Sunflowers

I made it back to Rwanda just in time to catch the last of the sunflowers that grew out of the seeds I planted a few months ago. I'm so excited that they actually bloomed!

Gisenyi and the Jungle Party

My first weekend back in Rwanda was a little hectic, but so nice. I arrived at the airport on Saturday morning, was picked up by a friend, dropped my bags at another friend's house, got back in the car to go to Gisenyi, a small town in northwest Rwanda on the shores of Lake Kivu. It took about three hours to drive to Gisenyi (I slept for almost all of it since my flight had left from Lusaka at 2:35 in the morning) so we arrived around lunchtime and headed straight to the beach, where we spent the afternoon swimming, laying in the sun and relaxing.
That night was the 'Jungle Party', a monthly event of live music, dancing and bonfires on the beach at the upscale Kivu Sun Hotel. Three different east African groups performed before the main group of the night, a Jamaican duo called 'Brick and Lace', took the stage. By the time they performed their biggest hit 'Love is Wicked', there were probably a thousand people crowded onto the beach to watch.
Even though I was absolutely exhausted by the end of the night, it was so nice to be back in Rwanda with good friends, familiar places and great entertainment.

Ideas are powerful

A friend from Zambia recently told me that Andy Stanley of North Point Ministries in the Atlanta area spent some time in Rwanda this summer and recently spoke about his experiences and impressions of the country. I found his speech/sermon online and listened to it this morning. His assessment of modern Rwanda in the wake of the 1994 genocide is both accurate and powerful. If you have a few minutes, I would recommend having a listen here.

Best donuts ever

I have found the best donuts in the world. I am not exaggerating. They come from the Emmasdale Market, a tiny shop just about a block away from ZEHRP. In the very back of the right side of the store is a glass counter behind which fresh, warm donuts wait to be eaten. There are different varieties - twisted, chocolate, glazed - but the best ones are the "cream" filled that contain a delicious mixture of melted butter and sugar. It is a very, very good thing I didn't discover these until my last week in Lusaka. Otherwise I'm pretty sure I would have gained at least 10 kilos from eating at least one every day!

Spice Tour

One of the classic tourist activities on Zanzibar is to do a spice tour. On the way back to Stone Town from Kendwa, I stopped at one of the spice plantations on the island for a tour. I wandered through the plantation with one of the local farmers who pointed out various spices and fruits, made us guess which each was and then explained the uses for each. Even though I guessed wrong on most of the plants, it was a fun way to spend the afternoon.

I took pictures of several of the spices and fruits we saw:

Cinnamon root, leaves and bark...
Vanilla plant...
Jack fruit...
A fruit that's similar to jack fruit (I forgot the name)...
Saffron...
Cloves...
Lemongrass...
I hate to admit it, but I forgot what this one is too...
Cassava...
Grapefruit (on the left side of the picture)...
Coconut (with one of the boys climbing the tree to pick some for us to have some fresh coconut to eat and drink)...
Peppercorn vine...
Throughout the afternoon, we were followed around by three young boys who picked leaves from the various trees and made bags, necklaces, bracelets, rings and crowns for us to carry and wear. I know we looked ridiculous, but the boys were adorable and it was a lot of fun.