Good news: the German Embassy in Kigali gave Marceline her Schengen visa, so she will be departing for Berlin this Saturday. However, the entire ordeal was quite exhausting: traveling from Uvira to Kigali takes an entire day, and Marceline does not enjoy long bus trips. Hopefully next time we can find an easier way to do the entire thing.

The German Embassy in Kigali coordinated the visa approval with the German Embassy in Kinshasa, and they were very friendly and helpful when we came to pick it up. Our gratitude goes to the staff at both embassies, as well as our partners at ifa-Zivik for contacting them and requesting that Kigali accept Marceline’s application.

An interesting story: when we were at the bus station in Kigali, waiting for the bus to Kamembe, a young man approached me and struck up a conversation. His name was Philosophe, and he spoke fairly decent English. We started talking about music, and he told me about American artists that he liked: 50 Cent, Ne-Yo, and Chris Brown. Chris Brown, Philosophe told me, was the most popular American singer in Rwanda. I told Philosophe that I did not like Chris Brown because he beat up his girlfriend, Rihanna. Chris Brown’s popularity in America has declined quite a bit because of his violent behavior towards his girlfriend, I explained. I asked if he had heard about Chris Brown hitting Rihanna, he said yes. I asked Philosophe if this had affected his opinion of Chris Brown, he said no. I told him I thought that violence towards women should not be tolerated.

“Ah, but hitting your girl is a necessary part of the relationship, to keep them in line,” said Philosophe.

Oh my.

Bus station in Kigali