in the heart of the kingdom

From Andrew!

Today we started the day leaving the Nyungwe Hotel, where everyone had been really kind to us (even baking a cake to celebrate Jack's birthday!) Our first stop on the way back to Kigali was to tour a tea factory. There we learned the process in which the tea is produced by getting a full tour in the factory. First we were shown how the factory purchases the tea leaves from local farmers who bring the leaves to Gisakura Tea Company. The professional chemists sort and separate the good leaves from the bad before they actually buy the leaves. Then we were brought inside where we got to see the grinding of the leaves that would ultimately become black and green tea. We also got to see the man who runs the factory taste each grade of tea. He was able to tell just by taste whether someone in his factory had not been patient or careful enough, which would lower the quality of his tea. Many of us tried the tea, including a strand called PB-1, which they ship directly to the Queen of England who claims it is her favorite tea. Many of us have enjoyed tea here at breakfast. After lunch we drove to Nyanza, the historic and sacred center of the pre-colonial Rwandan kingdom. We toured a replica of the king's traditional home from a man who looked like he descended directly from the Tutsi kings. We then got a chance to see the sacred inyambo cattle with the huge horns. We learned about their connection to the Rwandan people and their kings. Their meat was not eaten even after they died; only their skin was taken and the cattle were buried. The cattle's milk, however, has long been a huge part of Rwandan culture. The king had a separate home just for his milk maid--a girl who would devote her life to the king and his mother until the king died. She was not even allowed to leave her the compound for fear of sharing secrets. After a long day of travel, we made it home to Kigali late in the evening, with a drive through the Islamic quarter of Kigali, which was bustling on a Friday night.

I really enjoyed both the tea factory and the Rwandan history experience. I've never been inside of a factory before, so it was very interesting for me to see how things are produced on an industrial scale. It was amazing to see how all the parts of the factory worked together and how people couldn't take shortcuts because it undermined the quality of the product and the reputation of the company. The more historical experience was also cool as well because I finally got a chance to see the famed cattle and hear the man who takes care of them sing to them (they each have their own song!). The relationship between the cattle and Rwandans is just amazing to me and I really appreciated getting the opportunity to witness it firsthand. I'm really looking forward to the last couple days in Kigali with our terrific group. We have had an amazing time.