143 PEOPLE Most people took pictures and videos to document their summers, but for sophomore Aiden Davenport, it was more than just the memories – it was proof that his adventures really happened. “A lot of stories I have from my childhood people just don’t believe at all,” Davenport said. “In the dorm freshman year, I’d be telling stories of things that happened to me and they’re all like, ‘You’re just a big liar.’” Davenport said he was always an adventurer. Growing up with parents in the mission field, the list of places his family lived included Louisiana and Texas, as well as China and Rwanda, where his family served as missionaries for six years until they were forced to leave during the COVID-19 pandemic. Since he grew up traveling, Davenport developed a hobby of visiting different cities with the goal of spending as little money as possible. His most impressive, he said, was a trip to New York at age 17 that cost a total of $300. Davenport challenged himself to top that feat in summer 2022 when his family made a three-week trip back to Rwanda. Strapped with a hammock, sweatpants and a jacket, Davenport made it his goal to hitchhike 1000 kilometers across Rwanda in a week. “It was really fun,” Davenport said. “I would wake up in a random city and go out to the main road and just get a ride to the next city or wherever, and then meet people and eat wherever I could find. It was usually $1 or $2 for the meal. Then I would sleep, either just with random people or in the forest in my hammock.” Recounting his adventures, which included a run-in with Rwandan military officers in a forest and a reunion with his Rwandan foster brother, Davenport said one of the most memorable parts of the journey was the different people who picked him up while he was hitchhiking. “I hitchhiked with a guy from Tanzania whose whole windshield was just completely shattered, and he just drove like that,” Davenport said, “It started raining while we were in there, and there was just rain dripping through the windshield.” lollipopping Aiden Davenport spends his summer hitchhiking Rwanda on a budget. Two other memorable rides were in a petroleum transporting truck and in the bed of a truck that was moving cement. Davenport estimated that he was picked up on his trip by at least 12 different drivers, all of whom he gave a lollipop as a token of appreciation. “It’s technically illegal to pay [people for rides],” Davenport said. “The first day I was in the country, I bought a giant bag of like 50 lollipops, and I would just give them three or four lollipops each. They were so happy about it.” With the help of these drivers, Davenport traveled 1000 kilometers across the country and said he spent approximately $4 in total. During a summer full of unbelievable adventures, Davenport said he made sure to document it all. “I just started videoing everything that happened so that people will believe it,” Davenport said. While some found Davenport’s stories unbelievable, those closest to him knew it was in his nature to have adventures like this. His brother Brinson Davenport, who was also in Rwanda at the time, remembered his reaction when Aiden Davenport told him what he was planning to do. “I thought, ‘Of course he is. Not a surprise at all,’” Brinson said. Aiden Davenport’s roommate, sophomore Clay Hawley, agreed. “I had lived with Aiden Davenport for a year at this point, and him telling me he was going to hitchhike across Rwanda felt no different than someone telling me they are going to do homework in the library,” Hawley said. “To most people this would be the adventure of a lifetime, but for Aiden Davenport, this was just another casual day.” Hawley added that Aiden Davenport’s adventurous spirit inspired others around him. “Aiden is adventurous, but you can’t just be adventurous to do what Aiden has been doing,” Hawley said. “You must be persistent, and you must be willing to step far outside your comfort zone. He has shown me what confidence, joy, thoughtfulness and love look like when lived out in the most adventurous way.” Written by: Morgan Wrigley through Rwanda
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