We finally left the Kinshasa city limits over President's Day weekend. It took us nearly 5 months, but we did it. Some friends we've made here invited us to come along with a huge group of Americans to Zongo Falls.
We went to the hash a couple of weeks ago. It was Toni Lyn's first hash. We ran through suburban Kinshasa. It actually seemed more dangerous than running through the bush. It is harder to keep your sense of direction and broken glass, jagged rusty metal objects, garbage bridges, and rancid pools are only some of the obstacles. It was a good day for a run though and everyone was glad to finally see Toni Lyn there.
Last weekend we played soccer with Aime and his family again. Toni Lyn got a lot of giggles and strange looks from dozens of men and boys who had clearly never seen a female play soccer before. Women are usually too busy carrying babies around, fetching water, doing laundry and cooking dinner (sometimes all at once). She was pretty proud of how she played, despite being 5 years out of practice and the weight of 51% of the world on her shoulders. The field was dirt, the goal posts were rocks, and most of the players were barefoot. Good stuff.
We got our DRC driver's licenses this week. It is nice to have the freedom to go out at night. We were finally able to tell our friends yes when they asked us to come hang out with them that night. Usually, we would need 2 days notice to do anything at night so we could arrange it with our driver. So, last night (Saturday) we went to TASOK (the American school where Matt works) for drinks and games. We got home pretty late and were looking forward to sleeping in. At 8:00 AM a bomb went off. Seriously. After the second blast Matt said "That sounded like thunder, do you think it is?" He peaked out the window to see the crystal clear blue sky. "The sky is blue, its not thunder." Then he fell asleep again. A few minutes later, BOOM!!! "That one sounded like a cannon, it rattled the windows . . . weird." Then he fell asleep again. Meanwhile Toni Lyn, also half asleep, was thinking "Thunder? Canon? I think were being shelled" and then also fell back asleep. Doesn't say much about our survival instincts. A half hour later we finally got up and saw an email from the U.S. Embassy saying that one of the munitions depots across the river in Brazzaville caught fire and the ordinance started exploding. As far as we can tell it was an accident. (No need to worry!) However, the 6 miles distance didn't prevent our friends' and colleagues' windows from shattering, doors being thrown off track, roofs caving in, etc. When Matt went for a run tonight he found that Kinshasa was pretty much back to normal, though he did see a DRC army tank on the running track down by the river where all the embassy buildings and higher-ups live. It looked like something out of WWII. The driver was definitely out of practice, he tore up one of the embassy lawns with the metal tracks doing a 180 degree turn.
For more see:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/
At one point we both slipped on the same rock and smashed our toes bloody just before having our picture taken in front of the falls. (Picture not shown.)
The next day we wandered into someone's cassava farm trying to find a hidden falls with a swimming hole.
We took this picture when we thought we had finally found it after wandering in the jungle getting sunburned for an hour. When we just about gave up a villager found us and showed us the way.
The actual waterfall.
Tip: If they suggest you pay $2 for a guide, just do it.
We went to the hash a couple of weeks ago. It was Toni Lyn's first hash. We ran through suburban Kinshasa. It actually seemed more dangerous than running through the bush. It is harder to keep your sense of direction and broken glass, jagged rusty metal objects, garbage bridges, and rancid pools are only some of the obstacles. It was a good day for a run though and everyone was glad to finally see Toni Lyn there.
Last weekend we played soccer with Aime and his family again. Toni Lyn got a lot of giggles and strange looks from dozens of men and boys who had clearly never seen a female play soccer before. Women are usually too busy carrying babies around, fetching water, doing laundry and cooking dinner (sometimes all at once). She was pretty proud of how she played, despite being 5 years out of practice and the weight of 51% of the world on her shoulders. The field was dirt, the goal posts were rocks, and most of the players were barefoot. Good stuff.
We got our DRC driver's licenses this week. It is nice to have the freedom to go out at night. We were finally able to tell our friends yes when they asked us to come hang out with them that night. Usually, we would need 2 days notice to do anything at night so we could arrange it with our driver. So, last night (Saturday) we went to TASOK (the American school where Matt works) for drinks and games. We got home pretty late and were looking forward to sleeping in. At 8:00 AM a bomb went off. Seriously. After the second blast Matt said "That sounded like thunder, do you think it is?" He peaked out the window to see the crystal clear blue sky. "The sky is blue, its not thunder." Then he fell asleep again. A few minutes later, BOOM!!! "That one sounded like a cannon, it rattled the windows . . . weird." Then he fell asleep again. Meanwhile Toni Lyn, also half asleep, was thinking "Thunder? Canon? I think were being shelled" and then also fell back asleep. Doesn't say much about our survival instincts. A half hour later we finally got up and saw an email from the U.S. Embassy saying that one of the munitions depots across the river in Brazzaville caught fire and the ordinance started exploding. As far as we can tell it was an accident. (No need to worry!) However, the 6 miles distance didn't prevent our friends' and colleagues' windows from shattering, doors being thrown off track, roofs caving in, etc. When Matt went for a run tonight he found that Kinshasa was pretty much back to normal, though he did see a DRC army tank on the running track down by the river where all the embassy buildings and higher-ups live. It looked like something out of WWII. The driver was definitely out of practice, he tore up one of the embassy lawns with the metal tracks doing a 180 degree turn.
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| View from Kinshasa of Brazzaville of the armory explosion |
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| >240 dead, cause electrical short. |
For more see:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/
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