I'm not sure how successful I will be at conveying the weirdness of this incident, but I will try. To preface this story I told my housemate maddy about it and she burst out laughing and couldn't get over it. So it is weird.
I have had a variety of experiences with motto drivers. Some roll their eyes at your attempts to speak their language, some are quietand others are talkative. In general they are polite and helpful. Yesterday I took a motto into town to go to the bank and try to buy a few things we needed for the house. It was extremely humid but chilly out and it is a long drive from where I live in Kabeza to get downtown. My helmet didn't fit right and the static of it rubbing on my head for 20 minutes added to the humidity and my hair was in a crazy state of affairs when i removed it. I absently swiped it out of my eyes as I looked for the correct change to hand my driver but I guess he didn't think that was good enough. While I was rooting in my bag he reached up and smoothed my hair and fixed it for me.
Friday, September 23, 2011
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
So, what are you doing in Rwanda anyway?
What a good question! Let me attempt to answer it :)
The short answer is that I'm here to conduct my field research for my thesis for my Master's Degree in International Development Studies. If that is as much information as you are looking for then you're done. You can go back to facebook or angry birds or whatever ;)
If you are interested in the long answer, here it is.
Maybe you are wondering what I am doing my thesis on exactly. If you ask my mom about it she would probably tell you something vague about women's groups in Rwanda and honestly that is as detailed as my answer has been for most people who have asked me. After all let's be honest, when I start talking about alternative forms of peacebuiding and the relationship between government and civil society in post conflict contexts there are a lot of eyes that start to glaze over. So at the risk of glazing some more eyes, here we go.
Originally I was going to look at alternative forms of peacebuilding as a contrast to the more mainstream approaches like those of the UN, NATO and so on. I was going to look at how women's groups in Rwanda were approaching peacebuilding in a way that was more 'holistic' and long term than these mainstream approaches. I still believe this is true, and I think it would make an interesting paper. However my own thesis has somehow taken on a life of its own and my focus has changed significantly. Or rather, my focus - women's groups in Rwanda- is the same but my starting point is different.
Here is your development theory lesson for the day: there is a debate, or at least a discussion, about the role that civil society should play in a society especially in a post conflict or transitional society that is trying to move forward after conflict or a regime change. (note: civil society refers to organizations that fill the space between the private and the public. This can be anything from community groups, girl scouts, NGOs, lobby groups,etc. It can be a problematic term since it can refer to just about anything, including the KKK as one of my professors likes to point out. For my purposes I have defined it more narrowly)On one side of the debate you have those who believe that civil society should act essentially as an arm of the government, filling the gaps that the government can't do (ie: health care, education, training etc) and that it should advance the interests and agendas of the government. On the other hand you have those who believe that civil society should be completely and should serve as a counterpoint to the government. In reality most societies fall somewhere in the middle. This relationship between government and civil society is especially important in a post conflict or transitional society. I think it will become even more relevant given what is happening in places like Iraq, Afghanistan, Egypt, Syria and Libya.
It has been 17 years since the genocide happened here in Rwanda and looking out at the hills from the coffee shop I'm sitting in it is hard to classify this country as "post conflict" given the remarkable progress it has made. However, it is still a country in transition and is still very vulnerable. It can be argued that Rwanda still shares several characteristics with a post conflict country and I think the question of the relationship between the government and civil society is incredibly relevant and very important for the way this country will face the challenges of the future.
For my thesis I am doing a sort of case study looking specifically at the relationship between government and women's organizations here in Rwanda. I want to know how the government's agendas and strategies for peacebuilding and developent have influenced or impacted the goals and activities of several prominent women's organizations. I'm also curious to see if these women's organizations have had any impact or influence on the direction of the government's strategies and agendas.
So, that is what I am doing here in Rwanda. I am hoping to conduct interviews with some staff from women's organizations as well as representatives of various ministries in the government. I am still waiting for some administrative obstacles to be cleared such as my reseach ethics approval from my university in Halifax, but once those are taken care of I am hoping to jump into the interviews. It is also possible that what I find will change my thesis either in small or major ways, so I'm keeping an open mind and trying not to come to conclusions or assumptions before I even start. In the meantime I am relaxing, enjoying the city and reconnecting with old friends. Not a bad place to be :)
The short answer is that I'm here to conduct my field research for my thesis for my Master's Degree in International Development Studies. If that is as much information as you are looking for then you're done. You can go back to facebook or angry birds or whatever ;)
If you are interested in the long answer, here it is.
Maybe you are wondering what I am doing my thesis on exactly. If you ask my mom about it she would probably tell you something vague about women's groups in Rwanda and honestly that is as detailed as my answer has been for most people who have asked me. After all let's be honest, when I start talking about alternative forms of peacebuiding and the relationship between government and civil society in post conflict contexts there are a lot of eyes that start to glaze over. So at the risk of glazing some more eyes, here we go.
Originally I was going to look at alternative forms of peacebuilding as a contrast to the more mainstream approaches like those of the UN, NATO and so on. I was going to look at how women's groups in Rwanda were approaching peacebuilding in a way that was more 'holistic' and long term than these mainstream approaches. I still believe this is true, and I think it would make an interesting paper. However my own thesis has somehow taken on a life of its own and my focus has changed significantly. Or rather, my focus - women's groups in Rwanda- is the same but my starting point is different.
Here is your development theory lesson for the day: there is a debate, or at least a discussion, about the role that civil society should play in a society especially in a post conflict or transitional society that is trying to move forward after conflict or a regime change. (note: civil society refers to organizations that fill the space between the private and the public. This can be anything from community groups, girl scouts, NGOs, lobby groups,etc. It can be a problematic term since it can refer to just about anything, including the KKK as one of my professors likes to point out. For my purposes I have defined it more narrowly)On one side of the debate you have those who believe that civil society should act essentially as an arm of the government, filling the gaps that the government can't do (ie: health care, education, training etc) and that it should advance the interests and agendas of the government. On the other hand you have those who believe that civil society should be completely and should serve as a counterpoint to the government. In reality most societies fall somewhere in the middle. This relationship between government and civil society is especially important in a post conflict or transitional society. I think it will become even more relevant given what is happening in places like Iraq, Afghanistan, Egypt, Syria and Libya.
It has been 17 years since the genocide happened here in Rwanda and looking out at the hills from the coffee shop I'm sitting in it is hard to classify this country as "post conflict" given the remarkable progress it has made. However, it is still a country in transition and is still very vulnerable. It can be argued that Rwanda still shares several characteristics with a post conflict country and I think the question of the relationship between the government and civil society is incredibly relevant and very important for the way this country will face the challenges of the future.
For my thesis I am doing a sort of case study looking specifically at the relationship between government and women's organizations here in Rwanda. I want to know how the government's agendas and strategies for peacebuilding and developent have influenced or impacted the goals and activities of several prominent women's organizations. I'm also curious to see if these women's organizations have had any impact or influence on the direction of the government's strategies and agendas.
So, that is what I am doing here in Rwanda. I am hoping to conduct interviews with some staff from women's organizations as well as representatives of various ministries in the government. I am still waiting for some administrative obstacles to be cleared such as my reseach ethics approval from my university in Halifax, but once those are taken care of I am hoping to jump into the interviews. It is also possible that what I find will change my thesis either in small or major ways, so I'm keeping an open mind and trying not to come to conclusions or assumptions before I even start. In the meantime I am relaxing, enjoying the city and reconnecting with old friends. Not a bad place to be :)
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Arrivals
I woke up early this morning to the sounds of Rwanda gradually filtering into my bedroom window. It started with the roosters and the sounds of the neighbours talking. I live at the top of a hill so there is not much traffic going infront of the house but the sound of the traffic below creates a background humming with the occasional beep of a horn or rattling of a larger truck. All of this got loud enough that I couldn't fall back asleep without the help of my ipod and then of course I over slept and missed church. When I woke for the second time it was quiet again; people are out at church so there is less talking and the roosters have mostly gone quiet. The traffic is still in the background but I can also hear the singing of a local church somewhere down the hill and the birds. It is mostly sunny this morning, a nice break since it has been cloudy since I got here and has rained each night. I have seen a couple weaver birds in the yard, where I'm sitting to write this, but I haven't found their nest yet. Weaver birds build their nests upside down so that the opening points towards the ground and they are fasinating to watch. Unfortunately the silly birds have a habit of picking the weakest branches to hold their heavy nests so they often have to build at least 2 before they build one that can hold their eggs.
I am living with my friend Dora, who I met last time I lived here in Kigali. She and our other housemate Maddy met me at the airport and it was like I saw her last month instead of three years ago. She has hardly changed at all! My plane landed in the pouring rain which makes things interesting since Kigali airport does not have typical gates - you get out onto the tarmac and walk over to the main building. I could tell from the air, even in the dark and in the rain that Kigali had grown since I was last here. There were a lot more houses lite up with electricity and many of the main roads were outlined by street lamps. I've only been here less than 48 hrs but it has been interesting to see all the ways the city has changed. A few new roundabouts, newly paved roads, new modern buildings built with glass and steel instead of bricks. But it is still Kigali with people selling airtime on all the busy corners, motos buzzing between traffic and bikes being pushed up hills ladden with jerry cans or bananas.
Yesterday morning Maddy and I went into town. First we went to the Africa Bagel Coop which is new since I was here last. It is in a house off the main road that leads out of the city towards Nyamata, where I worked with World Vision. Some things on the road haven't changed like the house with disny characters painted on it and the market there, but other have like a new clinic and several new buildings. Anyway, ABC as it is called, is a really cute sort of cafe bakery that sells bagels and on saturdays they have donuts. They also have tortilla chips but since I slept in they were all sold out of those by the time we got there. This will probably become a saturday tradition, one I will be looking forward too.
We got a ride to ABC with Serge and the kids, and it was so great to see them. Serge is one of my favourite people in Rwanda and I had fun playing red light, green light with Isabella and chasing Bennie around to keep him out of mischief. When I was here last Prince had just turned 10, Isabella had her first birthday and Bennie wasn't born yet. After donuts and coffee Serge dropped Maddy and I at kisementi (I can never spell these things correctly) near where they live and we got a motto into town.
Some of you may not realize what a big deal this is. My last time on a motorcycle was here in Kigali, two weeks before I left. It did not end well. You can read about it if you like and if I could remember how to link past posts I would do that here. For now you'll just have to look it up on the side, 'they say you life flashes before your eyes'. So needless to say, I was not planning on getting on a motto right away, if ever on this trip. But it was going to rain and Maddy needed to get to town before her bank closed (fail. banks here close when they feel like it.)so I got on a motto. And prayed the whole way. I asked my driver to go slowly and he did, arriving a full five minutes after Maddy's bike did. But I didn't die and we took mottos home as well, again in order to beat the rain. It is nice to be back!
I am living with my friend Dora, who I met last time I lived here in Kigali. She and our other housemate Maddy met me at the airport and it was like I saw her last month instead of three years ago. She has hardly changed at all! My plane landed in the pouring rain which makes things interesting since Kigali airport does not have typical gates - you get out onto the tarmac and walk over to the main building. I could tell from the air, even in the dark and in the rain that Kigali had grown since I was last here. There were a lot more houses lite up with electricity and many of the main roads were outlined by street lamps. I've only been here less than 48 hrs but it has been interesting to see all the ways the city has changed. A few new roundabouts, newly paved roads, new modern buildings built with glass and steel instead of bricks. But it is still Kigali with people selling airtime on all the busy corners, motos buzzing between traffic and bikes being pushed up hills ladden with jerry cans or bananas.
Yesterday morning Maddy and I went into town. First we went to the Africa Bagel Coop which is new since I was here last. It is in a house off the main road that leads out of the city towards Nyamata, where I worked with World Vision. Some things on the road haven't changed like the house with disny characters painted on it and the market there, but other have like a new clinic and several new buildings. Anyway, ABC as it is called, is a really cute sort of cafe bakery that sells bagels and on saturdays they have donuts. They also have tortilla chips but since I slept in they were all sold out of those by the time we got there. This will probably become a saturday tradition, one I will be looking forward too.
We got a ride to ABC with Serge and the kids, and it was so great to see them. Serge is one of my favourite people in Rwanda and I had fun playing red light, green light with Isabella and chasing Bennie around to keep him out of mischief. When I was here last Prince had just turned 10, Isabella had her first birthday and Bennie wasn't born yet. After donuts and coffee Serge dropped Maddy and I at kisementi (I can never spell these things correctly) near where they live and we got a motto into town.
Some of you may not realize what a big deal this is. My last time on a motorcycle was here in Kigali, two weeks before I left. It did not end well. You can read about it if you like and if I could remember how to link past posts I would do that here. For now you'll just have to look it up on the side, 'they say you life flashes before your eyes'. So needless to say, I was not planning on getting on a motto right away, if ever on this trip. But it was going to rain and Maddy needed to get to town before her bank closed (fail. banks here close when they feel like it.)so I got on a motto. And prayed the whole way. I asked my driver to go slowly and he did, arriving a full five minutes after Maddy's bike did. But I didn't die and we took mottos home as well, again in order to beat the rain. It is nice to be back!
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Welcome (Back) to My Blog
And we're off again! I'm leaving today to go to Rwanda to do my field research for my M.A. thesis. I thought about starting a whole new blog for this trip, but I like this one. So I'm just adding to it. I really liked recording my experiences on past trips so I hope to keep up with blogging on this trip too. I'll post stories of my adventures and the people I meet and hopefully (internet speed allowing) post pictures too. Stay tuned!
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