The second full day in Kigali

Our second day in Kigali was listed as a "rest day". It was quite busy. After breakfast we all went to exchange money. 715 Rwandan Francs (RF) equals one US dollar. RF fills up our wallets even if it is really not that much money. Shopping for local curios and a stop at a grocery store to purchase Rwandan tea and coffee to take home as gifts were are next stops.

We had a delightful lunch at The African Bagel Cafe. This is a project to teach women who live on the edges on poverty skills so they can provide for themselves and their families. We also ordered take out breakfasts and lunches for Friday, Feb. 6 as we are heading to a game park at 5 AM.

Next stop was the George Fox Secondary School and a meeting with the headmaster. We also met with the superintendent of the Rwandan Friends Church. A wrap-up at David and Debbie Thomas' house ended our rest day. I fell asleep during this last meeting and got in a short "power nap". We are now at our guest house. There is no water. It must get turned off each evening as there wasn't water when we arrived last night but it came on during the night. My impressions of Kigali are that it is a thriving city. The traffic is manageable and the people are welcoming. It is much cleaner and more organized than I recall it being in the early nineties when were were last here. Tomorrow we are off on a safari to a game park. It is a 3 hour ride each way plus driving around in the game park. It will be a long day but I hope the group gets in some good game viewing. Highlight of the day was listening to the secondary students sing. Their singing is so vibrant. - Nancy