Genocide Memorial

Had a nice evening out on the town with Chrystel, her friend Denise, her boyfriend 'Boo Boo' and his friend 'Giga'. We mainly just had a nice dinner and drinks, but got home pretty late.

Joseph and Tony came to get me at 9 to see down town Kigali and then go to the Genocide Memorial. Kigali is so clean, I think that's what is nice, you hardly see any trash anywhere like you do in a lot of other places. They also have this ban on plastic bags which is really cool and I'm sure that helps a lot.

The memorial was really sad. It really made me think a lot, as I have been since getting here and as I used to a lot in El Salvador about human nature and how those things can actually happen. How far people can go and what people, myself included, would potentially be capable of in certain circumstances, both in terms of perpetrating and in terms of surviving something like that. I hope I never find out.

The other thing that was so clear looking at the other exhibits there about other genocides was how much complicity other countries have in all these horrible wars and genocides. How ignorant colonizers were, how arrogant. I know this already but it really hits home when you see Cambodia, Nigeria and Rwanda in the same memorial.

Tomorrow we go to the office early to get ready, partners come at 10 to finish the schedule, and we are off to Gatsibo District at 2. We'll arrive around 4 to settle into the 'not nice' hotel and get ready for tomorrow. I'm excited -- and need to get packing!