Lake Bunyonyi

I have been in Rwanda for almost three months now, and as I sit and ponder this I realize that it has definitely become 'home' now. Not home as in "where my heart is" but more the in the 'settled' sense, that I am comfortable with where I live, I trust the people in my community, and I have found a sense of independence.

In the last few weeks I have found myself being able and comfortable to get 'here and there' on my own, riding the moto taxis or just walking. It is nice to have that kind of independence, knowing I can get to town if I need to, when I need to. Though honestly, it's not that often. :)

I really enjoy my community here. I have lovely roommates and great friends at school. We have some routine things like dinner, aerobics and bible studies, but there are also the fun excursions to Bourbon Coffee (love their iced mochas!), or out to dinner.

Since I've been here, I've been able to travel east to Akagera, west to Kibuye, south to Butare, and this last weekend we made it north, past Gatuna into Uganda. Five teachers traveled to Lake Bunyonyi to take advantage of our four day weekend! (Four others also went, but we found it easier to go in smaller groups, and the others also extended their trip one night). We got in lots of R&R - much needed after a strong push through quarter 1 and Parent/Teacher conferences!

I almost didn't go to Uganda. Last week I was fighting allergies or a cold and after not sleeping and having a stuffy nose I didn't know if I was up for an 'adventure'. But the alarm went off at 4am on Friday and I found myself breathing well, so I decided not to miss this one. As we walked to school to catch our taxi I looked at the sky getting light and realized I had yet to see a sunrise here. Actually, I still haven't seen an actual sunrise as it's too cloudy to actually see the sun. But it was neat to see the colors change as day came. :)

We were blessed to have an uneventful trip north, and made it to the lake in about 3 hours. I didn't really know what I was getting myself into for the weekend, but I had a backpack with a change of clothes, some toiletries, and two books, so I figured it would be ok (this is not my normal attitude towards travel - I tend to be a bit of an over-planner. This is why I had to calm myself down and not get mad at Doug for giving a false sense of confidence that we actually had plans to get home… he became open about that when we arrived at the lake).

The lake is beautiful, and as we took a motorized boat across to the island we would be staying on, I couldn't help but smile and just take it all in. I love the wind, the hills, and the spray in my face! My favorite part of the ride over was seeing a bunch of kids running and playing on a hilltop nearby - what a cool place for a school!! I learned later that the resort we stayed at organizes free 'bus rides' for island kids to this school. By bus I mean hollowed out tree trunk canoes!

The resort, Byoona Amagara, opened in 2003. It currently has 3 geodomes, some cottages, and dormitories to rent. The owner/developer was there and I was able to chat with him a few times. I told him how I felt like this was the most luxurious camping experience I've had. He smiled and said "that's exactly what I was going for!" People have told him that he could bulldoze his current buildings and put up some fancy hotel-like condos and get hundreds of dollars a night (we paid about $12.50/night each), but he said he preferred this option because he likes the clients better ;) ha! Being missionary teachers, we sure appreciated this economical option. It was also neat to learn that many of the proceeds of this place go to educational programs in the community. If you're interested about this place, here's their web address: http://lakebunyonyi.net/index2.php?page=1

The food at this place was really good! It started to rain, then hail after we got there and the temperature dropped pretty fast. Seeing as most of us don't even have warm clothes here in Africa with us, we sure appreciated a dinner of hot chili, cheese chapatis (think african quesadilla), and hot chocolate for dessert! They also offered Ugandan tea for free every day - of which I took great advantage. Have I told you that I don't drink coffee much anymore? I know - crazy!

I got a lot of reading done this weekend. I read a Francine Rivers book given to me by my friend Kate just before I left. I had a hard time putting it down! It's a story based on the author's heritage, focusing on her grandmother and mother (specifically, their relationship). Her grandmother was born in Switzerland, and through various events ended up in California, living through WWI, the depression, and WWII. I personally enjoyed it because of my own family heritage, great-great-parents who came to America from Germany in the late 19th century, homesteading a farm in Wisconsin. The book gave me a lot of insight as to what life may have been like for my family during those years. For those of you interested, it's called "Her Mother's Hope".

The journey home ended up being fairly simple. The resort was able to arrange a ride for us back to the border ($5 each). As we went through immigration a man driving an electrician's van asked where we were going - when he heard Kigali, he offered to take us. (Those of you freaked out by this, its ok - this is kind of how transportation works here :) ) We paid about $5 each for a 1.5 hour ride back to the Kigali bus depot, where we got motos home. I have to say I'm pretty proud of myself for making it with my heavy backpack, purse, and holding my sweatshirt and water bottle! But I'm no where near as cool as Doug, who made it home on the moto with his guitar!

One thing I was quite aware of on the way home was how many times I had to say "I live in Kigali". It wasn't many times (as I crossed the border), but enough to cause me to hear myself. Honestly it is still a bit surreal. "I live in Africa." But the reality of it is, I do! Thank you all for your continued encouragement and prayers. As I live out each day of my adventure here, I know it is just a small part of the greater adventure called 'life'. It's going by fast, so I pray each day that I make the most of it!

Hope you are well! Please stay in touch and tell me of your life's adventures!