Welcome to Rwanda! After thirty-seven hours of travel, our new colleague Dido and Noel who drives our bus greeted us excitedly, only to receive sleepy smiles and incoherent introductions. Upon arriving at our new home, the tennis club in Kigali, everyone hopped in the shower and got ready for dinner. Except Seth. Seth did not shower.

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The next day, we met the rest of our Rwandan colleagues: Innocent, Claudette, and Chantal. Before long, Chimene was confirming her knowledge of Kinyarwanda with Claudette and most of us had learned to ask “Amakuru”. Each day brought new experiences: 

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On Monday, we visited the genocide memorial – more on that in an upcoming post – and took a trip to the famed Hotel Rwanda, where we drank juices and tea and reflected on Rwanda’s history. 

On Tuesday we started class, and throughout the week, we took turns teaching the class for a few hours every morning and afternoon. 

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Wednesday was our grand swimming day, where just about everyone got in the pool and Hilary revealed her speedy breaststroke in a series of intense swim races. 

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On Thursday, we took an outing to the market, an exciting venture for everyone! Hours were spent exploring, eyeing, and buying, and many of us discovered the art of haggling for beautiful fabrics and tailored dresses. Shortly after, Adriana whooped Dido at basketball at a nearby sports complex. Hilary again demonstrated her athletic prowess, Maddie interpreted “full-court” as “marathon training,” Seth turned out to be surprisingly dangerous from the three-point line, and Ilia locked up on defense without fouling anyone at all, ever, obviously. 

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Friday was our last day in Kigali (for now). Many trips were also made to the mall (featuring the bank and coffee shop) that week, and at every opportunity, Nirali pointed out and named beautiful flowers. Almost every night featured an intense soccer match viewing session, and the Round of 16 of the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia caused everyone and their grandmother to have about twelve heart attacks per match. Next up: Ruhengeri!

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