The Rwandan catwalk
The eye of the beholder, it turns out, isn’t the easiest of standards. The beholder can be so…complicated. I found myself in Butare last…
Read MoreAfrican Great Lakes
Advertising students, unite for Darfur: It needs a new image
I’m surprised to find this BBC Viewpoint by Alex de Waal, who’s been one of those obscure-academics-turned-heroes-by-college-kids because of his work on Darfur. He’s…
Read MoreO, cruel irony!
I lost my favorite item of clothing–despite my whiny lust for things that sparkle, it is just a blue t-shirt, now pretty well worn–somewhere…
Read MoreYes, I used to like Celine Dion. I’m sorry.
There’s a little place to stay in Butare that I just love. It’s just off the main road, and the first time I was…
Read MoreMaybe Kinyarwanda is actually the universal language
I was sitting in the bus station in Butare and four Asian men walked in. A tall guy in an Indian-style tunic went to…
Read MoreIn abstentia
Here’s a quick note from Butare, where in one Internet Explorer window, this French keyboard does, in fact, write in French…and in a new…
Read MoreIf I had been there at creation…
I would have lobbied that languages be easier to learn; that we can all choose 12 to store in our brains at birth, and…
Read MoreOf reconciliation, reunion and returns–the $$ kind
Thanks to Diana for sending this link from CNN, where Christiane Amanpour just did a story about justice, forgiveness, living wages… Amanpour’s story is…
Read MoreDon’t say he didn’t warn you
I’ve been holding this little tidbit for the right moment… The day Clinton wins in West Virginia seems apropos. When I was in Burundi,…
Read MoreA country’s worth of caretakers
Last time I came back to the States from Rwanda, I had some serious separation anxiety, and I spent a lot of time just…
Read More