La vie dans Bukavu

It's getting close to a month now that I've been in Bukavu. Orientation is coming to an end and my french is slowly improving. I think I probably understand half of what people say to me at this point. I found out this week that I'll probably be working with a peace and reconciliation organization called PPR. They are an organization that works with various armed groups in the area. This means I'll probably be staying in Bukavu for the next six months or so. After that I may potentially move into a village, but I'm not sure. I'm happy to stay in Bukavu for now, because the weather is so good.

This is an article I read about PPR, when I originally became interested in the program:
http://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2015/01/02/374574242/when-a-rebel-is-homesick-he-might-be-willing-to-surrender




I'm endlessly amazed by what people carry on their heads. This guy probably had at least 10 live chickens in that bag. I'm not sure how he got them to stay in the bag. I'm also not sure how he keeps the bag on his head without his hands, but he makes it look effortless. It's common to see someway walking with an object of this size on this head. Five minutes after this, I saw another woman doing the same thing. I also saw a man with a full sized wooden coffin, and I've heard people move couches this
way.


This is my host dad at a wedding party. The groom had to give six cows for the dowry. My host mom said a cow costs around 600 dollars. I'm not sure whether he gave the money or the actual cows.

This is the family I've been staying with on the weekends. Their son David is normally away at school, but he returned for Easter vacation, which lasts two weeks.

On another note, the power went out for almost a full 24 hours yesterday, for no reason other than that it happens sometimes here. It was a hassle, but it made me glad to have grown up in America. The power usually goes out a couple times a week, but usually only for an hour. The water also works only about half the time. I get really excited when the water and electricity are both working. That means it's a good day.

This is the last week of orientation. Next Monday, half of my group will leave for Goma, which is 4 hours north of Bukavu by boat. I'll begin studying french with a new teacher next week, which will hopefully improve my grammar. I'm not sure exactly when I will begin working.

Anyway, that's all for now. Hope everyone's doing well.

Republic Democratic du Congo

Hey folks,

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.

Afrique du sud

I've been in South Africa for over a week now, although it feels like I've been here much longer. Most nights I am asleep by 9, but I could sleep earlier if I wanted because I'm very tired. I usually sleep 9 hours a night, which is more than normal. I've heard this is common for people in a new culture. I'm staying at a Christian conference center just outside Johannasburg called eMensi. A lot of the last week has been spent doing orientation work for Seed, but I got to see a bit of he city as well. 

 

Last Wednesday, we had a tour of Soweto. Soweto is a neighborhood in the south western part of Johannasburg, where blacks lived during appartide. Although some parts of the neighborhood have improved since the end of appartide, there is still a lot of poverty. We visited Nelson Mandela's former house, where we learned about his legacy. We also visited the Hector Peterson museum. This museum honors the 500 schoolchildren who were killed in the Soweto uprising. This tragedy is the spark that started the anti appartide movement. Our tour guide said remembering this tragedy makes him very angry, but also that he is proud of the sacrifice these children were willing to make for freedom. The history here is violent and oppressive yet the people have a resilient and uplifting spirit. I'm inspired by their faith and their struggle.

 

 

 

On Sunday, we went to a local church in the morning and a zoo in the afternoon. The church was small but full of spirit. The zoo was large but the animals were equally full of energy. I got to see a lion roar and there was a very friendly elephant. We also went to the mall. 

     

A group picture at church

 

 

Elodie with Zebras

Moise at the mall

 

I found out today that my visa for the DRC has been approved. It will arrive on Friday and I'll fly to Kigali, the capital of Rwanda on Saturday. On Sunday, I will drive for six hours to Bukavu, where I will cross the boarder into the Congo. I will live in Bukavu with my 8 group mates for a month. I'm not sure where I will be after that. 

I'm sad to leave South Africa but excited to get to the Congo. This is where the real adventure begins. I hope your all doing well. Bye for now.

Au Revoir

Hi Everyone. My name is Jacob and this is my Africa blog. I'm going to be posting about my experiences in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where I will be living for the next two years. I'm not sure how often I will have access to the internet, so my posts may not be as frequent as some hope, but I'll try to update as often as I can. I'm gonna do some words, and some pictures, and maybe some other stuff too. I hope you all enjoy living vicariously though me for the next two years.

These two years will be spent serving with Mennonite Central Committee, an organization dedicated to peace and development work. I'm serving through an MCC program called Seed. I'm excited to be in this program, because it means I get to work with a group of young adults from a variety of different backgrounds and cultures. The group includes me and seven other people. Their names are Michelle, Aaron, Mariam, Moses, Steve, Elodie, and Sharon. Sharon is from Canada. Elodie is from Burundi. Michelle is from Rwanda. Aaron, Mariam, Moses, and Steve are all from the Congo. I also have two leaders named Karen and Serge. Karen is from Arizona and Serge is from the Congo. I'll write more about the group in future posts.

Tomorrow, I'll wake up at 7 and my parents will drive me to the airport in Denver. I'll fly from Denver to Atlanta and then from Atlanta to Johannesburg, the capital of South Africa. The flight from Atlanta to Johannesburg is 17 hours. I'll be in South Africa for two weeks for an orientation. I will meet some of my group members and begin to learn more about the work I'll be doing in the DRC.

Anyway, that's all I have to say for now. I'm sure I'll have lots of things to say or write by this time next week. So you know, pray for me and send me all your positive vibes.

This is a song by Koffi Olomide. He is one of my favorite Congolese musicians so far.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hax0fSHnAO4

Goodbye America. See you in two years.