Stalking a Baboon and Chasing Zebras

Today is our one week anniversary of arriving in Rwanda and we just got back from safari in the Eastern Province. As the title suggests, I stalked a baboon and took a photo of him eating out of a pan, although he knew I was there the whole time; also, Devon, Blake and I spent a good half hour walking around the hills of Akagera National Park looking at animals and even chasing some zebras. We never got even close to them and it felt more like we were running WITH them as opposed to running AT them. The whole safari experience blew my mind, it felt quite surreal. Besides seeing the animals (like crocs, hippos, zebras, giraffes, baboons, etc.), the best part was just driving around the huge safari park because we were allowed to sit on the windows and have our torsos hanging out the sides of the cars. I got pretty sunburned but I consider it totally worth the slight pain. We also camped on the highest hill last night. Even though the ground was bumpy, I slept like a madman.
It is weird how leaving and coming back can make a place seem like home, even when we have only been living here for a short time. Also, this does not feel like school as of yet. I think we have had a total of four class sessions, and most of our days are spent exploring the city and getting to know each other. Two days ago, the two other guys (already mentioned) and I walked a ways away down to Kimironko Market, a local market that bustled with activity and was stocked full of random goods. I ended up buying a Ugandan watermelon. I gave it to Alphonse, one of guards here at the Go-ED house. We cannot communicate very well since he speaks kinyarwanda and swahili and I speak english and french, but we are friends. We have run together, which was great since we ran at the same fast pace. We have also kicked the soccer ball around a fair amount and a couple nights ago he taught us guys how to dance as they do in the Congo and as well as traditional Rwandan dance. Anyways, I have decided that when I blog I will try to focus on one aspect what we do here instead of trying encompass everything into a single blog post. After all, this is my life. I cannot convey it all to my family and friends and allow you to see the world through my eyes, as much as I wish I could. I have been posting pictures on facebook and will continue to do that as long as it works because our internet is too slow to allow pictures on this blog. Tura subira!