10/25/2020 0 Comments Trip to the center of the earthTrip to the Equator!! Today was so much fun! SIT offered to cover a trip for those who want to go to visit the equator! Many didn’t go because it was a 2 ½ hour drive each way, but Anna, Asia and I thought it would be so exciting to get to just go and stand there. What turned out to be really nice as well was just getting to get out of the city and have fun on a road trip seeing more of Uganda we wouldn’t have otherwise seen. I used to hate being in a car for hours and would get sick, but I have been having a lot of fun with it in Rwanda and Uganda. We left around noon and after about 45 minutes of driving we stopped at a gas station with a shop to pick up some snacks and water for the trip. Anna and Asia got jackfruit, which I thought looked really funky but they made me try it. Jackfruit is amazing! It tasted like bananas and I ate a bunch! The drive was beautiful with the long landscapes of greenery, but also sad as we drove through some of the smaller villages and saw the poor state of their houses and shops. We’ve been talking a lot this week about development issues and the ways that we need to listen to the communities and learn from them on what kind of work is necessary.
After the drive, we finally got the area with the line for the equator! There was a fun photo area where you could stand in between both hemispheres. It was so much fun to think that we were jumping and standing in-between both hemispheres. We had a lot of fun taking pictures, and then got to walk around a bunch of small local craft stores. I bought a few beautifully made local artwork of elephants and a wood carving of Africa. The local store owners were all very nice and friendly, and Anna and I practiced our bargaining skills. The whole experience was a ton of fun and I’m so excited that we went and got to get a break. We were all very refreshed coming back and I’m excited for the new week!
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10/22/2020 0 Comments U.S. v Uganda electionsToday we discussed the issues of elections and did a panel discussion with three Ugandan professors comparing the upcoming United States and Ugandan elections. As the student of the day, I had only planned on introducing the speakers and one of the professors was planning on acting as the facilitator of the discussion, however I was asked before to join the panel as an additional facilitator with an American perspective. This experience was one of the best things to happen to me, getting to discuss politics with professors with international perspectives and getting to share experiences. As I walked with Dorothy to Café Javas, we talked about how I have been participating in elections and campaigning since I was eight years old with my dad when he was running for local office.
I found our discussion very enlightening as we discussed the issues with Ugandan elections, such as media influence, campaign financing, electoral security, voter suppression and more. As we talked, both professors and students saw how similar the elections are in Uganda and the United States. What I found most interesting about the similarities was the unknown of what’s going to happen post-election and the possible violence that may occur in the streets. There were clear distinctions throughout the conversation, including the freedom of media in the U.S. compared to Uganda, the openness of campaign financing in the U.S. whereas unknown in Uganda, the use of the national guard pre-elections in Uganda, and more. 10/17/2020 0 Comments Cupcakes & Pastor visitA wonderful surprise came on Thursday when my dad had chocolate cupcakes delivered!!! They were very delicious and a wonderful surprise! I gave a few to our directors and friends and we all had a fun time.
Thursday we also spoke with a local Pastor who gave most of us all a spiritual awakening. He was an amazing orator and the way he talks about forgiveness and the spirit of God makes you really think. I'm planning on going to his church on Sunday morning for the English service to hear him speak more. 10/14/2020 0 Comments ButareMonday through Wednesday of this week we traveled to Butare, about a 3 hour drive from where we are in Kigali. Monday afternoon we had the option to go to the Murambi Genocide Memorial. Asia, Anna, Caleb and I went to the memorial which was very emotional. The beginning of the tour started with a museum going over the history of the genocide, much alike the Kigali Genocide Memorial, but the back of it was a building where they had preserved bodies from the genocide. It was a lot to see the actual bodies and was very graphic. Afterwards we came back to the hotel and everyone had a somewhat disappointing dinner, except for me because I got the Spaghetti Carbonara and it was amazing! On Tuesday we got to go to the Maraba Coffee Co-op and had a really fun tour guide, and of course started the tour with a cup of coffee. We decided instead of driving to get up the mountain to the coffee fields we would do the "10 minute" hike up the mountain. It was somewhat hard but actually a lot of fun. After walking around the fields a bit, it started to pour down on us. We ran up the hill to the fire pit where we roasted coffee beans by hand, crushed them down to powder, and then got to drink the coffee we made and tasted amazing (which also helped us all warm up a little bit). We then ran back down the mountain to the van and went to where they grind the coffee for mass production. Afterwards we headed back for lunch and then got to meet with the Karama Women's Co-op for widows and wives of perpetrators. Theirs stories of reconciliation were moving and the ways that they've been able to come together in the community. It definitely wasn't an easy thing for them to do and took a long time to work through everything that happened, and they are continuing to work through their issues. On Wednesday at breakfast a group of monkey's played with us and tried stealing a bunch of bananas. We headed back to Kigali, stopping at the King's Palace Museum with replicas of the huts of past King's next to the modern house where the last King of Rwanda lived. It was very educational and interesting learning about the history of the King's in Rwanda. Near the huts was where they have kept up the tradition of the sacred cows. Two men took a few of the cows over for us to meet and sang to keep them calm. The cows were incredible and very calm. We went over to the baby cows as well, one very excited for head pats which was absolutely adorable!! It was a really fun visit with the animals! 10/11/2020 1 Comment End of HoneymoonI've been posting most of the positives of this experience but I don't want to lie, there have definitely been a lot of hard times. It has been very stressful trying to figure out our housing situations for ISP, as well as dealing with all of our work and writing research proposals. I also learned of how I have a limited time to fill out my IRB for my Elon research project here and the modules I have to complete have taken away hours of time I need spending on my work here.
The study abroad honeymoon is over unfortunately and the stress is setting in. Every morning I still feel grateful and am in awe of my view of Kigali from my room, but the pressures of the program and social life here have deeply set in. I really appreciate the support of my friends and family who have helped me deal with the pressures of the program. My big Kristiana has been a major rock for me, checking in daily and following what's been going on with me. Delaney and my family have been equally there for me and helping me through the ups and downs of being abroad. I miss everyone a lot and appreciate everyone's support. 10/9/2020 0 Comments Fun and stressThis week was stressful as they just explained the process of how our ISP period will work in November and December and to just start looking for places to stay on airbnb. At first we thought this would be fun looking for places, but it quickly became very complicated as the prices have gone up due to COVID-19 that are beyond our given budget and locations between my roommates internships. However, Wednesday (October 7th) provided a fun day of relief.
We drove out to Nyamata to visit a local farmer and learn about how they've been rebuilding their community and his training of dozens of other farmers. The farm was huge and beautiful with avocado, banana, and mango trees. There were cassavas, maize, pineapples and goats!!! The goats were so cute, but as we were fawning over them our tour guide came over and said "mmm hello my little brochettes" which is objectively hilarious but we all were stunned (alright it was pretty funny). After lunch we visited a weaving Co-op. It was run by all women and provided necessary jobs for them and more sources of income for their family. Their weaving was beautiful and looked fun as they all sat around and got to weave and bond. They all seemed to really enjoy getting to be together, as well as getting to earn a wage. When we got back to Kigali, we met with our directors tailor who brought some materials for us to choose from and designs. There was a beautiful gold and blue fabric that I ordered to use for a skirt. The designs we wanted we found on Pinterest and then sent to her. I also wanted a romper, and the other fabrics weren't our favorites. So she too Anna, Asia, Caroline and I downtown in a cab and visited a bunch of fabric places. She took us to what looked like an alley down a stairway, but it opened up to a huge area with tons of fabric stores with beautiful fabrics. Though they were regular fabrics, and we were looking for fabrics from Rwanda. She then took us to another building in the city that had a huge room with tons of people selling gorgeous printed fabrics. It was an incredibly fun afternoon getting to find these areas in the city and getting to have outfits made from fabrics in Rwanda. I can't wait for them to come in!! 10/8: HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!!!! Very sad I can't be with you to celebrate but I hope you enjoy your presents!! 10/4/2020 0 Comments Lake KivuTo get us out of Kigali for the weekend, SIT took us to Kibuye on the coast of Lake Kivu. The drive was supposed to be 3 hours which turned into 4 hours and 45 minutes (not so fun) and we didn't get to eat lunch until 4 pm. We relaxed on our porch that sat right off the lake until lunch was ready. It was incredibly peaceful as we sat in silence and listened to the quiet crashing waves. After lunch, which wasn't good :/, all of us except Caleb and Asia went on a walk to the town to see more of the views and pick up snacks for that night. The walk was gorgeous and relaxing after we had been in the van all morning. The next day we got up early for a beautiful boat ride around the islands to stop for a hike. It was incredibly peaceful getting to just ride on the water. I never realized how much I need to be close to water after being stuck in the city. As we pulled up on the island we were going to hike on a bunch of monkeys ran across the small shore. We explored the gorgeous hilly island for about 40 minutes, took some pictures of the sites, and grabbed some bananas to try and find the monkeys (we didn't). Some of the girls wanted to swim in the lake so our tour guide took us to Peace Island where they could get in the water safely. All of us girls went to a private part of the island, and some of them hopped in the water. I was very in-between on what to do because there are a lot of warnings about swimming there, but I decided not to get in. We hung out by the water for awhile, a bunch of us didn't get in, and just had a really relaxing morning. Afterwards we climbed some trees and went back in the boat to head to the hotel. Soon after we grabbed a quick lunch and came back to Kigali. It was a much needed weekend to get away from the stresses in the city and get a break from our school work. 10/2/2020 1 Comment Discussion with RwandansThis was a very heavy week.
9/28: In the morning we visited the Nyamata and Ntarama Genocide Memorial sites. These were churches where thousands of Tutsi's had taken refuge during the genocide and then were massacred within the churches. You can still see the bullet holes in the ceilings, broken walls from grenades, and worst of all the blood stained walls. I felt very humbled and deep in thought at each of the churches, as many of us were, trying to imagine and mourn for the thousands that lost their lives. Later in the day we got to speak with two of the survivors of the genocide which was a great opportunity and very emotional. They got to tell us of their experiences, how they've been handling life in Rwanda post-genocide, and the importance of memorials. They were very honest with us and vulnerable. They talked to us about the role of forgiveness, what peacebuilding looks like on a local and national level, and the balance of teaching future generations about the genocide without passing on the trauma. The conversations were incredible and I hope to get the chance to talk with them again during my research period. 9/30: In the morning we got to visit Never Again Rwanda, an organization that works to bring together communities to discuss their trauma and bond as a community. They run local meetings with survivors, bystanders, perpetrators, rescuers, really anyone that wants to come together to speak with one another. It's an amazing organization that works directly with the community and is making real impacts instead of more international organizations that lack the context of Rwanda. In the afternoon we had a discussion with Ex-Tigists or perpetrators of the Rwandan genocide against the Tutsi's. We spoke with three men that had committed acts of genocide, they each took turns talking about their experience during the genocide and post-genocide of jail and gacaca's. Our director translated their stories into English for us. They each spoke very solemnly. It felt very odd to be in a room with people who had aided the genocide. They talked about the process they went through for coming back into their communities, and gaining forgiveness. They praised the gacaca courts for their ability to give them reconciliation for their crimes and apologize to their victims and their families. It was another humbling moment in getting to sit with them and try to gain new perspectives on how Rwandans have been working to continue to live together. 10/1: This morning we spoke with Hutu Rescuers from the genocide. One man was in the military at the time of the genocide, and helped dozens of Tutsi's escape to Burundi while his life was threatened. There was also a woman who had recently given birth during the genocide, who hid multiple children and women in her home. Every day militiamen came to her house and threatened that the next day they would come and murder her entire family and the Tutsi's. Both of their stories of heroism and bravery were incredibly inspiring and who you hope you would be put in their situation. I can't imagine what it would be to be constantly threatened as well as my family, I hope to never be in the situation. Their stories were inspirational. The week overall was very heavy. It was great getting to learn and speak directly from those who experienced the genocide. It's the reason why I came here, to go beyond the literature (mostly written by Western academics) and get to learn firsthand from the people. |
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