Day Three of Cultural Activities

Brick Making: very dirty, hard, phsical labor, but surprisingly fun. Today our group set out on mission to our brick making experience, we were determined to be the best brick making group of the whole trip. We had heard that yesterday Sam had made 100 bricks all by himself, so Jake and I (Mitch Forsythe) attempted to top the record. By the end of our time we both created 105 bricks just barly topping Sam. However it was not only me and Jake our entire group created astounding numbers of bricks. The girls - (Chloe, Krista, Gabby) who I didn't think would be very into getting really dirty and making bricks - actually created impressive numbers of bricks at around 50 each. Our "rep" Jeff Hartwick made around 50 brick himself with leftover time to take pictures of all of us. In total I would estimate that our group made a total of 400 bricks in a bout an hour and half, impressive for first time brick makers. -Mitch Forsythe

Group 4 (dritz, landis, frenz, zach cave, mrs. kuntz)
Gorilla Trek: Less than a week ago I fractured my calcaneus (that is medical speak for breaking my heel bone). If someone had asked me then if I could treck 4 hours in the jungle up a mountain, I would have laughed. But, with some encouragement from my friends here and at home, and with a some advil too, I managed to make it. The day started out as I would have expected: we woke up bright and early, around 5:30 AM, ate breakfast (today it was bread, peanut butter,and banannas), and then loaded the safari taxi to head off to volcanoes national park for the trek. When we got to headquarters we were given our guide and everything seemed to be going perfect. Then, we were approaced by the manager and told that our group of four students and one chaperone needed to be split into a group of two and a group of three. At first, we were aprehensive about being split up, but it worked out really great and we were given a great guide to go with us. Zach and I were the chosen two to go into the other group. When we began our trek, it became clear that it was going to be a humerous day. Trudging through calf deep mud and up steep mountain sides and then down deep revenes was no small feat for a girl with a broken foot (no pun intended), but it worked out great. Zach was right behind me the whole way making sure that I was fine. Our other treking mates were another story. We trecked with 6 other people The first, a french Canadian, was a newly single man traveling the Jungle alone. After expierencing the trek with him, I now understand the term "pardon my french". The next three people were a couple from New York, who were very anxious to see the gorillas, and their personal tour guide from Tanzania. The tour guide told me many times in his British accent about his boys who go to boarding school in the US. The remaining two were a couple of French Canadians who were living in Sydney Australia. They were the epitome of out of shape adults. Zach and I found humor in how many breaks they needed to take. Once we finally reached the Gorillas after two hours of treking, the expierence was incredible. Watching the beautiful creatures in their habitat is something that words can not describe. There was 7 Gorillas in the family that we saw. The leader of the pack, known as the silver back, charged the unathletic man from Sydney and ripped his shirt. It was scary and hilarous all at the same time. I was not that worried because our tour guide is very expierenced and had the situation under control when he spoke ape to the gorilla. Who knew apes had a language? On the way back, the couple from Australia wanted to stop for a picnick, it was beautiful to enjoy a snack in the jungle. In the end it was very tiring, but I loved every minute of it and I am so glad that I was able to Gorilla Trek, even if I do have a broken foot.

- Jordan Dritz

Group 1 (Anne Arnason, Giulia Imholte, Melissa Luther, Elise Overman, Sophie Ronning, Mr.Cave)
Today, we started our day off with a long car ride out to Imbabazi Orphanage. The hour flew by because of the beautiful scenery and kids happy to see us. Imbabazi Orphanage was started in 1994 by Rosamond Carr for orphans of the genocide. Because they were orphans of the genocide, most of the students are a bit older. The few kids we got to meet were very nice, and grateful that we were there. They were as eager to try out their new English skills as we were to try out our Kinyarwandan! We first got a tour of the beautiful gardens, the dorms, and the kitchen. After our tour, we were led on a hike to see a crater made by a nearby volcano. I wasn't expecting what we saw when I heard we were seeing a crater. In the middle of what appeared to be another Rwandan hill, was a large crater filled with lush, green farmland and Rwandan farmers. It was beautiful. After taking our fair share of pictures, we hiked back, and then started our work for the day. Our job was to paint the ceiling of the dining room at Imbabazi. After many paint splotches on our hair, clothing, and the floor, we were finished with our work for the day. We then ate the lunch that most of the students eat every day. The portion of beans and white corn meal was tasty, yet very filling. After we finished eating, we said goodbye to our new friends, and hit the road. The rest of the day was spent making trips for Fanta, visiting the market, and hanging out at the guesthouse. Tomorrow we look forward to making bricks!
Love to all those in Minnesota
Anne Arnason


Group 5 (Cat Kernan, Izaak Lundberk, Eleanor Raether, Mikayla Coulombe, Mrs. Hinnendale)
Today, we started our day with basket weaving. Originally we would have walked about an hour and a half to the site, but because our group walked for AIDP on our first day in Ruhengeri, we took a cab. The ride was only about fifteen minutes and the roads were much less bumpy than usual--typically we have to go about 5 miles/hour and we're bouncing all over the place in the back. When we arrived at the site where we would be basket weaving, four women showed us how to weave. They use a very specific type of grass for their baskets and they soak some of it in paint in order to give it color. Today, I used tan, blue, and green grass to make a small basket for jewelry. We wove baskets for a couple of hours and it took much longer to weave than I thought it would. When we asked the women how long it usually took to weave a basket, they told us that it took about two full days for a smaller basket and almost five days for the largest baskets. When we finished weaving for the day, we shopped for baskets!! The many colors, patterns, and varieties of baskets were beautiful and it was difficult to choose. Each of us bought at least two or three baskets, and all that money goes straight to AIDP which builds houses for families in need. When we arrived back at the guesthouse we went to lunch and shopped at the clothing market. Then it was time for group 5 to hit the food market for dinner. We decided to make tacos/burritos with beef, rice, peas, and avocados. For dessert we got popcorn and chocolate, so the guest house was happy and full! The rest of the night will be filled with card games, relaxing, and getting ready for tomorrow's activities. Tomorrow we go to the orphanage!
Cat Kernan


Group 3 (Mr. Kuntz, Isaac, Jimmy, Sam, Taylor, and Sarah)
Today we went to AIDP. We went to a fondation of a house, and we started to fill the inside with rocks. We made it level, because it will be the floor. The group tomorrow will be pouring in the mud to fill in all the spaces. We were there for about 2 hours, but all we did was put rocks in the foundation, so there isn't much to say. Tomorrow we go to the gorilla trek, and everyone is really looking forward to it, even though we need to be up at 5:30...!
Isaac Melin