off to bujumbura

I know that I have been pretty bad about posting this week. this is mostly accounted for the fact that I've been running around kigali meeting with people and scheduling appointments. with dry season in full force, walking about in the strong sunshine has worn me out, meaning that I haven't run or done yoga once this week, let along post here.

this post comes 1.5 hours before my bus leaves for bujumbura, the capital of burundi. as some of you know, my thoughts about what my dissertation research might actually be on have long been on something of a comparative study of rwanda and burundi. they are similar in many ways, with long histories of conflict defined in terms of ethnicity, but are taking very different approaches to their reconciliation programs. also, while most of you know what has happened in rwanda, most of you probably don't know much about burundi. fear not; you're not alone. all of the common knowledge about rwanda also means that there are a lot of NGOs (non-governmental organizations) working here to rebuild the country. I'm going to bujumbura to try and talk to people working on the reconciliation process and see what I can learn.

that all being said, I have to go! just a few things to do in the next 30 minutes before I need to leave my house. I'll try to post again this week (just to let you all know that I arrived safely), but I have no idea what the internet cafe connection might be in buj. while this might seem like a crazy trip to take, thinking that I will be back to the states on august 2 (as in leaving in 11 days) is even crazier for me!