Mr and Mrs Lamborn come to Rwanda!

My parents arrived at Kigali airport on 2^nd January 2011 and I was so excited to see them! They had brought a very big stocking from Father Christmas with them, containing lots of goodies of things I can’t get in Rwanda very easily, like shampoo and proper chocolate, but the main reason for my excitement was because I hadn’t seen them for 4 months and I couldn’t wait to show them around the country I have been living in!

 Our first stop was my volunteer house and my mum and dad were very lucky because they visited on a day when there was both water and electricity (quite rare)! We stayed in Kibungo overnight, because the next morning I was going back to Akagera National Park so my parents could experience their first ever safari! This time, I saw even more giraffes and hippos than before and I had to eat my lunch very quickly so it wasn’t stolen by baboons!

Hippo shaped visitors!



Eyeing up my cheese sandwich...



The most exciting thing I had planned while my parents were visiting was a gorilla trek! Rwanda is famous for the gorillas living in the Volcano National Park in the north and on 7^th January, I had booked tickets for us to go and find them! We were put into a trekking group with a guide and warned about how to act when we found the gorillas – try not to look them directly in the eye and never run away if they come towards you, just crouch down. We were going to try and find a family of 8 gorillas called the Titus Group, which included a very large silverback male.

The silverback carefully inspecting his visitors.

Keeping a watchful eye on us whilst relaxing with his family.

After trekking up one of the six breath-taking volcanoes for two hours and then walking through very dense forest for another 30 minutes, we were rewarded with our first sighting of a gorilla – the huge silverback himself! At first he was hidden by bushes, but he very soon decided to check out who had come to visit! We had been told to stay 7 metres away from the gorillas, but clearly no one had told the gorillas this because as he came very close to us indeed. He soon realised that we were friendly though and went to sit in a clearing, where he was joined by members of his family.

We were able to stay and watch the gorillas for one hour and it is an experience that I will never forget. They are beautiful animals that we have so much in common with and I felt that I could almost draw speech bubbles coming out of their mouths, knowing exactly what they would say if we shared a language. It was incredible to visit them in their natural environment.

"What shall I have for lunch?"

After trekking back down the volcano, we travelled straight to a town called Gisenyi which is on the shores of one of Africa’s great lakes – Lake Kivu. Here we had a well deserved rest and enjoyed the beautiful location. There was Rwandan Intore Dancing around a fire in the evening and my parents really enjoyed meeting some of the local children, who were on their way to church when we went for a walk by the lake.

Before returning home, my parents wanted to visit a primary school, so they could get a better idea of my job out here. We went to a school called Kabare 1 Primary School, close to where I live. The Headteacher there, Suzanne, had been very kind to me since I arrived in Rwanda. The children were very excited to see not one, not even two, but three visitors, two of whom were brand new faces!

Having my parents in Rwanda and being able to share some of the experiences I am having here with them meant an awful lot to me. They knew how much I wanted to have an opportunity to do something like this and I feel so lucky that they are happy that I am having such a fantastic time working with schools here. I hope their visit also made them realise that as much as I want to share my ideas and offer up my skills to teachers and children while I am here, I am going to come home with so many new ideas and skills that the people of Rwanda have given me.

Christmas in Zanzibar

Christmas 2010 is certainly one I will always remember! While my friends and family at home were enjoying a snow filled white Christmas, I spent Christmas Day morning lying on a hammock under a palm tree on an island called Zanzibar! Thank you very much to everyone who left me Christmas messages on my blog, I was very happy to receive them and it was very kind of you to think of me. Thank you also for  my lovely Dorney Christmas card, which found its way to me here in Rwanda!

The journey to Zanzibar was not as glamorous as the beautiful island location with its white beaches and sparkling blue ocean... To get there I spent 31 hours sitting (and trying to sleep) on a very hot bus followed by 2 hours on a ferry! Zanzibar is an island which belongs to another county called Tanzania, which is next to Rwanda. I live in the east of Rwanda, only about an hour from the border with Tanzania, but Tanzania is a very big country and it took a long time to travel to the capital – Dar es Salaam – which is where you can get on the ferry to Zanzibar.

Still, I made it in one piece and I did have 7 of my VSO volunteer friends on the bus with me to chat to. We tried lots of things to entertain ourselves and pass the time, even telling ghost stories after the sun set!

We arrived in Zanzibar on 19^th December and I spent my first few nights staying in a beach villa with my friends just outside a place called Stone Town. We were determined to make the most of our exciting holiday and so the first few days were filled with activities. We went on a ‘spice tour’ around a spice farm on the island to see what the spices that I often put in curries look like when they are just growing naturally. This was followed by a ‘spice lunch’ where we got to eat lots of tasty spiced food!

We also visited an ancient Persian Bath and explored Mangapwani slave caves. These caves were used to hide illegal slaves after slavery was banned in the 19^th century. It was very dark and dreary down there, with not a lot of oxygen, making it hard to breathe. It is hard to imagine how horrible it must have been for the slaves held captive there. Mangapwani beach was a very different experience and I went for a much needed swim in the inviting warm sea once I climbed out of the cave.

Descending into Mangapwani slave caves.

The following day involved more exploring as I boarded a small rickety looking boat with my friends to travel for one hour across the ocean to nearby ‘Prison Island’. Prison Island was actually never used as a prison; instead it was where people who had a disease called yellow fever were sent so they didn’t pass on the disease to anyone else. The island also has a much happier name - Changu (tortoise) Island, which was the main reason I wanted to visit! It is the home to hundreds of giant tortoises, who were given to Zanzibar as a gift from some different islands called the Seychelles. Some of the tortoises on Prison Island were rescued from poachers and brought there to safety. I really enjoyed seeing them and couldn’t believe how big they were!

Giant Tortoise!

On our final morning staying near Stone Town, we decided to explore the town itself, with its interesting buildings and lots of winding cobbled streets. Being a girl, I also decided to do a spot of shopping and while I was looking at beautiful silk scarves in a cloth shop, I discovered two gorgeous kittens snuggling on top of the fabric!

Kittens in a cloth shop!

That afternoon, we travelled to the south east of the island to stay on a beach near a small village called Bwejuu. This is where we spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Day and it was a beautiful, relaxing location. On Christmas Eve we had a delicious Swahili dinner, with traditional food from Zanzibar and then sang Christmas carols around a bonfire on the beach.

Our Christmas Eve beach bonfire.

Singing Christmas carols on the beach with my volunteer friends.

On Christmas Day, we travelled to another beach to watch a performance of singing, drumming and dancing by the most famous singer in Zanzibar. Her name is Bi Kidude and the reason she is so famous is because people believe she is over 100 years old! She says she cannot remember how old she is and so estimates range from 92 years to 150 years old! By the time the sun set, everyone was happily dancing around as Bi Kidude sang and played her drum!

Bi Kidude - the most famous singer in Zanzibar.

Boxing Day was my last full day on the island and I spent this on yet another stunning beach called Jambiani. In terms of beaches, I think we had saved the best until last. I couldn’t believe the colour of the water when we arrived and I loved watching the dhows (boats) bobbing up and down on the light breeze.

A boat coming into Jambiani beach.

Although I had had a wonderful holiday (and I was not looking forward to another 31 hours on a bus back to Rwanda) I was very excited to be returning because my parents were coming to visit me in a few days time! There lies another story...