My Adventure Part VI: Entering Rwanda

It was an 8 hour drive to the Rwanda border and so Joseph picked us up at 6:30 AM so that we could be on time to meet my dad. Jenna and I kept busy by finishing taking out her hair twists and napping. We also got to stop at the equator for some photo ops. Jenna hadn't been to the equator yet so it was mostly for her.

Me, Joseph, and Jenna standing on the equator


A real live camel hanging out near the equator. I was the only one who was brave enough to touch him.
Until Dr. Sorensen started telling stories about being bit by a camel...

We were supposed to stop at a park to see some zebras but because of the heavy road construction we were delayed too much and didn't have time to stop. I was really bummed that I wouldn't get to see some zebras but during one of my naps on the drive, Joseph woke me up to show me some zebras! They were all just hanging out by the side of the road! Joseph told us that if we had gone to the park we wouldn't have seen any zebras because they were all right there!

Some of the many zebras. There were quite a few! See the baby?
I think Heavenly Father sent them there just for me and Jenna.


We saw a couple of women and one sweet little boy taking their laundry to the river to be washed right where the zebras were. You can't see it in this picture but the one woman is carrying her baby on her back. All the women in Uganda and Rwanda and I'm pretty sure all of Africa carry their babies this way and I really wanted to learn how to do it. Joseph stopped them and had her teach me how! She wouldn't let me take a picture of her though. I took this before I knew that...

On the drive I decided to eat a snack as I was very hungry from skipping breakfast. I brought some snacks from home in case there was a time where I wouldn't have food available. The ironic thing was that I never got sick from the African food I ate, however I got really sick from eating my tuna and crackers that I brought from home. It put a damper on the next few days. I'll spare the details on my symptoms.

When we finally made it to the border I was sick and I was very nervous. I knew ahead of time that I would have a bit of trouble at the border. Rwanda doesn't like Canadians very much. I was tempted to tell Joseph to wait as I might be coming back. I didn't ask though. Joseph helped us unload our stuff and sent us on our way.

The border crossing was crazy! There were so many people! And it was mostly money changers and people trying to sell things to the people who were actually trying to get across the border. First we had to wait in line to get checked out of Uganda and then we had to walk across no man's land (approx 1 km) with all our luggage. Thankfully some guys on bikes (who we paid) carried some of our stuff on their bikes. We would have had to make a couple of trips otherwise. I was so happy to see my dad on the other side waiting for us. I waved to him but he didn't recognize me until I got up close! Ha! It was because of the braids.

We then had to get in line to actually get into Rwanda. When I got to customs I handed them my passport along with a visa application I had filled out on the way there. I knew that the application was no good because you are supposed to fill out the application and send your actual passport, not a copy, 6 months in advance to get a visa. Of course had I been an American I could have shown them my passport, got it stamped, and been on my merry way! No visa needed! Not for this little Canadian. As soon as they saw my passport they asked where my transit number was. Uhh... transit number? The man handed me my passport back and told me it was no good. Thankfully my dad was there. I'm pretty sure he has magical powers of persuasion. My dad handed them back the passport and the rest of the ordeal went something like this:

Dad: No, This is good.
Man: No, it's not. She needs a transit number.
Dad: Listen, this is my daughter. I have raised over (insert amount here - I don't know if my dad wants people to know the amount) in American dollars to help your country. If you want that money you will let her in.

There was silence and then the man walked away with my passport and started talking to another man. I was sweating bullets by this point. I really wished I had asked Joseph to wait for me... After some exchange and whatnot, the man came back.

Man: This is your daughter?
Dad: Yes.
Man: Ok. She can have a temporary visa.

I was in! And what was even better was that a temporary visa was half the price of a regular visa! Go Dad! My dad had to get 2 other Canadians in over the next couple of days and he was worried that he wouldn't be able to. Believe it or not, he was able to!

Rwanda is SO beautiful. It is called the land of a thousand hills and I could see why. There were hills everywhere! Much more than a thousand. I guess back when it was named that, the term a thousand was like how we throw around the term millions when there is a lot of something. The hills were so green and the country was so clean. Especially compared to Uganda.

After we got settled in our hotel room at the Hotel Okapi (much nicer than the guest house) I was able to take some Advil and have a good rest as I was feeling so sick by this point! Thankfully my rest did wonders and I was able to join the group for dinner at the famous Hotel Des Milles Carollinas (AKA Hotel Rwanda). The hotel is famous because of the part it played during the 1994 Genocide. Over 1000 people took refuge at the hotel. It was surreal to be there in person. The food was pretty good too! I think I would have enjoyed it a lot more had I been feeling well.

We decided to walk back to our hotel as it wasn't too far of a walk. We also stopped at a "supermarket" to grab a few things on our way. As we were walking back a little boy started to follow us. Over and over again he would say, "I'm hungry." I felt so bad for him. My dad would ask him where his parents were and told him that he needed to go home. My dad told me that often times parents will teach their children that phrase and send them out to beg. It's often the only English phrase they know. As I mentioned before, my dad doesn't like to give in to the begging at night as it can be so dangerous for the children. He doesn't want to send the message to the parents that it's working. The boy followed us for a long time. At one point there was a group of men and they saw that the boy was following us and they tried to scare him off. Once we were a little ways from those men the boy was right back with us. Dr. Sorensen stopped and gave the boy a container of Pringles. My dad said he would most likely just toss them and come back as they are usually just looking for money. The boy actually stopped and opened the Pringles and we didn't hear from him again. Maybe he really was hungry?

Once we were back at our hotel I hit the hay. I was feeling really sick again and I was hoping I could sleep it off and be ready for another day in Rwanda.