Team Gorilla

We have now left Rwanda and have started our adventure in Uganda.  Before we left though we were able to visit the Kigali Memorial Center where we learned about the genocide that occurred in Rwanda.  The tour began by going through multiple gardens which very artistically helped convey the different emotions, actions and people affected by the genocide.  Once we finished our time pondering through the gardens we entered the museum.  The museum is split into three parts;  the first part is about colonization of Rwanda, second about the actual genocide and third, genocides that have occurred in other countries along with how the genocide affected children. By the end of our time at the memorial we felt an array of emotions as we reflected upon what we had just learned.

Later that night we were in higher spirits as we got dressed up (well, as much as we could) and had a delectable meal at Hotel de Mille Collines. That hotel is where the story for the movie Hotel Rwanda is based off of. Having dinner there was a great way to spend our last night in the city while celebrating our month-aversary.

The next day we headed out for Uganda. We are now in the middle of our time volunteering with Edirisa. The group has split into two groups. We spent our first week fixing a path and making a compost bin for the community at The Teach Inn. There we enjoyed making friends with the locals, giving ourselves facials with the clay from the clay pits, having intense twister games, going on excursions to the market to buy our food for the week (yes, we cooked ourselves) and enjoyed delicious rolexes. For those who have not been introduced to this type of Rolex it contains a chapati (something in between a crepe and a pancake) an omelet, and another chapati rolled together.  They are a great on the go type of food. Now we are having a day off and tomorrow we will be heading off to Edirisa's other location Lake Bunyoni which we here is gorgeous!

Sincerely,

Team Gorilla (Sarah, Emily, Lil, and Adam H.)