bodies into the tiny bus, but we made it. And I have pictures too! Our guesthouse is called Solace Ministries (it is a Christian guesthouse), and it is sooooo nice. We really lucked out, because we were all prepared to be bathing in rainwater and peeing in a hole in the ground. But Solace is beautiful. There are too of us in each room (I am with Megan again!) and we even have our own bathroom with a shower and running water (well, it runs most of the time). There is even wireless internet in the lobby, dang! Too bad I didn't bring my computer...
So after we got here, we just unpacked a little and decided to explore the city. We went in two huge groups of about ten each, so we drew a lot of attention. In fact after being here for just one week, it will be weird going back to the US and not having everyone stare at me everywhere I go! But everyone is so incredibly nice here, and you can have great conversations with people you just meet on the street. Rwandans are so welcoming that they will bascially drop everything to help you if you need it, even if you are a random tourist or student.
So while we were exploring the first day, we went to the Mille Collines, which is what the movie Hotel Rwanda is based on (you should watch it if you haven't!). It was crazy being there, thinking about how so many Rwandans took refuge at that hotel with the help of the manager Paul, and how amazing it is that most of them survived the genocide. But it was interesting to talk to Rwandans about that movie (who don't praise the movie as much as we do), because they point out that there were so many heros in Rwanda that helped saved others, and that movie only shows one of them. But it is still a great movie!
After the Mille Collines, we went to the shopping area called the Union Trade Center (UTC). We bought groceries, cell phones, and toiletries. I was about to buy some Garnier Fructise shampoo, but after I realized it was like ten dollars, I decided to buy shampoo made in Rwanda. It is egg flavored, which I thought was funny. I was scared to use it at first, because I didn't want to smell like an egg. But now I like it (it makes my hair more curly)!
So that was our first day in Rwanda, yay!!
love Colleen