Garden of Eden

AFTER BRUNCH at the British Embassy's Oasis Club on Sunday morning, I went with a crowd of expats to "Jardin d'Eden," a "site touristique" out past the airport. We took a boat to a small beach. Beer and Brits, not a bad day to spend a Sunday.

And a jolly good time was had by all.

Social marketing

THE CD SHOWN here contains HIV/AIDS-prevention-themed Congolese music and is titled "Nothing but the Truth." The shirt disseminates the ABCD message -- "Abstinence, Bon Fidelité, Condoms, Dépistage" (Abstinence, Fidelity, Condoms, Testing). Thanks to Faustin for modeling it.

The stuff is sponsored by the Office of the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator and distributed by the U.S. Embassy in Kinshasa as part of a social marketing campaign for HIV/AIDS prevention.

Who wants some?

Congolese food

TOOK IN some of the local chow this week with, yep, those frolleagues.

Had plenty of fu fu, the blob of pounded cassava that's a staple in Africa, which is similar to ugali in Kenya. I've been thinking... If I were stranded on a desert island, which type of pounded cassava starch blob would I rather have, fu fu or ugali? But then I've been thinking, that's not really a fair question, as the answer certainly depends on the other food items that would accompany the cassavablob, as well as the various wines and other apperitifs that could be paired with aforementioned feast. So I'm not answering that one. Both, however, would definitely make great Ben and Jerry's flavors.

Pondu, a dish of greens, also courtesy of the cassava plant, is yummy. Had a good bean dish as well. Washed it down with a Vital, a Congolese soda that's red and tastes like bubblegum and has no relationship, as far as I can tell, to cassava. Though I don't really know.

And, in case you're wondering (hi, Matt R.), that plate of chicken and pondu with the side of fou fou, plus a Schweppes soda water, set me back 4 bucks.

More Epi Action

JUST LIKE the movie Zelig, right?

Here I am with Congolese colleagues outside the Institute for Tropical Medicine at Kinshasa General Hospital.

Bonobos

THIS past weekend I went with some frolleagues (friends/colleagues) to see the bonobos, one of the four species of apes, at the Lola Ya Bonobo ("Paradise for Bonobos") reserve about an hour's ride from Kinshasa. They've got a reputation of being very sexual (all permutations of sexuallity) and live in a matriarchal society. (That's all referring to the bonobos, not [necessarily] my frolleagues.) Anyway, when I was there, the bonobos were indulging in a fair amount of sex; a lot of bananas (don't get me started), grapefruit, and passionfruit; and a good deal of horsing around, including playing with plastic water bottles. A good time was had by all.

Anyway, see if you can determine which of the primates in these photos is very sexual and matriarchally oriented. (No mean comments on the blog, thanks.)

I should say that I'm very proud of myself for getting the bonobos to unburden themselves of their bananas by giving them to me (which is clearly what is happening in these photos.)

Unfortunately my own camera had run out of batteries, so thanks to Aly for snapping these.

Also, here's a very interesting article from the New Yorker on the controversy surrounding the lives of bonobos.

Beach Blanket Redux

SOME ADDITIONAL PHOTOS of the trip to the island beach in the Congo River a week and a half ago. Thanks to Brendan Bannon, a Nairobi-based photojournalist who was working on a few stories in DRC and joined us for the the day, for snapping and sending these.

Kinshasa streets

SOME OF WHAT these photos don't adequately capture: the vast army of shoe polishers (100 Cf per shine); the variety and quantity of goods, from Marlboro cigarettes to fresh pineapple, traveling atop Congolese heads; another vast army of vendors of pre-paid phone cards; and far too many Congolese required to use tricycles to get around because of polio.

Epi in Action

BABY STEPS, PERHAPS. But at least things are moving in the right direction here, with installation today of new equipment au labo.

Who knew?

YEAH. So let me know if you need some kosher wine from Kinshasa. Here are a some nice bottles I found at Hassan & Freres department store, located right by the U.S. Embassy.

Special Note to Matt R.: I know. Take it easy. I'll get back to you on prices.

Books

JUST FINISHED The Poisionwood Bible, by Barbara Kingsolver (1998). Great book about a family that moves from the American South to a small town in the (then) Belgian Congo in 1959, on the eve of independence. The patriarch of the family is a fervent missionary, intent on imposing his religion and his way of doing things on everyone and everything. He has already accomplished that with his wife and four young daughters.

The Congolese and the Congo, not so much. In fact, in the end, the intercultural exchange that follows is much more of a two-way street than he could ever have imagined. The consequences are profound.

I won't spoil the plot. Definitely worth reading. Original New York Times review by Michiko Kakutani is here.

Now reading In the Footsteps of Mr. Kurtz: Living on the Brink of Disaster in Mobutu's Congo, by Michela Wrong. (Except, that is, when I'm feeling particularly self-indulgent; that's when I curl up with Mitch Katz's Multivariable Analysis.)

Up on the Roof

HERE ARE a couple of rooftop views from the building where I work. We had lunch on the roof yesterday; chicken shwarma ($3) and a grapefruit (2o cents) for me. It's quite nice up there; a fine breeze and better air than on the ground, 9 floors below. One of the photos is of the train station; I haven't yet seen a train coming or going.

(Insert segue here.)

OK, I can't refrain from FRIs (fruit-related issues) any longer.

I'll make it brief, but here's the thing: If a grapefruit is 20 cents, shouldn't a banana be MUCH less expensive. I got two for about 15 cents each yesterday (150 Cf). Now that's a fairly good price, though not good enough to make me want to go flip 'em down the block. But my grapefruit was only 100 Cf. Seems like the banana market skews high. Unfortunate. I might have to switch to citrus. Will keep you posted.

Goat bar

ONE OF THE interns turned 22 today.

Yeah, I know what you're thinking, and I hate her too.

Anyway, to help her celebrate, we went to a goat bar in Kinshasa's Bon Marche district. After choosing various N&Ms (nuggets 'n' morsels) that we wanted for our meal (see photo to left), we sat down al fresco with some some roasted peanuts and 750 mL (standard size) beers. I had a Skol. We bought napkins from some of the chegues (street kids) who peddle various items along that strip. Then the goat arrived, accompanied by some mannioc. Someone baked a chocolate cake for dessert. The whole deal cost about 7 bucks a person.

And a good time was had by all (except for the goat).





Here's a video of the goat butcher:



N.B.: Apologies to my sister for this entire post.

ADDITIONAL NOTE: Add $4 to the price of the evening -- that's for transport.

Beach Blanket Congo

I WENT with a bunch of expats down to the Kinshasa Yacht Club (yes, indeed) this morning. There were no yachts per se in evidence. There were motorboats, however, and we took them out to an island in the Congo River where there's a very nice beach. And we had a very nice picnic.

In the afternoon a larger boat docked at the same island. Turns out folks from a new cell phone company were having an outing. Anyway, they brought along a troupe of Congolese singers, drummers, and dancers, who gave a great performance. See the photos and videos below.

Not accounting for the whole tube of sunscreen I used during the course of the day, the trip set me back $32. Not too bad. And a good time was had by all.

Check out this video, about 30 seconds' worth:

Here's another one, ten seconds' worth: