Last days in Africa, On to continent #3!

With everyone in a celebratory mood last night after the exam was finished, we all met up at the hotel down the road for dinner and a few too many drinks for some people. I ventured into Ugandan liquor called Waragi- its really good and tastes a lot like coffee flavored ice cream. With a dash of that and a few Primuses, we were all having a blast, taking crazy pictures, gossiping, and trying karaoke that ended with the alma mater.

We got back to the guesthouse and had an adventure in our room, where the shower wouldn’t turn off. After many hilarious attempts to stop it, we got the security guard to turn off the water for the night (that’s not uncommon- we don’t have water right now, for no reason at all). After that was taken care of, I headed outside to enjoy the stars. About six of us, with others in and out, huddled together under the stars, in and out of sleep, until 2:30 when the malarial mosquitoes start to emerge.

We were up at regular time this morning to visit the memorial at Marambi. Tutsis sought shelter at this school, and lasted two weeks without food or water, until the Interahamwe attacked and killed 50,000 people, leaving only 7 survivors. The French, in their horrifying role of aiding the massacres, later set up a volleyball court right next to the deceased.

Each memorial site strikes my emotions differently, not because of the physical differences in front of me, but because there are so many excruciating perspectives on the most horrific atrocities men can commit. Today I stood in the school rooms with whole skeletons preserved with some kind of limestone and was overcome with the incredible contrast of my life to theirs. As I’ve said before, I know I’m the luckiest guy in the world- fantastic family, friends, travels, and daily experiences that make me truly happy. Everything for me has been easy, and the rationalization that it‘s because I work hard carries frustratingly little weight. People here work harder than I can imagine, and I‘m simply left with the question of “Why me?”. How did I get so lucky in the lottery of life?

It’s not fair to claim every Tutsi in Rwanda was unhappy before the genocide, but the majority were constantly persecuted, and probably performed back-breaking work each and everyday for a wage we consider pocket change, before being terrorized and tortured as their life, hopes, and dreams were exterminated. I apologize for the depressing tone of this entry, but I want to share my thoughts that trouble and motivate me, and also hope to impact those of you who cannot witness this incredible continent for yourself. Whether we like it or not, I have seen that our actions as voting citizens and consumers of the developed world impact the people here struggling to survive; when we say our goodbyes, our friends here always ask simply that we not forget them.

We got back from the site and had lunch again at the supermarket, before walking around to the local market similar to those we’ve seen in Kicikuru, Nyamirambo, and Arusha. Everything is for sale, from European soccer and NFL jerseys, to raw meat, vegetables, and spices (some in bags labeled USAID). They hardly ever see any “mizungus” there, so we predictably drew lots of attention.

Sunday afternoon I believe I was bit by a spider, and the area on my neck is so far not getting better. It doesn’t bother me except when I first wake up and when the bandaids keep coming off, and since I think we have it under control with some of Donna’s medicine that I started today, I for some reason think it’s kind of cool.

Another tangent that I’ve so far left out is that males here always wear pants, and we respect the custom and do it as well. My travel pants are nice and lightweight so we have all really gotten used to it, but when we do occasionally venture out in shorts apparently we “look like little kids”.

Some random things I’ve picked up from the trip so far: watch UEFA soccer (its entertaining and everyone else in the world does), be more informed about world events, listen to This American Life on NPR, learn to take better pictures (I had no idea how much of an art form it is- we’ll be looking at the same thing, and David’s pictures are infinitely better than mine- luckily I can use his to remember and share my trip even more vividly) and finally that I see so much in black and white, that to some questions there really is no answer. Everything is not a math problem with one correct answer.
Each of our last three nights we’ve adopted the “lay out under the stars, huddle together for warmth, and talk about anything and everything” mantra and its been great. After last nights edition we woke up this morning to leave for Kibuye on a route which others promised “we will vomit”. The drive turned out to be fine, with newly paved roads and everyone packed together in two tiny vans, it gave me a chance to record some observations in our last days in Africa:

Men often walk around holding hands as a sign of friendship
Women (and men and boys) really do balance incredible loads on their heads. They also us cloth to tie their babies to their backs for transport.
This country is incredibly dense (highest in Africa) and its especially noticeable in rural areas that are still packed. More people wear the political party’s RPF shirts.
Bicycles are used in everyway possible. Riding, but especially to wheel large loads and push.
We’ve met tons of people from CARE international, and the majority of people I talk to are well aware of their work.
The only sports we really see people playing are soccer, volleyball (with the same homemade ball), and basketball.
Everyone wears cheap flip flops- shoes are too expensive, as are eyeglasses and tobacco.
Almost daily we run into the tige work camps, people who have been convicted of genocide-related crimes and work in the fields, digging ditches along the road, etc. They usually wear pink, and members of the unit we saw walking through Butare were handcuffed.
The best way to describe the rural landscape is a hilly checkerboard. Each plot of land is marked with hedges to prevent erosion, and many grow a variety of different crops right next to each other giving various tints.
People are really excited about the 2010 World Cup coming to Africa. The big cell company, MTN, seems to be a sponsor, but people everywhere, like our host, promise that there is no way they can miss the largest spectacle ever to come to Africa. Continental pride is a lot bigger here than other places I’ve been and lived.
Greetings, especially to children, are usually waves, thumbs up, or pumping fists.
Everywhere requires a school uniform, which seems like a big waste of money.
The obsession with Obama is unbelievable. He inspires lots of people, and people here love the U.S. partially for that reason.

Economically I made lots of observations as well:
Farmers that urbanize are probably not the worst off who have a better comparative advantage. I believe education is a critical part of this.
People here save money- it may take 5 years to build a house, but they work on it with any surplus of the year, being forced to wait to
All of the cows being herded may be worth more than meat, but people don’t have enough income to buy it.
Many of the people coming to Kigali were refugees from other countries who came back after 1994. Lots of them work in the service industry because they speak English, and were obviously more well off to even be able to afford the move to Rwanda. They seem pretty different from the rest of the city.
Multinationals that have reached Rwanda: Coca-Cola, Toyota, Western Union, and oil (Kobil and Engen, $5 a gallon)
Local companies throughout the rural areas: building materials, Primus beer, MTN and Rwandatel phones (a newly privatized industry)
You can bargain for almost anything, much different from the fixed prices of the developed world.
The most common sources of energy are firewood and brush, and people have also noticed the impact of climate change here, shortening their rainy season

When we got to Lake Kivu, we ended up waiting over two hours for our food for lunch. Even though the day was half over, we made the most of my second trip to Lake Kivu with a small boat trip to Peace Island, an island with one cow, a captive monkey, and a volleyball court and hiking trail. The 19 of us played volleyball and soccer, hiked and climbed the whole island (I almost fell out of a tree, Ben really did, flat on his back, luckily he’s fine), before going swimming. The trip was really fun, and we went back to our mansion of a guesthouse to hang out, wait for another really slow dinner (same place, we don’t have much of a choice), then lying in the grass.

I also talked to my friend’s dad who is a physician about my neck. From an emailed picture and my description he guessed that I had a reaction to the venom of whatever bit me, and the only real thing to do was keep it from getting infected with antibiotics and time. I still think its cool.

We woke up Friday morning for our 24 hour trip from Kibuye, Rwanda to The Hague, The Netherlands. After a great plane ride, we’ve made it to The Hague which confirmed how much I love Europe. I also now love fast service, being able to drink tap water, and other amenities of the developed world. Hope you’re doing great!!