We jumped out of bed while it was still dark because before we visited three schools we were going on our first game drive and boat ride in Akagera National Park!  After a lovely lakeside breakfast we were on our way.  Here are a few shots of what we saw throughout the morning…..

There was a lot of excitement when we saw this guy…….

and lots of this……

Margaret snapped this iphone picture, but this was such a surreal experience.  It’s an amazing feeling to dream about an adventure and then realize that dream (basically sums up how we felt all week).

After about two hours of the game drive we departed on a boat tour of the lake, on the way we ran into a family of baboons!

We found this nile monitor hiding on an island in the middle of the lake.  A crocodile made a brief appearance through the trees.  They are very large and very scary.  We are not reptile fans at TFE  (AT ALL) but the nile monitor was a MUCH anticipated creature of the trip (they don’t have teeth which in our minds make them slightly less scary).

The whole group (minus Sarah) after the trip…..

The rest of Tuesday was spent doing school visits and meeting the girls.  First stop……

This was probably our favorite school visit because all three scholars have TFE uniforms.  The girls were incredibly grateful for their uniforms and the chance to receive an education.  Additionally, we got to meet the President of the Komera girls Jeanviere.  Jeanviere is full of energy and truly a joy to be around.  In addition to school Jeanviere has been working on a program to help the street children in her village get to school!  Really an amazing young woman with lots of promise!

Jess and I are pretty sure we accidently promised this girl she could come to the US…..

Next stop…….

The girls above are receiving their uniforms in the very near future so after spending some time with the girls we went down the street to visit the sewing coop where the uniforms are being made.

Sweaters…..

On the way back to our hotel we made another stop to drop off some storybooks that we have brought along for the girls.  Reading storybooks helps the girls to improve their English!

Lots of excitement when the Mzungus arrive!