the nyt, memorial sites, and a new week

first, the nyt: it has been several weeks since I have read any new york times articles, something that is a regular habit of mine. finding a free laptop in the house available (and having the luxury of wireless internet), I was able to read a couple of articles, one on how eldest children have higher iqs (and no sisters, I don't write this to irk you!) and the other about craftsters in brooklyn. ah...such joy from reading those few bits.

two, genocide memorial sites: this last week has been busy with visiting different sites around the country (as well as moving into a new house). I went to the memorial in gisozi (in kigali), two in/near nyanza (just near kigali), ntarama and nyamata (both south of kigali approx. 30km), and murambi (3km from gikongoro). I know that these names don't mean anything to most of you, but I list them so that you might be able to google them and get a better idea of where it is I am going exactly. posting photos seems to be a slow process, but I will post some at some point. some may be very disturbing (as they should be, I suppose); I felt awkward taking several of them. the feeling of being at some of these places has been a bit overwhelming for me, as actually seeing the skulls and bones of the victims makes all of the reading that I've done on the genocide, well, very real. I know that that statement doesn't make much sense, but these are my initial reactions to the sites.

today is monday morning, which means a whole new week of doing things here. I had thought that I would spend a good deal of time preparing yesterday, after running out to a village to tell several people that had helped me during my afternoon there that the photos that I was going to deliver to them had yet to be printed. however, that trip turned into a longer afternoon, as I met up with a friend/research aid (the distinction in the relationship is difficult to read) and ran into a demonstration (peaceful) of students not wanting genocide again. this was just an amazing site; all of universities and secondary schools in kigali had participated in order to signal that they don't want another genocide. (something of a sign to any past perpetrators outside of the country who may want to return and employ violent means...this is what I was told.) anyway, going to the stadium where the students had gathered and recording a few of the speeches that were given, and then discussing them afterwards, took much more time than I had thought. I have several errands to get permits from the government to do research, so I might as well do these things and then take some time to prepare for my trip to butare. butare is the main university city, approximately three hours south of kigali. I hope to go to more genocide sites in the area and speak with some people at the university in my two days there. so, today is some prep and thinking about what I need to get done there.

sorry that this is a bit of a rambled mess. it's been some time since I've posted, so everything is sort of congealed in my head.