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