Bananas Unite!

     Just a few hours ago I arrived to the Agahozo-Shalom Youth Village (ASYV). The journey here was easy and quick. Traveling with a group of new friends definitely made the journey enjoyable and simple. I even made new friends on the plane with native Ugandan men who currently live in the United States. Speaking with Eddie and David, my new Ugandan friends, was a wonderful welcoming into Rwanda.
      As soon as we boarded the plane from Brussels to Kigali, David and I started talking. He told me about his passion for counseling and psychology and about his family in Uganda (he even gave me the name of his siblings to contact if I want to travel there). He told me about the culture of the Rwandese people, filling me with lots of excitement to be surrounding by a loving, friendly and optimistic peoples. Eddie also told me about the beauty of Rwanda and its peoples. Both kept reiterating how amazing it is that I am traveling to Rwanda with other volunteers to help make a difference. They told me i'd be an excellent counselor. But just as quickly as I met and connected with these incredible people, the start of my journey volunteering in the ASYV began.
     Members of the village met us at the airport with open arms. They welcomed us to Rwanda and off we went in our bus to the market. At the market we were able to exchange money and buy a snack. I heard the bananas are excellent (and boy/girl do I LOVE bananas!). And let me tell you, they are excellent! We drove an hour to the village, windows down letting in a calming breeze and rustic scent. Upon arrival in the village we met a few more friendly people. We got to our rooms and had time to shower. These next few days will be my last opportunity to shower in warm water for a while. We ended the day with a fantastic feast! We had bread, cheese, tomatoes, eggs, pineapple, oranges, tea with lemongrass and mint, and of course, bananas! (yes I did have 5 bananas already!). Most of the food that we had was produced from the farm at ASYV, all very tasty and fresh!
     Tomorrow we will have time to explore the village more. We will meet new people and start learning more about the people that work here and the work that we will be doing while at the ASYV. Let's just hope that jetlag doesn't get the best of me tonight. Oh, and all my bags arrived, phew!