Day 5- Returning to our Roots by Irene

Today we went to visit Dad's family in Kayenzi, formerly in the Prefecture of Gitarama, now in South Province. The drive was about 2 hours, the latter part of which was on an unpaved country road (very bumpy).
Dad was born and raised here and most of his family still lives here, on the same hill.
We stopped by the Catholic Church where our parents were married so many years ago.
It is a simple concrete structure, painted green and white on the exterior. The benches inside are also very rudimentary, low to the ground and with no back support. There was a country wedding taking place this same day, with the reception in a building adjacent to the church.
After taking a look at the church, we drove a little further to the top of the hill and got out of the minivan. This was the farthest that a car could go, from here on it would be on foot to go down the hill. We first went to visit our great uncle, our cousins' grandfather, who lives halfway down the hill. The path going down the hill, though well traveled, was tortuous and one had to watch one's step in order not to fall and roll all the way down the hill, lol. There were a few houses that we passed along the way, as well as coffee plants and other vegetable and fruit trees. As most of Rwanda's hillsides, this one was also covered with many banana trees. Each family usually grows their own, around their little farm.
When we arrived at Grandpa's house ( I will call him Grandpa, because in Rwandan tradition he would be called Grandpa to me and my siblings, even though he technically is our Great Uncle), many other family members had also traveled to meet and greet us. Keep in mind that we had not seen all of them in about 20 years. It was so wonderful seeing everyone and their spouses and offspring...there were uncles and aunts, and tons of cousins. Two rounds of introductions were made, introducing the guests (us) to the family and introducing all the family members to us. As always, this was done in a mixture of Kinyarwanda and French, with an English translation for Maggie from one of us.
As is customary when one has a guest in Rwanda, soft drinks and grilled peanuts were offered.
At the conclusion of the visit, we all went outside of the house to take family pictures in the daylight. The house has no electricity.
I was surprised to hear that Grandpa, who is 86 years old, lives here all alone, and takes care of his one cow with hardly any help from anybody (though he has plenty of visitors daily). He is still very alert and sprightly still.
When it was time to go visit the next relative, our Dad's youngest brother who lives near the top of the hill, Grandpa was the first one up the hill, while the rest of us were huffing and puffing and taking breaks every five minutes. It was really kind of pathetic, lol.

After we visited our uncle, his wife and three daughters, and fed his cows and goats (Christian loves doing this!), we prepared to go back to Kigali. As we were leaving, Grandpa was looking for Maggie to tell her goodbye and he said: " wa munyarwandakazi ari he"? Which translates as "where is that Rwandan woman"? We all started laughing, because that was such an honor that he was bestowing upon Maggie, having accepted her as one of his family members. Then he asked me if I was married, and when I responded no, he promised if I return he would find me a suitable man.

This was a very good day. Everyone was overjoyed at reconnecting after so many years...the only things that marred the day's happiness was the absence of Charlotte (my sister) and Dad, who could not make it this trip. We also acutely felt the absence of m my Grandfather (Dad's Dad) who passed away a few years ago but whose house is still standing but now empty...
But seeing all the other family members alive and doing well more than made up for the other absences.