Last post!

That’s right it’s finally all coming to an end! I can’t quite believe it myself. The last few days have been a whirlwind of last minute gift and souvenir purchasing and goodbyes. I’m not going to say it feels like I arrived yesterday or that the three months have gone so fast…it definitely feels like I lived in Musanze for long enough to have established some lifelong connections and made a home away from home (as cheesy as that sounds!). It was sad to leave it all behind, especially saying goodbye to everyone at the deaf school and Jacqueline who I’ve spent so much time with. The teachers and CHH trainers all took me out for a goodbye drink in town, which was really nice. At home in the evening I gave my gifts to Elie and Bernadette, and their adorable daughter Patience who is home for the holidays (a stuffed elephant made of African fabricJ) and they invited the Canadians over for dinner. Bernadette and Jacqueline also gave me gifts to give to my mother, which I guess is the thing to do here when someone leaves…so lucky mum!

With Jackie at the Deaf School

This morning I met with the other volunteers at the hotel where I usually work.  The bar staff (who I have also become good friends with!) were very sad to see me go and I can honestly say I will miss my corner spot at that hotel and their delicious fish brochettes and avocado. Although leaving was sad, I do feel like my time in Musanze is up, I made what I could of my placement, met some amazing people and had some fantastic experiences and am now ready to go home! There is a new volunteer at Elie and Bernadette’s house who will be running a summer camp for the kids and my spot at the hotel has already been occupied by another group of volunteers on their computers using the free wireless!

Messy fish in Kigali!

I am now sitting in the lounge at Kigali airport which is surprisingly nice! (Unlike the Nairobi one where I have to spend my  5 and a half hour layover…) I am sorry I did not write much in the last few weeks. It was all a bit of a blur trying to get in as much as possible before leaving! I met some volunteers from another organization on a bus in Musanze and spent some time with them in Kigali, which was great since they were renting a house there and let me sleep on the couch for free! They showed me Kimironko, a huge market where you can buy beautiful African fabrics and have them made into “Western-style” clothing! I had some pajama pants made from a funky blue fabric. In the evening we all piled into a jeep and went to a restaurant known for its African fish (huge Tilapia fried in delicious spices, which you share with the table and eat with you hands!) The following day there was big music concert going on, “Kigali Up”, so we went to check that out in the evening. The music was much better than the disappointing hip-hop concert in Musanze, but unfortunately, I think because you had to pay to get in, the crowd was almost completely mzungu and consisted of mainly tourists, and the majority of Kigali’s expat community! It was said that the organizers decided it could not be open to everyone…However the atmosphere was laid back, everyone was having a good time, there was good food and the music was great (a crazy mixture of international and African bands performing everything from blues-reggae to hip-hop). Of course it wasn’t perfect and between each act we had to wait about an hour while an old white Canadian guy did a “sound check”! It is interesting actually how “Westernized” the city has become. I am really glad my placement wasn’t there and that I got to experience something that felt a lot more like authentic Rwanda. In Musanze you can see and feel all around you  a sense of the original cultures and traditions, whereas in Kigali it feels like it’s all about “developing” as fast as possible, which sometimes unfortunately seems to be defined as becoming like the West.

"Kigali Up"

That Sunday I met with my good friend Mark from college in Kigali. He is actually one of the people who inspired me to come to Africa in the first place, as my TA in my model UN course. He has done a lot of volunteer work in Kenya and Tanzania during college and was travelling round this summer visiting friends, so he decided to come see me in Rwanda since he had never been. It was really nice to see him (though totally strange to be meeting up with someone from college in Africa!) and we just talked for hours. I took him back to Musanze and showed him around all the FCYF projects. He also stayed with me at Elie’s. All the staff/teachers/kids loved him! Especially the deaf children and Noella at the Deaf School…He has worked with deaf children before in Tanzania and could speak sign language with them. I think he had a really nice time and told me how much this reminded him of one of his early experiences. It was nice to talk to someone who had been through so many of the same things…Unfortunately he could only stay for 2 days but left saying he wanted to return and I know the everyone at the organization would be happy to have him!

With Mark at the bus station in Musanze

The following weekend Selina, Matt and I had planned to visit Akagera, the only safari park in Rwanda. We had booked a car, which came to pick us up at 4am(!) since it is on the other side of the country and they recommend  you get there for a morning drive at 8. The driver was already itching to go when we strolled into the hotel car park around 4.05! We napped in the car as the driver raced through the winding roads across the country at a ridiculous speed. I am not sure why he was in such a hurry…we certainly weren’t, and it was kind of annoying since we kept being woken up by the sudden jolts of speed bumps he didn’t notice! I was too tired to complain. I was not expecting much from the park to be honest, since everyone I had spoken to had told me it was disappointing compared to the amazing safaris you can do in Kenya and South Africa, but it was actually a really good experience in the end. We were not able to get a guide, since there is a shortage for some reason, but it was fine as our drive (still speeding!) was able to catch up with the vehicle in front of us who did have a guide, so we followed them.  The landscape was very different to the rest of Rwanda, so flat and dry! It was the first time that it actually felt like “Africa”!

Akagera

At first the drive was pretty tedious and boring as we sped along the bumpy roads, saw nothing for about 3 hours except these horrible flies that kept attacking us! Apparently all the animals were at the other side of the park at the lake, since it was the rainy season. At this point I was quite bored and thinking ‘I’ll believe it when I see it’! I felt quite bad for Selina, who was really excited about seeing elephants but I was doubtful that she actually would.  But finally we did see animals… and they all seemed to appear at once! There were baboons, a huge elephant bathing very close to us, then a dead hippo! We didn’t know it was dead until we began to approach and saw it wasn’t moving and half its head had started to rot. It was pretty to macabre! And smelt awful! Then there was a beautiful herd of giraffes and zebras and we got out of the car and took tons of pictures with them in the background. So the park visit turned out to be a great success in the end…and it was great hanging out with Selina and Matt one last time.

Sorry to cram so much into the last post…So much just seemed to happen so fast! So here I am at the airport…finally going home. I am actually in the Nairobi lounge now actually. I managed to fashion a reasonably comfortable bed out of two chairs and got about 4 hours of sleep! So not as bad as I thought it would be.

Anyway, I guess I should conclude…it has been an incredible experience that I will remember forever. It was nothing like I had ever imagined, but then again I try not go into things with too many expectations or preconceptions. The only one I really had was that Rwanda was “hub of development” in African and it is, there are so many great initiatives going on…but it is so much more than that! It still has such a strong sense of culture and tradition. The people are so warm and friendly and accept you almost immediately as part of their family. What was also striking was their sense of identity as Rwandans. For example when I met people, they would welcome me to “their” country. I was asked numerous times “How do you see Rwanda?” and went on to describe all the great things about the country and why it was different to other countries. This was really nice to see, especially since I could never imagine, welcoming anyone to England or America or Finland…and describing it as “my country”, but maybe that’s just me J I definitely want to return to Rwanda in the next few years and will continue to do whatever I can to help out with FCYF. It is such a great organization and I feel lucky to have had the opportunity to see and be a part of it for 3 months. I will of course always remember and miss dearly the amazing people who work for the organization. Outside of this I have made so many friends during my time in Rwanda who I am sure I will keep in touch, and maybe even meet up with in Europe and America…

With Elie, Bernadette and Patience

Thank you so much for taking the time to read my blog. I hope you have enjoyed it. If you have any questions, feel free to email me: marikaison@yahoo.co.uk

Mzungus in the Mist...

Sorry it’s been so long…I would say I have the excuse of being extremely busy with work and I was writing and editing the FCYF newsletter all last week and then I had tonnes of exams to type up for the deaf school…But that was all last week, so I guess I’ve just gotten lazy with the blogging! Lots to tell though…

Finally went to see the gorillas…the famous endangered mountain gorilla is the main tourist attraction of Rwanda and there are only about 800 left. To be honest I was not sure what all the hype was about. I have never been particularly interested in gorillas, and didn’t want to pay $500 just to hike up a hill and hang out with them for an hour. However everyone told me I was insane to be going to Rwanda and not see them…once in a life time experience etc. (and mum offered to pay!) so I thought why not. It somehow seemed like we were getting a good deal as well, since the price of permits just went up to $750! We were told when booking that the Susa group were “the group to see”, since they are the biggest (35 gorillas!), have the most babies (including a rare set of twins) and there are 3 Silverbacks (the big daddy in charge), including a “visitor” from a Congolese group! HOWEVER we were also warned that tracking this group involved the most arduous hike! I was not too keen on this as my fitness level is not great. But Selina and Matt were extremely keen, so I was not going to be the spoilsport…so we specially requested this group from our tour guide.

We (Selina, Matt, me and Matt’s host brother, Vincent, who he was treating as a birthday present-its much cheaper for Rwandans!) were picked up bright and early at 6am at a local hotel and driven to the National Park base where they had a big touristy welcoming ceremony with tea, coffee and a performance of the Intore traditional singing and dancing. They only sell 80 permits per day and I think there are 10 groups that you can track, so people are divided into groups of 8 and assigned (supposedly at random) to one of the groups. I guess most people don’t make special requests as we got assigned the Susa group as we had hoped. We were with a really nice group of young couples, none of them tourists, all living and working in Africa for a longer period of time. After an introduction from our guide, who thought he was really funny making jokes about how he was not strong enough for the intense hike to see the Susa group…and suggesting we just go see the golden monkeys instead! The Susa group is also the furthest away from the National Park base so we had to drive for over an hour in the jeep, before we actually got to the starting point. Half of this was on an very bumpy dirt track through a village, with street children running alongside the vehicle demanding “amafaranga” (money) and “agachulpa” (bottles). This made me wonder if some tourists actually throw money/bottles at them from the car windows!

We finally got there, with headaches and feeling rather queasy, were given our walking sticks, which we joked about at the time, as being completely useless…but soon found out they were actually very necessary! I was a bit confused as I couldn’t see any forest anywhere and we were just surrounded by mountainous farmland. There were children running around, locals farming the land, and lots of cows and goats. This didn’t really look like the kind of place you would expect find a gorilla! And it wasn’t! So we started walking (at quite a fast pace) up the hill through the crops and farmland. I was already starting to lose my breath after about 20 minutes…but I told myself it wouldn’t be much further. I could immediately see the usefulness of the stick though, and I was using it to take some of the weight off my legs with every step! After about half an hour I was exhausted and we didn’t seem to be advancing anywhere as we were still surrounded by crops with no jungle in sight. I started to question my decision to come on the trek and wondered if I was going to make it. I asked the guide, how much further and he replied with his version of humor again, “oh maybe 2 hours, maybe 6” (!) I was not amused. With no end in sight, I started thinking I can’t believe I’m paying $500 for this! I wasn’t the only one who was suffering…there was an Italian girl and an American, who were both just as exhausted but still seemed in high spirits…so I tried to keep a smile on my face even though inside I was swearing, and cursing myself for going along with Selina and Matt’s idea of a “fun hike” to see the “best group”. They of course were way up ahead and Matt’s host brother Vincent, the only Rwandan of the group, was wearing a winter coat and had not even broke a sweat! After about an hour and half I felt like I was going to collapse at any moment, and was just staring at my feet, willing them to keep going. There was an absolutely beautiful view from where we were halfway up a volcano, but unfortunately I was in absolutely no mood to appreciate it!

So finally after about 2 hours we stop and I finally see some trees and heavy vegetation a few meters away. Our hilarious guide, had a huge cheesy grin on his face as he says, “Welcome to the national park, this is where we begin” We hadn’t even begun yet!? I could only really laugh hopelessly at this at this stage…He said something into his radio, got a response in Kinyarwanda and then we were ready to enter. He told us this part would be much easier, since the land was pretty flat. I don’t know what he considers easy, but for me it just brought a whole new set of challenges! They had clearly made efforts (or not) to avoid destroying the gorillas’ natural habitat as there was no sign of path, the tracker at the front hacked away some branches of the vegetation so that we could get through the thickest parts but for me it felt like I was being swallowed up! Most of the plants were taller than me and with every step, I thought I might fall in and not be able to dig myself out! There was also the joy of abundant particularly powerful stinging nettles that manage to sting you through your clothes! I had stopped feeling sorry for myself at this stage and was finding the whole thing vaguely amusing. After about half an hour (I don’t think we had gotten very far!) we came to a small opening and the guide tells us we must leave our stuff there, and can only take our cameras. He says it will be about 2 more hours. This, I know is a lie as I had read that they only make you leave your stuff when you are close to the gorillas and he is talking constantly on the radio now.

So we continued through the forest for maybe five minutes, I had made sure I was near the front of the group this time as I didn’t want to get left behind! Selina and the guide are the only ones ahead of me. We turn a corner and all of a sudden there is a HUGE gorilla about 2 meters away from us! It was kind of shocking/scary and really exciting all at the same time. I was also pretty relieved. The whole group stopped and as we looked around and came to our senses, there seemed to be gorillas everywhere! The guide pointed out a mother feeding a baby, young ones playing, and two of the Silverbacks. They could clearly see were there, but didn’t seem to care. As if to prove the point, after about 5 minutes of us standing and staring in awe, one of the Silverbacks jumped on a female and started mating! A few minutes of very loud screaming and action ensued, which we all caught on camera of course! It was crazy. The other gorillas just went about their business eating, playing and sleeping. It was amazing being so close to them in their natural environment. A few minutes after the mating another Silverback decided to start a fight! (He wasn’t happy that the “lower” male had mated with one of “his” females, according to the guide) This meant more screeching and action! I couldn’t believe we had such a clear view of the whole thing! We watched them for about an hour, following them if they would move around a corner or into another area, the guide instructed us the whole time, telling us the best paths to take to get the best view. I was never particularly scared but there was one point when one of the Silverbacks eyed us suspiciously and looked angry, then started to approach us. The guide just told us to move slowly out of the way…apparently we were just in his path! I wondered how they see us! We must look completely ridiculous and pointless to them, white, skinny, hairless versions of them, holding black objects, making strange noises and moving around to accommodate them! During the time we were there we also saw some of them climbing trees to get to the best bamboo. And a pair of twins (very rare apparently) riding on their mother’s back!

up close and personal!

baby

mummy and baby

The whole experience was amazing and don’t think I can really do it justice, trying to put it into words. All I can say is that I quickly forgot about the hellish hike! The hour felt like a lot less and I think we could have stood there all day. We were sad to go, but were all on a high all the way back down the hill! I felt rather proud of myself as well and bought myself a stupid “Mzungu in the Mist” t-shirt as a reward…a joke based on the Diane Fossey movie. Its definitely was not easy, but I can say now (in hindsight!) that I’m definitely glad I did it and I don’t know if the other groups would have been as amazing an experience but I can proudly say I saw the “biggest and the best gorilla group in Rwanda” : ) 

The easy part...
(I was not in the mood to take pictures on the way up!)