Je suis Kinois (i am kinshasan)

Try it out...garbage..sounds naturally french! Not so, its camelote...really a pretty word for trash. Kinshasa is turning out to not be so crazy...but maybe I'm still a bit sheltered. As my American seatmate on the flight here said - Kinshasa is the ranger training for African cities. My introduction to Congolese negotiation was a few vociferous discussions about seating on the airplane...and it happens on the street too. Gombe is the area of town that was secured by the UN peacekeepers or MONUC a few years back, and is home to most of the embassies, NGOs, and expat residencies. Tuesday, Bemba a former Vice-president/warlord, was arrested in Belgium for crimes against humanity, indicted by the ICC. This touched off small demonstrations in Gombe where Bemba's thugs battled the army in Feb 2007 after the election. We didn't see much, as protesters prevented us from lunching in the normal Lebanese eatery. It was kinda subdued because people are just kinda tired and hungry with the prices of food. There's not much excitement to report, though I'm finding exercise to be kinda limited to swimming in the pool in our compound. Going out after dark is not recommended and frankly, I don't really know where I'd go. I finally went on the roof of my work building to see the Congo river...man is it huge..pics to be posted soon. Otherwise, views of Kinois life between home and work are tons of people out and about, working hard, trying to make a buck...soda, bags of water, clothes, maps, even a sad looking dog...all offered by hawkers to stopped cars.
Forest conservation programs encounter some odd results these days. Despite all these dollars spent and the DRC moratorium on logging since 2002, relative "stability" has logging at full-force. We're not here advocating fences around the forest, but planning, monitoring, and auditing rather than an all-out pillage....an all too familiar action towards Congo's resources. So now for the first weekend in Kinshasa?! I guess hitting the French and forestry reading hard is a good place to start...exciting ja! Bon weekend!

Made it!

Hi...Bonjour du monde! Welp, I am in Kinshasa, and have now settled in, and started to figure out what I have to got to do to survive (and thrive?). First off, learn French! My English/high school Spanish/Sesame St. French MIX is not gonna cut it. Apparently French is rare among males, so not to be insensitive to women...but guys, if you want to meet girls, head for French class! Kinshasa first impressions....lots of people! Expensive - a box of cereal was $15 USD! I skipped it for now...too rich for my Dutch blood. Its hard to import goods here because of the poor infrastructure. There were derelict skeletons of bridges over the airport road, and the planes themselves looked kinda recycled. For accomodation, I'll be in kinda an island fortress compound, with not too much access to the streets. Its not recommended to roam by yourself, as its just so big. From what I've heard, people are feeling food prices really bad....they've historically been high, and recently spiked.

What better than to have a tropical thunderstorm the first evening...clouds made it dark by about 5pm, whipping the palm trees with wind and rain. Kin la Belle, Kin poubelle...its all here at the start!

Mefloquine Monday

Kin la Belle, "the beautiful", and Kin Poubelle, "the dustbin", two fond nicknames of Kinshasa on the river Congo. Depends where you stay I guess. In an 800 pp Africa travel book, Kinshasa gets about 4 pages, DRC about 8...for the 3rd largest city and country in Africa. It seems there is little to learn about this place prior to arrival. There's about 300 miles of paved road in an area equal to east of our great American river...it possible to drive crosscountry? Kinshasa sounds intense...sprawling, potholed, dangerous, and unfriendly to tourists. But the nightlife is hailed, as Congolese music is famous across Africa....the airport is an alternate landing site for the space shuttle..and construction of an $80bn dam, twice the size of Three Gorges may soon commence.
Unreachable yet in the same country, remote tropical forests host rare species like the giraffe relative Okapi, Mountain Gorilla, and pygmy chimp Bonobo. These forests and the tribes who rely on them are invaded by pilferers of diamonds, coltan, gold, mahogany or more valuable logs which filter through UN-patrolled lawless regions via illicit networks to the world market.

So thats what I know...the truth is I know nothing and I can't wait to learn!

1 Week Countdown!!

Hi Audience, one week of USA before summer travels and work in Congo. This week, I'll pack all requisite travel/work STUFF, move completely out of my apartment, talk about GIS at a technical high school, cram-listen French CDs, and get the mind right! Getting the mind right should include hanging with the family and friends, watching the Celtics and Champions League soccer, eating some good home-cooking, and communing with nature. There are lots of logistics I could worry about, but really its not worth it. Flexibility, being in the moment, and a longview perspective, will serve best in making this opportunity valuable. A good dose of humor and sensitivity too...I'll pray for the eyes to be open. Adventures, places, friends, await.