How to Live in Africa with No Money - No, Seriously, Tell Me How.

So my research time has started. No more long lectures (2 hours! 3 lectures a day! German program director!) No more excursions. No more students – about ¾ went back to Uganda. I decided to do my research in Rwanda, considering it’s the reason I chose this program.

During our research time we are on our own. We’re handed some money and sent off into Africa. That money is very slim because, you see, everywhere in Africa is cheap. Africa is not developed. They can not compete in the world market. You can buy a meal for a dollar no matter where you go. Or so the SIT office in America thinks, an office which clearly does not hire anyone who has actually been to Africa.

Before coming to Rwanda I had heard that it was expensive. I, foolishly, interpreted that to mean expensive compared to Uganda and not expensive compared to the US. I was wrong. While many things are cheaper than in the US, things are definitely more expensive than I budgeted for. And everyday things that we don’t really think about in the US are crazy expensive here. Housing (Rwanda is the most densely populated country in Africa – land is hard to come by, especially in the capital), internet ($1 an hour – add up the amount of time you spend on internet a day and think about a college budget and then feel very, very sorry for me), and airtime (I spend about 10-15 dollars a week on phone calls because I have to call so many people about interviews). Basically, SIT sucks and is trying to steal our money. And I am the lone white person begging on the streets of Rwanda for the 20 cents that will get me 10 minutes of research time on the internet.

With all of the necessary costs that come along with research, housing was a joke. There was just no way to feed myself and to live in a student hostel all within the money SIT gave us. So I started searching for cheap places to stay in Rwanda back when I was in Uganda. I went on couchsurfers, an awesome website where people around the world let you stay on their couches for free while you travel the world. I posted a message asking if anyone knew of a cheap place and this Congolese guy responded saying he was going to Canada for the month and my friends and I could stay at his place. I met up with him here. He is an NGO worker who is starting a new program to combine soccer and forum theatre with kids as a form of informal peace education. He is super nice, speaks several languages, and offered to let me and my friends stay free of charge. We only have to pay for electricity and gas (a gas stove – I didn’t know those existed in Rwanda).

So now I have moved in with three other friends. And we definitely have the best living situation of all the people in the program. Sure sometimes our water runs out for days at a time and we live off the charity of our neighbors; and sometimes we slide down the driveway to our house and curse the person who decided making a driveway out of rocks in a country where it rains everyday was a good idea; and sure sometimes we accidentally tear our mosquito nets from the ceiling and aren’t tall enough to replace them. But overall I am having an amazing month in my gorgeously decorated, gate-enclosed, comfortable house in Rwanda. Life is good.

Except research is hard. And having no money while doing it is even harder.