As of today, we are only 8 days from leaving this beautiful country. I hope that this last week will be as exciting and fulfilling as the first two were! I know that, for most of you, I'm not the reason you're reading this, but I also hope that I can make this entry as inclusive and as interesting as possible.
On Friday, we packed our bags and set them aside (remember that for later) before taking a visit to the RPF Museum, located in the Rwandan Parliament building. This museum provided a more tactically-heavy perspective of how the Rwandan Patriotic Front carried out it's Campaign Against Genocide to save Rwanda from the political extremists that were destroying it. We also got to visit the rooftop, which offered a great view of downtown Kigali!
Afterwards, we went back to Moucecore to say goodbye to our first home. It was time for the homestay! I, for one, was INCREDIBLY nervous, and waiting for each family to show up and then announce who they would be taking should be categorized as cruel and unusual punishment. The nerves were all for nothing, though, as we are all LOVING our new families (you won't be replaced, I promise). While the adjustment has been tough for a lot of us, I speak for the group when I say that this is one of the most enlightening and rewarding experiences I've ever had.
Saturday was a free day to spend time with our families. Exactly how we spent this time varied quite a lot across the group: weddings, pools, relaxation, and shopping all came up during our reunion this morning, and I'm sure that I've missed some. I'll leave further details to each student to convey.
Today was one of my favorite experiences so far... a safari! Some of us were up by 4:30 to get the bus on the road at a decent time, but after stopping for some coffee and muffins, we arrived at the park wide awake and ready for the day. Akagera National Park is the oldest national park in Africa and it was full of natural beauty, entertaining animals, and tsetse flies (think mosquitoes but bigger and more aggressive). Due to the lack of signal here, I was unable to compile some of the best pictures from the day, so for now, my iPhone-quality pictures will have to suffice. I do hope that you still enjoy them as much as we did seeing them in person. As always, thank you for reading, and please join me in wishing this incredible group of young adults an unforgettable last week of our trip!
Sincerely,
LM
p.s. if you click on the first picture, you can flip through them much more easily than trying to follow whatever weird pattern the formatting software on this website decided was best.
