it's friday morning just before 10am and i am just getting into DOCS. the chaffeur was busy so i had to find my own way--- which wasn't a problem.
i have so much to report, i don't even know where to begin.
it's funny because at the end of the day i have so much running through me i feel i might explode and then when i finally get a chance to sitdown here and share, i don't know where to begin or am even sure what all to share.
yesterday was interesting: it started out as something i THOUGHT was a celebration for international nurse's day, which turned into a lecture on the upcoming elections in june. i wouldn't so much call it a political rally--- no, more of something like an information session--- but then it didn't APPEAR that it was necessarily in support of the current political situation either. but then how would i know, i don't speak congolese swahili!!!! not to alarm anyone (mom and dad, it's totally fine) but there were some UN peacekeepers there. they are really cool--- i of course said "hello." we chatted for a bit. they were just there to say they support the people of congo in the most PEACEFUL process as possible. that's always nice to hear. this all took place in a church next to where i am working/ or doing whatever it is i am doing here.
i have some interviews set up for today, but then just because they are set for today doesn't mean they'll actually take place; a concept i am trying to familarize myself with again. i think i have started to become a bit type-A.
the biggest thing i have noticed about GOma is the massive destruction it has gone through due to the volcano, which three years later is STILL smoking everyday. there is a black dust in the air and everywhere you look is volcanic rock (solidified lava i suppose); the town has a cloud of smoke from the volcano which covers it most hours of the day. so trying to see devastation from anything due to the war is difficult because all you can see the what the volcano has done.
buildings are still standing, but what you notice is that the remainder of a door or a window from the first floor peeks underneath---- but what is ground level now is the second or third floor. it's true... it's nothing like rwanda. rwanda is cultivated, tidy and well kept---- here is just ruins. but then where i am staying is completely posh too. right next to the lake in the house of the director who runs the org i am working with. however, the directors are not here, so it's just me (and the staff) at the house. i know, i know... just ridiculous.
i thought i was about to be overcome by my thoughts yesterday and i can't really keep up with everything on paper at this point. this has been even more overwhelming than i think Togo was, but in a good way. i grabbed "hamlet" off the shelf last night and started reading that. seems to be helping with the overwhelming thoughts running through my head trying to figure everything out here--- and the vocab is extremely difficult for me to read, almost like ANOTHER language at this point, but seems to be a good release. it's no "harry potter" will be alright for now.
anyway... i won't be on here 'til next week at some point again. no worries; everything is fine here.
and i didn't realize 'til just now it was friday the 13th... niccceeee. :-)
Friday, May 13, 2005
Wednesday, May 11, 2005
"welcome to Congo"
as i was crossing the border this morning, struggling a little bit because i thought they wanted me to pay full price, when really they were giving me a deal on my visa (who does that???), a guy walked up to me, smiled and said "welcome to congo". i had to laugh.
i got a ride to DOCS and here i am, safe and sound. they greeted me as i walked through the compound doors and i headed straight to the office with my things. the woman i am working with (virginia) reminds me a great deal of "frida" the woman i worked with in Arusha last year. extremely kind and well natured.
it appears i am to be working with an orphanage in the next few days as well, which i am looking forward to. we'll see how all of that goes. anyway, they have internet here, but i don't want to spend all of my time using their internet. i suppose my entries will be short and not as in-depth, but nonetheless, i am completely safe and sound.
i will say this. while Togo still has my heart (after all, it was naturally my first "african love") being in West Africa has always felt more difficult than any of my time in East or Central africa. not sure why that is, but... it's just always seemed that way. however, that is in my very small experience of africa at this point. i have had so much time to reflect on my time in the peace corps and my friends from there this trip; these past few days.
anyway, i had better get. wasn't sure if the first entry went through, so i thought i would give it another try.
i got a ride to DOCS and here i am, safe and sound. they greeted me as i walked through the compound doors and i headed straight to the office with my things. the woman i am working with (virginia) reminds me a great deal of "frida" the woman i worked with in Arusha last year. extremely kind and well natured.
it appears i am to be working with an orphanage in the next few days as well, which i am looking forward to. we'll see how all of that goes. anyway, they have internet here, but i don't want to spend all of my time using their internet. i suppose my entries will be short and not as in-depth, but nonetheless, i am completely safe and sound.
i will say this. while Togo still has my heart (after all, it was naturally my first "african love") being in West Africa has always felt more difficult than any of my time in East or Central africa. not sure why that is, but... it's just always seemed that way. however, that is in my very small experience of africa at this point. i have had so much time to reflect on my time in the peace corps and my friends from there this trip; these past few days.
anyway, i had better get. wasn't sure if the first entry went through, so i thought i would give it another try.
greetings from Gisenyi/ Goma
alright so this will have to be fast and quick as i have to get going this morning.
there is so much to tell, i am not even sure where to start. the ride from Kigali to Gisenyi was the most beautiful of my life!!! i could take that ride a thousand times over and have my breath taken away every time!
spent yesterday in Goma yesterday. headed back there this morning. things are fine; no worries. i am a bit overwhelmed with questions, but that's to be expected. yesterday i spent the day with women suffering from fistula due to giving birth and being raped. DOCS (the org i am working with) had a new group of women come in, so i got to go through their "orientation" with them. these women come from the surrounding areas to hopefully seek medical assistance. they come in with their kids and their pots on their heads--- that way they can cook, of course--- wearing only the clothes on their backs. i attempted to greet them in swahili (but it's the swahili spoken here in DR Congo, not the same to Tanzania and Kenyan swahili) and they all laughed--- so of course i did as well. then a little boy toddled on over to me and handed me the piece of plastic he was playing with. he was nervous to touch my hand at first, but none like his counterparts, he reached out and touched it anyway. then he barried his little head in arm, his mom (who couldn't be older than 22) laughed and called me his mother and i picked him up and attempted speaking with him for a bit. at a total loss of course because he barely speaks swahili and i barely speak french. i got a smile out of him though.
alright... i have to go. i am safe and fine. more soon.
there is so much to tell, i am not even sure where to start. the ride from Kigali to Gisenyi was the most beautiful of my life!!! i could take that ride a thousand times over and have my breath taken away every time!
spent yesterday in Goma yesterday. headed back there this morning. things are fine; no worries. i am a bit overwhelmed with questions, but that's to be expected. yesterday i spent the day with women suffering from fistula due to giving birth and being raped. DOCS (the org i am working with) had a new group of women come in, so i got to go through their "orientation" with them. these women come from the surrounding areas to hopefully seek medical assistance. they come in with their kids and their pots on their heads--- that way they can cook, of course--- wearing only the clothes on their backs. i attempted to greet them in swahili (but it's the swahili spoken here in DR Congo, not the same to Tanzania and Kenyan swahili) and they all laughed--- so of course i did as well. then a little boy toddled on over to me and handed me the piece of plastic he was playing with. he was nervous to touch my hand at first, but none like his counterparts, he reached out and touched it anyway. then he barried his little head in arm, his mom (who couldn't be older than 22) laughed and called me his mother and i picked him up and attempted speaking with him for a bit. at a total loss of course because he barely speaks swahili and i barely speak french. i got a smile out of him though.
alright... i have to go. i am safe and fine. more soon.
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