On Saturday May 27 we went to Akagera National Park. I went there in 2019 and it was amazing then. And it was amazing this time too. This time we saw more variety of animals, I think, though last time, we saw a larger quantity of the animals we saw. But it never fails to disappoint. The nature here is amazing, and that we were able to see so many different animals was so cool! One thing I learned that I didn’t know before was something our guide told us about the elephants in particular. When the genocide was happening, they literally air lifted the baby elephants from all the different parts of Rwanda to Akagera. But the saddest part is that they killed all of the adult elephants. So the babies were left with no parents to care for or protect them. So they became aggressive as a form of protecting themselves. And to this day, the Rwandan elephants are all more aggressive than other elephants that are outside Rwanda because it has been passed down from generation to generation. I had never heard that before. It's so sad to know what an impact the genocide had on wildlife – I’d never thought about it before. Anyway, it was a great but long day at the safari park.
On Sunday, we had a free day. Part of what we did was that we had a debrief session with the students about their service learning experiences, as well as logistical feedback on the trip. It was a good conversation and they provided some useful thoughts. And it was cool to hear what they learned from their week-long service learning. But in the evening, we had a lovely dinner at a fancy restaurant on top of a mountain. This was a final “wrap up” dinner and we just had a nice time of hanging out together and relaxing. Merveille and Shema got each of us a gift! It was so nice! They personalized them for each person – I couldn’t believe it. Very heartwarming indeed. We also got them some gifts that were from NWU and I think they were touched by the gesture. They really have been fantastic hosts at getting us where we need to go and organizing and preparing everything that needed to happen.
Monday morning, I left early. My flight was at 9:50am going to Rwanda. Merveille thought I should get to the airport by 6:30am so I left at 6. It was a bit early to get there, but better safe than sorry. The students and Lisa didn’t leave till later that evening, so they were going on a hike to hike up Mount Kigali in the morning. Then they would have the afternoon to finish packing and get ready to go.
And so that concludes our 3-week study abroad trip to Rwanda. I am so grateful to my “comrade” Lisa for making this trip happen and doing it with me. Though we work in very different ways, I think that ultimately it helped things go really well. We complemented each other quite well, I think. I definitely could not have done it without her, and I think she feels the same. We took on different parts of the planning at different times throughout these two years, and even during the trip itself. It has been a constant give and take, being flexible, having patience, and embracing the concept of “en’shalla”: if the lord wills it, it will be. We have definitely had a few bumpy moments and things were not perfect. But wow, I am very proud of us for getting this trip off the ground and making it happen. I am so grateful to Lisa. I’m also grateful to the students who went for being wonderful travelers, flexible, and continuously having an open mind and trying to go with the flow. They have shown so much growth over the time we have been with them, and I can see that they all had deep and rich learning experiences, even though the experiences were likely not exactly what they expected. But I greatly appreciate that they rolled with that and embraced the changes as they came. I’m also so grateful to Roseanne and the EDUAfrica organization for the overall planning and execution of this trip. We certainly would not have been able to do it without them. And without our fearless on-the-ground leader Merveille who worked TIRELESSLY to help make every day smooth. And for our driver Shema who was always on time, and did a fantastic job driving us everywhere, even in some challenging circumstances! My heart is full at the end of this trip. And I do believe I will be organizing another trip to Rwanda in a few years!
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