I'm finally here. It look just about forever, but it's all worth it now. For the moment, I'm sitting in the lobby of my hotel (free wi-fi), and it actually feels more like Europe than Africa, i.e., the hotel is a little too nice. What to say? The airport in Kigali is so small we rode in the plane almost to the front door of the main building. We drove around the city quite a bit this afternoon--it's a patchwork of modern and timeless. A lot of construction is going on--new government buildings, houses, and apartment buildings and yet you see people carrying loads of bananas and firewood on their heads. People stop and stare at a busload of muzungus (white people), but then they usually wave.
We saw some genocide stuff today--Camp Kigali where the Belgian UN Peacekeepers were killed on the first day of the genocide is now a simple and moving museum and memorial site. We also saw the Hotel des Milles Collines (the hotel in Hotel Rwanda), stopped to use their restrooms actually, so I took some pictures of the hotel and pool. I don't think I'll have a chance to swim there, but our hotel has a nice pool too (just not famous).
We'll see another genocide memorial tomorrow on the way to Butare, then we'll be done with that stuff and focus more on how Rwanda has changed. By the way, you see very little litter here, and plastic bags (grocery bags) are illegal because they cause so much litter.
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3 comments:
Thanks for the report, E. Looking forward to learning more about your experiences in Rwanda... don't be minimalist!
I am following your blog with interest. This is fascinating stuff.
But I have questions. Mostly, I want to know WHY you are there.
Keep the words coming!
Hey folks, this is my first blog, and I'm not exactly up to speed with the technical side of it, such as how to respond to your comments, so I'll do that here. PSE, I'll try not to be minimalist, but you know how I am. In addition, we're so busy running around, there's not all that much time to write. Leslie, I'm here because this is an amazing country. Thirteen years ago it was dead, literally. Kigali (the capital) was empty, and people fled by the hundreds of thousands. Now this beautiful place is alive again, and in spite of the trauma, is full of hope and creative methods of reconciliation. Amazing.
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