africa

Congo River Life

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The Kinshasa Orchestra story reminded me of another link a friend sent me shortly after we moved to Congo that I couldn’t check out over there. It’s an NPR series about barging along the Congo River, the second-largest river in Africa after the Nile, and the most powerful one. In fact the hydroelectric potential of this river alone could supply enough electricity for all of sub-Saharan Africa. (Look at a map of Africa and superimpose a map of the USA over the Sahara Desert. Everything below it is sub-Saharan. That’s huge.)

The first story in this 5-part series gives a lot of information in a short time about the history of the Congo. There’s both audio (with some great music!) and text worthwhile to peruse for a good overview of the country. The rest of the stories talk more about what life is like for those on board the barge — some of whom have been there for weeks — and for the villagers living near the river. It’s a fascinating glimpse into a life very different from ours.

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Kinshasa Orchestra

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My mom told me about this segment she watched on 60 Minutes shortly after we moved to Congo, but our poor internet connection over there never let me check it out. Last week at a sushi bar here in Arizona, a new acquaintance mentioned she saw it too. So I finally looked it up.

I had no idea that the only symphony orchestra in Central Africa could be found right here in our host country. (One more reason to get up to Kinshasa soon, Seb!) Kinshasa is the capital of the DRC, one of the largest and fastest-growing cities on the continent, despite having zero infrastructure to support such a population. I remember reading about the rich musical history of Congo in Michela Wrong’s excellent book “In The Footsteps of Mr. Kurtz,” including the sad photo of what she called “one of the last grand pianos in the city” at the declining National Conservatory of Music — a piano missing its third leg, propped up on a chair.

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2 Years in Congo!

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Yesterday we celebrated our 2-year anniversary here in DRC. How time flies! This year has been full of adventures — well, after spending the first 3 months of the year in medical quarantine in Florida. (Which was fun in its own way, spending time with Mom & Rudy, then seeing lots of friends & family on a grand U.S. tour.) Seb and I celebrated his birthday in April on the island paradise of Seychelles, followed by a stop in Ethiopia to visit a friend of mine from grad school. Then in June, we brought Seb’s folks from Québec and mine from Kansas to join us for a camping safari in Botswana. Fantastic! There’s nothing like sleeping under the stars hearing lions roar in the distance, while hoping the elephants knocking down trees all night long don’t accidentally step on your tent.

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Onward!

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The election results were supposed to be announced December 6, which was then pushed to December 8, time to be announced. Yesterday morning we heard they were supposed to announce the results at 6pm. Then a message was sent to change the expected time to 8pm. Then a third message announcing 10pm. This morning we hear it will be delayed another day. This must be what my Nigerian professor meant when he described “African time.”

But this is good news for us, selfishly. Every day this week international flights have been cancelled, then added back, then cancelled again. Yesterday we were thrilled to hear that even though our Ethiopian flights were cancelled, our company charter plane could take us to Ndola, Zambia. It would be a relief to be somewhere with a functioning airport, even if getting to our ultimate destination would take much longer. So it’s even nicer to arrive at the mine airport this morning and find out the original plan is back on! Of course I won’t believe it until we’re sitting in our seats, drinks in hand.

I haven’t yet posted where we are heading for a little pre-Christmas break! And I haven’t told my family yet, either, mostly because it will freak them out. So that’s hint #1. Hint #2 – It’s northeast of us. Hint #3 – It’s very warm. Hint #4 – It’s well-developed, safe, good for tourists, but you wouldn’t think so based on its region.

Any guesses???

Elections, Congo-Style

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So, this little thing called a presidential election is happening right now in Congo. No big deal. It might be the country’s second democratic election in the last 40 years… it might be happening in a country that is still considered mired in a civil war… and it might be happening on a continent known for less-than-civil civics, short on smooth-running elections overall… but hey, hakuna matata.

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Jambo Bwana

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I heard this song recently and it stuck in my head for days.  Last night I asked a social worker here if she knew the song.  Not only could she sing it perfectly, but she wrote down the words for me and gave me my first official Swahili lesson!

Jambo (hello)

Jambo Bwana (hello mister)

Habari Gani? (how are you?)

Musuri Sana! (very well!)

Wageni (visitors)

Mwa Kari Bishwa (you are welcome)

Congo Yetu (Congo is ours)

Hakuna Matata! (no worries!)

The song is originally from Kenya.  Here’s for a little listen.  Beware, it’s very catchy!  http://mwanasimba.online.fr/music/jambo.mp3

One Year in Congo!

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One year ago today we arrived at our new home in Congo. What a year it has been! The time has flown by, actually. I remember how exciting it was when we first arrived… everything so new, so different. And gratefully, the “magic” is still there for me now. On walks around town or trips to the city or local market, I still pinch myself all the time. So many incredible sights to observe.

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The Accumulative Disadvantage of Congo

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A friend gave me a cool collection of books yesterday. The first one I picked up to read is Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell. Similar to another favorite, Freakonomics, it challenges long-held beliefs about how certain things have come to be, and provides surprising correlations among data. Economics made fun. In this case, the notion of “success” is challenged. Economists have uncovered certain phenomena that show a person’s potential for success has more to do with their family, birthplace and even birth date than “traditional” success factors such as natural intelligence and ambition.

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