Meat Grinding, Mouse Hunting...

I love tacos. Especially in Congo where Mexican food is a rare treat. This Saturday night I decided I wanted to make tacos for dinner. I had my imported spice pack of taco seasoning, a fresh avocado for guacamole, tomatoes, lettuce, and cheese (not cheddar, but one must not be too picky). All I needed to do was whip up some home made tortillas. Oh yes, and meat, I needed meat. Clara had gone to the market earlier and bought some lovely chunks of cow meat. But the best tacos are not made with chunks of cow meat, but with ground beef. Therefore, I endeavored to grind the meat myself. I went to the convent to borrow the sister’s meat grinder and cut up all the meat into reasonable sized chunks. I put the machine together and started grinding. Well, grinding meat is hard. I didn’t get too far by myself. As is turns out it is VERY important to remove every bit of non-meat (fatty stuff) from the beef in order for the grinder to grind smoothly. I had about ¼ inch of ground beef and was struggling for more when Matteo came in offering to help. As much as I wanted to grind beef all by myself, I didn’t put up much of a fight and he took over. Well, Matteo was not afraid of the fatty stuff slowing the machine down, oh no, he just powered right on through. Do you know what happens when you power through with the meat grinder? A cow explodes in you kitchen. I mean, cow blood everywhere. All over the floor, the table, everywhere. It was awesome. All the carnage was worth it in the end when we had delicous tacos for dinner.

After Saturday came Sunday. We eat breakfast a little later on Sunday mornings (I enjoy sleeping, others go the early mass or do other stuff that I don’t know about because I’m sleeping). We all gathered for breakfast and were having a pleasant time when something ran across the oven and behind the cabinet. A mouse!! **Side note: we had seen this mouse before but had been unable to catch it. You might wonder why we didn’t put our cat Etienne on the job. As it turns out, in Congo the cats are afraid of mice. Furthermore, our dog is terrified of our cats.** Matteo, who loves mouse hunting (it seems Matteo enjoys the nastier parts of Congo life) sprung into action with the broom and Clara followed closely with a shoe ready to spring. They chased the mouse around the room a bit and finally succeeded in stunning it into oblivion. Matteo then gave it to Etienne who devoured it with joy (He’s not afraid to eat it if it’s already dead). It was really lovely entertainment for Sunday morning breakfast. So you can get in idea of what a Congolese mouse looks like, I will leave you with a picture of Sr. Angela with a mouse:

Cyber Days

So what is running a Cyber Café in Africa like? Now that I work at Cyber 3 mornings and several afternoons a week, I’ve learned a lot about the Cyber business. My first observation is that things usually don’t run as smoothly as they do in your typical Cyber in America, but we muddle through somehow and the Cyber often does a brisk business of Internet, printing, scanning, photocopying, typing, and various other computer related things.

First the set up: We have 2 computers for internet and 2-3ish computers for other business such as typing, scanning, printing and such. We have one color printer/copier/scanner and two black and white printer/copiers. However, one of these has been out of toner for over 1 month and the other refuses to talk to computers. So in reality we have only one black and white copier. *Update: We got a new printer/copier/scanner. **Update: We got the toner for the copier. Now we have something like 4 machines for doing various jobs usually done at Kinkos (or is it Fedex office now?) Here is the main room of the Cyber:

During the morning when the generator on, there is another room of desktop computers for people to use for individual work as well as for classes. The Cyber offers classes in basic computer skills, Word, and internet navigation and is also used by the local schools for a computer class. Here is the back room (I took this picture when we were already closed for the day so the computers have been tucked into their blankets for the night):

Now, onto our services. First, of course (because it’s called the Cyber) is Internet. But sometimes (a lot) the Internet doesn’t work. This is because it isn’t catching the signal, or it’s expired, or it’s cloudy, or it’s sunny, or it’s daytime, or it’s a day that ends in y. However, when the internet does work, both computers are often in use and sometimes there is even a line of 2 or 3 people. The line might not get so long if it didn’t take 20 minutes to merely sign into email, never mind actually read or send an email. I always feel bad that most of the time the customers pay for is them waiting for the internet to work and not actually using it.  

One of our most popular services is photocopying. We make lots of photocopies. As I mentioned there are two copiers, one for color and one black and white (and now 4! But the 2 new are redundant as they offer the same services and problems as the old). The color is very slow and the ink is expensive, so we can’t make more than a few copies. The black and white is big and can make lots of copies, but can only be operated when the generator is on. Thus, we can only make lots of copies in the morning. So when someone comes in asking for 5 copies of a 200 page book at 4 in the afternoon, we have to say, “sorry, come back tomorrow between 10 and noon.” Or if the copier is out of toner and we haven’t figured out how to use the other one, we have to say, “Sorry, come back in several months when we can get toner from Kampala.”

The last major service is my specialty: typing. I’m a lightning fast typer and can do pages and pages in a single day. This is why I went to college and spent hours hammering away at the keyboard. The first few weeks I was here I typed 3 English reports (those were easy) plus a bunch of different things in French (not so easy). I typed for hours each day, until my fingers were sore. I hope no one ever thinks that working with computers doesn’t involve hard labor; it was certainly hard labor for my fingers!

Some of our smaller services include scanning pictures or documents and emailing, charging telephones, printing documents, and searching the internet. The other day I attempted to search for information on Congolese contract law. Searching in French on a subject that would be difficult to understand in English…that went well.

When explaining the Cyber it is very important to mention the difficulties of power. Computers need electricity. So do printers and copiers. Electricity is therefore essential to running a Cyber. Electricity is a bit of a problem in Africa. For 2 hours in the morning we have generator power, but we operate for another 4 hours each day without the generator. That’s where the sun comes in handy. There’s a lovely solar panel on the Cyber roof powering all our electronics when the generator isn’t on. However, the sun is unable to power more than 2 laptops and 1 small printer at a time, which means we are constantly taking turns running down the battery for the different laptops. And you can imagine what happens when there isn’t any sun for several days. 

As it happens, Cyber is a bit of a misnomer. Now you can see a better name is “Place where there are computers and related equipment that sometimes works.” But I’m not sure that would bring in customers. At lease with the name Cyber we can bring in customers, even if we have to turn them away when they want something that doesn’t work at the moment.  

I think with all this computer experience I might just try to get a job at Geek Squad when I return home!

I’m Back! Featuring Little Italy: Congo Addition, and The Start of a New Era

It’s been quite awhile since I last wrote. Mostly this is because I was at home for a visit in July, and who wants to read about my life in America? Basically I took lots of hot showers and ate lots of ice cream for a month.

When I returned to Congo I found myself in the middle of the Italian Invasion. 10 Italian volunteers were here for the month of August as short term volunteers. They were working on building a volleyball court, at the farm, and helping me with the library. They spoke lots of Italian and brought lots of Italian food with them, so it was just like being in Rome again, but this time with cold showers. The girls did a ton of work covering most of the library books with plastic, stamping the inside covers, and entering a few into the computer. Now all the books have been packed up in boxes and are awaiting the opening of the library…hopefully coming soon! After two weeks of Little Italy, the Italians headed back to Big Italy, and although it was fun to have some new people around, resuming the normal schedule with a little more peace and quiet was very nice.

The Italians left early in the morning, and we quickly got to work taking out all the extra beds, chairs, and kitchen table; sorting through what was left behind, and staring at the gigantic mountain of household laundry that needed to be washed. In all the upheaval I found myself occupying a new bedroom. I am now in Room #1 and Matteo has taken my old Room #3. The room in actually exactly the same, with a few minor changes in furniture, but it is closer to the kitchen.

The room change is the first major change, and thus falls under “The Start of a New Era.” In other news, Tomas went home to Czech Republic while I was home, so now we are a community of 5. Lydia will be spending 3 days a week in Ariwara working at the hospital, so then we are a community of 4. In the next few weeks, Stefano will head to Bunia for an extended stay to oversee the building project there, so then our community will be 3. And as I write, 2 American girls are starting their formation period in Rome and will be joining us in a few months. Changes abound for the community!

Another major change is my work here. I will not be teaching at the high schools anymore, but focusing more on the library. Right now, that consists of entering hundreds of books in to the cataloguing program (very exciting work, I assure you). In the next few months it will consist of moving the books to the library, setting everything up, and opening for business. It sounds easy! My other task is working at the Cyber with Matteo and Sr. Alba. In Africa, I find myself as some kind of computer expert. I am a very good typer. Everyone is amazing that I can type without looking at my hands. So I type lots of stuff in French (and a little in English) and make photocopies and pretend I know how to fix a computer or printer when something goes wrong. The whole thing is complicated by the computers all being in French, so if I maybe were able to figure out how to do something on my computer, I have very little change of finding it in French. The Cyber is usually very busy in the mornings, so it keeps me working here. My third job is taking an afternoon shift at the bakery. I was never able to work much at the bakery before because I taught in the afternoon, but now I am free to sell bread to the people of Aru two afternoons a week. Those are my major tasks for now, and we shall see how things develop with the library and the coming of new volunteers!

Safari Adventure

A few weeks ago the community decided to go on a little safari. It has taken me so long to write about it because it ended up being an adventure including car crashes, tse-tse fly attacks, and traversing the hippo infested Nile in a tiny boat. I have just recovered from the 2 day experience and now I share it all with you.

We left Aru bright and early to travel to Murchison Falls National Park in Uganda, about 3 hours from Arua, which is about 1 hour from Aru. The sisters dropped us in Arua and we went in search of a van willing to take 6 muzugus to the Park. We found a willing driver and felt it was a good decision since his van was labeled "The Good Guyz." Can't go wrong with good guys, right? So we piled in and off we went on our Safari Adventure. Well, first we stopped for gas. Then the driver needed to buy some water. Then we stopped by the driver's house for his overnight bag. Then we were off on our Safari Adventure. We drove to the Park's entrance where we paid up (a recurring theme in the park, anything you want to do, for example breathe the park's air, costs extra). And lo and behold there were elephants under that yonder tree. We had only just entered the park and we saw elephants!!! This was going to be good. Can you see the elephants? There are really there, I promise!

After we had entered the park we had another 20 km to get to the main center for information and the only place in the park where you can cross the Nile ($$). As we were driving along we started to see lots of animals: tons of grazing types in all different sizes from teeny tiny to rather large, water buffalo, and warthogs. We finally arrived at the Nile (the Victoria Nile, specifically) and came up with a plan. We decided to drive around to see the animals for the rest of the afternoon and take a boat up the Nile to Murchison falls the next morning. We had a quick lunch while our Park Ranger guide ($$) got his rifle and then we were off. We saw more grazing type animals and then ran into a herd of elephants. These elephants were much closer than the ones at the entrance so we could tell they were actually elephants. Then we saw more grazing type animals. Then we drove into giraffe territory and saw many of these tall, elegant creatures. We were slowly driving towards the Nile and I had great hopes that we would be able to see hippos and my lifelong dream would come true. And heart be still, it happened! We stopped by the river and saw a herd lounging in the water, just yards away!! Then things got really exciting (more exciting for everyone else, but for me, wild hippos is as exciting as it gets) when we left the road and drove into the tall grass to see a lioness. She was just waking up from her all day nap and was looking around with dinner on her mind. Here she is:

After seeing the lion we had seen most of the animals in the park (there are no rhinos or zebras, and hyenas and leopards are hard to see). So we made our way back to the Nile where we needed to cross ($$) for our night's accommodation. As we were driving along it started to rain a bit and the dirt roads started to become a bit slick. Out Good Guy chauffeur was speeding along these rain slickened roads when all of a sudden we were flying through the air in a direction decidedly away from the road. After a few terrifying seconds we came to a stop with a thud several yards away from the road. We got out in the now pouring rain to assess our situation and found that the front tires were neatly parked in a muddy ditch making the possibility of moving the van anywhere very slim. Plus the back tire was flat and we couldn't jack up the van enough to put the new tire on. Plus the last ferry for the other side of the Nile, where our beds were, left in less than an hour. Here we are, in trouble:

Just when things were looking the most dismal, salvation appeared. The rain stopped and a truck load of Park Rangers arrived on the scene and took over. They swarmed the van, changed the tire and lifted the front end out of the ditch so the van could back up and make it's way onto the road again. Then then sped off, promising to keep the ferry for us. We all piled back in and were on our way once again feeling that we might actually make it to our beds for the night. The roads were in bad condition after the rain so we were driving slowly to avoid another stuck in the mud situation. However the roads were also narrow, so when another van was coming towards us our driver kindly tried to make room and edged to the side of the very muddy road. The van passed us with plenty of room to spare and then drove off, leaving us stuck in the mud. So we jumped out again and pushed our van back to the road. This was the last adventure and we finally made it to the Nile where the ferry was waiting for us. Our Ranger friends were there too! Here is Stefano with the Rangers and our driver:

So we arrived at our accommodation for the night, tired but happy with our adventures of the day. The camp featured a restaurant and bar so we finished our day with plenty of good food and drink.

Bright and early the next morning we were off again for our second adventurous day (or half day because the park charges admission by 24 hours ($$) so we had to be out by one). We ate a quick breakfast and went down to the Nile for our boat trip ($$) up to Murchison Falls. The falls is at a point where the Nile goes from very wide into a narrow gorge, making it one of the most powerful waterfalls in the world. Plus the boat ride promised viewing of lots of hippos, crocodiles, and other wildlife. Well, I was not disappointed by my Nile boat ride. There were TONS of hippos, a new herd every few yards it seemed. I was able to take lots of pictures and just enjoy viewing my favorite animal in the wild:

We also saw a bunch of crocodiles, lost of birds, and a plenty of beautiful scenery as we peacefully floated up the Nile. Near the falls, we left our boat and met the park guide ($$) to continue the trek overland on a beautiful hike to the top. It is a bit hot hiking at the equator, but the views of the Nile and falls were spectacular. Here I am in front of Murchison Falls:


After the hike our driver met us at the top to take us back to the ferry where we would cross and leave the park. As we were getting into the car he told us we needed to close the windows because we were driving through tse-tse fly land. Even through we were all hot from the hike we thought this was a good idea because it is generally not recommended to get bitten by a tse-tse fly, lest you get African Sleeping Sickness. Stefano and Clara closed the back window, and then...thump. The whole back right window fell out, completely out of the frame onto the ground. So we commenced to drive through tse-tse fly land with a gaping hole in the van. And sure enough the van was swarmed with flies and we spent the whole ride swatting ourselves and each other. I think we made it okay because it's been a few weeks and none of us are sleeping. Our 24 hours was about to expire ($$) but we talked to the ferry driver and he called the gate people to clear our way. On our way out we picked up a Uganda rapper and his film crew making a music video with a flat tire who needed a lift out of the park. I can't remember his name, but you could call it a brush with fame. After all this adventure, I was exhausted and slept most of the way back to the border where the sisters picked us up. Our safari may have been only two days, but it was packed with adventure and animals, what more could you ask for?

Besides a fun break and a great chance to see African animals, the trip was a bit of a farewell for our 6 person community. I am now home in Denver visiting for July and when I return Tomas will have left after completing his 1 year of service. In November Lydia will also leave. Then we will most likely be getting two new community members from Rome in the fall. Since the community is changing, this was a great experience for the 6 of us to have together. Here we all are at Murchison Falls:

Picture and Thoughts on Life in Congo

I thought it was about time I gave you all a few thoughts and posted some pictures of general life here in Congo.

First up is the market. The market is a fun, vibrant place. Loud African music blares from a loud speaker as the mamas chat with each other and their small children crawl around. All the mamas go to the market each day to sell there wares- fruits and veggies and such. The sun is usually blazing hot, but these mamas sit there all day selling food. It's kind of like Safeway, but completely different in every way. A trip to the market goes something like this: when you get to the market you look around for what you want (or don't want but are forced to eat because of a lack of other options) i.e. whose selling the best eggplants this week? Once you locate the preferred (or necessary) item you ask the mama how much. If she speaks French she tells you, but sometimes the mamas at the market only speak Lingala in which case it's a kind of pantomime/attempting to speak Lingala transaction. In any case, you choose how much vegetable you want and then throw in an extra as a "cadeau" (gift) and pay. Then you pick your food up off the ground and go on to the next mama until all the shopping is done.    

This is the main drag of Aru. Our house is just a bit down the road from here. The market is about a 20 minute walk, but we are able to buy a few necessities such as bananas and peanuts from the boutiques on the main drag. While all the mamas are at the market, all the papas hang out around the boutiques here.  

This is our parish church, Our Lady of Congo.  We live directly across the street, which is great because mass is a 1.5 minute walk away.

What's Teaching in Congo like?

Now that I've been teaching here for about 6 month I would like to share a bit of what it's like.

First, I'll start with a few general observances:

1) Children start learning French in primary school (except for the rich ones who can go to the nursery school). By the end of secondary school, the students’ French is good, but not all that good. I often ran into vocabulary words in English that my students did not understand even when translated into French. Also, I found it challenging to teach certain aspects of grammar, such as the Conditional when neither me nor my students know how to use the conditional tense in French.  

2) Corporal punishment is okay. Students coming to school late are forced to kneel outside school for an undetermined amount of time and the principal's office can often be found full of naughty, kneeling children for long periods of time. I have also witnessed actual spanking by the principal with a wooden rod. One day when my 1st form students were particularly rowdy, one of them offered me a similar wooden rod to which I said "no thanks."

3) High school seniors all around the work hate going to class. I remember this well from my own high school, as the end drew nearer less students managed to make it to class. Here it is no different. I didn't see several of my 6th form students for months. Until they all showed up for the final exam!  

4) This is Sr. Daniela speaking with my principal at Aiti:

Now, I will attempt to describe my classroom. Imagine the classroom you had in high school. Now take away all the supplies, the glass windows, the little thingy that holds the chalk, the teachers desk and chair, and the lights. Now add holes in the floor and a giant termite mound under the chalkboard. That is my classroom.  This is what it looks like:

And I have come to really like my classrooms. It’s a real challenge to teach with absolutely nothing. I have done some research on ESL teaching on-line and they all suggest things like visual aids, overheads, videos, worksheets, etc. But what I have is a chalkboard, a bit of paper, and me, so I have to be creative to make it work (although most of the time my lesson comes out boring rather than creative).  

Now that you have an idea of the general school and what it looks like I will describe what a day in the classroom is like.  I come into the classroom and all the students stand up and greet me with “Good afternoon, teacher.” It’s very polite and makes me feel quite welcome. Somewhere along the way the students started to figure out that I don’t really care if they all stand up, so by now it’s kind of a half-hearted effort on their part. So anyway, I come in and decide where to put my bag down; my first choice is on the front desk in the middle or the left side if no one is sitting there. But sometimes I’m stuck with the “teacher’s desk” which is a student’s desk turned around. But it’s covered in chalk dust and kind of rickety so I try to avoid it. In one of my classrooms the “teacher’s desk” is in a giant hole that I’m scared of tripping over and hurting myself, so I never go near it if I don’t have to. Once my bag is safely stocked somewhere I take out my book…the one and only book for the class. Then I hunt around for chalk. If I’m lucky there is some nicely waiting for me on one of the desks. Sometimes, I have to look around on the floor and find some. If there isn’t any visible, one of the students will magically come up with a piece from on top of the windows, or go to the office to fetch some for me. While I’m doing all this the students are usually finishing copying for the previous lesson and then they erase the chalkboard for me. So now I have chalk, I open my book and I’m ready to teach. Well, first I have to copy the lesson on the blackboard (reading, grammar, exercise, etc.) I have the only student’s book, so anything I want to teach from a book I must copy onto the chalkboard. This can take form 5-30 minutes, and then I have to wait for the students to copy which can take from 10-60 minutes.  When I’ve finished copying I turn around and finally begin teaching. My lessons are 45 minutes or 1 ½ hours when I have a double period. I am quite pleased that I have learned very well exactly how much I can teach in this time, plus budgeting for chalkboard writing and copy time and sometimes I even have time for review and extra speaking practice.  

Every few weeks I have a quiz, which I have learned is terribly boring for the teacher. I write everything on the board then walk and around and wait for them to finish. No matter how long the quiz is it always takes them the entire period. A short quiz will take 45 minutes if they have 45 minutes or 90 minutes is they have 90 minutes. A long quiz will take 45 minutes if they have 45 minutes or 90 minutes is they have 90 minutes. The worst part of quiz day is that there is just nothing for me to do while they take the quiz. I usually walk around and sit on a desk in the back on the left side, then a desk in the back on the right, and then I walk to the front and lean against the door and look wistfully outside. Here is my view:

Then I lean on the window on the opposite side and look wistfully outside (but this window has a view of the toilets so I prefer to look wistfully out the door). Then I sit on a front desk, but I have to sit turned around so I can watch the students and it’s terribly uncomfortable to sit like that. So then I walk to the back and start over. Every once in awhile they will ask me a question and that breaks up the routine and brings some excitement to quiz day. But then everyone asks me the same question 10 times and it gets boring again.  

That, in a nutshell, is teaching in Congo.  

The Rainy Season has Arrived

It’s the beginning of the rainy season. Torrents of rain have been falling all day. The road has turned into a lake with a class 5 rapid section down the hill. The entrance to my school is now a small in-land sea. A few bricks have been placed as stepping stones to cross this Sea of Aiti, but I am not nimble enough to make the leaps from brick to brick, forcing me to walk around the building in order to access my classroom. Once in the classroom, I wonder why I have bothered since no one can hear my English lesson over the drumming of rain on the corrugate metal roof. Going home the rain has stopped allowing weak sun to filter through the clouds. Even so, I am muddy, tired, and discouraged from the difficulty of travel and work during the rainy season. I am looking forward to a comfortable night at home, safe and cozy. As I walk I notice a buzzing sound in the air, in fact the air looks to be alive. Millions of baby termites are flying around. These are not the termites of home, no, these are flying termites. They fill the air with their incessant buzzing flying around in endless circles. I make it safely home and darkness falls. As usual, we turn on the kitchen light. Within minutes, baby termites are flying around our kitchen. How do they get in? They are all flying straight to the light and committing mass suicide. The fall into our dinner or crawl around the floor, now wingless, pathetic creatures trying to live a few more minutes. Hundreds are in the room. Two hours later our kitchen floor resembles a cemetery- a cemetery of unburied baby termite corpses.  

The next day it rains once more. The sky unloads a waterfall for hours and hours. Mud is everywhere. Once again the rain ceases in the evening. Once again we turn on our kitchen light. I look over to the window and see a wall of termites on the outside of the screen. But wait, they are not on the outside of the screen, they are on the inside and the windows are open. They are getting in! Close the window! But it is too late. And this time it is not baby termites sneaking through the hole in the screen. This time our house is filled with gigantic, full grown, flying termites. They are the size of dragonflies and the zoom around our room in droves. Some fall to the floor and loose one, two, three, or four wings. Then they walk around looking much more like normal termites. Termite wings and corpses are everywhere. One is stuck on our salad oil bottle. His wings have been glued to the oil and he kicks, valiantly trying to free himself from certain death. We bring Etienne in and tell him to eat. He runs around excitedly catching termites and eating as many as he can. Two African boys come asking if the can have our termites. They know we have electricity and the harvest will be plentiful around the lights. We say yes, take them. In 5 minutes they scoop up hundreds of termites to take home for dinner. All of a sudden, there is darkness. After 2 days of rain the solar panel has given out and we are left with hundreds of termites in the dark. We light a few candles and place them away from the dinner table. We watch all night as termites die around the room, some being consumed by fire when they fly into the candles, some being consumed by Etienne, some just giving up the fight to live.  

 The next day our floor, and in fact, all the ground outside is covered with termite wings. As we walk around Aru going about our business, the wings are everywhere. Thousands, millions of termite wings litter the ground. But there is not one termite body. The rainy season has arrived.