Muraho

We have a few days left, then we try our hand at Kilimanjaro – which honestly scares the shit out of me…We’ve read up on the best ways to avoid altitude sickness, and are going to take the proper precautions, but I can just see my sissy baby lungs getting within a 4hr hike of summit, then I lose consciousness, and start pooping grey matter, and ruin the rest of the trip because I have to sit in a fancy private Tanzanian hospital with the couple other losers that couldn’t make summit because of blisters and altitude sickness. If this happens I’m photoshopping my face on the body of a person that made it, and saying it was an awesome, and I went up pretty much the fastest they’ve ever seen. In reality, some local in flip flops, smoking a cigarette, carrying my bags, will be running up ahead to fix dinner while we complain that we’re tired and our boots aren’t comfy. At least the pics from the bottom are sure to be great…

Ash and I have been pouring over the snapshot of culture shock we’ve both encountered. She’s wrestling with her thoughts of making a financial contribution to a select few versus donating to the organization, and meeting with a full spectrum of opinions on the subject. The needs are many, resources few, and it’s hard to see what, if any difference we can make. But I think, after some emotionally charged discussion, we’ve arrived at a direction that we feel best suits our desire to help. I’m sure she’ll let you know the proceedings…

Me, I’ve been mercurial between my moments of enthusiasm and frustration. There seems to be so many aspects of Rwanda’s infrastructure that are thrusting ahead feverishly, though others have not even left the starting blocks. The uneven development is often astounding to me – how large road construction projects drone along, though there are virtually no traffic laws, for example. But then, where exactly do you start rebuilding a nation? President Kagame is in the throes of an election campaign, to culminate in a ‘democratic’ vote August 9^th. He has helmed the country through some very tough times, and plans to stay on for another 7 years to hopefully help keep this momentum going into perpetuity. When I first arrived, having read and discussed the history, I had to admit that Kagame had a good game plan, that the proof is in the pudding. Over the month, I’ve met cynics, both locals and muzugas, that sang a different tune. I realize that in politics, as with most things in life, you can’t please everyone. But I would, on occasion, get the sense that some people feared the regime that was functionally a benevolent dictatorship, where free speech and antiestablishment thought were met with long jail terms, and that’s not simply political belly-aching. I was somewhat unsettled to see the front page of the local newspaper splashed with a colours and slogans of the ruling party, and virtually no audible competition nationwide. There may be a vote, but I can bet it will be to keep up appearances. On the flip side, Paul Kagame watched a previous Burundian leader, very popular with the nation, conduct a fully transparent democratic election, only to be defeated because constituents still voted along ‘tribal’ lines. The longer I stay here, the more I learn, and more I see that I know nothing about the historical dynamics of Rwanda. The deep furrows of colonialism, and gashes of warfare…

I’ll add a few random shots if the connection holds out. Hope everyone is doing great.