Akagera national park

Me and Talia, my British friend, checkin out the giraffes

Baboon

Today we went on a safari! We woke up at 5.30 this morning and got picked up right from out guest house. The drive was about two hours to the park but it was an amazing drive on red dirt roads through different neighborhoods. There are rarely cars that pass through the neighborhoods because everyone’s either walking or biking around(there’s usually 3 or 4 people piled on one bike), so when we drive by everyone stops to stare at the car and when they see there’s white people in the car they get really excited and wave, smile and yell “Muzungu” which means “white person”. The kids especially get really excited because some of them have never seen a “muzungu” before.

The roads were packed with people- kids playing in the sand, mothers carrying babies on their backs, boys carrying heavy buckets of water and fruits, people walking to school and work, etc. It’s really cool to see how these people live because even though they don’t have much, everyone looks genuinely very happy.People find such contentment and peace in their lives here even though it’s just been 16 years since the genocide, the country is moving forward and living in the present.

 Our drivers took us through the bush and to the open savannah where we saw giraffes, an elephant, warthogs, lots of antelope type animals, water buffalo, zebras, and tons of baboons that walked right up to our car! The Rwandan driver we hired had never gone on a safari before and even though he couldn’t speak English, he would get so excited when we saw something and grab my hand and take pictures on his phone, it was so cute. We stopped for lunch next to a beautiful lake where we saw lots of hippos and a crocodile. Our lunch was amazing because it was the first time in weeks that we had something other than rice and beans. We had bread and crackers with lots of different spreads- chocolate spread, peanut butter, jelly, and organic honey. We also each got a mango and an avocado but the peace and serenity was quickly disturbed when someone saw a snake, the screaming began, and lunch came to a halt.

The roads were so dusty and because we had the windows open, all of our faces were packed with red and black dirt. On the way home, we stopped at a grocery store to stock up on snacks for our guest house. Literally everyone in a mile radius of us were staring and watching every move we made. The staring were all used to because everywhere we go, were the only white people, but the funniest part was we looked absolutely trashed and homeless- our faces were piled with dirt, our clothes were ripped up and messy, and unlike most times when we go out, people weren’t asking us for money. Most people looked very confused. All of us were really excited to buy cold coke and I think we bought all the coke in the store(coke bottles are re-used in Rwanda so you have to drink it all in the store and then give them back the bottle). Also, plastic bags are banned because they are very environmentally friendly.  Although just three people could fit in the store at a time because it was so small and the selection was very minimal- we were extremely happy to get some chocolate and sweets. When I walked out of the store, about twenty little kids were all staring at me and eyeing the bag of sweets that I had just bought. I instantly felt ashamed and embarrassed. It’s amazing to come here and see what it means to survive and to learn what’s necessary and what we can live without. Today I saw people live without the things that I take for granted- running water, electricity, internet, an abundance of clothes and foods and sweets. These people live on the bare minimum