Rehungeri. Rwanda

We drove into Rwanda yesterday and I can't say enough how amazed I am about this country. The immigration point was intense, but other than that, the whole place has been mellow and delightful. the people are very nice, the place is safe, there is no garbage, the hills are lush and green and covered in a patchwork of farmed land. it would be wonderful to see it forested, but the people here seem fairly steady and employment looks to be high. outside of it's horrible history, it's almost a hollywood version on what Africa is. definitely not like tanzania where we saw tons of people sitting around all day without work.

We are staying at this clean, relaxing spot that appears to be part of a seminary. since the dorms cost the same as camping, we have beds for a few nights, which feels wonderful. it's quite cool here and rains for about an hour in the afternoon. today we have a free day, nothing planned, so we walked through some markets. yesterday we were rushed by school kids who just wanted to talk and hold our hands. well one kid asked for money (in kiyarwandan so we didnt understand except for the outstretched hand) and then they all chimed in and it got a little crazy. but we said a firm no to the one that started it and they all stopped and mellowed out again. other than that, people really leave you alone besides an occasional "mizunga" (white person) heard. everyplace else people just harrass you for money or to sell you something or other.

i really love it so far and am so glad we came. we are going to have a local lunch with the whole group then check out some caves that people used to escape the genocide. now they just use it to get from one place to another. the place is amazingly resilient. then we get up early for gorillas :)

i wasnt sure i liked this budget overland tour style, and i wouldnt do it for a really long time like these other kids (8 wks so far coming all the way from Cape Town), but it really works out well for us for a short term. we know where food and accomodation are coming from every night, and we have a safe place for our belongings. it also helped to have our tour leader wade through the chaos of immigration at the border. worth the money. as long as we can keep the peace with the other travelers (two girls are a little snippy and bitchy) all will be good...