Rwanda

Back in the center of Africa for our next country, Rwanda, the 'Land of a Thousand Hills'. And surprisingly, it holds the record for having the most women in parliament out of any country in the world. 

Sadly, this country is most well known for the 1994 genocide. Hutu extremists who had taken a Hutu majority in the government targeted the Tutsi people. An estimated 500,000 to a million Rwandans were killed  during the 100 days period in 1994. 

Our landmark is the Memorial Center in the capital city of Kigali, where over 250,000 people are buried in mass graves. The Kigali Memorial Center opened in 2004, and features a museum, a wall of names and a rose garden. There are six major centers in Rwanda that commemorate the Rwandan Genocide. 

In the last 20 years, however, Rwanda has come a long way and is now a relatively stable country. It still has high crime rates, some political instability, and sporadic outbreaks of violence. But, Rwandans make up for it in their spirit of resilience.

While Rwanda was once divided by it's tribal divisions, they are making strides to come together as one. There are no Hutus or Tutsis anymore, just Rwandans. 

But that doesn't mean Rwandans have forgotten their roots. Traditions are still carried in basket weaving and dancing. 

There is also the country's most popular and ancient form of art. Imigongo are brightly colored shapes and patterns made out of... cow poop! It's colored using chalks and clay and highlights their love of flora and fauna. 

The people today are more forward thinking than we probably give them credit for. 

The Smart Kigali initiative gives free access to wireless internet on public buses, in hospitals, taxi parks, commercial buildings and restaurants. 

Over 90% of Rwandans have access to health insurance, and as such life expectancy has risen by ten years in the last decade. 

Between 2006 and 2011 a million Rwandans got themselves out of poverty, thanks in part to a program that provided a cow to families in need.  

They've upped primary school attendance to 91%. 

In 2007, they were the first country to ban plastic bags in an effort to help the environment. 

On the last Saturday of every month, every Rwandan, starting with the President, participates in Umuganda, a day of national community service. Through Umuganda, Rwandans have built schools, medical centres, hydroelectric plants, and rehabilitated wetlands to create highly productive agricultural plots, and cleaned their cities, towns and villages – making Kigali one of the cleanest cities in Africa.

And they have a lot to protect. It's a stunning country, with scenic hills and savannahs, striking volcanoes, and fascinating tropical forests hiding from unique birds and insects. 

It's also home to the dwindling population of mountain gorillas, and people take gorilla trekking safaris to see these awesome creatures in their native habitats. The Virunga Mountains that straddle the borders of Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, are home to around 480 mountain gorillas, more than half of the world's entire population (the rest live in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest in Uganda).

The boys made their postcards, which I forgot to take pictures of when they were out- and then somehow got them to flip weird (Asa isn't here to fix it, so I'll just have to deal). 

Hayden's featured cow poop paining, and a volcano. 

Peyton's feature the hills, and butterflies (they have LOTS!) 

Calib's featured the mountain gorillas. 

I thought we might have a hard time finding something for Rwanda that I was excited about, especially because they really like their food spicy. (Also I was not super excited about 'Nile Perch', because 1. I can't find Nile fish here and 2. Fish- Blah!)

I did take the opportunity to order some Akabanga, this chili oil they put on potatoes. They are also fans of Peri-Peri, but we've been out of that for awhile now. 

You can get it off of Amazon, but it comes in a dropper and that's intimidating (although you know Peyton and Asa loved that). 

I actually ended up finding something I was excited about, though. I went with a little roadside stand type of dinner.  The Akabanga, or the Peri-Peri- or ketchup or mayo even can go on jacket potatoes, we had some corn and bananas, and rounded the meal off with grilled beef brochettes. 

We also served (root) beer in cans like they would in Rwanda in a traditional bar, although you can also hallow out a gourd (pardon me, I was fresh out of gourds). 

This meal earned five spoons up. 

The meat got a little overcooked, there was craziness that night and it was sort of an opsies, but the marinade was good, and we could surely try them again and I'm sure we'd be happy with them. 

The spice lovers in my family were also fans. Admittedly, I skipped the Akabanga on my potato. 

And, drinking out of cans made for a fun little quirky addition to dinner. 

We colored Rwanda in a bright yellow color, to the west of light green Tanzania, the east of dark purple Democratic Republic of the Congo, and south of bright blue Uganda. 

That's 165 down, 31 to go! 

Next Up: Denmark