Just before it was too late I had the long wished for
opportunity to visit my daughter in Rwanda. We had been communicating regularly
by telephone and email and had even seen her briefly twice in the past two
years, and we had, of course, read this blog and seen many photos, so we
thought we had a pretty good understanding of her experience. Of course, I was
wrong. Totally wrong. In this case, the cliché about “having to experience it”
is most apt. My week in Rwanda was wonderful, incredibly informative, and
certainly unforgettable. I left feeling tremendously proud of my daughter (don’t
mean to embarrass you, Alma, but that’s the deal…) and also proud of the Peace Corps,
not so much for the help they provide, though I see there is plenty of that,
but for the extraordinary dual service they perform on behalf of our country:
first, I think it would be a huge mistake to underestimate the diplomatic value
of Peace Corps volunteers. They do represent our country wonderfully and the
relationships they create “out in the field” do pay dividends. Secondly, Peace Corps
volunteers create a magnificent pool of extremely talented, world-wise, multilingual,
problem-solving individuals that greatly enrich our present and future
leadership class. I had a vague idea that this was the case, but now I’ve seen
it for real. Cheers to you and to all PCVs. That’s the feel good part.
Lodging in Ruanda: I
stayed in three perfectly comfortable hotels, Chez Landa in Kigali at the end
of the week, a lodge at the entrance to Nyungwe Forest National Park, and Hotel
Paradis in Gisenyi, on beautiful Lake Kivu. My first night in Ruanda we stayed
at a hotel that reminded me of my poorest student days. Dim light, depressing
furnishings, cracked walls... but, it was fine. The other hotels were quite
comfortable. Hotel Paradis lived up to it's name, no for the accommodations,
which were fine, but for the spectacular surroundings. A tropical paradise.
That was the tourist experience. The two nights at my daughter's site in
Munini... that was the real deal. No electricity, no running water, and a
latrine the likes of which I had not experienced in several decades. No, that's
inaccurate. That was a completely new experience.
Hija mía, two years like this?! That is serious. That
has to change you. Big time. Of course, it's not just, nor even principally,
the loss of typical, rich country comforts that will change one, though I'm
sure that it has a huge impact. It's all that in combination with being in a
thoroughly different culture. You're white where no one else is. People stare.
Really stare. Want to feel like a freak? I've got a place for you to visit. I
don't want to insist too much on what's fairly obvious, but it's worth
remembering: language, beliefs, climate, history... it's all so different. You
absorb it little by little, adapt, evolve, integrate. One day you realize
you're not the same person you were six months ago, a year ago. Your horizon is
wider, your field of vision deeper. When I was 20 years old I experienced this
during a nine month stay in Madrid, Spain. It had a huge impact on me. Alma,
what you've experienced over the past two years makes my experience seem like a
stroll over to the next village.
Ruandans: I liked the
Ruandans I met. They were friendly and seemed genuinely glad that I was there.
I need to make a special mention of Augustin Mudahunga, our driver for two
days. When my daughter mentioned she was going to hire a driver, I was
skeptical. A driver? Really, that sounds like something for the super rich. I'd
just rent a car. Nooo, good call, Alma. To call the route that runs north/south
along the eastern shore of Lake Kivu a "road" is somewhat of an
overstatement. Yowzer! Again, you have to experience it. Augustin was
fantastic. He's a very skilled driver; more importantly, a wonderful guide and
a very kind, pleasant man. If you go to Rwanda, make sure Augustin Mudahunga is
your driver! The people in Alma's village were also kind and interesting. It
was wonderful and extremely satisfying to have my daughter, fully integrated
into the community, be my interpreter and guide! But what life is really like
for adult Ruandans... I couldn't really understand, of course. Who can? In the
back of my mind always was the genocide. How does a society move forward from
something like that? Could it ever happen again? I don't have any answers, but
I can say I'm glad I left reading about the genocide for AFTER the trip. Romeo
Dallaire's Shake Hands with the Devil: The Failure of Humanity in
Rwanda is an extraordinary book. Infuriating and heartbreaking.
Rwanda is a beautiful
country. Land of a thousand hills. Indeed! The Nyungwe Forest is a real gem and
it was a treat to be able to take a nice hike in it. Green valleys everywhere!
People everywhere! The "buses"! I thinking some of my bones are still
vibrating. I saw an awful lot in one week, met many people, was given much to
think about. I'm still digesting it. Thank you, Alma, for your service!
And thank you for teaching your old man so much!
