By eryon180
For ten days, my program went on a educational excursion to the capital of Rwanda, Kigali! In comparison to Kenya, the entire country is completely different. Kenya is mostly flat, consists of high temperatures and is very very dirty due to a lack of waste management. It is also dangerous as a woman to go out at night, so my days have been cut short around 7pm. However, Kigali is the opposite. The country is called the Land of A Thousand Hills, has a community-based garbage collection system and the police is integrated with the army so there is little to no crime.
The country itself is incredibly unique. After the genocide in 1994, the country has risen up and is now the safest country and least corrupt in all of Africa. The president, Paul Kagame, is at the end of his term limit but I met people who were so passionate that they wrote letters to the Parliament to ask Kagame to stay for another term.
Despite this, the rural areas are still under-developed and experience a wide population that is under the poverty line. I had the opportunity to visit one of the Millenium Village Projects and was actually disappointed. It was suppose to be a organized development site with trainings to improve livelihoods for farmers and skilled workers. However, we learned that the Cassava Flour Cooperative was actually being exploited by a French company calling the Cassava "Bon FouFou" which is a West Africa food product. The packaging also had no mention of the Rwandan cooperative and they bought the cassava at a very cheap price. As a development major, I was very distraught and actually had to leave the farm because I was so confused.
Since traveling abroad, these moments have come up more and more where your expectations and the stuff you learn in class do not always mesh with reality. Therefore, I suggest that students going abroad go in with an open mind but also do not come in with expectations. Whether it is your program, the reality of poverty or even the culture of a location, you can never actually be fully prepared. Going in, you have to expect everything and nothing but also be open to learning about the things you do not understand. Another instance has been with working with other people when it comes to research. Even if you believe everything is set in stone and that individuals are happy to assist you, there is always the chance that something will come up without notice. i also suggest that students have more than one backup plan. I can tell you now from experience that it is the worst when you feel that everything is prepared and ready to go, but the day you are suppose to leave the location changes its mind or the interviewee cancels at the last minute.
No matter what, the study abroad experience is just that, an experience. You never know what each day will be like nor what issues might come up. Be open, be excited and be prepared!