Sorry it's been so long. I've been busy over the past few weeks settling into my strange new life. Today makes two weeks that I've been living in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Right now I'm living in a city called Bukavu, which is on the Eastern boarder of the country. My house is on the shore of Lake Kivu, which separates the Congo from Rwanda. The boarder that I crossed to enter the Congo is maybe a mile from my house. I've been living here with my fellow Seed members going through orientation and trying to learn french as fast as I can. Several of my team members don't speak fluent English, so most of our conversation is in French. This makes some things hard to understand, but in the long run it's probably good because it's forcing me to learn french quickly.
It's hard to capture how stunningly beautiful the landscape is here, but I'll try to include some good photos as I find better lookouts. There are a lot of hills and the soil is very fertile, so there is lots of green everywhere. The temperature is consistently between 65 and 80 degrees, because of the altitude which is around 4000 feet. I think maybe the lake also affects the temperature. I was expecting it to be hotter, but on an average day I'm comfortable in pants and a t-shirt. It's really a very nice place to live.
This is a picture of lake Kivu from my backyard. My house is on a peninsula called Muhumba and you can see another peninsula across the lake. Behind that peninsula is Rwanda. This picture is nice, but fails to capture the size of the lake, which is really big.
This is a pretty typical Congolese meal. The meat is goat and that white stuff on the top left is called fufu. It's made of flour and water. It has the consistency of playdough and you use it to eat other foods with your hands. You grab a little ball and then use it to pick up other foods. Fries with mayo is also pretty standard. This is a practice the Congolese got from the Belgians. You can also mix the mayo with a hot pepper called pele pele.
A picture from the road. Sort of the suburbs of Bukavu.
It has been a good couple of weeks. Orientation so far has consisted of language lessons and lectures, as well as getting to know my fellow Seeder's. On the weekends, I've been staying with an eccentric older couple that lives next door. They are helping me to learn the language and culture a little better. Everything is slowly starting to feel a little more routine. All the details are still being worked out, so I don't know where I'll be or what I'll be doing in a month, but I'm sure it will be good.
So that's all for now. Things are going really well. I do miss home, but I'm really excited to spend the next two years here. I hope things are going well for everyone. Au revoir.
This is a picture of lake Kivu from my backyard. My house is on a peninsula called Muhumba and you can see another peninsula across the lake. Behind that peninsula is Rwanda. This picture is nice, but fails to capture the size of the lake, which is really big.
This is a pretty typical Congolese meal. The meat is goat and that white stuff on the top left is called fufu. It's made of flour and water. It has the consistency of playdough and you use it to eat other foods with your hands. You grab a little ball and then use it to pick up other foods. Fries with mayo is also pretty standard. This is a practice the Congolese got from the Belgians. You can also mix the mayo with a hot pepper called pele pele.
A picture from the road. Sort of the suburbs of Bukavu.
It has been a good couple of weeks. Orientation so far has consisted of language lessons and lectures, as well as getting to know my fellow Seeder's. On the weekends, I've been staying with an eccentric older couple that lives next door. They are helping me to learn the language and culture a little better. Everything is slowly starting to feel a little more routine. All the details are still being worked out, so I don't know where I'll be or what I'll be doing in a month, but I'm sure it will be good.
So that's all for now. Things are going really well. I do miss home, but I'm really excited to spend the next two years here. I hope things are going well for everyone. Au revoir.
Man. That food looks so goooood.
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