5 Things You Need To Know About Gisenyi

Noheli Nziza, Umwaka mushya!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Before returning to the Village to welcome the new students, I traveled to Gisenyi, a town in the Western Province of Rwanda. Here are 5 things I think you need to know about this spectacular place!

1.  Order your food two hours before you want to eat, even if you are not hungry. For those of you who are close to me, you know that I suffer from hanger (becoming angry when hungry). Even if you are getting a raw avocado for lunch, it is imperative to order two hours before you think you may even begin to be hungry. It will probably take longer.
2. You will never be clean, but feeling dirty never looked so good. The running water vacillates between muddy brown and milky white. The insanely beautiful landscape of Lake Kivu makes up for your permanent stench.
3. Swim at your own risk. At least that is what the sign warns on the beach. Not that you need to worry about marine life; it is more the lax dumping laws from neighboring Goma, which brings me to the next point…
4. You are a hop, skip, or jump away from the Congo. Don’t worry; I did not go there. I just drove to the border, which consisted of fence barely two feet tall. Sorry Mom and Dad.
5. Gisenyi is one of the most beautiful places in the world. If you ever have a chance to visit Lake Kivu, take it. And then go back again and again and again.