class

The past few days have been thoroughly enjoyable! We have taken a bus every day this week to the Procom office near the market. It feels pretty neat to say to the bus drivers "Gerera?" and hop on the bus if they answer yes. Often times we cram into the van and it's a short ride past the market at Kimironko. It is all sorts of shapes, colors, fruits, sounds, and smells when cruising down the street with motorcycles weaving around. I see people walking on the sidewalk on their phone, I see women sweeping the edge of the road, men walking their bikes with enormous baskets to the market, and even people selling pants and shirts on corners and curbs. Everywhere I've been in Kigali has been bustling with life and color-- the ride to class has been no exception.

One we get off at our stop at Gerera, we walk down a couple of streets to the house and sit in the room while Dr. Dwight Jackson (a former Greenville prof) teaches on development. He is obviously experienced and I feel very fortunate to be able to study with him-- he's spent almost half of his life in Africa, and knows what's up when talking about development. I've felt inspired and interested most of the time, especially today when we talked about "normative systems," and thinking also about economic systems and how they relate to development. It's over my head a bit, but I'm getting there. Neato.

My other class is held in the classroom at the Go Ed house, which is outside underneath a tin roof. It's the garage, turned classroom. I have very much enjoyed Pastor Anastose, who teaches the class about the genocide, peacekeeping, and reconciliation. It is difficult to think about what happened here, and difficult to process all that I read about and listen about. It's incredible to think that most of the people I see on the street have some deep connection with the events that have transpired here. Everyone on the bus, everyone on the street... most people witnessed the genocide, escaped it, or participated in it one way or the other. That is humbling and intimidating. I wish that I could convey what it's like a little bit better.

I really do enjoy my classes so far, and the food is astounding. Also, the weather is astounding too. Today was the first day when I decided to wear jeans instead of shorts with my T shirt because it was a bit chillier.

That's all for now. I'm going on a safari this weekend. Looking forward to posting some pictures!