April Fools!

So I'm not getting kicked out of Rwanda. However, I didn't make this story up either. In Rwanda people (especially loud NGO workers or government officials who don't follow the official party line) are regularly asked to leave or flee on their own for political reasons. There is an especially messy law about "Genocide Ideology" which enables the government to detain any person it suspects of having any genocidal thinking. This law is broadly and conveniently interpreted. I'm going to stop now, before I really do get into trouble (internet monitoring is real also) and wish everyone a happy Easter.

Sorry Mom.

Some troubles

I have been away from my blog for a while because it has been causing me a little bit of trouble. In my last post I wrote the phrase "benevolent dictator" which apparently doesn't go over well with the Rwandan government and raised a very big red flag with their internet scouring technology. I've had a few chats with the immigration office and recently they informed me that as of this week they are revoking my visa. I'm fighting with everything I have and the Salesian Provincial of Rwanda is even getting involved, however, I face potential arrest if I am not gone by Saturday, when my visa "expires."

For the time being I will be visiting the Salesian community in Kampala, Uganda. I'm pretty sure this may be an attempt to get something from me or the Salesians on the side of the Rwandan government, so there is hope of my return, but nothing is certain.

When I arrive in Kampala I will post more information, but as long as I am in Rwanda I must be careful how I use the internet. Happy Good Friday I guess.

Today I changed my toothbrush…

While this may seem like an unremarkable event in practicality, it symbolizes that I am halfway through my year’s supply of toothbrushes (two).  Yes, March 3 is exactly six months since I started this crazy journey by missing a plane in Moline.  While I like to think I’m the same person, I hope that I have maybe learned something, acquired some new skills, made an impact on somebody’s life or, if nothing else, have gotten a decent tan.  So I thought I’d take this moment to share some reflections… with the entire internet.  Enjoy.

The first thing is that I have learned is to live as a minority.  The strange looks in the street, the “muzungu” call from children and adults alike and having people talk about me without understanding have all taken getting used to.  I have always hated racism, and I don’t think this has changed my feelings, but definitely given me a new perspective.   However, its different.  “Minorities” in the US tend to be seen as poorer “lesser” people by racists.  Here, however, I am simply seen as the rich outsider, almost “better” than people here, if I can say that without invoking too much implication.  I would also challenge any person who thinks the United States should adopt an English-only law to live in a place where he doesn’t know the language.  It can be the most desperate, lonely feeling one can feel while surrounded by people.

Speaking of language, I have realized how bad we Americans are at learning them.  Most Africans and every European I have met here speaks at least two if not four languages.  I understand the practicality of it for them, and lack of necessity of it for us, but it can make a guy feel kind of dumb at times.

There is no baseball in Rwanda and this makes me sad.  On that train of thought, I really missed Hawkeye football and tailgating this fall, and could kill for a Busch Light in a snowy parking lot right now.

I’ve written this before, and I’ll write it again.  The privilege I have had in my life simply because of where I was born stares me in the face every day.  Thinking of the disparities of food, health, education, peace and lifestyles has drastically altered my view on life.

African culture suits me fairly well.  Schedules are “suggestions,” it is rude to discuss anything with a person unless proceeded by a short conversation about how they are doing, how their day has been, etc.  Every day is a concern about immediate needs, so a person doesn’t plan for tomorrow, rather, one lives for today, in the present, an attitude I am trying to live by.

These same things drive me insane, however.  I am frustrated by missed appointments and sometimes just want something, not a life story of formalities.  I read a book which sums up the African mindset very well, as people relying on “micro-solutions rather than macro-systems.”  This means that instead of waiting in line, which is a great Western macro-system, people rush a bus door to find a micro-solution to their problem of getting on the bus.  The examples of this are endless, but as much as I like to claim myself as a relaxed guy, I am learning that I really like my order and “macro-systems.”

There is something about the innocence of little children and their unconditional love that I had to travel halfway across the world to fully appreciate.  I hope this travels back with me.

I’m really starting to question the merits of development aid.  But this is a topic for a later discussion.

There is definitely some farming left in my blood.  While I am almost a generation removed from full time Iowa farmer, I can really appreciate the hard work and sense of satisfaction this profession provides.  Its a simple life, working the land, praying for weather and harvesting the crops, but inside me somewhere something in my blood has been awaken.

I feel very liberated by not earning a paycheck.  My basic needs are taken care of, I work out of desire to work, not a need to please a boss or to grind it out for payday.  While money makes life more comfortable, not having an abundance has its perks as well.

Genocide is a terrible, awful thing.  I’m still trying to think about how to best put into words my experiences, thoughts and reflections on this topic, but I’m not sure if they will ever materialize.

I live in a country with what some might call a “benevolent dictator.”  My Western mind didn’t like this at first, but I’m beginning to feel that maybe in some instances peace is a fair tradeoff for true democracy.

I have argued in many papers, presentations and debates that the developed world’s impact on the climate hurts the developing world the most.  Maybe its coincidence, but in the last few years (including this one) Rwanda’s centuries old seasonal rotation has been drastically changing.  Its good to know that at least some of my ideals are being reinforced.

Thanksgiving and Christmas are best spent in the Midwest with family.

I’m pretty sure I know where AIDS came from.  But I heard some different opinions on the radio a few months back (it was created as a weapon by the US to limit population control, for example).  This made me realize how much my perspective of being an American really affects the way I perceive information.  Its good to take a step back and look from a different view (just ask my European friends about US Foreign Policy!)

I am the de facto soccer and basketball referee.  Its good to know that wherever I officiate in the world, people still like to argue with the ref.  Or maybe I’m just a bad ref.

Its fairly likely that I will spend a majority of the rest of my life shaving and wearing a tie every day.  I’m OK with this, but I’m also very happy never doing either!

Picasa Pictures Online Now!

If you did not receive an email from me and you would like to have the URL to see my Picasa web albums, PLEASE EMAIL ME! Facebook and blogger is not a very good format for posting pictures or even sending messages because of slow internet, so I really want your email addresses!

I have 6 albums and probably over 200 pictures for those interested.

My address: mitchelljlincoln@gmail.com

A Time of Change

Things are changing in Gatenga.  As with all changes, some bring happiness, others sadness and some just go by without evoking any particular emotion.

The biggest noticeable change has been the season.  The rainy season is over and we have entered the short dry season, which means it is dry and extremely hot.  However, it is not supposed to be the dry season yet, so maybe this will end soon.  Regardless, the change in weather signals that it is time to harvest the corn crop.  This job is particularly satisfying for me, as I put in many hours and days of hard work to plant it.  The simple pleasure of planting a crop and then harvesting it is something I am really learning to enjoy.  The blood of my farming ancestors is strong in my veins!

As I have alluded to (and complained about) in countless blog posts, emails and Skype chats, the students have finally come back to Gatenga!  Classes were supposed to start on Tuesday, they haven’t really gotten around to that yet, but the students are still here!  Their presence changes the attitude of the center and overall makes me a happier person.  They have begun to work with me in the field, I eat lunch with them, pray with them and next week will begin coaching basketball again!

This change in Rwanda’s academic schedule has many other impacts on my life.  For example, starting tomorrow, I am hiring a tutor to teach me Frenh and Kinyrwanda.  Tres Bon!  Also, there was a small group of six students who worked at the center over   the holiday because the community pays for them to continue their education.  I became very close to these students, and I am so happy they have the means to continue their studies, but it is sad to see them go.

Most difficult for me, however, is the departure of my best friend, Minani.  Minani was the man who I did most work with on the farm, the one who showed me around on the first day and the one I always went to with questions.  On top of this, we would often go out for a drink after work, or attend various events together in Kigali.  He is my best friend here.  A couple weeks ago he asked my advice on taking a new job.  We had a long discussion about his hopes, dream and his future.  When I found out the new employer had offered to pay for him to go to university I was elated and heartbroken at the same time.  I know I will see him in the future and I’m extremely excited about his opportunity for education in a country where it is difficult, but I will miss seeing him every day.

I think because the school year is approaching and the work that comes with it, the community collectively decided to relax the weekend before.  Saturday night, at the suggestion of the American volunteers, we had a cookout and ate homemade sausages and hamburgers with freshly picked corn on the cob under the stars.  We also had a short volunteer conference for all the Salesian volunteers in the province which culminated in a day long trip to Lake Muhazi on Sunday, to relax, eat, drink and swim.  And on Monday one of the priests took us to Akagera National Park.  Akagera is the tree-savannah, animal-packed park that you think of when thinking about Africa.  While we did not see the park’s giraffes, elephants or leopards, we saw antelope, zebra, bushbuck, impalas, monkeys, baboons, warthogs, crocodiles, hippos and countless bird species.

Also, for those of you who can’t get enough by just words alone, this weekend I expect to have my Picasa page up and running.  Please retain your excitement.

Nairobi

Recently I was fortunate enough to be selected to represent my province at the Salesian Conference for Volunteers in Africa.  The conference was three days and focused on the specifics of Salesian thinking in our work, human rights and justice and evangelization.  I came away from the conference with a renewed and better understanding of why exactly I am in African volunteering, and how to view my work through a Salesian lens.

The conference itself, while refreshing and reinvigorating to participate, wouldn’t be very interesting to write or read about, so I won’t.  I will highlight two of the things we did outside the conference hall, however.

1) Visit to the Kibera Slum

After talking about justice and human rights all morning, our group went to visit a Salesian working in the slums of Nairobi.  The Kibera slum is just outside Nairobi, ironically across the street and behind a brick wall from one of the most affluent neighborhoods in the city.  It is roughly measured by the length of the 6 km road that runs through the middle, and its population is estimated at around 1 million.   Running water and electricity are scarce, sewage runs uncovered in the streets and government services are virtually nonexistent.  

About the time I was completely overcome with heartache, anger, frustration and desperation, we met the Salesian who was located in the middle of the slum.  He was a native of the slum and after completing his studies returned to the slum to set up a school and a social project.  His school provides education for over 200 students and his social project consists of a nurse and a paralegal.  The nurse preaches hygiene to anyone who will listen and caters to girls and women’s health issues.  The paralegal works  to organize a micro-finance project to empower local residents and they both work together to, and this is repulsive, bring justice to rape victims, especially children (some as young as three years old) who do not have the means to attain justice.

2) Bosco Boys – Nairobi

On our final evening in Nairobi we visited one of the many Salesian communities in Nairobi, Bosco Boys.  This is a  community that works with others to get children off the street and out of slums like Kibera.  The students at this particular site were in the final stage.  It was great to see the positive change the Salesians were having on the children, as I sat and talked with all  of them as we watched dancers and performers put on a show for their special visitors.  The coolest part of this experience, however, was mass at the Bosco Boys chapel.  There were only young people in the church, including the choir and 15 dancers that danced at every part of the mass.  I have never felt so much energy or enthusiasm in a church before!

Four months already?

This week I celebrated my four-month anniversary of living in Rwanda.  To mark the occasion I visited the office of Immigration to finally get my visa.  Needless to say, they were not happy that I had waited so long and I got to pay a pretty substantial fine because of it.  There is a long story about me visiting and them not accepting documents, but I won’t bore you with that.  To make it short, I spent my four-month anniversary very angry at Rwanda.

But there has been much good also.  I see that I have not really made a good post since Thanksgiving, so there is quite a bit to update.  To answer all your questions, yes, we did kill the turkey I am pointing at in the Thanksgiving picture, I prepared an entire Thanksgiving feast, and the whole international community I live with loved the American holiday that none of them had ever celebrated.  Chris was out of town for the week so I was the only American to celebrate this American feast, but they loved it and it in turn, made me very happy.

As far as my work is going, well honestly, I’ve been slightly bored.  The school year ended in late October, and since then things have been pretty quiet.  While I am not teaching, the whole pulse of the center beats on the school, and without students, a school is pretty boring.  I am still working, but with not many students to spend time with and many of the farm staff also on vacation, it has been challenging.

Graduation itself was a very bitter-sweet day for me, as all graduations are.  The students that I had grown close to over the past months were now leaving, some of them probably forever.  It was nice to see them, nice to know they remembered me, wanted pictures with me and cared enough to take time from their graduation day to talk to me.  This day was affirming for me, as it reinforced my hopes that I was truly making meaningful relationships with the students here.  We even got invited to a couple graduation parties, unfortunately we could only go to one, which may have been the longest, most boring event of my life!  But regardless, it was a good cultural experience, and the fact that I got invited was a very special gesture.

Because there is no school we had a summer-camp like program called “patronage.”  This is where young children aged about 3-15 came to the center every morning for our program, which included singing, games, dancing, mass and group outings.  I taught a group of kids the words and accompanying hand motions to the song “Yes Lord” in five different languages, so now every time I go outside our center there are hundreds of kids who recognize me and scream “Yes Lord” while giving either a thumbs up or making an “L” with their fingers to accompany they lyrics.

After patronage ended was when life began to get really boring, but luckily Adam, our director from New York, came to visit, breaking up the lull of school vacation.  As soon as Adam left we  were off to Jinja, Uganda to visit some friends who are volunteers with Holy Cross that we met at our training last summer in New York.  Christmas is not yet very popular in Rwanda, so I wanted to go somewhere with some American spirit so we could celebrate Christmas as best we could without snow!

Jinja was great.  Terry, Derrick, Whitney and Joella are all teachers and also bored on break.  But we turned down time from boredom to relaxation, as they live in a house with a front porch, a kitchen and a living room decorated in appropriate Christmas spirit.  We spent the week reading, talking, sleeping and cooking, culminating in a giant Christmas Eve feast followed with a personal (nearly) midnight mass in the living room.  We followed mass with Tom and Jerry’s and readings from the gospels of the Christmas story.  It was almost like home.

We also had some fun in Jinja.  As soon as we got there and had our first Nile Special beer we knew we would visit the brewery which is very near.  It wasn’t quite Anheiser Busch, but it was still a good tour with our new friend, and tour guide, Herbert.

We also decided to bite the bullet and pay for the expensive, touristy rafting trip on the Nile -- it was the Christmas season and all.  This is something I will never regret spending money on, as it was one of the coolest things I’ve done here.  The trip was 30 Kilometers of rafting with multiple series of Class IV and Class V rapids.  I got thrown out of our raft three times, one of them was when the raft flipped completely over.  I only feared for my life once, but luckily my giant life jacket pulled me up from the rapids I had been frantically trapped under for a better part of 20 seconds.

We returned to Kigali with Derrick, who was having his own visa problems in Uganda and had to temporarily leave the country.  Even though Hannah is now gone, our house is getting full.  There are two young men from Belgium who are experienced in agriculture and have come to work on the farm.  We also have a young Belgian woman who was adopted from Rwanda at a yo9ung age and has returned to meet her family (a successful reunion!) and our favorite “community mother,” Rita, who takes care of all of us.  This collage of Belgians has everyone speaking Flemish and has gotten me anxious to start researching my own family Flemish roots (one of the Belgians has the name Hooge in his family, which is similar to some of my origins).  It has also been nice to have a couple extra hands on the farm, especially guys who have studied and worked in agriculture!

To round off the holiday-season post… on New Years Day we went to an East African Community Party held at the National Stadium in Rwanda, featuring some of the top artists from across East Africa.  It was a great time and somehow, even though we purchased regular tickets, we found ourselves in the VIP section standing right in front of the stage!

As I’m reviewing this post it looks like I’ve just been partying all the time, so let me redeem myself by telling you that I still work.  In fact, I have begun to cultivate a new plot of land with the intention of planting a special kind of beet that will be able to sustain the cattle during the dry season when their main source of food, grasses, becomes scarce.  I am also overseeing a construction project for a new shop on the perimeter of our property.  Here I will manage the supply and selling of agricultural products, hoping to earn the center a little extra money.  I am also going to begin helping to teach some of our teachers English.  They will all have to attempt to teach in English this academic year, and for some of them it will be challenging.  I recently helped butcher a hog.  It was interesting, although any hope I ever had of trying blood sausage was dashed after I helped to make it.  I have also become the go to man for soccer refereeing.  Am I qualified to referee soccer?  If you consider playing and refereeing park and rec soccer in DeWitt qualified than yes, but I do not.  Regardless, I’ve taken the role pretty seriously and am even starting to enjoy it.  Its nowhere near the feeling of calling balls and strikes, but its filling some kind of void there.  Last week I had a match where a team from the Congo came to play our team in Rwanda.  I gave two yellow cards, which is something I think baseball needs to adopt.

Oh, and I’m still digging.