Me "Can't a person do both?"
He just looked blankly at me with no comment.
Welcome to challenging gender roles. My first family session this week was a mother and son in conflict over property disbursement. The older son received a house for himself, his wife, and children. The younger son has to share the other house with his male cousin. Were do the three sister live? I asked. "They are fine and do not need a house of their own". ....oh, interesting!
The cultual lessons are fascinating. I am enormously enjoying the challenge of learning the language of family relationships in the Rwandan context. Every family brings their own history of beliefs and social norms, the challenge arises with my feminist perception of egalitarianism meets traditional patriarchal social structures. Hence, my Rwandan co-facitiltor stopped the session and in English gave me a lesson in Rwanda culture of traditional beliefs. Good stuff!
Two bus rides, two moto taxis, and a bike taxi later I arrived in Gashora in southern Rwanda close to the border of Burundi. There were supposed to be hippos in the lake, but I didn't even see a fish jump. Beautiful though, with great birdlife.
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