Random Life Musings on a Caffeine Lacking Wednesday Morning

     One of the hardest things I have learned in my time in Rwanda is that life doesn't stop just because you decide to move halfway around the world. Living on the west coast was one thing... living on a different continent is something else completely.
    The other week one of my dearest friends in the world iMessaged me a photo of her growing baby belly. I love getting these updates and hearing from her, but it in a weird way hurts. It's a constant reminder that because I took this job I am not in my friends lives as I use to be. Since I left in August three of my friends have given birth (one to her second child and two to their first), one announced she was pregnant with her first and will give birth before I return, another friend and his wife are expecting their first in April, and I will return just in time to participate in another friends wedding in August (pretty sure this wedding got pushed back a week to insure I could be there). At this point I wouldn't be surprised if someone decides to announce they're engaged to a significant other that hasn't even been mentioned to me yet. Clearly, the majority of my friends are at the marriage/baby making stage of their lives.
     Then there is me... single, thirty, happy, living in Africa, with absolutely no clue as to what the heck I want to do with my life. The last things on my mind are marriage and babies. In fact, I'm happy to make it through a day having consumed something other than carbs... right now I seem to have slightly different priorities. I am not writing this to bash those who are married and having children. Far from it. In some ways I am very jealous of their lives as I'm sure in some ways they are jealous of mine. I have total and complete freedom, they have companionship. They're two completely different things, but both can make people completely happy. I suppose I'm at that weird stage in my life where a year or two ago it dawned on me that I could actually commit to the right person, have a marriage and a child or two. Had you asked me at the age of 25 how I felt about marriage, I probably would have laughed in your face (in fact I'm fairly certain I did this to an ex-boyfriend). The person I was at 25 is no where close to being the person I am today and I simply wasn't ready. Then all of a sudden you reach your late twenties and everything is different.
     I have taken a lot of wisdom from my sisters, mother, and sister-in-law over the years. My sister-in-law made a very good point to me when I was still in nursing school. Your twenties are for figuring out who the heck you are. It's transitioning from school to work and realizing everything that is expected of you as an adult. It's writing that first rent check and getting your first real paycheck (and cursing taxes under your breath) and growing up. It's buying your first car, realizing that Dad paying your insurance really was a big deal in high school (if you were lucky like me), and that perhaps you were a little hasty in being so independent from your parents that you thought it was a good idea to get your own cell phone bill instead of sticking to that cheap family plan. There is a lot to figure out when you're a twenty-something... so why on earth would you ever want to get involved with someone else trying to figure out the same stuff? My sister-in-law doesn't tend to mince words and I love her for it. But she was right.
     I am happy for those who had their stuff figured out before me... I certainly didn't (then again many of my friends are older than I). But, I don't understand people who aren't happy with themselves and depend on others for their happiness. My oldest sister made that point to me when I was still 18 and going through the turmoils of my first college relationship. And ever since then, I've made sure to compromise, but not compromise myself. It's been weird and disconnected living so far away from my family and friends. If I call some friends when I wake up, it's still the night before where they are... I'm watching the sunrise and they've barely just finished watching the sunset. It's strange.
     There is no pause button in life. It keeps going whether you're present or not. I almost cried when I found out my niece got braces and I was the last to know the other week. Seriously?!? Seriously. But to quote one of my favorite books--Kiss My Tiara by Susan Jane Gilman, "My grandma said things like, 'Take a few lovers, travel the world, and don't take any crap.'" So that's what I'm going to do.

Lessons Learned (from family):
1) Dad: Work hard, but remember to take time for yourself. You can't give everyone everything. (Also a well formed argument will get you far in life).
2) Mom: Know your own values. Think about them and know them, because sometimes someone will phrase your same value in a different way that completely freaks you out, but instead of running away from this fear, realize that you actually agree.
3) Nora (oldest sister): Don't depend on anyone for your own happiness. Know how to make yourself happy so that when you're with someone it's twice as good.
4) Meredith (middle sister): Don't be anybody's back up, be their first choice.
5) Valeska (sister-in-law): Figure out yourself before trying to add anyone else to the equation and you will be much happier in life. Life is long, so don't sweat it.
6) Jeff (brother): Be yourself because you are awesome.
7) Rosina & Oona (nieces): Laugh and be silly at every opportunity you've got. It makes life way more fun.

Steph's Departure

     So much has happened in the last three weeks that it's hard to wrap my brain around it! So let us back track several days... As mentioned before, Steph is my Baltimore partner in crime and good friend here in Rwanda. She is the one who on my first day at the hospital gave me a massive tour and answered thousands of questions. The wisdom that comes from her 26 year old mouth continues to astound me and it was always good to hang out together. We often would get Chinese food because no matter what, we were always suckers for Chinese. It got to the point where we could order for each other if one of us was running late. It was pretty bad. But we clicked as soon as we met, maybe it's the hometown connection, and I have always enjoyed our walks down to the rice paddies, advice given and received, and shared friendship over these last six months.

Steph working hard in the office

Giving a pediatric lecture in ICU

A "night out" in Butare

     Sadly, Steph was unable to extend her contract until the end of July, so her 15 month contract came to an end January 31st. I was in Congo and on February 1st she went to South Africa for ten days. I am glad she finally booked her trip and went; she had wanted to go to South Africa since she arrived in Rwanda but for a hot second considered not going because she was going to have to go alone. I made sure she knew how much I actually enjoy traveling alone and she readily agreed upon her return. She fortunately came back to finish packing and attend the certificate ceremony for both the Pediatric and Neonatology staff who had completed her courses.

Steph at the certificate ceremony
with her gift from the staff.

Even though I'd known for a long time she was leaving, it still felt very surreal. Last Thursday we had a farewell (Chinese) dinner at Melody and Stewart's house with all of our Rwandan twins. I happened to have a box of Berger cookies (if you're not from Baltimore, you won't understand just how amazing these cookies are) and I gave a little farewell speech and we all made Steph cry (I also gave her pocket packs of tissues), but it was a great dinner.

Melody & Steph

Speeches

It's at this moment we realized why people
sometimes confused us for one another.

     I left Butare the next day last Friday afternoon to head to Kigali to meet my friend Amy at the airport and realized that I would never see Steph in Butare again. Vanessa, Julie, and Steph came up to Kigali Saturday morning. Unfortunately, Amy's flight from LAX was delayed so she missed her connection in Istanbul and wouldn't be arriving until Sunday at 2 am. But Steph and I ran a few errands and grabbed lunch at Mille de Collines (Hotel Rwanda) and then sprawled in the hammocks poolside until we decided we should head back to the hotel we had booked and get ready for dinner. We had fun swapping earrings and doing our hair (which I rarely spend time doing) before meeting the rest of the group.

     We were doing a delayed birthday dinner for me with our Kigali friends and Vanessa since she was enjoying a beach in Thailand during my actual birthday. We got Indian food at my favorite restaurant in Kigali where all the lights went out and a birthday song came on over the loud speakers, and the entire restaurant (which was packed being Valentines day) was staring at a very bright red me while the staff sang happy birthday and danced and the song went on and on and on... but it was good fun and then several of us went out dancing.

Steph & Jessie at dinner

I wanted to crawl under the table at this point.

     In true Steph form (she has very sensitive/allergic skin) something bit her lip during dinner and so we called the dancing quits a little early because I was getting worried and she needed her Benadryl so I dropped people off at their respective places and off I went to the airport to collect Amy. Sunday morning Steph joined Amy and I for breakfast and then we all went off to collect Julie and say goodbye as Amy, Julie and I were headed to Akagera National Park. It was a tough goodbye. I feel as though I've lost my sidekick here in Rwanda. If Amy hadn't come to visit when she did I think I would have been in tears the entire weekend. Steph texted me before her flight last Monday and after she left for the airport I realized that I would need to delete her Rwandan number from my phone. But from here on out I can use her 443 area code number, which is oddly comforting. It's a good thing she has an iPhone because I really missed her Friday when I had a very sick baby in the ICU. I foresee a lot of Facetime in my future and a tubing date on the Gunpowder River when I return home in August. It's still strange to not have her at CHUB. I keep thinking that she will pop into the office at anytime with some idea or story to share. I am so excited for the new chapter in her life that she is embarking on now. She will become an aunt in a few months and I know her family has missed her terribly. I know I will survive without her here but I still miss her.

Styling some Kigali fashions

Lessons Learned:
1) Sometimes in life you meet people that you feel as though you've known your entire life who make you a better person without even trying. My mother calls these people "kindred spirits." Steph Taylor is definitely a kindred spirit.
2) Despite distance and time zones, you will always make time for those friendships that are really important to you.

So we decided to take Rupert for a walk...

     If you've been reading then you are aware that about a month ago, we got a dog. Rupert is hilarious and fun. He is very much still a puppy, but he is a very good watch dog and loves us. Our yard is nice and big and he runs around all day, but Vanessa has been working with him on the leash every afternoon. He does not like the leash. But, he had been doing so well, we thought he might do ok outside the confines of our yard...

So far so good...

Then we had a short boycott...

Rupert thought that the bushes were pretty exciting.

And then Vanessa ended up carrying the dog back home.

Needless to say, we had the entire neighborhood laughing.

Lesson Learned:
1) Pups may get a little stage fright in public

Globe to Globe Hamlet in Butare

     Well I would have never thought it or believed it, but last weekend, I got to see a live production of Hamlet here in Rwanda. It was by far the coolest thing I've done in Butare. I enjoy our simple, quiet life in Butare and much prefer it to the bustle of Kigali, but it is a very quiet life. It's eleven books in two months type of quiet. We regularly as a group get Chinese at "The Chinese Restaurant" on Fridays, often have a movie night at Jim's Saturday and if you like to bike, there is usually a regular ride on Sundays. All in all, it's just pleasant and as stressful as the job can be, it provides a really nice balance to life.
     But, when we were there was going to be a production of Hamlet, we were ecstatic. If you haven't figured it out, there isn't a lot of culture in the sense of the fine arts in Butare. I think it was Stacey or Tiffany who first texted the group asking who wanted to go. I didn't research the event much but figured it would be a nice Saturday afternoon activity. I arrived at the University thinking it was going to be a University production. Boy was I wrong. Apparently, there is a British troupe of actors from the Globe Theatre in London who are part of what is called Globe to Globe. They are performing a 2 year tour around the world of Hamlet... EVERY SINGLE COUNTRY has a performance. They actually did a performance at the Folgers Shakespeare Library last July in DC and I suspect that a few people I know went to the performance (Emily?). I hadn't seen or read Hamlet since high school and actually was thinking that my high school Shakespeare teacher, Ms. Ward would be very disappointed that I couldn't even reiterate the story when someone asked me. Fortunately for Wikipedia, I was able to remind myself of the storyline.

     Globe to Globe is fantastic. It is a very simple set (I mean who would want to travel for 2 years with a complicated set) and simple costumes, but the actors are just so fantastic. True to Africa, the performance started about 30 minutes late because the electricity was out (now a common occurrence on Saturdays in Butare) and I assume the University generators weren't working. Then about 15 minutes into the show it went out again, so they decided to move the performance outside. Everyone grabbed seats on the steps or right down in front (Jim and Jared did this and were incorporated into the performance), sunscreen was passed around for all the white people, umbrellas, sunglasses and hats were pulled out and the show continued!
     It was awesome. I loved seeing Rwandans walking by and deciding to stay and watch what was going on. The children liked the sword fights and it was interesting to see where the cultural difference lay within the audience. For instance, the Rwandans were a little uncomfortable when there was a very chaste kiss on stage... they tend to laugh at moments that westerners would think inappropriate, as in Polonius' murder, things like that were very interesting to see. But regardless, it was just so amazing to have this piece of western culture brought to Butare. We all agreed that it was by far the coolest thing we have done in our six months here.

Lessons Learned:
1) Everyone should support the fine arts, they are so important.
2) You never fully realize how much you miss something until you get a little taste of it.

The set inside to start

The set moved outside... that would be Hamlet crouched behind Jim and Jared

Tiffany & I were very grateful for my umbrella!

Because what is Hamlet without an
advertisement for Airtel (internet/phone carrier)?

"Delicious 30"

    So I celebrated my 30th birthday in Africa. Not because I took a vacation, but because I live in Rwanda. If you had asked me a year ago what I'd be doing to celebrate the big 3-0, let me tell you... the answer wouldn't have come close to the truth. What is the truth? I'm glad you asked.

     A week before my birthday I was in Kigali attending the nursing conference hosted by the University of Rwanda. A few of us decided to grab dinner at a restaurant that Steph wanted to visit before her departure from the land of 1000 hills. Rhett, a visiting surgical resident from UVA joined us.  A few drinks later while discussing his vacation plans for the remainder of his time in East Africa, I more or less had invited myself along on a weekend adventure. To be fair, Rhett did say that I should jump on the opportunity and he was right. The opportunity that lay before me was extremely unique, fascinating, and a once in a lifetime experience. By the next afternoon it was all settled; I was headed to the Congo for the weekend.

     Now, you may be thinking to yourself, "Isn't that the country where there appears to be constant instability?" "Didn't one of the doctors on ER almost get killed there?" "Wasn't there just an article in the Washington Post when Alex was home for New Years about some rebel skirmishes in the northeast along the border with Rwanda?" "Didn't her father tell her not to go there?" And the answers to all these questions is, Yes. Now, mind you, when I first moved to Rwanda in August, I thought anyone who mentioned visiting the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) was a little off their rocker. Ok, to be perfectly honest, more than a little off their rocker. And yet, I had consented to stay 2 nights and 3 days in the country so I could go hiking.

Mount Nyiragongo (Wikipedia)

     It was no ordinary hike. Mount Nyiragongo is located in Virunga National Park in the DRC approximately 12 miles north of the city of Goma. It has an elevation of 11,382 ft with a crater diameter of 2 kilometers. Within the crater is a lava lake. Along with Mount Nyamuragira, which isn't far away (we could see it the following morning), the two volcanoes account for roughly 40% of Africa's volcanic activity (thanks Wikipedia!). Accordingly to our tour guide, Roger, the most recent eruption occurred in 2002 when lava flowed out of a lower elevation fissure and all the way to Goma. Over 9 feet of lava buried parts of the city, which have since been rebuilt, 9 feet higher. Apparently, the lava flow during eruptions of Nyiragongo is very fast partially due to the steepness of the volcano and I'm sure partially due to some geologic phenomenon of which I'm unfamiliar, but it can go as quickly as 60 mph. This is apparently quite unusual and what makes this particular active volcano quite dangerous. So naturally, I thought I'd hike it and camp at the summit in celebration of my 30th birthday.

     So let the adventure begin! It started with a long, interesting bus ride. In order for me to reach Gisenyi, Rwanda I had to take two busses, one from Butare to Kigali and then Kigali to Gisenyi. By no means is this the most direct route, but without a car of my own, it's the best way to go. Fortunately, Vanessa had a department meeting Friday morning in Kigali so she gave me a lift the first half of my journey. Once at the bus station (which is always a total and complete zoo) I discovered that our trusty bus line, aptly named Volcano, didn't run to Gisenyi. Fortunately, one of the Volcano guys walked me across the parking lot, dodging moving busses, people, vendors, probably animals as well, to Kigali Coach where at 9:29 am I bought my ticket for the 9:30 bus and ran back into the madness to get on the bus. I got the last seat... the jump seat right next to the door. Now the good thing about this jump seat is that you actually have room for your bags and feet. I very wisely dropped the dry bag with the three sleeping bags on the bus step and fit my day pack in front of me. I say it was wise for me to place the sleeping bags on the step because as I discovered about 15-20 minutes into the 3.5 hour drive the bus door tended to fly open at high speeds. The other people on the bus thought it was hilarious that the only muzungu (literal translation: crazy white person) was sitting there and every so often had to shove the door closed so that I wasn't flung off the bus when going around a crazy curve.

     I managed to keep my car sickness under control and by the time we reached Musanze (north of Kigali where Volcanoes National Park with the Rwandan gorillas is located) I was able to switch seats and grab my own. Between Musanze and Gisenyi our bus got pulled over for speeding. The odd thing about this traffic stop though is the two heavily armed police officers had everyone get off the bus. At first I thought nothing of this and then about a minute later I realized this was odd and whipped out my phone to text my ever trusty roommates who agreed this was weird. The officers then made us all get back on the bus to collect any baggage we had left on it. Finally, they let us back on and we continued on our way. I have no idea why we were stopped in that fashion. Maybe they were looking for something specific, maybe our driver had just said something to annoy them. I have no idea, but it's the first time since moving here I thought, "This is odd."

     Upon my arrival in Gisenyi about 1 pm, I was met by Innocent, the owner of Green Hills Eco-Tours, the tour company the guys and I had booked our trip through. He is very sweet and kind and was all set to drive me to the border so that I could cross into Goma. I was very excited. First, Gisenyi and Goma are located on Lake Kivu. I have learned in my travels that growing up on the East Coast of the U.S. has ingrained in me a need to be nearby water. I didn't grow up on the water, but we go to the river during the summer and it's just a 30-minute drive downtown to go sailing or walk along the harbor. I need water. So coming down a hill and seeing how big Lake Kivu is and how beautiful it is, almost took my breath away. I just love water.

Lake Kivu
Facing Southeast towards Rwanda

     When I was told that you walk across the border, I was very intrigued. I had these thoughts of grandeur of crossing the Rwanda/Congo border and feeling so accomplished, brave, and exhilarated. Perhaps this is how the Von Trapp family felt as they hiked across mountains, crossing borders and while I will admit the mountains of Rwanda are not the Alps, this thought did pop into my head...

Headed into the wilds of Congo

It was none of these things. In fact, it was completely uneventful and monotonous. I filled out my departure card for Rwanda, showed my passport twice, walked approximately 100 yards to Congo, showed my passport again, and I was in the DRC.

Newest stamp in the passport

That was it. The Congolese had a little trouble finding my visa that Innocent had given them the day before, but while waiting I went to the public health folks and had my temperature taken and showed my yellow fever card. Innocent stayed with me the entire time, walked me to my hotel, which was another 300 yards from the border, made sure I was checked in and the room was ok, gave me a lecture about not walking in Goma at night before heading back to Rwanda. The boys (I'll get to them) were still out on their gorilla excursion and were due back soon. I quickly settled myself in my room and then found myself at the pool, looking at the lake with a beer and new book in my hands.

Looking east to Rwanda

     It wasn't too terrible of a way to spend the afternoon. Very relaxing with the exception of the UN planes landing and taking off every half hour or so. We have an airstrip in Butare that is almost never used and I have grown so accustomed to not hearing noise from the sky that it surprises me when I do. The boys finally made it back to their hotel about 2 minutes away after a 3 hour post gorilla hike excursion to the Goma market to buy masks. Apparently, they were quite the bargainers. My hotel arranged a cab for me to take to their place for dinner (where I corrected the dish they had ordered me; they literally picked the only thing I wouldn't eat on the menu) and they regaled me with tales.

Mickey, Me, & Rhett

Mickey is a visiting medical student from McGill University in Canada. There is a program in Canada where you can enter medical school basically straight from high school (he explained the details but in all honesty I don't recall them all... must be the old age) and is just 22. He's ridiculously smart and talkative. Being from Quebec he speaks French and this lead to the three hour excursion in the market earlier in the day because he refused to be ripped off. Rhett, is a visiting surgical resident from UVA who tacked on a week of vacation to his rotation here. I'm sure he's heard all the possible jokes about his name growing up in Georgia, so during his few weeks in Butare we kept the Clark Gable and Gone with the Wind references to a minimum. He has traveled to more places I can recall and even worked on a game park in Zimbabwe. They are both very fun and personable... and also graciously allowed me to crash their bromance. I was informed that it was probably a good thing I hadn't spotted the volcano yet as according to them, it looked pretty intimidating. We all called it a relatively early night and agreed I'd let them know when I was picked up at the hotel by Innocent Saturday morning.

     The next morning after an awesome breakfast I was scooped up and then we got the boys. I met Roger, who was our guide on the mountain. Roger is awesome. So incredibly sweet, funny, and full of knowledge. We drove through downtown Goma and that's when I realized, I was truly in Africa. Rwanda is so incredibly different from other African countries. While the mountains and surrounding area of Congo was beautiful, Goma was a slum. There was a thick haze of volcanic dust and smoke as we drove. Trash burned in the streets and there were piles upon piles of it. Everything was gray and sooty from both the volcanic soil and fires. A child was going to the bathroom right next to the fruit his mother had spread out along the road to sell. I have no photos of Goma as the Congolese are not fans of tourists and photos, which I understand, and it's so vividly ingrained in my mind I don't think I needed a camera. One thing I did notice is that unlike Rwanda, Congo still has a number of trees. Most of the homes in Rwanda are made from red mud bricks while in Congo they're made from wood. For me, it painted a very difference landscape despite being within 20 miles of the Rwandan border. It's only when you leave Rwanda that you realize you're really living in Africa.

     It was still hazy as I finally caught view of Mount Nyiragongo. And the boys were right. It went straight up and the summit was lost in the clouds. I was certainly intimidated. When we got to the starting point, the sky had cleared and I was even more intimidated. The start of the hike looked to be 20 miles away from the summit.

Mickey and Rhett at the starting point.
Hello distant summit.

A zoomed view of Mount Nyiragongo from the start.

Then the other hikers started to show up with their gear and weren't hiring porters to carry it for them. All of my friends who had previously done this hike told me to hire someone. It costs $24 plus tip and I figured not only was it employing someone but it would also make my vacation way more enjoyable if I was carrying a water bottle versus a 25 lb day pack (I'm really good at packing). I told the boys that I might get shamed into carrying my bag as we sized up the UN crowd hiking with us. But in the end I hired someone and I really hope that the UN folks that stopped carrying their packs halfway up paid their porters appropriately.

    It took 5-6 hours to reach the summit. For the first 4 hours every time we stopped I think we all felt as though we hadn't made any progress whatsoever. The volcano looked just as far away as it had at the beginning of the hike. When it finally was noticeably closer I felt a little relieved.

Lunch break, complete with Mars bars.

Explorers

Our attempt at a Brady Bunch photo

I didn't think the hike was the hardest I'd ever done (that prize definitely belongs to the 14,000+ foot hike I did with my surrogate brother Chris in Colorado in July 2013) but it was pretty strenuous. I was not complaining when we took safety breaks to make sure everyone was still together. We took several safety breaks because I was in fact hiking through an area where the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) hang. And of course, unbeknownst to me, the day before I arrived in the DRC had agreed to an offensive against the rebels with UN and U.S. support. So, yes, this is why my father had told me just three weeks before to NOT go to the Congo.

     But in all honesty, I felt incredibly safe. We had three Virunga Park Rangers with us who were heavily armed. As I've probably previously mentioned, similar to the machetes, I am completely desensitized to people in uniform (army, police, prison guards, bank guards etc.) strolling the streets with AK-47s and it was no different in Congo. One ranger in the front, one in the middle, and one in the rear and while I know the porters weren't armed with guns, I'm certain they all carried knives. I didn't think my 1" pocket knife gifted to me when I left the safety of Bucknell University for the wilds of the University of Maryland would do much good, but I had it on me. As we got higher up and passed the ranger station with another 5-8 park rangers they allowed us to spread out a little more. I stuck right behind the boys who were right behind our lead park ranger (the one with multiple magazines duct taped to his weapon). The last 30 minutes of the hike were ridiculous. I was climbing volcanic rock at, I'm not exaggerating, easily a 45˚ angle, maybe more. At this point, the boys took off (freaking jack rabbits). They were the first two to the top, even ahead of the ranger, and about 10 minutes ahead of me. I was the 4th to the top and the first gal by at least 15 minutes. I was expecting the elevation to get to me more, but I was pleasantly surprised.

Last 30 minutes of the climb... this is where the boys took off.

Looking down to the second crater as I
was roughly halfway up the last haul.

I made it!

     As I was still catching my breath, the boys informed me that 5 minutes before I reached the summit the crater was very clear and you could see the lava perfectly. As I peered over the edge I could faintly see it and a whole lot of steam. I was a little disappointed but, I'm not going to lie, I felt as though I had just climbed Mount Doom, minus the orcs and all (think Lord of the Rings for those who don't understand this reference). As the wind shifted and the temperature dropped it became one of the most mesmerizing and fascinating things I have ever seen in my entire life.

The initial glances at lava.

Steam clearing.

Amanda was a Dutch woman on the hike with us who also just happened to be a geologist. She was explaining all sorts of things to me. We could sit along the edge and watch the molten lava boil up, cool and harden (thus turning black) and then see and hear the cracks starting to form as it broke apart and another area boiling sucked the hardened pieces down. It was amazing to watch. We could feel a slight warmth from the rising steam when the wind was right despite the chill in the air.

Our hut is on the left, a mere 20 feet from the craters edge.

Roger and the lava lake.

After the sorting of huts, I changed into my thermals and Roger made us hot tea over a lovely fire. The wind was chilly but all in all I was fine. As Roger cooked dinner we had fun talking with Amanda and her husband Benjamin, goofing off, and simply looking down into the crater at the bubbling lava lake.

As night fell, it became more and more breathtaking with every passing minute. There was lighting bolting down in the valley and clouds illuminated above us. Below you will find a picture the boys captured of me with the lave glow from the rising steam and lighting in the clouds. It's fantastic.

      Roger made us a delicious dinner of rice, stew with veggies, sausage, beef, and fish. It was so nice to sit around the fire and eat and talk. He also shared with us the local alcohol of Goma, which is clear, tastes suspiciously like Children's Tylenol chewable tabs, and is packed in plastic pouches. You slit the corner and suck it out. We had a grand time. I finally called it a night about quarter to 9. I was exhausted. Roger made a hot water bottle which was great because I'd been hanging out in flats and not my gortex boots so they were a little chilled. Probably 30 minutes later the boys came in and I tried without success to pawn the hot water bottle off on one of them. I was actually hot. All my friends who have done the hike said that it's freezing, it rains, it will hail, it's windy... Rhett and I opened the tent (within the hut) door we got so hot. The wind was non-existant as we slept. I removed every layer I could and while Mickey snored to one side of me, Rhett tossed and turned on the other. We didn't sleep more than an hour and probably not in more than ten minute increments. So needless to say I wasn't thrilled when Roger knocked on the hut in the morning telling us it was time for breakfast, but I did want to see the sunrise, so once the boys were booted, I changed and went back to the edge of the crater to see. Again, it was very steamy and the wind had picked up so I scurried back to see what deliciousness Roger had for breakfast.

Roger cooking up a storm.

     We started our descent at 6:45 am. We were all a little nervous about the first section down. It was steep and all volcanic rock that you easily slipped on. If you slipped and fell forward, there was no way of stopping. I took my time and even the jack rabbits I was with took it easy. I slipped and fell on my bottom, which left a nice bruise, but otherwise we were all fine. One hiker in our group slipped and cut his hand pretty badly. Mickey, Rhett and I all agreed, there is no way they would do such a hike in the US/Canada without a twenty page waiver, if at all. It amazed us that only one person (that we know of) has died on the hike, and well, apparently thats because sections of the rim can undercut and the ledge crumbled beneath her. Thankfully, we all made it down safe and in one piece. As we hit the jungle section towards the end of the hike the rangers made sure we were much closer together for safety and at 10:45, we were back to the starting point. We wished the hikers who were about to begin good luck and Roger shortly had us in a car and on our way back into Goma.

Our lead park ranger, Augustine.
Photo credit Mickey on my camera

     Now, as previously mentioned, Mickey is Canadian. This means that his visa to re-enter Rwanda is different than Rhett's. I have a work visa so I already knew I wouldn't have a problem getting back in, I was more worried they'd confiscate my ziplock bags I'd packed everything in. Anyway, when the boys entered the DRC Thursday Mickey applied for his re-entry visa to Rwanda as he needs to be pre-approved. He received a reference number in return. I believe the process is for immigration to then email the approval directly to him, but this did not happen. As we were on the summit of the volcano, Innocent had called and asked if he had the email, which he did not. Immigration was to resend it, we would head to the hotel I stayed at on Friday night and print it, all cross the border together, and meet Amanda and Ben at the bus station and head back to Kigali together, where we were very excited to have some indian food and drinks.

     Well... things didn't go quite as planned. As it turns out, Rwanda's immigration website was down... There was no email sent and without the website there was no way to see that Mickey had in fact been approved to cross the border. Even his invitation letter from the University of Rwanda was not enough, so we decided to order some beers and wait it out. Afterall, it was just barely noon, how long could it possibly take? "We should order food guys." "But if we get approval we just want to go, we can get something in Gisenyi before catching the bus." By 2 pm I tossed my bathing suit on and we all jumped into Lake Kivu to cool down. It was lovely and not freezing as I was expecting. We were only in for 5-10 minutes since there was no beach but it felt great. A storm rolled in and we pulled out a deck of cards and started play Rummy. Roger thought we were all a little crazy for going swimming, but had fun watching us play and learned a little.

Storm rolling in.

     By now it was closing in on 4:30 pm and we were tired, hungry, and had just learned the border closed at 6 pm. We held off on ordering food all afternoon because it had gotten to the point of if we got Mickey's approval we really would have to leave immediately. We finally decided about 5:15 pm that we would all stay in Goma for the night and cross together in the morning. I didn't want to get on a bus by myself at that hour and none of us wanted to leave Mickey alone in Goma despite his protests that he would be fine. Then, I'm not really sure what happened. I think pure exhaustion and hunger caught up with Rhett and I and the cost of staying in Goma another night and all of a sudden at 5:48 pm Rhett and I were trying to cross the border. Right after handing my passport to the DRC official, there were some doubts expressed, but it was too late. My passport was stamped and I had to go, which meant Rhett was committed and despite thoughts that maybe Mickey should just try and cross he stayed with Roger and went back to the hotel for the night.

     As if that in and of itself wasn't chaos enough, we found out upon crossing that the busses stopped running to Kigali about 6:30/6:45. It was 6:15 by the time we finished at the border. Innocent finally showed up to get us to the bus station and as the taxi pulled up he jumped out to possibly stop the bus from pulling out of the station without us. It was halfway out when they stopped it and a Rwandan quickly ushered me to it. It had started to drizzle a little bit and I thought Rhett was right behind me. Then I turned around and he wasn't. He and Innocent were discussing something and then the bus started to move without him. I started to shout that he had to come with me, they started to slam the door close, I started to open it, the bus is now going down the street and I'm trying to grab my bags and jump off it, when Rhett comes jogging down the street and jumps on, just to ask me where his bag was. I had no idea where his bag was. Turns out the Rwandan who had ushered me onto the bus had already stored it, but it took another 15 frantic seconds to figure this all out. If the people on board didn't think we were crazy white people before, they definitely did now.

     By the time we both sat down, we just kind of looked at each other and wondered what the hell had just happened. We didn't get to properly thank Roger and Innocent and the last hour of our life had been just ridiculously chaotic. We had left Mickey and felt terrible, despite knowing he would be fine. We sent emails to Mickey and Innocent and of course while still on the bus to Kigali we learned that not only was the immigration website back up, but that Monday had been declared a holiday so that I really didn't need to race back to Butare. We finally slept and pulled into Kigali just passed 10 and while I told Rhett not to worry and that we'd be able to get a taxi (which we would have been) I was glad not only that he was with me, but that he had a taxi driver he knew coming to get us. The crazy zoo of a bus station was like a ghost town minus the taxi drivers hounding us.

     They dropped me off at my friend Becky's and that was our adventure. Becky made sure to leave the newspaper out for me to read while she made me the best grilled cheese sandwich of my life.

I finally made my way back to Butare Monday evening (Mickey having gone directly there arrived safe and sound from Congo about 1 pm) and Tuesday night the Butare crowd and I got Chinese for dinner to celebrate my actual 30th birthday. I have to say, it was an unforgettable one.

Lessons Learned:

1) You might regret not doing something, but you will never regret the money, time, and experience of actually doing it.

2) Life is an adventure, make it happen.