Giseni

After a month of long hard work, we went on a stupendous vacation.

We got on the bus at 8 AM for a very long car ride to the other side of the country (about 3 hours total). We reached lunch around 12 PM, after a few quick stops, to a great Rwandan buffet. We took a little detour before our hotel to see the border of Rwanda and the DRC- Democratic Republic of Congo. So far on this trip, we have seen Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and now the Congo. We only didn't see Burundi, the country touching Rwanda's southern border.

The view from my door.

The hotel was paradise, and it was called Paradise, too. It was on the water with beautiful tables outside overlooking the hotel's privately owned island. We got to our rooms, and got into our bathing suits. Some of the rooms were small huts for two but most of stayed in a large cabin-like building with 4 rooms. Our first activity was boating across the small body of water to natural hot springs. The springs were actually springs, tiny pools of water. These pools of water are used by the locals to cook potatoes because the water is so hot. We took a dip in the sea water mixing with the spring water then back into the boat to the island. The boat ride was about 10 minutes but reminded me of summer time back in Newton. I'm sure you've all imagined a tiny tropical island whenever someone asks you, "If you were stranded on an island, what is one thing you would bring?" That island is what we boated too; absolutely stunning. The island was small enough to see one side to another but big enough to bring a large group. We only got to stay for 20 minutes because we ordered the boat and the driver for one hour total, but it was still breathtaking. We got back to the hotel and had an hour or two before we had our next plans.

At 5:30 we found out who we would be rooming with in Jerusalem (drama, drama, drama). I'll talk about that when I get to my Jerusalem posts.

Dancing with the traditional dancers.

At 7 was dinner, but before dinner was a show! We had two traditional dancers put on a show for us. They also got us to dance with them which was a blast! For dinner, us two vegetarians ordered the two vegetarian options on the menu, a sandwich and classic Rwandan food. Most of us also ordered this awesome drink called Amarulo from South Africa. It tastes like chocolate and alcohol. After all the food was devoured,  I ran the Boundary Breakers activity that helps everyone reflect and get to know each other a little bit better.

Thursday
We had to be ready at 11 AM to leave for the way back to Agahozo Shalom Youth Village but we all got up earlier. I woke up at 8:30 for one of the best breakfasts I have ever had. We all sat outside and ordered simple omelets with cheese and onion but we got way more than we thought we were getting. Along with the omelet that was not up to par, we got lots of small pieces of toast with butter and jam, tea with milk and sugar, fruit salad topped off with a crepe at the end of the meal. FABULOUS! After dinner, we laid out in the sun until we had to leave.


Our first stop was at the market in Giseni. I promised myself I wouldn't buy any more fabric but that promise didn't last long. Another long drive until lunch at a great pizza place. As we were finishing our pizzas, it started to POUR! We ran inside and cuddled for warmth then a long drive back to Kigali. Our afternoon surprise was stopping at the Muzungo supermarket. Again, I didn't want to buy anything but that didn't happen again. The ride back to the village was a rough one, I had been a bit car sick all day and it got worse on the way back. At Thorns and Roses I took some Tums to settle my stomach.