I read The New Times Rwanda, which is the most popular news outlet here. I read about how Rwandan women make up more than 50% of the Parliament here (what we know as Congress). This helps the country in representing all perspectives instead of just the majority. In fact, Rwanda holds the world record for the most women in government!
I have been going to this little place called Ituze (pronounced ee-tu-zey) Mindfulness & Yoga Center to participate in free yoga classes. It is really fun and challenging. Have you ever tried downward dog, warrior or tree pose?
I have learned that time is a very different concept on this side of the world. In the U.S., we value time heavily and many of our activities revolve around time. In Africa, it isn't really like that. For example, I live with a host family and sometimes they will tell me that we are planning to leave at six o'clock. I will be ready right at six only to find myself waiting until 6:30 PM or 6:45 PM before we actually leave. Even sometimes when I go to school, we don't even start on time. My Kinyarwanda class starts at 9:00 AM and we are always in our seats ready to learn around 8:55 AM. Sometimes our teacher, JP, does not arrive until 9:15 AM! It has definitely been an uncomfortable adjustment and they call this "culture shock," meaning when the culture is different from your own and you have to get used to everything being new, even simple things such as time.
