This is Rwanda- tears, hills, smiles and a trip to the hospital.

So travelling is now in full swing. I am currently in an internet cafe in Kigali and have been in Rwanda about 3 days. The first day after landing in Kigali  involved a trip to the hospital. The night before I was in Nairobi and started feeling ill and ended up projectile vomiting for 14 hours straight and have never been in that much pain in my entire life. Luckily the morning of my flight i stopped chundering and was able to make it to the flight and made itto the hospital the day after where i got a couple of IV's some tests and antibiotics and was discharged later that evening which was nice as i didnt have to spend the night there. Upon landing in Rwanda myself my travel mates Ed and Simran were in complete aw of the country its green rolling hills the fact the roads are paved, people obey the traffic signs, follow the speed limit and how unbeliviably clean the country is. After the 1994 genocide the country was filthy with the streets being lined with rotting corpses and blood so the President, Paul Kagame introduced mandatory community service called umuganda where everyone, himself on the last saturday of every month goes out into the streets and cleans and If you don't you get a $100 fine. When I first came to Rwanda it was only going to be for 3 days to see the genocide memorials then go to Uganda but Rwanda is so so so much more than a genocide. The genocide is a big part of the countries history and everyone in the country was affected by it, the Tutsi, the Hutu and the Twa and people say around hee "our history is unique, we must learn from it remember it for the generation that was lost and build on it" which is exactly what the county has done by developing education, infrastructure, medical facilities and social programs.

To learn more about the genocide we went to the memorial the day after i was discharged from hospital and it was honestly the most emotional day I have ever experienced in my life. You walk through the museum and it takes you through the historuy of rwanda, before, during and after the genocide before you get to some exhibitions. It was a sunday when we went and there were not alot of white people there, mainly Rwandans. Thee was a big group all in traditional Rwandan dress with white ribbons pinned on their clothing in memory of someone they lost in the genocide. The genocide was only 18 years ago to almost everyone in the country has lived though it. The most emotional parts where my eyes turned to waterfalls where when I saw a women pin a photograph of her son that was killed in the gencodie to the wall of vicitms, and the childrens room.

The childrens room is dedicated to the lost generation and future leaders of Rwanda, it profiles children who were killed in the genocide. When you see a picture of 6 month old baby and see cause of death "hacked to death by a machete in its mothers arms', you cant help but not burst into tears especially when theres a room of Rwanda women who lost children in the genocide all around you doing the same thing and you start to think in the words of my housemate Ed "If there is a God he left this place a long time ago". After the museum and walking through the mass graves we went into town for lunch and met a really nice guy who showed us all around Kigali and is helping us figure out what we want to do with the rest of out time here  who was incredibly friendly smiley and helpful.

Needless to say Rwanda is so much more than an genocide and is a country that we can all learn from it has been to hell and back triumphed and out shone many of its neighbours and is a country that peopll should admire to from the cleanliness, to the safeness, to the amount of care they put into preserving the countrys natural beauty, to the friendliness of its people and how they have put their past behind them even after living thought absolute hell since since 1959 ( when the first Tutsi massacares started and continued to escalate till the Genocide). Rwanda You Amaze Me.

1 month in Africa

So today is the 1 month anniversary of coming here and I cant belive how fast time is flying. It seems like yesterday that we got in from Nairobi and had our fist Swahili lesson.... granted I didnt pay too much attention because i was nackered but that is beside the point. Life had been pretty easy to adjust to here seeing goats an chickens on the way to work now days is completely normal. My record for people on the Dallla Dalla is 27 people 9 chickens and 2 babies. It was quite cosy to say the least. My Swahili is slowly improving working at the plasterhouse you pick it up very quickly, I can understand people decently well now its just talking back is difficult so I make an effort to look at my Swahili book most nights. Our water is still tempermental so going to the pub to use the toilet is still a regular activity.School has been chaotic and my lessons get cancelled regularly due to school being re-decorated so things are kept interesting. I have been lucky I have not faced too many challenges the only real ones were when a teacher asked me why the Europeans made Africa poor and when someones me to explain 9/11 when they had never seen a skyscraper.

Tanzania is a very interesting country it is the most stable and peaceful in Africa and they are extremely proud people. I had a discussion with one of my teachers at my school about the real success stories of Africa  in terms of stability no necessecarily ecomonic growth. Tanzania, Ghana and Senegal after independance adapted socalist policies. In Tanzania under Julius Nyrerera, he implemented polices where " you where and Tanzanian first and your tribe second". As a result the country has no tribal conflicts unlike some of Tanzanias bordering countries like Kenya and Burundi. Ghana and Senegal are the same sort of deal.

South Africa seems to have a huge influence over Tanzania every morning at school they sing the national anthem and it sounds the exact same and Nkosi Sikilele Africa, the South African national anthem and is even sang to the same tune. The only supermarket is Arusha is a South African one. People here idealise South Africa economic growth but at the same time they know its very messed up and has alot of problems. One thing I learnt from one of the teachers is that Tanzania is very wealthy in natural resources, they have Tanzanite, Oil, Copper, Diamonds so the country has a lot of potential to be an African economic power house. The country is already a big military power and gives a lot of funding to the East African Union.

I really like my life here a lot and I find it very satisfying I get up early go to teach go to the Plasterhouse and have a bit of a routine here where I circulated between children who are stuck in beds, playing with the little ones and giving them a fair amount of cuddle time a day. Then coming home walking past cows, goats and trying to avoid stepping on a chicken, having conversations with the locals trying local food. My new favorite snack is Cassava and Chilli Sauce. Then coming home and going to sleep or sometimes going for a beer at a local pub.

This weekend we are going hiking around the waterfalls near bye so that will be fun. Euro 2012 has started and so its everywhere the country is also football crazy so things remain as lively as ever.

Anna