This weekend I attended the wedding of Solange, HROC facilitator in Rwanda. She’s spent lots of time in Burundi, so my colleagues were excited to attend, and she equally excited to have them present.
The weekend began with the seven-hour bus trip, winding our way up to Kigali, stopping for corn and brochettes along the way. We stayed at Friends Peace House, a verdant compound which was formerly a school, and is now a base of operations for many peace initiatives. After hearing so much about this place, I was glad to see it myself. As colleagues said, it’s widely known in Kigali—all I had to say was “Friends…Kicukiro,” and all the cab drivers knew exactly where to take me. No such luck in Bujumbura.
The dowry ceremony was my favorite part of the wedding. The bride’s family and guests wait at her house for the groom’s party to arrive. When they do, they sat across the courtyard. An uncle from each side was given a microphone, and engaged in a dialogue that went something like this:
Bride’s Uncle: “Beautiful day”
Groom’s Uncle: “Yes, beautiful day”
BU: “We’re so glad you could come to celebrate the completion of the road in front of our house”
GU: “Yes it’s a beautiful road. There was one other small matter we wanted to discuss with you.”
BU: “Oh, no need to rush into things.”
GU: “It’s about a daughter of yours. My nephew would like to marry her.”
BU: “Oh, I’m terribly sorry, but we promised her to another family just a couple of months ago.”
GU: “I’m sure there is some mistake. Solange?”
…Twenty minutes of this sort of evasion on the part of the bride’s family; crowd in stitches…
BU: “OH, Solange, yes, actually it was her twin we promised to another family. We would be happy to have your nephew marry Solange”
Another highlight was when they actually brought the dowry—the cows—into the yard. An old man sang a song about how good the cows were. The church service followed, which drew a whopping 7 pastors (a testament to Solange’s popularity). Next, a reception, with military procession and the groom cutting the cake with his sword. Finally, a ceremony of presenting the bride and groom with food for two weeks, so that they could live comfortably and return to work on Monday. Total Fanta count for the day: three.
Kigali is striking for its order and cleanliness. Spread over hills and valleys, the roads weave their way between neighborhoods. The tourist infrastructure is readily visible here. There’s lots of English, the new official language, and people are eager to engage the muzungus. There’s even a Nakumatt, which is more or less East African WalMart. I bought a Cormac McCarthy book, to give you an idea.
I was grateful for the chance to explore Kigali beyond the bus station, but as usual I felt pretty good rolling back into Buja.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Quaker views on violence in the eastern DRC
DECLARATION BY CENTRAL AFRICAN QUAKERS REGARDING THE CRITICAL SITUATION IN THE EAST OF THE DEMOCRATIC
- The war continues to rage
- Massacres of innocent populations, especially women and children, are committed day by day
- Rapes of young girls, mothers, and old women are commonplace
- The population continues to pour into Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps and flee the country. Deaths pile up in the IDP camps (5-6 deaths a day in Bulengo)
- Hunger, malnutrition, and lack of shelter affect all
- Villages are burned in their entirety
- Kidnapping and forced enrollment of young, especially children. Torture, including castration, is inflicted on those who refuse to join armed groups
Despite this terrifying and alarming situation, the Quakers of the region, especially those in the eastern
- Establishing support groups for survivors of rape
- Distributing clothes, food, and soap
- Holding dialogues through Alternatives to Violence Project (AVP) and Healing and Rebuilding Our Communities (HROC) workshops
Yet despite the laudable intervention of Quakers in the region, the situation remains far from manageable. Deaths continue to pile up, numbers of displaced grow at an unbelievable rate, such that their needs become even more overwhelming.
- In making pleas to the highest possible places, including the United States government, European Union, and the UN, to put active diplomatic pressure on parties to the conflict to stop the despicable crimes and unspeakable violence in eastern DRC, and insist that the UN Mission in DRC, MONUC, takes a more neutral stance in its operations.
- In supporting the Quaker Values in Goma Fund by sending a contribution to the African Great Lakes Initiative (AGLI), using the instructions at the bottom of the page. This money will be used to help meet the needs of the displaced and others, including food, clothing, blankets, and tents to offer temporary shelter to displaced persons.
- In supporting our trauma healing and reconciliation efforts that contribute to the peaceful resolution of conflicts.
Together, we can offer hope to belief in a better future to all the affected populations in the eastern DRC. We thank you in advance for your consideration of our declaration, and assure you of our highest consideration.
For questions regarding this declaration, please contact Adrien Niyongabo, Director, HROC Burundi (adniyo@hotmail.com). For questions regarding Quaker work in the DRC, please contact Pastor Levy Munyemana, Change Agent Peace Program Director in Goma (leviyfcgoma@yahoo.fr), or Anna Crumley-Effinger (anna.crumleyeffinger@gmail.com), who works on Quaker advocacy related to the DRC.
To contribute to the “Quaker Values in Goma” Fund online, please go to the African Great Lakes Initiative website (www.aglionline.org), and click on “Donate”; please put “Quaker Values in Goma” in the “Designate my donation” field.
Friday, February 6, 2009
HROC just had some great news. The Advanced workshop we held in Rurengera in December (see below) has spawned a follow-up initiative among some of the participants. Inspired by the workshop, they’ll be forming their own group, which will meet regularly to continue discussion trauma recovery and reconciliation, and to share the lessons they’ve learned with other residents of Rurengera. This is exactly what HROC strives for: to empower people to work for the kinds of communities that they want to live in.
- Learning to cook with the imbabura: charcoal stove. I’ve been making beans, fried imikeke (fish unique to Lac
- Volleyball and swimming on the beach at the Hotel Club du Lac
- Capoeira at the
- Listening to Radio France International, the BBC, and Burundian oldies on our newly purchased radio
- Applying for jobs for my return…any suggestions?
Monday, January 26, 2009
Quaker Peace Network
This past week I attended the Quaker Peace Network (QPN) Central Africa gathering, which took place in a conference center here in Bujumbura. This brought together Friends working in Burundi, Rwanda and Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to discuss challenges and opportunities in their work and possible areas of collaboration. Among these was election observation in the 2010 Burundian elections. QPN has successfully observed elections in the DRC, Rwanda, Kenya, and Burundi, and is beginning to build a reputation for quality. Successful elections could play a crucial role in helping Burundi consolidate peace, so this work is extremely topical. Overall the gathering was warm, congenial, and each participant brought a unique perspective.
Fascinating discussion took place about the church’s role in politics—why should we even be involved in these initiatives, asked one participant. People ultimately agreed that the church had a role in supporting the wellbeing of the whole person, which meant working for spiritual as well as physical health. We are called to be peacemakers, and we must remember that peace comprises many things. Yet getting to that sense took a long and thoughtful engagement among participants. What also struck me was how similar the tone was to the way American or more liberal Friends would describe their work: These Quakers might invoke the Bible to make a point, but I could easily imagine Quakers back home in my meeting making the same point.
Given the large presence of people working in DRC, the conflict there was a frequent topic of conversation. Ultimately, a statement will be released about the violence there, and Friends’ perspectives on the way to confront it. Yet it wasn’t easy to come to agreement on the emphasis: should the statement emphasize North Kivu? Should it be mostly about Friends work, or mostly about the crisis and their perspectives? Who should it go out to? The outcome was quite interesting, as was the process. When the statement is approved, I’ll share it on this blog.
Hearing these stories of those working for peace in the DRC made me feel unsettled—why was I in Burundi when the needs are so much greater just across the lake? Compared with DRC, Burundi is stable and prospering. But while holding that thought, I recalled the truism that jumping from emergency to emergency mentality is precisely what allows countries like Burundi to fall back into conflict. The “CNN moment” ends, the international community packs its bags, and the country is left with a half-finished job. Burundi is at a crucial and difficult stage right now, and needs resources and support, even as the needs are great in other countries in the region.
As with many gatherings I’ve attended here, there was song, dance, and play. Andrew, the other American, and I were pressured into doing a “traditional dance”, which was comprised of a do-si-do, promenade and much partner swinging, which the Burundians seem to especially enjoy.
I was glad to get other perspectives on peacebuilding work going on in the region. Our colleagues were facing quite different challenges, but in sharing and being in solidarity with one another, we said goodbye feeling fortified and ready to jump back in.
Fascinating discussion took place about the church’s role in politics—why should we even be involved in these initiatives, asked one participant. People ultimately agreed that the church had a role in supporting the wellbeing of the whole person, which meant working for spiritual as well as physical health. We are called to be peacemakers, and we must remember that peace comprises many things. Yet getting to that sense took a long and thoughtful engagement among participants. What also struck me was how similar the tone was to the way American or more liberal Friends would describe their work: These Quakers might invoke the Bible to make a point, but I could easily imagine Quakers back home in my meeting making the same point.
Given the large presence of people working in DRC, the conflict there was a frequent topic of conversation. Ultimately, a statement will be released about the violence there, and Friends’ perspectives on the way to confront it. Yet it wasn’t easy to come to agreement on the emphasis: should the statement emphasize North Kivu? Should it be mostly about Friends work, or mostly about the crisis and their perspectives? Who should it go out to? The outcome was quite interesting, as was the process. When the statement is approved, I’ll share it on this blog.
Hearing these stories of those working for peace in the DRC made me feel unsettled—why was I in Burundi when the needs are so much greater just across the lake? Compared with DRC, Burundi is stable and prospering. But while holding that thought, I recalled the truism that jumping from emergency to emergency mentality is precisely what allows countries like Burundi to fall back into conflict. The “CNN moment” ends, the international community packs its bags, and the country is left with a half-finished job. Burundi is at a crucial and difficult stage right now, and needs resources and support, even as the needs are great in other countries in the region.
As with many gatherings I’ve attended here, there was song, dance, and play. Andrew, the other American, and I were pressured into doing a “traditional dance”, which was comprised of a do-si-do, promenade and much partner swinging, which the Burundians seem to especially enjoy.
I was glad to get other perspectives on peacebuilding work going on in the region. Our colleagues were facing quite different challenges, but in sharing and being in solidarity with one another, we said goodbye feeling fortified and ready to jump back in.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Kamenge
I’ve had several opportunities in the past two weeks to travel to and explore a new neighborhood of Bujumbura: Kamenge. I’ve been to a meeting of our little youth group, visited the HIV/AIDS clinic of the Friends Women’s Association (FWA), and been to a wedding.
Kamenge is poor and mostly Hutu, about a 15-minute (sweaty) bus ride from city center. It’s a completely different world from Rohero, where I spend most of my time; there are few cars on the dirt streets. Instead, it’s pedestrians of all ages, bikes, motorcycles, and a stream of the telltale white, logo-stickered SUVs of NGOs. The bus stops at the market, which was destroyed during the Crisis. The hollowed-out and roofless building is now surrounded by wooden stalls, where people sell food, bikes, shoes, cloth, etc. etc. Much fighting took place in Kamenge, and people recall destroyed houses and tanks on deserted streets. Partly as a result of the fighting, the neighborhood is struggling to get back on its feet, and its residents face difficult living conditions. Kamenge is also the neighborhood where a large body of Friends live.
Just a hundred yards down from the market is the Friends Church, soil-red with seafoam trim, and bordered on one side by wooden scaffolding for the Church’s planned expansion to accommodate 2,000 people. Three of my four coworkers go to church there.
A little ways into the Friends’ compound is our garden, where a group of Tutsi and Hutu youth gathers every Friday afternoon. In addition to getting scholarships, these youths, mixed Hutu and Tutsi, have taken part in reconciliation workshops and other team- and leadership-building activities. They’ve experienced trauma as much as any other demographic, and are in need of healing. In the garden, we’re growing cabbage, onions, eggplants, and greens. I won’t be here to taste any of it, but I did admire the progress the group has made, turning the trashy and scrappy lot into neat beds of rich soil. I tried my hand at hoeing, but the teens just made fun of me and did my sections over. They garble their French as badly as any American 15-year old does their English.
Undertaking this reconciliation work with such a young group is an interesting idea and an area of exploration for the Healing and Rebuilding Our Communities (HROC) Program, which has so far mostly worked with adults. People talk some about how critical it is to avoid passing on the old divisions to their children, and seem to see their children as ready and able to transcend. So HROC getting this group together holds a lot of promise for future activities.
I also had the opportunity to visit the Friends Women’s Association’s clinic, which seeks to improve health conditions in Kamenge by providing HIV/AIDS testing and counseling. They strive to see the patient holistically, addressing nutrition and opportunistic infections for HIV positive patients. I also got to see how the HIV tests are done, and was impressed at how quick and easy the technology seems. The clinic is working to get anti-retrovirals and, once two more rooms are completed, will be a fully-fledged clinic licensed by the Burundian government. It was a real privilege to see such an inspiring project, and given the high prevalence of HIV/AIDS in Burundi seems an important initiative.
Finally, I got to attend the wedding of Maurice and Esther, members of the Friends Church in Kamenge. I was surprised overall at how similar it was to an American wedding, only far simpler and lower-key. The bride and groom were married legally in a government building before coming to the church, where they were greeted with choral singing, and two trains of dancing 10-year-olds who processed them down the aisle. There was a small sermon, which contained a fair amount of language about the wife submitting to her husband, which, naturally, set me on edge a little bit. After the signing of a marriage certificate, the whole party piled into cars to travel to different locations in Bujumbura, including the “Tree of Love” (a favorite spot, where it’s not unusual to see two or three wedding parties lined up for their turn to take pictures) and the beach. One couldn’t help but feel jubilant in the midst of this gathering.
I’ve been glad to be seeing this different side of the city, and will be working to find opportunities to come back.
Kamenge is poor and mostly Hutu, about a 15-minute (sweaty) bus ride from city center. It’s a completely different world from Rohero, where I spend most of my time; there are few cars on the dirt streets. Instead, it’s pedestrians of all ages, bikes, motorcycles, and a stream of the telltale white, logo-stickered SUVs of NGOs. The bus stops at the market, which was destroyed during the Crisis. The hollowed-out and roofless building is now surrounded by wooden stalls, where people sell food, bikes, shoes, cloth, etc. etc. Much fighting took place in Kamenge, and people recall destroyed houses and tanks on deserted streets. Partly as a result of the fighting, the neighborhood is struggling to get back on its feet, and its residents face difficult living conditions. Kamenge is also the neighborhood where a large body of Friends live.
Just a hundred yards down from the market is the Friends Church, soil-red with seafoam trim, and bordered on one side by wooden scaffolding for the Church’s planned expansion to accommodate 2,000 people. Three of my four coworkers go to church there.
A little ways into the Friends’ compound is our garden, where a group of Tutsi and Hutu youth gathers every Friday afternoon. In addition to getting scholarships, these youths, mixed Hutu and Tutsi, have taken part in reconciliation workshops and other team- and leadership-building activities. They’ve experienced trauma as much as any other demographic, and are in need of healing. In the garden, we’re growing cabbage, onions, eggplants, and greens. I won’t be here to taste any of it, but I did admire the progress the group has made, turning the trashy and scrappy lot into neat beds of rich soil. I tried my hand at hoeing, but the teens just made fun of me and did my sections over. They garble their French as badly as any American 15-year old does their English.
Undertaking this reconciliation work with such a young group is an interesting idea and an area of exploration for the Healing and Rebuilding Our Communities (HROC) Program, which has so far mostly worked with adults. People talk some about how critical it is to avoid passing on the old divisions to their children, and seem to see their children as ready and able to transcend. So HROC getting this group together holds a lot of promise for future activities.
I also had the opportunity to visit the Friends Women’s Association’s clinic, which seeks to improve health conditions in Kamenge by providing HIV/AIDS testing and counseling. They strive to see the patient holistically, addressing nutrition and opportunistic infections for HIV positive patients. I also got to see how the HIV tests are done, and was impressed at how quick and easy the technology seems. The clinic is working to get anti-retrovirals and, once two more rooms are completed, will be a fully-fledged clinic licensed by the Burundian government. It was a real privilege to see such an inspiring project, and given the high prevalence of HIV/AIDS in Burundi seems an important initiative.
Finally, I got to attend the wedding of Maurice and Esther, members of the Friends Church in Kamenge. I was surprised overall at how similar it was to an American wedding, only far simpler and lower-key. The bride and groom were married legally in a government building before coming to the church, where they were greeted with choral singing, and two trains of dancing 10-year-olds who processed them down the aisle. There was a small sermon, which contained a fair amount of language about the wife submitting to her husband, which, naturally, set me on edge a little bit. After the signing of a marriage certificate, the whole party piled into cars to travel to different locations in Bujumbura, including the “Tree of Love” (a favorite spot, where it’s not unusual to see two or three wedding parties lined up for their turn to take pictures) and the beach. One couldn’t help but feel jubilant in the midst of this gathering.
I’ve been glad to be seeing this different side of the city, and will be working to find opportunities to come back.
Monday, January 5, 2009
Bujumbura-Kigali-Kampala-Nairobi-Kampala-Kigali-Bujumbura
I'm writing from Kampala, where I'm spending the day on the way back to Bujumbura. It's pretty low-key here; I think people are still out of the city for holiday. Still, I'm enjoying the architecture and being somewhere a little more manageable than traffic-choked and sprawling Nairobi.
The bus ride was long and character building, but it was fascinating to watch the changes in development from Burundi to Rwanda, whose capital has an actual traffic light, to Uganda, where there are greenhouses and commercial agriculture, through to Nairobi, which is bright lights and big city. Crossing the Rift Valley in Kenya was a definite highlight: the landscape changes almost instantly as the bus plunges down from the dusty brown and flat to the lush and hilly.
I had a wonderful Christmas and New Year's, visiting with Anna, my former coworker at the Quaker UN Office, who's now working for the American Friends Service Committee in Nairobi. We were joined by an all-star cast which included an AFSC Burundi employee, an Earlham grad from Kenya who just finished a stint with the Quaker UN Office in Geneva, a friend-of-a-friend who's working at a home for street kids north of Nairobi, and an International Labor Organization who made his way to Nairobi from Pretoria. A brainy and peaceful collection.
We took full advantage of her pool, and spent most of Christmas day lounging, though we did manage some carol singing. I spent the rest of the two weeks nursing my sunburn, cooking good food (appreciating the fact that one can get good cheese), and meandering around the city. We spent New Year's eve with Yvette's family and then the beautiful people at Carnivore, a notorious Nairobi club. All was well there until Bon Jovi and System of a Down made unwelcome intrusions into the playlist.
We spent January 1st in Hell's Gate natural park, looking at zebras, giraffes, warthogs, impalas, and baboons. Often all at the same time. After that we hiked down to a hot spring where you can literally boil an egg.
I also got to go to unprogrammed meeting at Friends Center in Nairobi, which was a nice change of pace after the celebratory and programmed meetings I've been attending in Bujumbura. Afterwards, there was a nice coffee with some expatriate meeting attenders.
Nairobi was a wonderful mix of exploration and relaxation, and I definitely appreciated all the amenities. But as I plod my way back to Bujumbura, I also feel excited about digging deeper into the work and getting grounded there again.
The bus ride was long and character building, but it was fascinating to watch the changes in development from Burundi to Rwanda, whose capital has an actual traffic light, to Uganda, where there are greenhouses and commercial agriculture, through to Nairobi, which is bright lights and big city. Crossing the Rift Valley in Kenya was a definite highlight: the landscape changes almost instantly as the bus plunges down from the dusty brown and flat to the lush and hilly.
I had a wonderful Christmas and New Year's, visiting with Anna, my former coworker at the Quaker UN Office, who's now working for the American Friends Service Committee in Nairobi. We were joined by an all-star cast which included an AFSC Burundi employee, an Earlham grad from Kenya who just finished a stint with the Quaker UN Office in Geneva, a friend-of-a-friend who's working at a home for street kids north of Nairobi, and an International Labor Organization who made his way to Nairobi from Pretoria. A brainy and peaceful collection.
We took full advantage of her pool, and spent most of Christmas day lounging, though we did manage some carol singing. I spent the rest of the two weeks nursing my sunburn, cooking good food (appreciating the fact that one can get good cheese), and meandering around the city. We spent New Year's eve with Yvette's family and then the beautiful people at Carnivore, a notorious Nairobi club. All was well there until Bon Jovi and System of a Down made unwelcome intrusions into the playlist.
We spent January 1st in Hell's Gate natural park, looking at zebras, giraffes, warthogs, impalas, and baboons. Often all at the same time. After that we hiked down to a hot spring where you can literally boil an egg.
I also got to go to unprogrammed meeting at Friends Center in Nairobi, which was a nice change of pace after the celebratory and programmed meetings I've been attending in Bujumbura. Afterwards, there was a nice coffee with some expatriate meeting attenders.
Nairobi was a wonderful mix of exploration and relaxation, and I definitely appreciated all the amenities. But as I plod my way back to Bujumbura, I also feel excited about digging deeper into the work and getting grounded there again.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Discussion after dinner and a graduation
Last Sunday, I attended a dinner at the home of one of the pastors of the Friends Church. After dinner, a visiting representative of the Canadian Friends Service Committee facilitated a dialogue session. Each person spoke briefly in response to a prompt, then passed to the left. We went around twice, which allowed ideas to develop and people to respond to others’ comments. The prompt was “What needs to be done to consolidate peace in Burundi?” Given that more than half of the participants are working at the grassroots level to just that end, there was some real wisdom exchanged.
The contributions ranged widely. Some responses were material, including building social cohesion, stimulating development and reducing poverty and inequality— “They say there’s peace because there aren’t two sides fighting each other. But for me, I don’t have peace in my heart because of the poverty we are facing,” said one participant. Others were cultural, including fighting corruption, and confronting violence against women. Underlying all of these concerns was the difficult issue of how to prioritize. The needs here are enormous, yet what comes first, second, etc. is not clear. While the UN could undertake such prioritization and sequencing initiatives, it’s failing so far. Friends also spoke of the lack of coordination among different peace initiatives.
Yet despite these problems, there were also some uplifting messages too. One local church leader recounted positive changes he’d seen since the end of the war: Hutus now have a voice and stake in the governance of the country and there’s no longer a curfew in Bujumbura. Others spoke about the pride that they should rightfully take in their work; they might not have degrees or big budgets, but they’re doing good work, and should actively be showcasing it for the government, NGOs and the UN.
Listening to the voices of these peacemakers was quite a privilege, and the combination of their conviction and willingness to work for change moved me.
On Friday I attended the graduation of Odette, who is married to Adrien, Coordinator of the Healing and Rebuilding our Communities Program. Odette just finished her bachelor’s degree at Hope Africa University in Bible study. Seeing her family and friends brimming with pride was a real pleasure, as was seeing one of Burundi’s renowned drum teams. The drummers manage to balance a 3-foot-tall drum on their heads, walk, play it, and even kick the drum head from time to time. They get a little bit carried away too—at one point the aggravated MC had to yell over them on the microphone over them that “I asked the drummers to play us just a little morsel!”
I’m headed to Nairobi for Christmas and New Years, but have been enjoying starting to settle into Bujumbura life and will look forward to my return.
Other items of interest:
- The lemons are green
- It rains two or three times every afternoon
- I’ve had more Fanta in these two weeks than in the entire rest of my life
Finally, a quick plug: my roommate Andrew’s blog is a great read: quakerfront.com. He’s been here since May 2008, so there’s quite a bit of good reflections and analysis.
The contributions ranged widely. Some responses were material, including building social cohesion, stimulating development and reducing poverty and inequality— “They say there’s peace because there aren’t two sides fighting each other. But for me, I don’t have peace in my heart because of the poverty we are facing,” said one participant. Others were cultural, including fighting corruption, and confronting violence against women. Underlying all of these concerns was the difficult issue of how to prioritize. The needs here are enormous, yet what comes first, second, etc. is not clear. While the UN could undertake such prioritization and sequencing initiatives, it’s failing so far. Friends also spoke of the lack of coordination among different peace initiatives.
Yet despite these problems, there were also some uplifting messages too. One local church leader recounted positive changes he’d seen since the end of the war: Hutus now have a voice and stake in the governance of the country and there’s no longer a curfew in Bujumbura. Others spoke about the pride that they should rightfully take in their work; they might not have degrees or big budgets, but they’re doing good work, and should actively be showcasing it for the government, NGOs and the UN.
Listening to the voices of these peacemakers was quite a privilege, and the combination of their conviction and willingness to work for change moved me.
On Friday I attended the graduation of Odette, who is married to Adrien, Coordinator of the Healing and Rebuilding our Communities Program. Odette just finished her bachelor’s degree at Hope Africa University in Bible study. Seeing her family and friends brimming with pride was a real pleasure, as was seeing one of Burundi’s renowned drum teams. The drummers manage to balance a 3-foot-tall drum on their heads, walk, play it, and even kick the drum head from time to time. They get a little bit carried away too—at one point the aggravated MC had to yell over them on the microphone over them that “I asked the drummers to play us just a little morsel!”
I’m headed to Nairobi for Christmas and New Years, but have been enjoying starting to settle into Bujumbura life and will look forward to my return.
Other items of interest:
- The lemons are green
- It rains two or three times every afternoon
- I’ve had more Fanta in these two weeks than in the entire rest of my life
Finally, a quick plug: my roommate Andrew’s blog is a great read: quakerfront.com. He’s been here since May 2008, so there’s quite a bit of good reflections and analysis.
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