On August 1st I left Rwamagana to Kigali. Stayed one night then continued my journey to Kibuye (note: the road is extremely winding with steep canyons and insane bus drivers. I literally heard the tires screech on every turn). Kibuye is a fairly large town in the Western Province on the coast of Lake Kivu, which makes up most of Rwanda's border with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). We stayed in a nice hotel that overlooks the beautiful emerald green lake. Opposite you can see green islands and a short peninsula. The lake is large and looks and sounds like the ocean. All of the volunteers came. We had some celebratory drinks that night and enjoyed the amazing set up.
The next morning I awoke to the sound of singing far off in the distance. I went outside and saw a couple fisherman in a hand made boat rowing full speed across the lake. It was beautiful to see and reminiscent of Rwandan life hundreds of years ago. The singing was incredible and carried across the entire like without a bit of interference. Both fisherman would exchange songs that sometimes have very fast lyrics but incredible melodies. The fact that they sang so well while rowing full speed was even more impressive.
We stayed there for the entire week beginning at 7 am for breakfast to dinner at 8 pm. We had guest speakers, presentations from fellow PCV's and much more. One presentation was about "Kangaroo Mother Care". This is a technique that people are implementing in countries with out resources like incubators for low-birth wieght and premature babies. In it, mothers (and fathers) are taught to carry the baby chest to chest. This way the babies body temperature is kept constant and other benefits too. I was asked to provide the father/baby example. Trust me... there are plenty of pictures that you will see.
I swam in the lake every day and 3 nights. One of the nights was a full moon. On Wednesday, we all took a boat ride to Amahoro island (a tiny island about 10 minutes ride with a bar, volleyball, and food). On Friday, I paid a small price to go water skiing! This was my first time water skiing and I am happy to say that it didn't end in more stitches on my face. In fact, I somehow managed to get up and go around lake for about 15 minutes before I was too exhausted to continue.
It was great to reunite with all of my new found friends. I had a great time.
Amahoro (Peace)
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sounds a very great time you had! Kibuye is nice i had told u. Hope you'll be visiting the place time to time.
ReplyDeleteBrandon, I really want your facebook address, it's easier to keep up than using mail or blogs.