The Expo in Kigali brings in Companies & Corporations,
crafts and all sorts or things to have on display.
The kids from Kagugu asked me if we could go. So, last
Thurs, Innocent, Lionel, Cythnia, Serge, Koffi, Patrick,
Mutoni, and Rachael and I took off for the afternoon
to see what we could find. This year's Expo was even
bigger than last year when we were here visiting Kigali.
There were 100's of people at the Expo today!
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| The first thing we encountered most people in Rwanda have never even seen before! HORSES! I have never seen a horse in Rwanda until today. No one raises them here --probably because the upkeep is too much. |
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| Apparently a riding school from Kenya will be moving into Kigali... Yippee... They were giving rides so I checked to see if any of the kids wanted to try. This was the sweet horse that they saddled up! She is a beauty! |
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| This was the little make-shift stable for the 3 horses. Note the crowd watching from above and Koffi checking out one of the other horses that was eating. |
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| Koffi gave it a try first, while Serge, Mutoni and Rachel looked around. |
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| "Sit up Straight!" was the first command... and then they taught each rider how to neck reign. Innocent and Lionel in the back ground--excited for the kids! |
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| Koffi looks pretty comfortable. He loved it! |
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| The "guide" soon let the riders handle the horse on their own. Each one was able to ride for about 5 minutes. |
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| Time for Serge.. age 10... Now I want you to know that these children have never seen horses before today... let alone taken a ride on one. |
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| Serge, too was a natural and very at home in the English saddle. |
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| Here Serge is telling her to turn left. But on the way back to the stable... the horse wouldn't stop and the guide had not told Serge how to STOP HIM. But Serge didn't let it phase him.. although I think he was scared. So scared that when the horse proceeded to leave the arena, Serge just grabbed onto a metal pole and slid off the horse's back and down the metal pole! It was astonishing.. and I missed the Kodak moment. I was so worried for him. But the horse just kept on going... Finally the guide got him back for the next rider though. |
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| These folks were all watching from above the arena area. They had just all waved. I'm so sorry I missed that picture. All those 2 handed waves just make me smile! |
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| Cynthia was next! This is Serge's big sister. See the pole wrapped in Blue and White? That is what Serge grabbed onto and shimmied down. |
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Cynthia had learned to pull back on the reigns.. so she didn't have to jump off! |
Posing for the picture after her 1st horse ride ever.
She was very happy and proud of herself for staying on.
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| Then one of the kids backed out so Lionel took a spin. |
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| Looks like he's been in the saddle awhile.. but this was the first time! |
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| Ok... So this isn't the gorilla family we visited but this was the RDB (Rwanda Development Board) booth... advertising the Gorilla Treks! These gorillas were so funny and the kids just wanted to touch them. But when they jumped at the kids... everyone pulled way back and giggled and giggled. |
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| Cynthia and Patrick checking them out.. And the gorillas were checking out the crowd. |
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| Then it was time for another ride....one for the non-horse riders! THE SWINGS! Felt like we were at Kennywood except this was the only ride! |
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| Patrick really loved this one. |
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| Serge and Mutoni and Rachel on the other side-- just coming to the end of the ride. |
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| I love this picture... Mutoni, Patrick, Serge, Rachel and who is that on the end? I guess she just wanted to be in the picture! I couldn't get her to leave until after I took the picture! hahahahaha |
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| The kids were fascinated with these hip-hop dancers. Don't see these or hear this kind of music here hardly ever. |
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| I was more fascinated with this guy carrying 4 mattresses on his head. Some folks will do anything for a nap! |
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| We had a fun afternoon and the kids were able to experience things that a lot of people in Kigali have never had the chance to do. We did lots of other things, too but still didn't even get through even 1/2 of the exhibits. We did get some sunglasses and a couple of watches so the kids can be on time. Finally, just a little bit of traffic... coming and going to make our ride home a little crazy... But this day was long from over and certainly experiences that will long be remembered. Stay tuned! love, margie |
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