Happy Fourth of July! ( I meant to post this last week, sorry)

Good morning, afternoon, evening or night, depending on when you read this. I have had a very exciting past week, so bare with me as I try and catch you up on my life.

To begin, last weekend Jim did not manage to ruin, which is always a plus. After work on Friday the four other interns, staying in Gitarama, traveled to Kigali to stay for the weekend. Therefore, my Friday afternoon consisted of telling stories, hearing about their internships. and napping. However Friday night Jim, Karen, Emily, and I walked to a nearby hotel, the hotel is pretty high class and has a back area containing a pool, tennis courts, a patio, and restaurant. So we were able to sit back, drink Fanta's, and play cards as a band played for a few hours. Very nice!

Saturday morning a local friend that I had met, Israel, came over to hang out and joined all of us for lunch in town. "To add, at lunch for some stupid reason I ordered a hamburger hoping for a better outcome then the last, and it was actually very good." Israel is involved in the church's choir that we have been attending, leading me to meet with him afterwards one Sunday. A little bit about him, he has been blessed with the opportunity to attend the University in Kigali through sponsors living in England. His studies pertain to administration management and he is fluent in three languages, Kinyarwandan, French, and English. The choir that he is involved is currently putting together an album and will be traveling to London in November to perform in a few church's. It's always fun to talk to him and get his perspective on a lot of issues, and share mine as well.

Also, for the past couple of weekends a few University students (Felix, Christian, Felix, and Emmanuel) that we met have been coming over and hanging out at the guest house. So this weekend we decided to visit them and get a glimpse of a students life in Rwanda. We ended up getting a grand tour of their campus, which is very nice and is steadily growing. They all seemed to be really thankful for the opportunity to attend a university and took their studies serious (another lesson I learn about myself). We then visited their apartment/house, no bigger then a dorm room, where four of them are currently living. Their cost of living for each is 5,000 francs (10 dollars) a month, quite crazy, after then explaining to them how much we pay each month for rent I decided it would be financially beneficial to finish my studies here. So that's what I am going to do starting next year. Just joking mom, but it would be a money saver. All in all it turned out to be a very enjoyable day, especially because the students know English, but also there a fun group of guys that remind me of my friends at home.

Then here comes Saturday night, oh yea!!! So after hearing about a dance club called, The Cadillac" that is in walking distance of our guest house, we decided there is no way we can pass up an opportunity like this. The clock strikes 10 o'clock and there we go, 12 Muzungus on their way to a dance club in Kigali, Rwanda. Tickets to the club 1,500 francs, a Fanta at the club 500 franc's, and a white man taking over dance floor in an all African Club.....Priceless! Upon our arrival there happened to be nobody on the dance floor, did that stop us from dancing though, sure did not. Around 5 of us showed Kigali how the Muzungu gets their groove on. Though it did not take long for the dance floor to become packed and for the infamous circle to form and people to take turns inside strutting their stuff. I must admit something. As everyone is entering the circle and performing all these crazy dance moves, the crowd is starting to get hyped up and a little crazy, and then I decided to enter. Oh yea I entered and guess what move I pulled out, the arm swing. I slowly creped my way towards forward with my head down, then I come to a complete stop and after a couple seconds of not moving, it begins. The robot arm sways back and forth back and forth and the crowd loves it, a simple move but always a pleaser. Then the arm swings around pops me on my head which knocks me slightly down, in which i pretend to be a puppet by grabbing invisible strings that pull me back up, and the cheers begin. OHHHHHHH I love it! That was my shining moment. Then the night started to slow down around 12:30 as we come to discover it is totally acceptable in their culture for men to dance on men. And after Jim was approached a couple of times with open legs we decided that it was about time to take off. But the night was a blast and definitely will be something that I will remember for quite some time.

So that was my weekend, tons of fun and full of excitement. I hope everyone's Fourth of July went well. Here coincidentally the fourth of July is considered there Liberation Day, which marks the end of the genocide (this is the date the government was overturned). Around 40,000 people, including us, took part in a huge celebration the government held at the National Futbol Stadium. We planned on meeting Felix (one of the university students) in the morning at 6 o'clock a.m. (it was horrible), the celebration began at 10 o'clock but he told us to obtain good seats you had to get their early. So I wake up at 5:30 a.m. and we arrive at the stadium around 6:25 only to discover Felix is not there. After calling him, we discover that he was still in bed sleeping, he said he was unable to get up that early. ohhhhh......Felix. So anyways we waited in line outside of the gates, and as soon as the gates swung open it was a free for all, basically a stampede. Everyone ran in every direction trying to get the best seats, we ended up getting a prime location at the 50 yard line. The celebration was very entertaining, it started out with a parade led by a marching band and following was the Rwandan Army. The parade went on for about 45 minutes as several groups paraded around the stadium, marching to the music. Then the best part was combat role playing by the army. The army showed different scenarios and how they would react using trained combat skills, it was sweet. Then they showed their skill in throwing knives, machetes, spades, and pick axes at targets. The crowd loved it. And the whole celebration ended around 1 o'clock with President Paul Kagame's speech. It was definitely a cultural expierence and I guess it was worth waking up at 5:30 for.

This weekend we are taking a trip to Lake Kivu, which is suppose to be a beautiful Lake on the western side of the country. Also, I guess we are traveling to a bat cave??? I don't know should be pretty interesting. But as you can see I am really enjoying my time here in Kigali. It's crazy to think that it is July, 5th and my internship is half way over. But if it was to stop right now, it would of all been worth it. I have built some great relationships and am thankful that God has blessed with such an opportunity. Thank you guys for your continued prayers, they are definitely being answered. I love you all and hope you have a wonderful weekend.