I am still blown away by Kigali. People do not beg or harass you for money here. Even on the moto taxis they do not try and overcharge you for being a foreigner. A 15 minute ride is less than a dollar. It is really nice and refreshing. In Kenya and Tanzania I definitely felt a pressure for being white. They only viewed me as an ATM and would nonstop try to take advantage of you. I do not blame them since they live in extreme poverty and are trying get some money, but it really takes away from the enjoyment of exploring a new country and culture when you constantly are being harassed. Here in Kigali you do not feel that whatsoever. It is safe and sometimes I do not even realize I am the only foreigner here since they treat you as equals. Also Matt told me people rarely even fight on the streets or bars because of the repercussions of the genocide, you just don't do it. In the afternoon I went to Inema Art Center and met the owner, Innocent, an extremely talented world renown artist. We painted a freestyle abstract black and white canvas together. After a couple minutes of painting he would rotate the canvas to see things differently. His creativity and perception really blew me away. He told me he likes black and white paintings because it can go on for infinity and you can see something new every time. He specializes in making art on dried tree bark and sells his work for multi-million dollars. From talking to him I realized I want to channel my creativity more, either through poetry or ceramics or dance or something. He explained how he likes to view art in the negative space, seeing things where the brush was not. Another thing I liked was that he only paints big canvases. He said painting on a small canvas limits his mind and perception and needs huge canvases to feel free and express himself. He only paints happy things as well because he wants to feel happy. He told me how art is new to Rwanda and Africa in general. He wants to build a huge center where artists can come and express themselves. He is tired of traveling to Miami Art Basel or Europe for shows and wants to bring art culture to Africa. He was super friendly and down to earth and one of the coolest dudes I ever met.
