Day 9: Butare, Lessons in the Ethnogram

Today was a very short day in terms of things we saw. I also have to be very brief because I need to go to bed very soon. We have to leave the hotel at 5am sharp so we can get to the forest and start tracking the Chimpanzees. So we got up in the morning and ate breakfast. Then we loaded up the car so we were ready to leave as soon as we were done with our activity for the day. We went back to the campus and practiced our observation skills with the vervet monkeys. It was really cool. I have never had a chance to do something like this, and it was great to learn how it is done. I wasn’t sure what would happen, or what to expect, but everyone was really nice and took the time to explain to me how it worked and what to look for. So we followed the vervets around and noted their behaviors, social interactions, etc. We did that for about 30-45 minutes after a brief explanation and Q&A with Dr. Rundus. On our way out we stopped on campus at their genocide memorial for the students and faculty of the university that were killed in the 1994 genocide. They have what appears to be a grave as well as large boards with pictures of the students and faculty they lost in the genocide. Following that brief visit, we stopped at a co-op for some more shopping. Lots of fun things to take home were purchased. Then on to one more amazing lunch in Butare before we hit the road. It was a 3 hour ride through the country and one of the national forests. The roads were very curvy and many were one lane and many times we all made noises of surprise when we would come around a corner and a mac truck would be barreling down the middle of the road towards us. We made it safe and sound to possibly the largest, and nicest hotel ever. Compared it America it could use some upgrades, but it is massive! It has a livingroom and there are two twin bedrooms that each have their own bathroom. We were told our suite is where the president stays when he is in the area. Ok, well I have to head off to bed, I’m sure I’ll get a chance tomorrow after the chimps to blog some more. Goodnight!

P.S. I got an email from the student I met yesterday and he informed me that his final project for his undergraduate degree has been approved, and that he dedicated it to me, including pictures of me and him at the very end of it. It was very nice to hear that he was successful, and I was touched that he felt compelled to dedicate his undergraduate “memoir” or thesis, to me. So many amazing people here!

Mother with baby walking about 5-10 feet from me.

A pull off in the national forest. Words cannot describe how amazing it was.

Day 8: University of Rwanda: Cultural Exchange, Monkeys, and Trees

Last night I got 8.5 hours of sleep for the first time since arriving in Rwanda and it felt AMAZING! I can enjoy my time here even more now that I’m going to be able to sleep better. So I got up and grabbed some breakfast including some local coffee that was delicious as always. We left at 9:30-ish and drove down the road to the University of Rwanda. Here we got a brief tour and then went into a zoology lab where we were joined by many biology students. We each introduced ourselves and what we were studying in school, and why we came on the trip. Then we opened the floor for questions from the students. We received many interesting questions about animals, culture, and education in America. It was great to be able to talk about America and inform others about our lives, like they have been able to do for us.  After answering questions back and forth we exchanged contact information with several of the students and some of them joined us for a long walk to where we ate lunch. It was great getting to share a table with fellow students and we had a good time talking to each other. They taught me some more Kinyarwanda and I was able to say “Enjoy it” when everyone sat down at the table to eat. The other Rwandans really seemed to like it when we would speak to them in Kinyarwanda. I haven’t learned a lot, but hello, thank you, etc. can go a long way. The student I made friends with came to me after our introductions and questions and told me that he wanted to talk to me about my degree. He told me that he survived the genocide when he was only 6 years old. He briefly mentioned that he lost 10 immediate family members, and that only him and one other family member survived. We spent the rest of the day together, and we exchanged emails. He wants to email me his story, and said he would like to talk to other survivors and translate / email me their stories as well. This was very shocking, and I am very humbled that he felt comfortable with me to share such private and important information.

Following lunch, we walked back to campus where we were fortunate that the Vervet Monkeys had come out of the forest and onto the university campus. We spent a good amount of time watching them and taking a million pictures. I was surprised there were so many babies and at how amazingly cute the babies were. They were spunky little guys and girls though, as they would, at a very young age, bob up and down and try to act like they were going to scare us away, while their mothers sat behind them, scooping them up when they were ready to leave. It was an amazing experience. Even though studying primates is not my field of study, the chance to see monkeys in their natural habitat, just a few feet away, is something I will never forget.

Following looking at the monkeys we took a walk through the arboretum next to the university. It contains over 400 different plant species, and we got to see a few of them. One of them drops these large pods filled with odd triangular seeds. Our guide, a student, found us some pods and broke them open. We were then able to pull out the fist sized seeds and clean them off. They are really cool, and a lot of people use them as decorations. The student told us that some people open those pods up and find the two tiny seeds in them, and the rumor is that eating those two tiny seeds is like a natural Viagra. He also said that if you eat the insides of the pod they are antibacterial and they help with bad breath. We walked back, said goodbye, and then went to get some dinner. Now to the hotel to pack up so when we go to the university tomorrow we can go from there and then on the 3 hour drive to our next location.

Original university building built by the Belgians

Ildephonse and I after lunch

A curious monkey that comes out of the tree to see what we are

Family time. Mother with baby and another female grooming her

Strike a pose!

The little baby monkey wandering away from mom. He then acted tough and tried to do the motions that are supposed to intimidate. He was then quickly scooped up by his mother and carried away. 

Day 7: Our Lady of Kibeho & Tribal Dancing & Being a Muzungu

Hey everyone! Sorry for not posting like normal. I knew today was a smaller day, and I was so tired after being woken up 4 times the previous night. I'm happy to report the jet lag, or the worst of it, is over! I was able to sleep 8.5 hours tonight and feel great. It's amazing how much getting enough sleep can do for you.

So yesterday we took a long and bumpy ride to Kibeho, a hill where the there is a church to commemorate the visitation of the virgin mother in three vision to young girls. This is the only site in all of Africa that the Catholic Church has officially decreed the visions of the virgin mother to be real. We got to meet with the priest and a nun who gave us a brief history, and then we went to the shop and bought a few things. On our way towards the car we stopped into the newer church that is very large and got to hear two local people as they sang songs in Kinyarwanda and prayed. While I myself am not particularly religious, I do have a respect for other religions and do enjoy going to different churches and religious sites. This one was particularly interesting because one of the visions that one of the girls had was that of the impending genocide, more than 10 years before it occurred. This site has a lot of cultural importance for not just the region, but for all of Rwanda. The visit was brief, but it was an important one that I'm glad we got to experience.

A quick side note, since I haven't really talked much about what it is like meeting people and some of you may be wondering. The people here are AMAZING! I've never met people that are so nice, helpful, and truly interested in what I have to say. One of the things that I had to adjust to early on was being stared at. It never really bothered me, but from time to time I'd turn around and see a group of people giggle and quickly look away. It is completely harmless, and now we all joke about it in our group and like to say hello in Kinyarwanda and wave while we drive by. Everyone is always surprised that we are making the effort to learn some of their language so we can at least say hello, and thank you. Also, it is important to note that when driving around the country side you will here people, mainly children, shout "MUZUNGU!" and stare. The word is a mistranslation from Swahili, but roughly means white man. In its original language it meant traveler, but it was misunderstood, and mispronounced many years ago, so now it basically means white man. Yesterday on our return drive from Kibeho we were going particularly slow because of a massive rut in the road. There was a little boy about 5 or 6 standing outside of his house with his mother not far behind. He was staring so I waved and he waved back, then I said "Muraho" which is the formal hello. The kid stumbled back with his mouth hanging open and looked at his mother. She waved and started laughing. Just that one little moment was great, and every moment we are here we get to meet more people, and experience more things.

Ok, so back to what we did. After the church we went to the church's dining area where we had an amazing meal, and it was incredibly cheap. For a full buffet just for our table and a soda it was roughly $4.46! We took the long and windy road back towards the hotel. It is incredibly bumpy, but we actually liked it a lot. Our guide, Omar, joked that he was giving us a free massage, he is generous like that. ;-) When we got near the hotel we returned to yesterday's museum to see the one thing we missed yesterday... THE DANCING! Part of our trip included a paid professional dance group to show us their native dancing. We got to see a variety of different dances that come from many different parts of Rwanda. The dancing was one of the greatest things I've seen on the trip. We had a taste of it in the village of reconciliation, but this was professional quality, and was stunning to watch. I got a ton of pictures and some video too, so when I have reliable internet I'll post those on my facebook. At the end of the dancing everyone was taken onto the dance area and they danced with the dancers. Then they offered to pose with us and have our pictures taken with them. Once we did that they decided it would be great for us to dress in their dancing clothes and take a picture with them. So we did and then we made them all laugh when we started doing our own poses in the costumes. Manny and I posed like we were in gladiator warrior positions, fighting to the death and all of the dancers couldn't stop laughing. We got pictures of this to and it was absolutely amazing!

After that we went back to the hotel for a couple hours, and then most of us walked to into town and had a delicious dinner. We then walked back and hung out for a little bit before I snuck off to bed, which may be the best decision I've made, since deciding to come to Rwanda! Well I hope everyone is enjoying my blog, feel free to share it with anyone that you think might find it interesting. I'm very surprised and pleased to see that people are reading it and hear from people on the trip that their family members are reading it! You are all welcome to read it and I am grateful that you are enjoying it. All of my groupmates have been great and I am so happy that this is the group we have. We get each other, and help each other when needed. It is a great feeling to know that I have made friends so fast.

Below are some pictures. I have to head out for the day, but I have dancing pictures I will try to add to the bottom of this post tonight. Enjoy!

My netted bed. I've gotten used to it and kind of like it now.

Beautiful view of the day. Every turn reveals another beautiful view

The 2nd car bringing us to Kibeho. You can see the people on the side of the road staring.

Tea growing in a field. Yum!

Church on Kibeho

The WCU warriors

The fierce warriors go to battle

Day 6: Murambi Genocide Memorial & Butare Museum

After a decent night's sleep, though a little shorter than I would have liked, I grabbed some breakfast and rushed around to make sure I wasn't late for our tours today (I haven't been late yet, but I'd like not to be "that person").  We left around 9am and headed 45 minutes away to the Murambi Memorial. When you get about 2.5km away from the memorial you can see it perched on top of the next small hill. After a bumpy dirty road ride to the gates we got out and began our walk up the path. The cite of this massacre was chosen because it sat between many high hills, allowing militias to see anyone trying to escape. Tutsis were told to go there and hide to be safe, but it was all a plan by the Hutu militias to collect the local Tutsis in one place. There was a small tiki torch in a glass case as part of the torch ceremony in the country, presumably where they placed one at each genocide memorial, finally lighting the large torch in Kigali for the 20 year anniversary of the genocide. We approached the front and were met by our guide. He greeted us and showed us the way into the museum part of the memorial. The walls were filled with the timelines of the genocide, testimony, and many pictures of victims. It appeared that either someone had broken in recently and stolen all of the projectors, or they had removed all of the projectors for some unknown reason. The TVs for informational videos did not work and every projector, and floor-mounted screen were missing. Even though parts were missing, the museum was incredibly well put together and provided some good background, as well as a section dedicated to those that sheltered Tutsis, thus risking their lives in the process. Following the museum section we went outside and visited the mass graves. When we got there we all participated in a moment of silence, and a Rwandan man that was taking the tour with us offered to say a prayer in Kinyarwanda, which was a humbling experience to witness. The mass graves are left in a way that allows the top to be opened up so as more bodies are found, even 20 years later, they can be laid to rest with the others.

From the mass grave we walked around the main building and saw a series of small buildings, meant to originally act as housing for the students that were supposed to go to school there. Now the buildings sit in disrepair, no windows, few doors,  and bars over the open windows. Once we got to the rear of the complex of buildings we were told that we were going to see preserved bodies of victims that had been removed from mass graves farther in the back of the complex, and had been treated with lime to, essentially, mummify them. The first two rooms consisted of both male and female bodies, preserved and laid out on raised wooden racks. The bodies were contorted, some having not been killed before they were thrown in the mass graves were in defensive positions where they died, trying to suffocate under other dead Rwandans. Some were captured in their final position, begging to be spared. Many of the corpses were flattened due to the weight of the bodies above and the heat from decomposition. The following rooms were separated by groups such as women, children, women that were raped, and women with their children. Every room had the same sickeningly sweet smell, kind of like you hear described in books about death and murder. We were told that we would have had to write to a government agency to get permission to take pictures of the bodies, but at the end the guide informed us that he would allow us to take a couple of pictures since we didn't know and had come all that way. So we took a few pictures, though I did feel a little bit uncomfortable taking pictures of the dead, I knew that if I didn't, I would want to have them to show others within my program, and when I give presentations on my trip.

From there we walked around back where we saw the spot that the French troops had their flag during "Operation Turquoise."Billed as a humanitarian mission to the U.N., French troops entered Rwanda to defend what remained of the Hutu extremist regime. Claiming to provide protection, many of those they gathered up to protect, were left for a day and when the French returned, the Hutus had killed all of those they had saved. During the tour, the guide explained that not only did the French protect the old government, but they also shot Tutsis that had been brought to them for  protection. Additionally the troops put men and women that were still alive in bags that held their legs and arms together, loaded them into helicopters, and dropped them from thousands of feet in the air into the middle of the forests to the east. Additionally, the French built a volleyball court on top of a mass grave. Here they celebrated, partied, and drank above the bodies of those recently murdered.

So I had it all written out a 2nd time and it had another issue, so I'll be super brief because I've written the story out twice and it has failed to upload. So our guide told us that he and his brother are survivors of the gencide. We were very shocked about this and he told us the story of how he survived.

Below you will see pictures from today. A little warning, some of the pictures are graphic and while I feel that they are imporant for others too view, they may be too graphic for others.

We LOVE Rwanda!!!

Murabi as seen from an adjacent hill. It can be viewed from all sides

Standing at the gate

Signs on the front of the memorial for the 20 year anniversary of the genocide

Female rape victims of the 1994 Rwandan Genocide

Female victims of the 1994 Rwandan Genocide

Area that the French built a volleyball court on a mass grave

Mass grave that has been emptied of bodies, but left open to show the scale. There were 5 of these on the property

Me with our guide and genocide survivor. Amazing to meet such an amazing man, and have him explain what it was like

Day 5: Traveling & Butare (now known as Huye)

Today was a pretty light day. We got up and had breakfast, I was excited to find country potatoes, bacon, ickynumero fresh fruit, and ickynumero jelly. It was a great way to end our time at Chez Lando. We left around 9, stopped by the supermarket for a snack (jelly doughnut) and some cold bottled water. From there it was about a 2.5 hour drive to Butare, recently renamed to Huye, where we stopped at the King's Palace. The palace is a recreation of the hut the king of Rwanda lived in until a colonial palace was built by the Germans in the mid to late 30s. The two now sit next to each other and provide a stark contrast of Rwandan society before and after colonization. The hut was really interesting and showed the section for women, the section for men, and the bed for the king and his woman of the night. The king had as many as 40 wives, but only one was the official queen mother. We also saw the milk hut, and beer hut. Additionally, we got to see the ceremonial cows. they have massive horns that are as long as my torso is tall. They are trained by the herder to come out and present itself based on wistles and certain songs. The man sang to the cow while we got to pet it. It was crazy to stand next to this massive cow with massive horns and pet it. Then we got to see the calves that were not very old, the youngest was almost 3 weeks old.  From there we went to the hotel, which was a slight downgrade in quality, but I'm sure there is far worse out there. So then we had an amazing dinner in town and back to hotel to enjoy the worst and tiniest shower I've ever seen. It was best summed up by another student's father who said you can sh*t, shower, and shave all at once because it is all so close and there is no shower curtain. Tomorrow will be busier and I'll probably have a longer blog as we will be going to a museum and a genocide memorial.

Traffic Congestion

Rwandan Jelly doughnut for the road

View from the road

View from the road

Guy catching a ride up the hill

People walking down the road

King's Hut

Cow dug furnace

Tasting Sorgum, used to make beer

Grinding sorgum to make beer

Ceremonial cow

Me with the ceremonial cow

Herder singing to the cow

3 week old baby cow

Colonial palace for the king

Rwandan Flag

Day 4: Nyamata Memorial & Millenium Village

Last night I finally got some sleep! I took a sleeping pill and was able to get about 7 hours of sleep, which was nice. I got up in the morning and had some breakfast, including plenty of fresh bananas and ickynumero, the delicious red fruit.

Soon after breakfast new guides met us at our hotel and we drove outside of Kigali to the Millenium Village. Located in a part of Rwanda that has been hard hit by drought, famine, and was particularly hard hit by the 1994 genocide, the village was a collaborative effort between the U.N. and some other non-profits. The goal was to cure the famine, provide jobs, create farms, and raise the standard of living (anti-malaria efforts, HIV prevention and testing, healthcare, family planning, etc.)

Part of the village included the Nyamata Church, which now acts as a memorial to the 1994 Rwandan Genocide. In 1992 when the Hutus began killing some Tutsis all of the people from the area sought shelter in the church and were able to stay safe. So when genocide broke out in 1994 they went back to the church, this time was different. With gates over the doors locked, locals could not get in to kill the 10,000+ men, women, and children located inside. Unable to get in, they called the government and the government arrived and used grenades to blast open the gates. Once they had gained entry the church was so packed full of people that they couldn't enter and kill the victims one at a time. So the murderers threw in grenades until everyone appeared to be dead in the main part of the church. They then walked around and killed those that had survived the grenades. Babies were kept in a back part of the church to keep them protected and they survived the grenade attacks. When the Hutus came in they threw the babies against a wall to kill them, there is still blood stains on the wall from the children murdered by hand. The church is no longer used as a church, and exists as it did at the time of the genocide. The bodies have been removed, but their clothes were left in piles on the pews as part of the memorial. There are piles and piles of clothes everywhere, including children's shirts, which were particularly horrific. At the altar there is a white cloth over it that was there during the attack, and it too is stained everywhere with the blood of victims. Looking up at the tin roof you can still see the tiny shrapnel holes, letting dots of light shine through, from the many grenade explosions. A new room was added under the church that houses skulls and bones of some of the victims, and below that the casket of a pregnant woman that was horrifically tortured and mutilated before, and after, death. Behind the church the former garden has been converted into a mass grave. Unable to identify most of the victims in the graves, the coffins inside hold dozens of sets of bones. Additionally, bones and skulls are left out on racks so when we walked down the steep steps we were surrounded by exposed bones of victims. Each skull showed a different method of death, bullet, machete, hammer, etc. There are over 10,000 victims in these mass graves. This was an incredibly sobering experience to be confronted not only with a memorial, a site of an atrocity, but also the remains of those that will never be identified, and died in such a horrific way. 

After the church we moved on to a local farm where we got a tour and saw all of the things they grow. The farmer showed us how they grow their crops, and explained the variety of things that can be made with the crops. It was very interesting, and the farmer was very nice. We found out that they have started planting macadamia nuts and they are doing very well, which is exciting for Rwandans as it may provide a new export for them. The farmer's wife came out at the end of the tour and told us that she has had 14 children and is still strong. We couldn't believe that someone would have that many children. The farmer told us that through the Millenium project his farm has grown and he can now feed his family and afford insurance and schooling for all of his children. After the farm we went to a little building where a meal was waiting for us. Full of traditional foods, 99% of the items we ate were grown in the Millenium Village, which really made what we had just learned come to life. We were all starving and it was so good. After taking our fill of the amazing food we traveled to a cooperative where women, both Hutu and Tutsi work together to make baskets as a source of income and as a way to bring the two sides together. I took pictures as everyone sat and worked one on one with a different woman to learn how to make the baskets. I didn't mind taking the pictures, it was nice getting to see everyone's smiles and know that I was able to capture that special moment. Once the demonstration was done we all loaded up on some of the most beautiful baskets we've ever seen. We all bought so much that the ladies wanted to thank us, so they gave us each a free basket. We also got to have our pictures taken with the woman that made the baskets we had purchased. It was a truly unique experience that adds a new dimension to buying local crafts. 

Following the baskets we took a trip to the reconciliation village. This was the most awe inspiring thing I have ever witnessed. The village exits to have survivors and perpetrators live side by side and help each other, as a way of forgiveness and creating one Rwandan people, no longer divided by "race" We arrived and villagers were playing music and dancing for our arrival. Then we sat and a genocide survivor told us about his experiences and why he chose to live in the reconciliation village. His story was very interesting, and it is still hard for me to imagine how he has forgiven the man that killed his father in cold blood. Following his speech a perpetrator came up and talked about how he served time in jail and then a few years ago he was offered a program by the government where he could apologize and show he was sorry, and in exchange he could get out of jail. He did this and then chose on his own to come live in this village. They told us that not only do the two sides live in the same village, but it is mandatory that they are alternated in their housing so their neighbor is their former enemy. Additionally, the helped to build each other's houses, care for their children, grieve during loss, and celebrate during times of joy. Every house is identical in terms of size and construction, so nobody envies the others. Following the speeches we tried some banana beer and shared the drink with the villagers. Then there was more dancing where we were invited to dance with the villagers, which was amazing. I got pictures of everyone dancing, while I danced too. Then we took pictures with the children, which was such an amazing experience. They love selfies and more and more tried to pile into the picture, and ultimately you could only see my shoulder and then about a dozen children's faces. It was an amazing experience and I hope to return to the village some day to see how it has progressed. 

I just realized, when looking through the pictures, that I forgot to mention the health clinic and school we visited. We got tours of both. The clinic gets better each year and allows the insurance to provide for everyone's healthcare, there are pictures below. Also, the school we vacant, but we got to see it and go inside a room It was interesting to see that 1,500 students go to school there and there are only about 16-ish teachers employed there. They split into 1/2 days and each teacher teaches classes of about 50. 

Original gate for the church that was blasted with grenades

The other gate, through it you can see the piles of vitim's clothes as well as the altar. Pictures inside the church are not allowed.

Skulls in the mass grave. The different breaks and spots on the skull tell you how the person was killed.

Skulls and bones. Nobody could be identified, so they were not given individual graves.

1/2 of the amount of bones you walk by and look at in the mass grave. The smell is indescribable. 

Different plants the farmer grows

Banana Tree

Carving the casava root so we can all try some fresh out of the ground

Primary School

Classroom

Expanded health care center

Children with there parents that followed us on our tour.

WCU students learning how to weave baskets

Dr. Gaydosh Learning how to weave a basket

Welcome dance and song when we arrived

Singers and drummers for the dancers

Genocide perpetrator (on the left) who told us about his experience and his quest for forgiveness

The dancers came and made us all get up and dance with them. It was so much fun!!!

Christina Dancing with one fo the dancers

The love of a selfie below you can see as more and more kids come in and eventually you can't see me at all

what selfie madness looks like from above!