Today started out in a bit of a daze, I needed more sleep. I got up and unpacked some of my stuff so I could get ready for the trip to the Kigali Memorial Center. That of course took longer than I thought so I scrambled to the hotel restaurant for a quick breakfast. The restaurant is an open-air patio with fruit and homemade bread. I got some Rwandan coffee, a slice of bread and fresh pineapple. It was very delicious, then the waiter guy brought me what I think was an omelet and I tried to eat as much of it as I could because I didn’t want to be rude. It was kind of like a thin fried egg but I don’t like eggs in general so I could only handle a few bits before I was done. Lucky I was supposed to go meet the bus, which gave me an excuse to leave. The rest of the meal was wonderful. For the bread there was this mixed red berry compote to put on it and fresh boiled milk for the coffee. I think breakfasts will be my favorite meal here.
After a short trip on the bus we were let out at the Memorial. It is a secure location and you have to get searched to enter by two guards. They even take the metal detector wand to see if you are coming in with anything. The memorial itself is like a garden with several paths. If you didn’t know it was a memorial you would never know that there were 258,000 people buried beneath the concrete slabs. It is a solemn experience to walk through the memorial.
Inside the building there are three exhibits that talk about the history of the genocide and what lead up to it. Then there is a room where there are simple 4 x 6 photos hanging on metal wires that line the walls. These are pictures of those who lost their life in the genocide. In addition there was a small room where there were display cases of skulls and other human bones. You see the people of Kigali are still today finding the remains of people murdered during the genocide and they are brought to the memorial center.
The last exhibit was upstairs and it was dedicated to the children of the genocide. There were large pictures of children with plaques below with facts about each child. The plaques listed things such as their name, how old they were, their favorite food, and always ended how they were killed. The one that still sticks out to me was one child whose plaque read smashed against a wall. Words used in the different exhibits were very colorful and they didn’t hold back. I don’t know if that is because the events were so recent and people are encouraged to share their stories or what it is.
Yet as I walked through the memorial and read the exhibits I still felt like I was able to distance myself from the events. It is like reading about the holocaust in history class in high school. The events are tragic, horrific, and incredibly sad but if you say that was back then it is almost like a defense mechanism. When it really starts to get to me is when I think of it in the context of the people we have gotten to know and how they couldn’t go through all the exhibits because it was still too difficult and emotional. Then that makes it harder to put that distance between the events.
Lunch was at a hotel restaurant and took about 2hrs. The meals are long here and a time to socialize. It is hard to talk to people though because we are seated a long tables so you can’t really hear anyone except the people to either side of you. Meal times turn into a game of telephone and yes the messages get messed up. Such as when we were trying to say “cheers” in Kenya-Rwandan but by the time it reached our end of the table it sound like youhaveherpes.
When we finally finished lunch the bus made a stop at the hotel to drop off the instructor and I got off too, the rest of the group was going to exchange money. I had a classmate do mine for me since I needed to take some time for myself and get in a nap. I was kind of homesick which was made worse by being extremely tired. I skyped with Em and my mom and that made me feel much better. I felt even better after a long nap.
For dinner we went to some gorilla/jungle themed restaurant that was good. The same buffet with the same food but we tasted this bread made out of maize that you dip in sauce. The bread was bland but mixed with the sauce not bad. The way you eat it is fun, you slice off a piece (it looks like a big scoop of ice cream) then ball it up in your hand like play dough until it is compact enough to dip. We had crepes for desert that were sweet and tasted similar to a not so sugary donut. The meal took about 3 hours and we were all tired by the end of it!
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This day started up in the air on an eight-hour plane ride from Amsterdam to Nairobi but before we could get on the plane we had to go through security at the gate. The line was moving fine until it suddenly stopped and we were asked to back away. The security troops marched in and gathered around the x-ray camera. In the end a woman who didn’t take her laptop out of her bag caused the delay. On the plane I was sitting next to what I think was an English man. He was tall, not very talkative, and seemed nervous. However, he was less nervous after he had two small bottles of gin from the first beverage cart after those two more gin and tonics with dinner. Not bad except that meant he was falling asleep on my shoulder and his legs were in my small amount of space. Thankfully I was in the isle seat. For me the flight was long, restless, and I didn’t get much sleep. The nice thing about the plane trip was that I read half of my book and I met a preacher who was going to Kigali. He had been going to Rwanda since the genocide. The next flight was from Nairobi to Kigali with a stop in Burundi. This flight wasn’t bad because it was pretty empty. I had the 3 seats to myself so I could stretch out and sleep. There was a screaming baby that woke me up few times but I at least got to sleep. We dropped people off in Burundi, which is south of Rwanda and finally were on the last leg of our trip to Kigali. At the airport we got picked up and headed to the hotel about a 10-minute drive away. My first impression of the city was that only the main roads are paved and there was a lot of dust. The houses were made of corrugated metal roofs and brick walls with open-air windows. There are houses up and down all the sides of the hills. People were walking the streets everywhere. However, they were nicely dressed in suits, dresses, and clothes like you would see in the US. The hotel was nice and it is clean by Africa standards. I am very happy here and feel lucky to be staying here. After we took a little nap the group who were there (five of us) went to lunch at a restaurant. It was a buffet with a wide spread of vegetables, rice, sauces, plantains, and potatoes. The food was good but it is for sure trial and error to see what I liked. We finished our lunch and were waiting around when the bus pulled up with the rest of the group members. There were there to eat lunch and we had to wait until they finished before we could leave. When you are severely jet lagged it is very hard to be patient and wait an hour and a half just sitting there. After everyone finished we returned to the hotel where Maurine, out Rwandan guide took us to the market. At the market your senses are overwhelmed from the colors you see the sounds you hear and the smells. The smells at first kind of turn your stomach but after you think about it they are all natural, the fish, the flowers, the raw meat, the BO, the fresh fruits. Each direction you are bombarded with a new smell. As we kept walking Maurine took us to her house where she lives with her sister, her nieces and nephews. They were all very cute and polite. We sat in their living room and talked until it was time to go to dinner. The house was very nice, had electricity, and had a LG flat screen TV. Maurine served us water and Rwandan porridge, which was kind of sweet like oatmeal but much thinner. You actually drank it like coffee. It was nice sitting there but again we were severely jet lagged and in need of sleep. When it was dinnertime we walked up the street to meet the bus and went to another restaurant to eat. At dinner it was another buffet with the same type of food. We did branch out and get to drink Primas (Rwandan beer) and Banana wine. The beer was good and the banana wine was a bit too sweet for me. In addition to being sweet it had an alcohol content of 14% so I only had a small glass. Finally after dinner we went back to the hotel, showered, and slept. It felt wonderful to sleep. I am going to have to get used to brushing my teeth with bottled water though. Buckingham Palace changing of the guard was a bit overrated and we spent most of the time people watching instead of guard watching. There was a police lady on a horse yelling at anyone who stopped walking, I think you had to be there. After about 1.5 hrs of watching the guard march around we decided we have had enough and headed back to the hotel to get our bags and a cab to the train station for the London Express to Heathrow. It was sad saying bye to Em because I felt like we just go there. I had so much fun with her and Ad it was the best way to see London for the first time.
Wednesday we went on the Thames River tour…over rated because we saw just as much and more when we walked the Southbank. Then the Tower of London tour which was interesting and amazing to see the crown jewels. They are incredibly fancy and so expensive it is almost unreal. After that was lunch at a pub where we met Em after she got off work. I have decided that for the most part all the pubs are the same. Doug and the girls went to St. Paul’s for the afternoon while Em, Ad, and I went to go see if we could buy cheap tickets to the Lion King musical. No luck finding tickets to Lion King or Billy Elliot but we had fun exploring Lester Square. It looked way different when there wasn’t the Harry Potter Premier going on. After our tickets search Em had to leave us and go to class. Ad and I were going to do the London Eye and Bus tour but it was rainy and cloudy so we said no to that. Then we went down to the aquarium to go in there for a little bit but the line was super long and we didn’t want to wait. On our way home we stopped at Harrods, the big department store to check it out. It was enormous and the items were a range of everything from 150+ carrot diamonds to cheap socks. Crazy. There are also fresh food markets of every kind of food from cheese to fruit to beef to fish and more. We stopped at the chocolate bar to split a chocolate milkshake but it wasn’t creamy like we are used to…it was almost like drinking chocolate power. I didn’t finish it because it was so intensely chocolate. Once we were finished with Harrods we went back to the hotel to pack our bags because so they would be ready to go. I also wrote a paper and sent off some emails, nothing too exciting. Then we got a call from Doug and Janet to go to The Blue Elephant which is suppose to be this really good Thai food place. We made plans to meet up with them at 730 and Em came too. It was quite the experience. We got tons of food to share and got a taste of everything. It was nice to simply eat and have good conversation. Not to mention it was like we were sitting in a jungle because there were so many plants. It was great. Ad got some duck that was amazing and I also got some duck that wasn’t my favorite. It was roasted duck curry with fruit in it. I tasted the lamb dish Janet got and I liked that along with the mint soup and their pad thai was great. Back home to go to bed and get up in the morning for checkout. This morning started out a little differently than planned since we slept through the alarm but it worked out just fine. Instead of getting up at 8 to get ready and go see the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace we ended up meeting Em at the steps of St. Paul’s Cathedral for lunch. We ate at a small sandwich shop, then she had to go back to work and Ad and I went to tour the cathedral. Like most of the churches they are simply spectacular. You literally walk in and immediately look up because you are mesmerized by the size, decorations, and architecture of the building. It isn’t really anything like I have seen in the states. This is centuries of additions, renovations, and improvements, which all together makes a site to see. In addition to the tour Ad and I walked up to the top Whispering gallery and tiptop rotunda of the church to get a birds eye view of London. It was for sure worth the walk up there. The trip up to the top is an experience, you take small, tight stairs round and round for about 15 minutes until you get to the top. Going down is much faster. Today I feel like we got a lot done. I got up, showered, proofread my nutrition paper, emailed it to my professor and got ready. Ad went and got delicious pastries for breakfast with coffee. He got breakfast for Em too but she ended up not coming over. So we ate hers too. After we ate we headed for the tube to meet the other Rau’s at Westminster Abbey. However, we realized that we got on the wrong district line so had to get off and catch the Circle Line. Once we did that we were all set.
Today we got to sleep in because we needed to recover a little bit. Ad and I slept until 11:15, it was great. We then had to scurry to get ready pack our bags and move to the other hotel. It wasn’t too bad and the taxi we took to the other hotel was a nice change. It has been a while since I was in a car. The driver was really nice and bashed Pres. Bush a few times. It was kind of amusing that he disliked him so much and loved Obama. The new hotel is right across from Em’s flat and so much better. We actually have room to move and the bathroom there is room to stand. We met up with Em and ate lunch in at an authentic Italian place called Dino’s, it was delicious! Then onto the Tate Britain museum via the tube. We got off at St. Paul’s cathedral and realized that the Tate Britain was way far away so instead we crossed over the millennium bridge and went to the Tate Modern. I guess I am not that much of an art aficionado because I don’t understand the significance of a lot of the modern art in that museum. It is neat and looks cool but the meaning behind it all surpasses me. I just haven’t learned that much about it. I did get to see some Picassos, Andy Warhol’s, and a Monet that were beautiful. It was crazy to think I was looking at originals of some of the most famous works of art. Ad didn’t last long in the Tate Modern so we met him outside when we were done. From there we walked down the South Shore boardwalk towards the Tower Bridge. Along the way we stopped to look at the Globe Theater, which is a replica of Shakespeare’s theatre. We then also stopped into a pub to watch the final set between Roddick and Federer. It was sad to see Roddick lose but we were rooting him on the entire time. The pub was actually split half and half in their cheering sections. We continued on our walk along the shore, saw the H&M Bellfast ship which was the largest navy ship in the British army. It was in at the D-Day battle and is now docked on the Thames River in London. It was closed so we didn’t go in but just looking at it was great. After that we walked further and stopped for some coffee and a cookie, the wind was beginning to pick up and it got a bit chilly. After the warm up we got really close to the Tower Bridge and took some pictures. While taking some pictures a boat needed to pass under so the gates were raised. It is spectacular to see the bridge in motion. Once the gates were down be walked across the bridge looking for somewhere to eat dinner. To our dismay there was nothing open on the north shore so we had to wait until another bridge where we walked back to the south shore for a restaurant. It was called Founders Arm and they had amazing chips (French fries) however the rest of their food left something to be desired, such as good flavor. I had what was supposed to be a crispy duck ciabatta with cucumbers and onions. It turned out to look like a flat smashed sandwich will raw onions, 2 cucumber slivers, and a brown duck paste that Emily said looked more like something from the toilet. It was gross and I ate it after I covered it in ketchup. Em had a brie sandwich which was all white bread. The slices were so thick it looked like 1/4th of a loaf of bread. Ad got the standard fish and chips but they kind of left some of the skin on the fish and the bottom part was very wet and mushy. I think the place was more known for their drinks rather than there food. It was an experience though and sitting right on the river was a pretty cool way to watch the sunset over the London Tower, St. Paul’s Cathedral, and the Tower Bridge. After that we caught to tube home for some R and R. More to come tomorrow. We are going to Westminster Abby and some museums. Meg July 4th (sorry for the format, I was very tired) Today was a long day but after Adam and I dropped off the luggage at the hotel we decided to walk around for a bit. Went to Paddington station, got money and free donut, then walked toward Hyde Park to check it out. It was actually really neat but my first impression of London and its people was kind of mixed. They are for sure not open and bubbly to strangers on the street and there was a lot of trash everywhere. On the other hand if you take the time to talk to them in a restaurant or store they are cheery and nice. That could just be a results of their job but I want to believe that they are just cold/standoffish on the streets. The houses and apartment buildings are pretty neat from the outside. They are old, grand and beautiful with columns, pillars, and window flowers made of ivy and purple-pinkish petunias flowing over. Ad and I left Wash MO around 9am on Thursday to head for the airport. We probably should have left a little bit earlier but since we had a connection in Chicago we considered it a domestic flight. That means you should only get there an hour before your flight instead of two for international. Doesn't matter we made it on the plane, to Chicago O'Hare (not many power outlets there) and onto our flight headed to London. That is where we sat for about an extra 45 minutes while cargo and standby passengers where being loaded. |
AuthorMy name is Meg and I am currently a Geriatrics and Palliative Care Fellow at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City. I started this blog several years ago as a way to remember and talk about what I experienced while studying abroad in Rwanda during the summer of 2009. Archives
January 2016
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