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International Women’s Day

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Normally it’s pretty difficult to take a camera into town. If someone sees you photographing the wrong person or place, they can make life rather unpleasant. Not so long ago it was illegal in Congo to take photos in public without a permit.

So it’s nice to get a “freebie” day every now and then, like International Women’s Day. Lots of people have their cameras out, and no one seems to mind. My first holiday here, 2011, I went kind of crazy. It was fun to photograph the kids, the beautiful ladies, the typical shops and the green, green surroundings. Continue reading →

First snake sighting

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My part-time gardener, Lenge, came to the door today, all excited and definitely out of character.  “Madame, madame!  Le serpent!”  He motioned for me to follow him.  I grabbed my camera and did.

He took me down the gravel path a bit, where two other gardeners were standing around watching.  He pointed to the green snake on the ground.  Green mamba, I thought instinctively.  Because they’re around, they’re dangerous, and this guy was definitely green.

I stepped forward to get a better look.  The snake turned towards me just a bit.  The three Congolese guys jumped backwards.  Very helpful they would be in a pinch, I thought.  But I wasn’t within striking distance, and darn it I wanted that picture.  I stepped forward again and snapped this shot.

My amateur research online shows a Green Mamba that matches this description exactly.  But I shipped the photo off to our resident doctor and herpetologist, who answered that it looks like the Angolan Green snake – in his words “harmless but can put up a good fight”!

 

Likasi Visit

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A few months after we moved here, Seb’s chief geologist and Congolese mentor Papa Nzita invited us to meet his family and have a look around his adopted hometown of nearby Likasi, about two hours east by dirt road. Built up by the Belgians who originally called it Jadotville, Likasi was once one of the crown jewels of this region, even considered a tourist destination in many travel books of the time. Fifty years later and you can still see the beauty of the place… if you look with Congified glasses. Ignore the potholes, the peeling paint, every third abandoned or crumbled building and you’ll discover the skeleton of a beautiful colonial capital. Wide tree-lined boulevards, grand art-deco buildings, and roundabouts with large fountains (some of them even with water!). Surprisingly, I’m taken by the place. If Seb’s job took him this direction, I’d be happy to settle in here. Continue reading →

Adventures in Congo, vol. 5

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Hello everybody, hope you had a fantastic Halloween!  I enjoyed hearing stories about Seb’s niece Charlie-Rose dressing up as a skunk, and my nephew Ethan as Buzz Lightyear, even sharing his own loot with kids who later came to his door!  Ethan might be an exception to my story later on about sharing.

But first, speaking of adorable little kids, I forgot to mention something in my earlier stories about our adventures in the Fungurume market.  There are a dozen or so little boys that follow us around the market, trying to sell us plastic bags for 200 francs (that’s about 20 cents) every time we buy some produce.  One little cutie who couldn’t have been much more than 4 years old quickly made change for our 500-franc note, in 100 and 50-franc bills, using one hand.  We were impressed.

Oh, another story I left out, though on a less-pleasant note:  While walking through the market I saw a pig-shaped hunk of carcass hanging upside down, and asked if it was indeed a pig.  Our guide Jean-Pierre casually replied, “Nope, that’s a dog.” Continue reading →

Adventures in Congo, vol. 4

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Hello everyone and happy Monday!

Yesterday we took another walking trip into Fungurume to get fresh bread and vegetables at the local market.  It’s becoming kind of our “regular” Sunday morning activity — a little exercise, sun, and cultural adventure.  We went with our friend from the Canary Islands, Sergio, who has a gift for picking up languages.  He’s fluent in Spanish, English, French, German, and is quite good in Swahili and even Sanga, the local local language.  He was able to converse with people along the way (more than our usual “Jambo!”) which made it a little more interesting.  This time we ventured into the non-food section where we bought clothespins, a funnel, and a t-shirt.  Here’s Seb modeling our local fashion find!

Continue reading →

Lukutola Visit

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Fellow geologist and friend Sergio took us on a visit to Lukutola today, a Spanish Catholic mission in a small village on the concession.  The mission is run by one priest and three volunteers, guys from Mexico or Spain.  Sergio is from the Canary Islands, so he speaks Spanish fluently with the others.  The volunteers are learning the local language quickly, and some French as well (which is less important in the villages).  Hugo from Oaxaca speaks English perfectly; he said he studied in the States for a bit.  I studied Spanish not very long at all, but it’s funny how it lodged itself in my brain as “the foreign language”… so every time I reach for a new word, out it comes.  Since I arrived I’ve been struggling to switch from the Spanish article “el” to the French “le” and from the rolled “r” to the throaty French one.  Ugh.  Even though now with the guys I can say only a couple of sentences in Spanish, somehow this break from French feels like a relief. Continue reading →

Adventures in Congo, vol. 3

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Hello, dear family and friends!

I hope the first two editions of “Adventures in Congo” have left you craving more.  If not, as always, please feel free to write me back and request an “unsubscribe.”  You will then be moved from this list to my Grandpa’s email list, who never fails to forward a good joke.  (Daily.)

It has been a busy two weeks since I last wrote you!  We spent the past two Sundays — Sébastien’s only day off — trekking to the nearby metropolis of Fungurume, a town of nearly 100,000 people.  I mentioned earlier that we live just outside it, yet getting there is quite an ordeal.  To leave the gates of base camp, we have to notify company security, who both times have made a bit of a fuss.  “You mean la cité — the actual town?”  “Why do you want to go there?”  “What do you plan to do there?”  “Do you have an escort?”  Once we assure them it’ll be ok, they write down our names, take our phone number, and finally let us exit through the metal turnstile. Continue reading →

Adventures in Congo, vol. 2

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Happy Saturday everyone!

Well, we’ve made it through an entire week, and then some.  I’m sure there will be days ahead where I feel homesick, bored, or claustrophobic, but so far am happy to report that we’re having fun and enjoying being here in Congo.

I mention “claustrophobic” because our independent movement is limited to the concession that the company “rents” from the government, a large area but with navigable roads only stretching about 30 miles or so.  Seb has a company truck (which I’m not allowed to drive), but if we want to leave the concession, we have to hire a driver through the company.  Or we can fly on the charter plane on Mondays or Fridays, if there’s room.  Either way, the only place we can really go is Lubumbashi.  From there we can fly somewhere else, but it generally requires going to Johannesburg first.  So, let’s just say that “vacations” away from the concession are going to require more than a weekend, and a lot of planning ahead!

Last Sunday we drove around the concession, where I was happy to discover some villages right outside our camp.  Here’s a tiny one of just a few grass huts.

Continue reading →