The Times They Are A Changing

So it's been a while since my last post and a lot has happened since then which I will try to catch you up on. Here goes...

So the independent study portion of our program started last Saturday, which means the group split up between Uganda and Rwanda. I am definitely sad that I don't see all of the SITers shining faces each day, but I was also ready to get out on my own and decide when I eat and when I study etc. So in terms of the living situation for the remainder of my time here, I got REALLY luck thanks to a view ingenious friends. My friends Nancy and Thammika were determined to move out of their home stays for the ISP and they posted a wanted add on couchsurfers.com. As it turns out they got an offer to live in a 2-3 bedroom house in Kigali while the owner studied in Canada for two months. Doudou is the house owner, and an adorable Congolese man who works for a youth peace building NGO here in Kigali. The girls went and visited the place and fell in love with it while me and a few other friends were looking around at hostels to shack up in for about a week. Doudou only wanted people to watch over and keep his house in good shape, so he was offering the place for FREE! After all, he has been a poor college student in a foreign country and knows our plight.

So basically, Nancy and Thammika did not want to live alone in this house in order to cut costs on food, power, water and be safer as foreigners in a middle class neighborhood, so they asked me if I (and 1 of my friends) would want to move in with them for the month. Taylor and I jumped at the chance because both of us were planning to travel during the ISP and would not want to pay for a whole month of a hostel when we wouldn't be there. So now I live in a beautiful modest house in the same neighborhood as my host family and only one bus from the city center. Thammika loves to cook and is a fabulous one. For example: I had chocolate pancakes this morning made by our little Thai chef. She was also creative enough to make a stove top pizza twice with no tomato sauce or oven available. I share a double/queen (not sure) bed with Taylor and Nancy and Thammika share a bed in the other room. We have a nice living room decorated with a huge map of Africa and 2 Kenyan tapestries. Doudou is very organized and well traveled so we enjoy reading books from his library, some of which will help me conduct my research, and using the kitchen. We really are spoiled and I never thought this living situation was a possibility. At times I don't leave the house for a day and a half at a time because it is so pleasant. I wish I was going to be able to return to Rwanda after our “evaluation” week in Uganda because Doudou will still be absent and I could stay in the house while exploring the country more.

In terms of the research, I haven't done too too much but I did have an amazing (timing) day at a youth center by coincidence. So I am conducting my research on informal peace education initiatives for youth in Butare and Kigali. I had been told about the Maison des Jeunes de Kimisagara (kimisagara youth center) in Kigali and all the amazing programs they run, and I decided to head there way last Friday. Thammika came with me because we know 2 people that work at the center (one of whom she was interested in 'seeing' again. teehee). When we got there in the afternoon we talked to a few Rwandan teens while we waited for Issa (SIT home stay coordinator) to meet us. They spoke really good English and were excited to talk about the sports they play at the center during school holidays (which it is until January). Once Issa got there we found out that there was the Great Lake Youth Summit going on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. It was basically a conference on youth issues and peace building/education programs in Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania etc. Man was I lucky. Tham and I were introduced to a few different people who worked at orgs at the center, and watched the live music, speeches, gymnastics, and football forum theater during the “conference/summit”. I am actually going back this Wednesday to meet with one of the really nice guys I met there who facilitates both football (soccer) and karate as peace building efforts with the youth. I'm sure that I will find my “youth” group to interview through the center and that takes a huge weight off of my back!

Well I'm sure I will wish that I had written more but it is time for me to begin working on my ISP for the day. A week of our ISP has already gone by and all I've done is think about it a schedule meetings and interviews. I need to get serious about it now that it's the second week.... sadly. I'll try and keep you all informed on the happenings in Kigali.