Kigali to Amsterdam

How is the summer almost over?! I cannot even believe that in just less than two weeks I am starting my second year of school. But I am still in a different time zone so I've got stories.

Kigali was great. I fell asleep early on the first night before Maddie left for her flight. Sarah and I got up early and enjoyed the Mille Collines breakfast spread (lots of breads, omelet bar, fresh yogurt, fresh fruit, etc.) and headed over to the genocide museum. I was just expecting exhibits with machetes and pictures. I learned though that this site also functions as a mass burial ground and over 250,000 people have been buried there. That number is too large to even fathom. And every year they still add bodies as more are discovered. Anyways, Sarah and I watched an introduction video and got the audio guide to share and we walked around the area. There are several gardens with plants to symbolize the history of Rwanda, beginning unified, becoming divided and then recovering after the genocide. There was one garden with only cacti to symbolize the self protection required by those individuals who survived the genocide. Then there were several pool sized blocks of raised cement that mark the locations of the mass grave. One section has plexiglass instead of cement so that you can see in and over the bodies were flags with crosses (so no visible remains). Inside the museum was an elaborate stained glass window that was designed and built by a survivor of the holocaust (nope not a typo, it was made by a man who survived Auschwitz). Walking through the museum took us through the history of Rwanda and the writing on the walls chronicled the events that came before during and after the genocide. There was a room of clothes and a room of just piles of bones. Sarah and I talked about that after, as students who recently finished anatomy we were both a bit horrified to find that we were looking for bony landmarks on the different leg bones. I also couldn't help but use the different skull suture lines to describe to myself where head trauma occurred. After this was a room to honor children who died. There were around one dozen pictures with details about the child and the last thing written was how they were killed. Child 1 likes playing with older sibling, burned alive in church. Or machete while in mothers arms. Or thrown against wall. And it just kept going. The final section of the museum was to commemorate other genocides that have occurred elsewhere. I never knew how many times in recent history people have just been horrendous to other people. Rwanda is interesting because it is an example where a population was truly decimated. This word is defined as one tenth of a population being killed and in 1994 this happened (1 million Rwandans killed). So after that emotional morning Sarah and I just hung out by the pool and then it was time for Sarah to go. I spent another night and day at the Mille Collines and then it was time for me to hit the road. I used the hotel car service and the driver asked me about my stay. I told him that I found the museum upsetting but how in awe of the population I am for being able to rebuild after such an event. One powerful story I saw both in my book and at the museum was how in 1996, Hutu power soldiers entered a school and told students to separate into Hutu and Tutsi groups. The students remained in their seats and said that they were all Rwandans, and would not move. Several were killed. My driver responded by saying that his family had been Tutsi and both of his parents were killed in 1994. He had been only 10 years old at the time. But he said he is Rwandan and that the way he sees it is that there are two countries, the one that existed before the genocide and the one that was built after and that he truly loves and is proud of this current Rwanda.

So after all that learning and experiencing it was time to leave Africa. The flight was uneventful, I slept for most of it and watched the new Divergent movie (Insurgent?) while I was still awake. I got to Amsterdam at 7 and went straight to my hotel. It was too early to check in so I dropped my bags and went to the Anne Frank house. I was told that line is infamous but because it was not yet 8 and the museum opened at 9 that this would be my best chance to go without waiting forever. So I went and the line was still short and I walked through the house. The rooms were actually rather large behind the bookcase, there was a kitchen and sinks and a bathroom and one of the bedrooms had a ladder up to an attic with a window. I was very surprised by that, I was expecting very cramped quarters. I also have never read Anne Frank's diary so the quotes on the wall that were excerpts from her diary truly surprised me. So much talent in such a young writer. I found myself wondering what this young woman would have been able to accomplish if she had been able to survive, or if the war had never happened. Do you think if it was her and not her father who survived that her diaries would have been published?
After that I walked around and figured out the surrounding area. Then I checked in and took a nap and at 4 it was time for my haircut! I had a really nice hairdresser and it was nice to chat with someone and learn about the culture of Amsterdam. When that was done, I took my new haircut for a stroll around because I happen to be in Amsterdam during pride weekend and there was just a lot to see. After that very long day I went to bed.
This morning I got up and had breakfast at the hotel. I walked 2 miles to the Rijksmuseum and strolled around that one and then went to the Van Gogh museum. Both were enjoyable but I was a bit bothered by the crowds at the second museum. It isn't very fun to try to push your way to the front to read a tiny description and then I feel badly if I take too long to look at the painting. So I was pretty museum-ed out by the end of this and I decided to chill outside by the I Amsterdam sign and finish my book. I was walking home when I decided it would be fun to go on a canal tour so I did that too. Then I went to dinner, all by myself (Liz Lewis and I once said that you would have to be so brave to do that, so check me out I am a fearless lone diner).
Tomorrow I think I will rent a bike and try to cover a lot of ground and maybe check out another park if I can find a book shop that sells english books.
Comparing Amsterdam to East Africa is not possible. I have netflix (ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK!) and hot water here. They have gorillas and volcanoes there. But I do think that this trip has helped me to learn what I enjoy. I would likely be more excited about heading on a nature filled trip in the future, rather than heading back to a European city (note the city term...I would be thrilled to go somewhere like Tuscany or Southern France...see mom check out THAT precision of language).

So I have one more day in Amsterdam and then am headed to Ireland! Poor Bella has no idea what she has gotten herself into (lots of hiking in Killarney, maybe some boats, maybe an ATV, me driving on the LEFT side of the road etc.) but she is a trooper and she seems excited so that is great. Hopefully I will have internet at the hotels there so I can keep you updated.

Xoxo,
Hope