The great day has arrived. It is with unconcealed pleasure that we leave Brussels and it’s grayness for Rwanda. After taking off at 8:00 am, in very great comfort and with flight attendents to pamper us, the country of thousands of hills appears on the horizon. Just out of the airport, we pile into a “discotheque bush taxi” from another era… We get the time to quickly explore the hotel and then we are carried away to a bar called “La Bonne Source”, a must-see in Kigali. We drink our refreshments quickly, in a very hot but equally friendly atmosphere and then the weariness of the journey directs us back to our rooms for what is going to be a short night.

At 6:00 am in the morning, a room full of sun, it is time for breakfast. Dear mothers, there’s no need to stress, we take care of one another with regards to food. Time now for an impressive stroll to help digest! Amazed, we discover the Rwandan countryside. And what countryside! Hills as far as the eye can see on which the tin roofs of modest dwellings scintillate. Several surprises: everything is very (very) clean, no trash on the ground (thanks to a law which prevents the use of plastic bags). In addition, the entire country seems to be sponsored by the “Sèciètounblagh” company, i.e. “ Small Green Hedges” in French. In fact, one would say that there are small, green hedges everywhere.

The 11th hour sounds. It is time to take the road for Butare. Once past the street corner, the large villas of the capital slowly fade, giving way to “small huts”. The ride passes trouble free: our driver this day is not a road hog. We even find a new side to our English professor, Mr. Drugmand, alias Wikipedia. Actually, he reveals to us his complete botany knowledge… The lesson finished, we arrive at Butare and like they say, “your time is my time”. The young Belgians have no other choice but to adapt to the Rwandan schedules: at 2:30 we are served a fried chicken. Welcome to Africa!

The dinner finished, we start (with some delay…) the afternoon meeting. Doctor Désiré of NGO Vétérinaires Sans Frontières Belgium presents to us the complete Proxivet Project at the local association. We quickly take a look at the weekly program and we return to our hotel to write this article and eat spaghetti, this time ordered well in advance…

To be continued…

Text written by Pauline and Marcellin