Up until now I have traveled around America, and Europe, but this time I decided that it was time for something different. I wanted to experience something that major cities throughout the world cannot offer you, so with a friend I decided to visit Padri Vjeko Vocational Training Centre with its headmaster, a Franciscan priest named Ivica Perić. During our three-week stay we learned a lot about Rwandan culture and their fascinating way of life.

One day my friend and I decided to go Lake Kibuye to experience another part of beautiful Rwanda. For two days we went sightseeing throughout the city of Kibuye, in Kurongi district, and saw the beauty and culture of the placed. We stayed at a nearby lakeside hotel called St. Jean. As we checked out of our hotel, a young man awaited us with an offer to take us on a boat ride. After a few minutes of skepticism thinking about the offer, we agreed, simply because we had nothing else planned.

Our boat tour began, with the vista unchanging from island to island as we passed them by. At this point we were about two hours into our trip, and the lake still looked out over the horizon, making it seem endless. We finally reached a large island called "Napoleon". When we got off the boat the first thing we saw was a herd of cows with enormous horns. I had never seen anything like them before and suddenly our opinion of the trip was starting to change. Then the guide took us on a hike through what at first seemed like a tropical paradise - at least from our "city kids" point of view.

After half an hour we found ourselves half crouched between trees crisscrossing over us from every direction. Strange loud noises spread throughout the island and we couldn't quite make out what they were. And then, as we looked around, we saw bats - literally thousands and thousands of bats - hanging from every tree and every branch. We were scared out of our wits, wondering what to do.

Our guide, with a mysterious smile on his face, told us to clap our hands as hard as we could and to throw rocks at them. We looked at him with a blank jaw-dropping facial expression and wondered what have we gotten ourselves into! Then, realizing that we have done much stupider things in our lives, we went ahead and clapped. You should have been there... it was the most beautiful sight in the world. As we clapped away, thousands of bats abruptly ascended from the surrounding trees, flying in a circular motion above our heads, and almost blocking the sun from our eyes, they filled our senses with amazement.

It was the most miraculous thing I have ever seen, and will probably never see anywhere else again. It was a "magical movie moment" to its fullest extent... one of the many magical things this trip to Rwanda has had to offer us!

Edited by Valerie Kae Ken

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