What I cannot blog.

Before I begin to write anything about my work here, which is about 75% of my life, I need to tell you there is a lot I cannot write. What particularly sucks about this is that one thing I place most of my time, passion and energy into (my research), I cannot blog about.

This is the case for a few reasons.

First off, as any researcher knows participant confidentiality is of the utmost importance during the time of fieldwork, and even the smallest bit of information cannot be given to anyone not outlined in the consent agreement.

Secondly, most of what I work on at CNLS is in the preliminary report or raw data stage during which I also cannot impart any cool or interesting things I have learned from other studies.

I also cannot blog about the sometimes hilarious situations that occur daily at work, but don’t worry you will hear those stories when I’m home. Accents included.

But what I can say is that conducting research in a foreign country is definitely no walk in the park. Whether it be a country with little governance or too much, everything takes time. A lot of time.

There usually is not particular reason, other than the assumption that things can wait.

So more often than not my co-workers are telling me I need to calm down. But I am on a limited timeline here in Rwanda and so I feel every hour on my neck like eyes of a lover. I try to remind them of this, but they are convinced I won’t get on my flight.

Despite this I have made progress, I made my first field visit last week, and despite many new hurdles that emerged at the end of it, the location felt immensely right. I am clearing my last line of red tape on Tuesday morning and saying what this will feel like is pretty much impossible.

Work has taught me to be more patient than I naturally am, but not less persistent.  I have learned to sit and work inside an office as a necessary step to be in the field where I belong. My feet still itch with fear and anxiety of never leaving, but the field visit helped calm my restlessness. It is very easy to slip into being relaxed about many things here, to feel that Rwanda is what I see daily of the middle class in their office buildings and swimming pools. 

So I have found some ways to remind myself of what I do not see.

I have started to work part-time for a local newspaper here called Igihe.com. They are a fairly young daily only a few years old, but have risen so fast to the top tiers of Rwanda’s media kings that I was curious to see how they worked. At first I tried New Times the top English print daily in the country, because I made they silly assumption that they would be the most organized.

Basically, I was wrong.  Being impatient and angry as usual, I headed to Igihe, where I had recently met a few reporters. They were definitely very young, but had the exactly reporting style I was seeking and weren’t afraid of uncomfortable truths. Upon meeting my direct editor, whole worlds of public health issues were opened up to me.

Issues, I had no clue about working in the government sector.  I would be able to follow stories to parts of Kigali I had yet to really see, the slums, the hospitals, and street. I was ecstatic. This I can write about.

I just had my first news piece published today, and an opinion on the way. I will post the articles as I go along when possible. My editor has provided me with a buzzing brain of story ideas, and I think this has cured my impatient feet.

Here is the News Story on GBV