Land of a Thousand Hills

During the September holiday, we traveled to Kigali, Rwanda.  It was a wonderful week and much needed rest.   We stayed at a really nice boutique hotel called, Heaven.  The owners are from the US and have written a book, A Thousand Hills to Heaven, about their experiences building a post genocide community at their restaurant and hotel.  The staff were wonderful and the food at the restaurant was amazing.  If you ever visit Kigali, you must eat here!  Below is a picture of Nino with his favorite staff member.  He would tell her that he loved her at least once a day.

We visited the Genocide Memorial and it is difficult to describe that experience.  I've read and heard stories about it before.  But nothing prepared me for the pictures, belongings, names, etc that filled the museum.  It was very difficult to walk through and read about the lives that were lost.  But it was an important experience as well.  To be able to understand a bit about what the people of Rwanda experienced and how they are trying to move ahead was an incredible opportunity.

In addition to learning about the history of Rwanda, we were able to just relax some.  We had wonderful food, swam, bowled, went to the movies etc.  Patricio also got to take an art class at an art gallery the he really enjoyed.  And probably our favorite thing was that we went on a walking tour of one of the oldest neighborhood in Rwanda.  Patricio learned to pound cassava leaves and after the tour, we got to eat a delicious meal prepared by the mother of our guide.  All in all,  it was just what we needed to recharge for the final months of school.