the sun sets very early in kigali

one thing that I love about summer in the u.s. is that the days are so long. that is not the case in kigali, where the sun is full on set, gone from the sky, at 6:30p. while kigali is safe and not all that threatening (though the mizungu stare can be tiring), it feels more intimidating when the sun is gone. therefore, I eat dinner around 6:00p each night, so that I don't walk to and from the internet cafe all that late. that will all change very soon, as I just received word that I am able to move into a NGO house (to which I am connected through mct's brother-in-law). this move has many advantages: a community of people to live amongst, meals prepared (esp. since I've only been eating twice a day, though I guess that's not all that bad), wireless internet access, close to city center, and moins cher! I will miss the people at the guest house, who have been so kind and helpful, and miss figuring out the taxi-bus and taxi-moto systems. alas...

in the last two days, I've visited three memorial sites. the first was the kigali memorial centre (the main genocide site) and the other two were outside of the city but still in ville de kigali province. the two experiences were very different from each other; I'm not really able to describe it. one thing that I've noted immediately is that I did not react in the way that I thought I would/should. but mct made a good point: I have been more upset by seeing the situation that street children live in (from afar, of course). a living, breathing, begging reminder of the aftermath of the genocide. it's unsettling to confront the reality of the genocide each day. but that's why I'm here. a woman who runs a ngo focused on helping clothe, feed, and school street children has befriended me (in the addis ababa airport, nonetheless). I look forward to seeing the work that she does. these are the kind of issues that make me reconsider life as an academic.