A blog for people who aren't me.

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Kigali, Rwanda (pronounced Chigali, Urgwanda)

Finally here! After about 38 hours of travel, we finally landed it Kigali. This is an absolutely beautiful city that spreads across a few of Rwanda’s “thousand hills”. At night, the sprawl lights up and it looks like rolling hills of stars against a black sky.

Right off the bat, there were some obvious differences between Tanzania and Rwanda. Rwanda seems quieter, more reserved, cleaner and generally more developed. There is almost zero trash lying around, which is amazing. Of course, it’s good to keep in mind that we are in the capital city. I’m sure the countryside is a bit different.

Fun fact: plastic grocery bags are outlawed in an effort to keep them from filling gutters and getting caught in trees. Why hasn’t the US done this yet??

This experience is certainly going to be very different than last summer.

I have my own bathroom with a toilet, shower, and water heater.
They do not burn trash in piles on the side of the road.
I can walk around AT NIGHT with a backpack and feel safe.
I’ve noticed fewer children during the day. Which is great because it probably means they are in school.
It’s is definitely less chaotic than Tanzania.
Kinyarwanda is probably twice as difficult to learn as Swahili.

This year we are training at IPRC, an actual college that is roughly equivalent to a US technical college.

Eugene, the manager of the hotel I am staying at, says people come to Rwanda and say "This isn't Africa". I can understand why. Being in a country this safe gives you peace of mind, even when you are in charge of other people's safety and well-being. 

Pictures coming soon!

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