Partly because of procrastination, partly because of lots going on, I've struggled to get something written down about Kigali. But definitely not because I lack something to say.
I've loved Kigali. Immediately from the drive back to Solace Guesthouse - where we're staying - and the first views of the city, I felt more at home here than I did in Arusha. It's a city that's certainly in the midst of a transformation. The first thing I noticed was the vast amounts of construction going on in the city. Rwanda is the greenest and hilliest country I've ever seen. What we call hills in Carolina, and even in southern Indiana - yeah, they don't really register in Rwandan terms. The better roads - and the nicer hotels, embassies from other nations, etc. - sort of line the tops of the hills. The others are clay, bumpy, and wind downward through neighborhoods. It would take living here for years to figure out getting around the city. No roads go straight in one direction; everything winds and curves around.
The people are very friendly. Granted, there isn't a lot of tourism around Rwanda, except for those on their way to see the gorillas on tours and such. We're pretty obviously outsiders; but immediately, even the first day we walked (an hour and a half) to the city center, people stopped and helped us find our way. A few people from the group have friends who live here, and we've met some local Rwandans through the guesthouse and the church which runs it. We've figured out places to eat, go out, and so on through them. Language has been a barrier sometimes, but most often we have someone from our group who speaks enough French, or whoever we're trying to talk to speaks enough English at least for basic conversation.
We're taking two classes, the first of which is International Criminal Law, taught by UNC's own Donna Lefebvre, and the second is History and Current Issues of Rwanda, taught by a rotating group of guest faculty members, always taught at the National Commission Fighting Against Genocide, a nationally funded think-tank that researches the 1994 genocide, as well as others throughout history and abroad today. The first week we've recounted the contributing factors and defining characteristics of the 1994 genocide, and went into the effects we still see today. The classes on international criminal law have forced us to deal with the structural barriers that have too often ensured that the "international community" does nothing until the dust is already settled in conflicts like Rwanda, and sadly, today in Sudan.
We've also started work at various service placements around the city, mine at a private secondary school about 20 minutes outside of Kigali. About three months ago, the Rwandan government ruled that all schools would progressively change language of instruction to English from French, effectively changing the second, "formal" language to English to accompany the native Kinyarwanda. As a result, many schools are grappling with the change, because many teachers, who have taught for many years in French, may lack fluency in English and the resources to adapt. So, Thursdays during the day, and a couple other nights during the week, I've been and will be going to the school first to instruct students in English (just so they can hear certain vocabulary words in English and practice their skills) and later to help teachers with their English skills.
Friday, for the weeks in Kigali is field trip day, where we've so far gone on one tour of the city, and visited the genocide memorial sites of Ntarama and Nyamata.
That's the basic overview of what we're doing in Kigali. I'll talk more about what I've been doing for the last week, but right now I have to get to bed. Though my blog says something about it being mid-afternoon, it's actually about 1am here.
