Throughout this trip, I have been inspired to take many pictures, fascinated by the culture and interactions with the people I’ve met. As a result of my interest in photography, for my independent project, I chose to do a photo essay over Nyamata. My interests in the Rwandan culture are how the people dress, how they transport from place to place, what language(s) are spoken, etc. How I managed to do my photo essay was by photographing my interests and stating three facts about each picture.

The obstacles I have faced while working on my project were, for instance, taking candids of people and receiving awkward looks from other people. That made me feel uncomfortable because I felt like people were offended. Another obstacle I had to face was when people saw me with a camera and kept looking at me and saying “pic!”. What I’ve learned from those obstacles was, number one, always ask someone beforehand if you can take a photo of them; and number two, just walk away when people come up to you and say “photo?”

What I learned from this project was that Nyamata is a city in Rwanda that is rural, hilly, cultural, and respectful. The people here are so sweet and respectful and care about others. The friendships I’ve made with the students at Nyamata High School, for example, will always be remembered because they would invite us to their school every day just to socialize and show us around. 

Traditional Rwandan Clothing

Traditional Rwandan Clothing is worn mostly in rural areas, like Nyamata for example. The women have to wear something that covers their legs and shoulders. For instance, a dress or a skirt with a blouse. The men wear jeans or khakis with a shirt.

Transportation

Transportation in Nyamata mostly involved bikes and motorcycles. Most of the time, people would ride bikes or travel by foot. Sometimes, people would ride motorcycles. Also, people transport in cars.

Rwandan Food

The food in Rwanda mostly contains rice, beans, potatoes, and vegetables. Lunch and dinner are often served as rice and beans, with vegetables and potatoes. Breakfast is often served as fruit or donuts (in Rwanda, it’s a ball of sweet bread) with tea or coffee.

Traditional Languages

In Rwanda, the most common languages spoken are Kinyarwandan, English, and French. In more rural areas such as Nyamata, French and Kinyarwandan are most commonly spoken because that’s where more cultured people live.

The Cultural Landscape

In Nyamata, the cultural landscape involves lots of hills, trees, rocks, and dirt. Nyamata is considered a rural town in Rwanda because it is made up of mostly dirt roads instead of paved roads, like in Kigali for example. People work more on farms in Nyamata than in any big job, like business for example.