Flagrant Consumerism

Photos! I beg/borrowed a camera to take some pictures of my new possessions. There is really nothing that can't be found here, even if it takes much searching in many stores. In 

pseudo-chronological order:

My new walking stick purchased for $0.50 on the way to the hike. I have been using it to stretch out my feet so that my squats get better for Crossfit. (Laying the stick on the ground and rolling my feet over it) There were lots of cool patterns, but this was the flattest one for foot stretching.

New school bag and skirt made from the first fabric I bought.

New fabric, not sure what the plans are for it but purple, blue and green are my favorite combination. I am thinking of mounting some of it on the wall and maybe doing a shirt or dress with the rest.

Other new fabric I bought to go with the old fabric from the couch. Almost?!?!

 New school logo waterbottle to replace the one that disappeared during Congo week. Love the color!

My new banana tray... Excellent find during the Saturday shopping outing.

Cat coloring book, one of my vacation treats. There are stickers too! I'm in heaven.

Very well stocked fridge and cupboards for my vacation. Lots of treats! 

And that's all folks, as they say!

Some Photo News

Wanted to let you all know that there has been a slight hiccup with my blog. During some school events this week, I was intermittently using my camera and not keeping track of it, and it disappeared. It was completely my fault and I take full responsibility for being an idiot. I think that there is really no point of me blogging with no photos... no one really cares what I have to say without photographic proof. So I think my blog may have to go on hiatus until I can get a camera at Christmas. Sorry to you all who were reading. I will see what I can do but my friends don't really have cameras so much as phones and my one friend with a camera had hers die on her, so I am in a pickle. Thanks for reading. Much needed vacation coming up next week.

Odds and Ends... Something Random

Time for a SUPER Random post. Are you ready? Bookended by some beautiful flowers from my photo shoot last week. I cannot get over how lovely everything is! 

First, I got to see the parrots yesterday. A storm was blowing in, and they were flying around as I was walking home from work, trying to find a safe spot. I was impressed with their tails! (Photo not mine)

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2299/2531011263_48f4cdebf5_m.jpg

And last night I also got my very own snail for my front walk! Everyone else had one and I was jealous, so now I am glad to have one of my very own! I swear I took a picture, but my camera is being finicky, so this will have to do:

http://a-z-animals.com/media/animals/images/470x370/giant_african_land_snail.jpg

Got some mail this past week and one of the comments was about how even though I am in Africa, I am not 'in the sticks.' (Interesting article here) I think I was prepared to move to a city, but with all my busy days, I didn't do a lot of research before I got here. For your pleasure, some Kinshasa facts... Along with some photos my camera recently happened to 'find' in it's memory. Weird. 

• Kinshasa has over 9 million people.
• It is the 2nd largest francophone urban area in the world, after Paris.
• It is the 3rd largest urban area in Africa, after Cairo and Lagos. 
• Originally called 'Leopoldville' after the Belgian king who (very intensely, to put it mildly) colonized the DRC. 
• The two closest capitals of sovereign countries in the world are Kinshasa and Brazzaville, slightly less than one mile apart across the Congo River! (I don't count the Vatican, it's close to Rome because it's IN Rome, duh)

http://travel.stackexchange.com/questions/7056/what-are-the-two-closest-capital-cities-in-the-world
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinshasa

I will also say that while I was 'prepared' to move to the city, when we got pizza delivered I was still pretty impressed... you can take a girl out of Franklin County, but you can't take Franklin County out of the girl! I am used to more formal public transportation than there is here, but other than that the noise and traffic lights are definite indications that we are NOT in the country. Our compound is beautiful, but it's easy to tell that it's a natural area in a city, and not at all rural.

Also recently attended book club, a gathering founded by teachers at my school who have all since left. However, they invited in many people who work in Kinshasa who were around to keep the club 'dormant' through the summer and become active again in fall. We met at one such person's house to discuss Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Aichie. It was a very good book, a long love story, but more that that to me was a story about a girl seeking something and trying to fit in and find her place in the world. I also learned a lot about race, especially from the perspective of the main character, a Nigerian girl who moves to the USA and witnesses things very differently from African American people living in the states. I would recommend it. I am now trying to get into The Lizard Cage by Karen Connelly for the next book club meeting at my house. 

Quote I have been thinking on this week:

“Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.”― Rumi

End to the weirdest blog post ever... back to organization next week. Maybe. 

Mount Mangengenge

Today was my first Hash House Harriers event (more info here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hash_House_Harriers), a hike to the top of Mount Mangengenge. I was so so so happy to get out of the city and experience some beautiful quiet and amazing scenery. The company was also excellent. While my exhaustion prevents me from saying a lot more, the pictures can tell the story...ascent: (Jersey Turnpike, anyone?)

Some view:

And some more view of the outcropping specifically, I was very taken by it. 

I will never forget one of the chaperones taking care of me on my first international trip, Paris in high school, "Ellen, you're not in any of your pictures... no one will know that you were here!" So here I am, sweaty and insanely gross, but I was actually there. As was the man with the cool backpack behind me.

We walked through a village on the top of the mountain. Just incredible to think about the day-to-day realities of these people's lives, what their routines are compared to my own. Mind boggling. Traveling has a way of putting you in a position to see and meet so many strangers and share a part of their lives for just a few seconds. This was a house in the village. Sorry that my exhaustion prevented more artful photography (as well as my horrible photo skills and desire to take in the moment without being preoccupied by capturing it.)

Then we started our descent... this is a view looking back onto the very pleasant (but uneven, my favorite) staircase, one of the better parts of the trek in my opinion. Thinking of the people who carried the materials to build this staircase and reinforce the path with the bags of dirt in the first picture was also mind blowing. The paths were covered in very very fine sand that made walking serious exercise, much less carrying heavy bags of material! This hike is used by people making a religious pilgrimage, and there are crosses along the way, so I imagine that the work put into the path is serving a higher purpose than aiding tourists. There were many local people on the path along with us, mostly walking with purpose and good humor in mind-numbingly unsubstantial footwear. (The people below are Hashers, though)

Some more view. Going to bed an exhausted happy girl.

A bit more about the mountain here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Mangengenge

Congo Spring

Spring has sprung in Kinshasa and I can't help myself, I have to get these photos up. I feel like I live in Fairy Wonderland. These flowering trees shed everywhere and carpet the ground with a gorgeous purple layer of beauty. I am sorry I'm waxing so poetic, but it's really just deeply beautiful and I had to share. They are everywhere! On the tree:

On the ground: 

On the road: 

And my hilarious attempt at a 'snow' angel... can you spot it?  

I have lots more beautiful spring photos to put up, but that will have to be all for tonight. I am wiped out. Much love and ttfn

Food...

Greetings y'all! Feeling a bit discombobulated this week, but thought I could take some food pictures for you all. First, here is a picture of the fruit and vegetable lady, Mama Jean, who comes to our campus. She is super convenient and available Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Chatted with her the other day and she said that she has to take a taxi to her garden and also to our school, so it's a big deal for her... she doesn't have everything available every day, but she usually has a fair amount.

So this week I made a ginger/carrot/tomato soup with some chicken... something like a recipe I usually make at home. Apologies if it looks gross to you, I am not a food photographer, but it tasted good. Comments "It's your fault I ate so much, you made it taste too good" LOL Always nice to hear.

My other meal this week was a stir fry with chicken breasts, some herbs and lots of veggies. We have small zuchini-ish looking courgettes that are good and they are in there, as well as garlic, onions and green peppers. 

We have a new option for veggies on campus, a CSA type venture who is delivering to our school. For $7.50 my friend and I are splitting a large amount of veggies, carrots, cucumbers, eggplant, tomatoes, onions. I plant to try to use up all the veg and also keep patronizing Jean. We will see how it goes. On tap for next week is eggplant lasagna and some fish in coconut milk. Also going to try some pork chops, maybe? I will keep you posted on my culinary adventures and try to take more pictures. Hold your breath, there may be more plant photos coming, sorry in advance. 

PS: In case you didn't know, my eating plan (I know there are many cons to this method, I have heard them all... but it's what works for me and I haven't died yet, I hope my multi-vitamin helps.) is to make 2 large meals on Saturday/Sunday that last me all week.

Thunder and Lightning

Short post this morning - with only one picture - it has been a crazy week! On Sunday morning at around 2am, we had our first intense Congo rain. It has rained (gently) before (once) but overall our days have been just (1) sunny or (2) slightly overcast. All the returning teachers have been telling us that this would change, and boy did it ever. The thunder and lightning that arrived on Sunday were incredibly intense, and the rain poured down with much more power than the little gentle shower we had had in August. I absolutely loved the way it made everything smell so fresh and look so green - just gorgeous. I know getting woken up at 2am may get old, but for now I look forward to the next thunder storm!

Now for some slightly more practical information - we are nearing the end of the dry season (hence the start of the rain) It has been really pleasant weather, warm but not too warm unless you are doing more strenuous physical activity. Apparently, with the thunder storms, comes much more humidity and heat (although people say it is still bearable) I will wait to pass judgement until I have felt it, but I am hoping that I will feel that way too (we'll see how my frizzy hair feels about the situation!) Also, Congo is a super lightning concentrated area:

http://geology.com/articles/lightning-map/lightning-map.gif

So we are advised to get in the habit of unplugging everything we are not using... I am better about it some days than others (it's hard to feel urgency when the lighting hasn't started en force yet) but I am sure that once the rainy season starts I will get better about it. We have to unplug our intercom system in our classrooms, all computer chargers, and the air conditioners so they don't get fried by lighting strikes. Looking at the above map, you can see why!

Lastly, I have been reading King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa by Adam Hochschild to try to get to know Congo better. It had an interesting passage pertaining to the weather. 

Henry Morton "Stanley’s journey solved another geographical mystery . The Congo begins and ends below the equator, but the top part of its great half-circle lies above the equator. In central Africa, the equator is the rough dividing line between the dry and rainy seasons: when it is one above the line, it is the other below. Therefore , whatever the time of year , part of the Congo’s course passes through land being drenched with rain and part through dry country. This explained why, over the course of a year, the Congo’s flow varied much less than that of other tropical rivers."

Hochschild, Adam (1999-09-03). King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa (Kindle Locations 889-893). Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Kindle Edition. 

It's a really interesting book with lots more facts and info about the Congo... I am slowly making my way through it. I hope your weekend is just wonderful! 

Fabric Shopping

Short post this morning:

Last Saturday I drove (!!!!) my friends and I fabric shopping. We went to a little alley where there were at least 30 booths that looked like this:

each with a different sales-lady trying to convince us to buy her wares. It was overwhelming to say the least, but this is what I ended up with. Projects to come (It is very easy here to pay to have clothes and things made. I don't plan to become an expert seamstress overnight!)

 My friend modeling the pagne for the couch...

And one for clothes...

And another for clothes. 

Three large bolts of 6 yards each cost $38. I didn't think that was too bad, although I am told similar pagne costs less in other African countries. I am quite happy with mine though and already looking forward to the next adventure! So many to choose from! 

Sunset on the Congo

Last weekend, friends and I loaded up in a school-owned car to go have drinks by the river. It was a gorgeous sunset, and yes, I have now taken pictures (of something nice) outside the walls of the compound. First, my favorite billboard of all time. Coming from a state where billboards don't exist, I've always had a fascination with them (French ones more than English, I guess) This one says NEVER BETRAY THE CONGO. Oh. My. It's at the bottom of our hill, as we are turning left to follow the river.

We sat at a little table and just watched the river go by. 

Throwing leaves in was another activity.

Just gorgeous. I am so fortunate to have met such lovely people and seen such cool things, already! 

I didn't photograph it, because we were so busy watching it try to catch it's dinner, but a cormorant-like bird landed in front of us with a very skinny neck and dove for a long time. We also saw some very cool birds in a stick nest blowing in the breeze. The bats on the way home were impressive as well. 

http://www.earthtouchnews.com/media/179103/14_02_2014_weaver-bird_nest-building.jpg

http://www.brixtonbuzz.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Bats-in-sunset-2.jpg

Something a bit like that, I suppose! I should have taken my own pictures! Have a wonderful weekend all!

More Plants

Friday is upon us! And time for more plant pictures! These are from a walk I took a few weeks ago and I just wanted to get them labeled before I forget what I was intending to photograph.

These (I believe) are the seed pods coming off our palm trees. I love the colors, and the palm trees:

These pictures were taken on my way home from school one day, I took a longer route to show you the walking/running path that runs around the compound. Cool tree roots:

And some very squash-like blossoms growing on the ground.

The coolest trees ever:

And another interesting flower.

This tree...

was dropping flowers onto the path below.

And here is a terrible photo of something that looks a lot like a Morning Glory:

This thing scares me every time I run... I think it's moving! It's quite large.

After taking the path up toward my house...

I came to our cool bean trees in front of the administration building.

Sorry for the lack of labeling, I don't know what things are called around here! But you can see it's the end of the dry season and things are quite, well, dry. It feels like back to school! We have been keeping our A/C on in the classroom, but at very low temperatures. The days have been pleasant. It can get sticky when the sun is out but nothing unmanageable yet!