July 5

July 5, 2013

I’ve been pretty busy since our arrival in The Hague on Sunday so I haven’t had much time to write or blog.  We’ve been visiting various international courts this week: the ICTY (International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia), the Special Court for Sierra Leone, the Special Tribunal for Lebanon and finally the International Criminal Court.

We sat in on two cases at the ICTY, which was very interesting. In both cases, issues came up with translation. For some reason, I didn’t think this would be an issue but some of the staff at the ITCY said it was a very common problem and was something they had to address daily.

Coming from Rwanda to the Netherlands has been a drastic change and I’ve noticed some things about Western culture that I hadn’t necessarily paid much attention to before.  In Rwanda, the culture is very conservative and women don’t wear skirts above their knee.  PDA is also something you never see and actually I think it’s against the law in some places for couples to even hold hands.  This is a stark contrast from the Red Light District in Amsterdam and even the woman rubbing her boyfriend’s back on our tour at the ICC.

I’ve had a great time this week and really enjoyed the Netherlands but I honestly wish we had just spent another week in Rwanda. While visiting the various tribunals was very interesting, it doesn’t compare to the first-hand experiences we had in Rwanda – not to mention that I wasn’t as familiar with situations the other tribunals were prosecuting as I am the ICTR.

One other thing I’ve noticed this week is that even though Dutch is the national language of the country, literally every person I’ve spoken to speaks perfect English as well.  At home, most of my friends don’t speak a second language and foreign language classes are not as prevalent during primary school.  I think that’s something that needs to be addressed in schools earlier because knowing multiple languages is such great skill to have.

Right now I’m on a train to the airport in Brussels and I can’t believe that our trip is over. I’ve learned so much and made so many great friends and I’m so glad I got the opportunity to be a part of this program. In 20 hours I will be home and am excited to see how I can take the knowledge I’ve gained about Rwanda and about myself over the past six weeks and apply it to my life.

Final Reflections - June 29

I’m currently on the plane to Brussels and we are stopped in Entebbe, Uganda.  I can’t believe that the Rwanda part of our trip is over and I’m feeling more bitter than sweet about it.  I’ve learned so much about the country, the culture, and myself throughout this experience.

Rwandans can tend to be very closed off at first and it’s somewhat hard to break through and form relationships.  The Peace Corps has Rwanda listed as a tough country to be in because of how difficult it is to become integrated into society.  However, throughout the past five weeks, I was fortunate enough to have made wonderful friends who have turned into a second family to me.

Jackson and Benoit, along with the rest of the staff at Bethany, were extremely hard to leave at the airport.  Since we got to Rwanda, they have done everything possible to make us feel comfortable.  Jackson would always accompany us on weekend trips so that he could translate for us and make sure the drivers didn’t get too crazy.  Every time we returned to Bethany after a weekend trip, I felt the same way I did coming back home from Chapel Hill my freshman year.  I’m going to miss Benoit and how his face lights up every time he smiles.  I’m going to miss Jackson and how he says “Okeyyyyyyyyyy” every time he sees me.  I’m going to miss Pacifique and how he tries his best to speak to me in English.  I’m going to miss the guards and how they instantly smiled (and laughed) when we got back to Bethany and said “mwiriwe”.

I was very fortunate to have a wonderful experience with my host family, especially their two daughters. They welcomed me and Elke into their home and referred to us as their older daughters when talking to members of their church.  Rose was so interested in our culture and wanted us to feel like their home was our second home. When we came back to their house for dinner the week we left, Rose made the chipati that me and Elke loved so much the first time she made it for us.

Not only did I make new Rwandan friends, but I was lucky enough to be accompanied by 20 amazing students and teachers from UNC that I didn’t know before. Rwanda isn’t a typical study abroad destination and it definitely shows in the people in this group. Everyone was truly interested in what we were learning which made for an even better trip.  From Peter’s difficult to understand questions, to Sarah’s ability to make friends with anybody, to Elke’s humor and Emily’s constant positivity, everyone brought something to the group and I am so lucky to have spent this time with each and every one of them.

There are so many things about Rwanda that surprised me, but one thing that has stood out to me since I got there. Despite all the horrible atrocities the country endured in 1994, they are still a highly religious culture.  I couldn’t imagine going through the things these people have been through and still having faith that there is a God.

The people of Rwanda are truly remarkable, which leads me to my final thought.  When I first met Elke, she was talking about how meeting people - not seeing sights - makes for a memorable trip.  While the beautiful landscapes and hills of Rwanda will probably never leave my memory, the one thing I will remember about this trip is the wonderful friends I made and the memories and experiences we shared in Rwanda.