On the last Sunday that I was in Kigali, Martha and I went to the misa y’abana, the children’s Mass in Kinyarwanda at the Gikondo Parish where we lived. Though truthfully we only understood a few words here and there, the priest delivered a riveting homily which engaged every child in that church in a way…
Category: Rwanda
Bus Tickets are for Satisfaction: The Sequel to “Oh, That’s Normal!”
After spending three months in Kigali, I really shouldn’t be surprised by some of the happenstances that are bizarre in my mind, but are perfectly normal by Rwandan standards. Here are some of the best moments of (ab)normality:
“Good morning, Money!”
Back in the good old days when I was at Colby College, I hated the drive between my house and the campus. After each holiday, I’d pack up my things and drive 2.5 hours north from NH to Maine. The drive itself was not terribly long, but route I-95 through Maine has to be one…
On the Importance of Doing Nothing
Kigali is a bustling city, full of life, full of traffic, full of people. If you step out onto any street and look around, everyone seems to be on a mission, trying to make a few Rwandan Francs to bring home that day. From my observation, the citizens of this country know how to work hard. …
When you accidentally meet the wrong friend
It’s been quite the week in Kigali! One of the best parts about returning to the same city has been meeting up with many of my friends from last year. However, today I managed to meet up with the wrong friend. In order to tell the full story, I must first explain the week… After…
You may now eat fruit with the bride
Happy 4th of July! Happy Independence Day! Happy Liberation Day! Happy wedding day! Turishimye! (We are happy!) Today there are so many reasons to celebrate that I am beyond words! Last week when I was camping with my family, they asked me, “Aren’t you going to be sad to miss the 4th of July in America?”…
Make new inshuti, but keep the old
Really, I have no clue why I’m back in Africa. There were so many reasons to return that it was impossible to articulate a particular aspect that draws me back. On the other hand, there are also so many people, pastimes, and obligations that keep me strongly rooted to America that I ask myself time and again…
Colby Reunion and Other Cool Things
So, despite the fact that I have practically written a book not a blog, there are some awesome random pics and Kigali happenings that have been on my mind to publish! First things first, I was super psyched to meet up with two other Colby 2013 grads! Allison spent three months in Kigali and overlapped with me for most of…
Rwanda 2014: The Summary
Do you ever wonder why you have three thousand pictures from your last vacation and mayyyybe one photo from the office or school? When I looked back on this blog, I realized that I covered many adventures around the country, but never really explained exactly what we were doing for work throughout our trip of…
Nyamata: Sacred Ground
It’s impossible to write a blog about Rwanda without dedicating at least a small amount of text to the genocide. While I have skimmed over the topic thus far, I feel an obligation to share a larger glimpse of the past and current situation with others. Over the first few weeks, Emily and I talked…
From City to Summit 