When Air Force Academy cadet Dany Gatsinzi went home for winter break, he brought along six friends.

Nothing unusual about that, except that they had to travel about 8,500 miles.

The 22-year-old electrical engineering major helped guide a two-week tour to Rwanda, Uganda and Ethiopia.

Gatsinzi is the first cadet from Rwanda at the academy, which has 52 international cadets from 31 countries including Afghanistan and Micronesia.

Most cadets don’t lead trips home, but in this case it was a good fit for an academy Global Cultural Immersion Trip, where cadets experience life outside the United States.

“The first day it can be a shock because of the level of development between the U.S. and Africa,” Gatsinzi said.

People walk in the road, dodging cars, carrying water jugs and bananas — and cell phones.

“Everyone has a cell phone, sometimes even two. Literally, in remote villages you’d see people with cell phones,” said Col. Marty France, an academy astronautics professor who went on the trip. “They chose a cell phone over getting a second pair of shoes or buying a second set of clothes.”

Gatsinzi had never flown on an airplane before he left his homeland to enter the academy in 2006, after studying for two years at Rwanda’s National University.

He was among 80 Rwandan finalists for two spots at American military academies; the other went to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y. International applicants must meet the same admission standards as Americans.

Gatsinzi, who speaks seven languages, was born and raised in Uganda in a family of 10 children.

“My parents moved from Rwanda with nothing,” he said. “Most never get their kids educated. My parents educated their kids and are doing well.”

The family reunited in Rwanda after the genocide of 1994, minus one member.

“We confirmed my brother died, because after the war he didn’t show up,” Gatsinzi said.

After graduation, Gatsinzi plans to serve in the Rwanda Defense Forces.

The recent trip to Africa was a chance for him to see his girlfriend and enjoy meals of goat meat and starchy root not on the menu here.

“He talks about how it was interesting for him to see Africa through our eyes,” France said, “but for the past year and a half we’ve done the same looking at America through his eyes. He asks us questions about things we think are routine.”

Like deer walking through lawns.

“He wondered if they were wild or pets — and if they tasted good,” France recalled. “He asked if we had hippos in our rivers.”

Gatsinzi said he got asked funny questions as well.

“One of the cadets asked me: ‘In Rwanda, do people have doors to their house?’ Another one saw me playing pool and she was so surprised. She said, ‘Dany, how can you learn the pool table in just a few days?’ I said I knew pool tables. She said, ‘You mean you have pool tables in Africa?’”

Yes, there are pool tables — and doors.

Cadet Nicole Graziano said the tour gave her an understanding of “what Africa is all about.”

“When I go to pilot training I will have to be able to connect with people from different cultures and understand their cultures,” she said. “By traveling to places like Africa and expanding my horizons I can relate better.”

Added France: “If we don’t understand how those cultures operate and how they develop and where they are going and what their goals are, then we’re not really prepared to do our jobs in the military.”

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