Farewell, Dear Continent!

For nine months I have believed only in the most abstract of ways that this day—the final day of my fellowship—would actually arrive. Now that it’s here, I want to travel back to the glory days of my stay and do it all again. A few weeks ago, you indulged me as I [...]

Contradictions, Complications, Juxtapositions, and Genocide

It’s easier to make sense of Rwanda if you erase the human element of the Genocide that happened here fifteen years ago. If we could just pretend it wasn’t actual people who perpetrated the one million unthinkable acts, it would simplify the dynamics of the country. Afterall, if we acknowledge that it was not only [...]

Let’s Get a Round of Applause for the White Girl Running Aimlessly, Folks!

I am accustomed to stares. I bargained for them when I first started running in Rwanda. But the rest of it was surprising. At first it was an obligation to greet everyone I saw—which happened to be hundreds of people because of the busy residential neighborhood I chose as my route. [...]

Microfinance Not Your Thing? How About Cards From Africa?

Since arriving in Africa, my focus on microfinance has extended to a general interest in small and medium enterprises in developing economies. While microfinance is a great way to provide capital to those without access, it is small scale. As a result, money is put into the informal sector but the economy at [...]

Who Needs Personal Space When We Could Hold Hands for An Awkwardly Long Amount of Time Instead?

As I waited for a bus to depart recently, I looked out the window and saw amid the steady pulse of an active city, two men sitting on a small stool. Plural men. Singular stool. They accomplished this feat by having one man in the back, or on the outside, while the [...]

Taking Off the Rose-Colored Glasses

A friend recently told me that he thinks my blog is too rosy. I believe the word he used was “nauseating.” I’m fairly certain he was kidding (I can already here some of you standing up in my defense. Thanks, Grandma!), but in the spirit of creating a well-rounded body of work, [...]

How Do You Run a Shop in a Neighborhood with No Cash?

I’ve always been curious about what happens when microfinance clients open businesses in places where there is very little capital. Many operate small shops of household necessities but the placement of such stores is generally based more on proximity to home than a strategic evaluation of which part of town is most profitable. [...]

The Importance of My Fellow Fellows

Not every day as a Kiva Fellow is a good one. There are days when I wait for seven hours for a credit officer to be available to take me to the field to collect journal updates for only two clients. There are hours of intermittent internet in which I am able to [...]

New Pictures Are Up!

For my Rwanda pictures, I’m using Picasa instead of Flickr because I received feedback that Picasa is easier to use and better for viewing.  The only downside is that there’s no way to publish thumbnail teasers on the right hand side of my blog.  So I will announce the appearance of two new albums with [...]

I Bless the Rains Down in Africa

I’ve always thought that the lyrics to Toto’s song were “I miss the rains down in Africa.” I had prepared to write a blog entry based on that premise only to learn, upon looking up the song’s artist, that those are not the words. I am convinced that once I leave here, the [...]