Monday

The first thing that I did when I got to Rwanda was going to see the dancers in Butare! I had heard about them from John SB, and I didn't want to miss the chance to see them for real. It was really exciting to watch them. Each dance had a story that went along with it. Sometimes I could understand the story, and sometimes I couldn't.

The costumes that the dancers wore were stupendous! They were really colorful, but not overdone. I thought that the wigs were kind of funny, but they added a lot to every movement, by flying around and just being there. Other things they wore were skirts and necklaces, which were funny to see on men, but I had to respect their traditions too.

It was really cool to watch the dancers, because they put a lot of energy into everything they did. They were always to the rhythm of the beat, which was amazing because they were singing at the same time. I don't think I could ever do that, so I look up to them.

After this, I decided to take a walk around town, just to see what Rwandan life was like, so that I wasn't in the dark for my whole trip. When I looked around, I got a little depressed, because everyone looked so poor. Also, no one had any electricity, so they had to do everything themselves.

Even though that was sad, seeing all of the smiles all around me cheered me up. I still can't believe how happy they all were, though they had a really hard life. Maybe it really wasn't a hard life to them, because they were used to it, but it was only a hard life to me, because I'd never had to do that kind of work before. I think that I will always remember that, and that I have a very easy life compared to people in Rwanda.

Finally I went back to the hotel I was staying at, and fell asleep, still in my clothes.