Akagera National Park
The invitation came in sealed envelopes. Inside was a little slip of paper written in French, of which I could only read the date and time. What could be happening on Sunday morning at 7:00? A class trip to the Game Park in the East of the country!
At 7:00 I hopped off a motorbike in front of the school and seen just 10 people ready to get on the bus. I was confused, wasn’t this a class field trip? By 8:00 we were leaving town with an overloaded bus, having stopped at half a dozen places to pick up people and supplies.
We got to the game park and a tour guide got into the bus, and we proceeded into the dirt roads of the game park. After 10 minutes someone pointed. “Look Animals!” The driver backed up and drove the bus off the road toward the herd of waterbucks. We got closer, and closer and the animals just watched as the bus drove right up to them. I couldn’t help but as all the Rwandans gathered around the windscreen, completely blocking everybody else’s view, to see the animals a few feet away.
After a few minutes the waterbucks ran off, and we drove back to the road. Along the road we saw impalas, and far off we could see the neck of a giraffe. As we drove up to the giraffe it (surprise!) ran away. So everyone got out of the bus to track the giraffe on foot. 
We walked up a hill and saw the giraffe, its mate and two babies run off to a near by tree. We stayed on the hill and took pictures, while the guide explained that two giraffe couples were brought in from Kenya a few years ago, and now there are 100 giraffes in the park! 
We drove around the park looking for zebras, buffalo or the lone elephant to no avail. But we did see monkeys and hippos. Then we dropped off the guide and drove back to Kigali. And now I know 20 or so of the students in the MPH course here (which is different than the course I'm working with) but unfortunately they will be done at the end of this week.
At 7:00 I hopped off a motorbike in front of the school and seen just 10 people ready to get on the bus. I was confused, wasn’t this a class field trip? By 8:00 we were leaving town with an overloaded bus, having stopped at half a dozen places to pick up people and supplies.
We got to the game park and a tour guide got into the bus, and we proceeded into the dirt roads of the game park. After 10 minutes someone pointed. “Look Animals!” The driver backed up and drove the bus off the road toward the herd of waterbucks. We got closer, and closer and the animals just watched as the bus drove right up to them. I couldn’t help but as all the Rwandans gathered around the windscreen, completely blocking everybody else’s view, to see the animals a few feet away.
After a few minutes the waterbucks ran off, and we drove back to the road. Along the road we saw impalas, and far off we could see the neck of a giraffe. As we drove up to the giraffe it (surprise!) ran away. So everyone got out of the bus to track the giraffe on foot. 
We walked up a hill and saw the giraffe, its mate and two babies run off to a near by tree. We stayed on the hill and took pictures, while the guide explained that two giraffe couples were brought in from Kenya a few years ago, and now there are 100 giraffes in the park! 
We drove around the park looking for zebras, buffalo or the lone elephant to no avail. But we did see monkeys and hippos. Then we dropped off the guide and drove back to Kigali. And now I know 20 or so of the students in the MPH course here (which is different than the course I'm working with) but unfortunately they will be done at the end of this week.
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