Arrival
I have arrived in Kigali, Rwanda, after a perfectly prosaic flight, interrupted only by the supernatural shrieks of a man being deported back to Rwanda from Brussels very much against his will. We flew in an arc that straddled the Adriatic, the Aegean, skirted the nilotic plains of Egypt and unremarkably overflew bleeding Darfur. As we passed the equator the light grew unmistakably murky through tropical clouds. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban played on and I read about John Kerry in the New Yorker. We touched down; mid-seventies, the air smells of wood burning. Israel Jacob, the driver for DOCS, patiently escorted us to the Hotel Okapi. A pint of Primus, the national beer, a filet of Kivu lake fish, the internet and then bed, it seems. BJ has lost his suitcase in transit.I didn't mention the third member of our team: Nelson Walker, who some of you may know. He remembered to bring Cipro. No one brought sunscreen.
posted by LouisAntoine @ 1:51 PM
4 purrs/hisses:
Have Nelson tell you about the time he grabbed his younger brother and told him to, "Go tell Mom that Nelson is dead."
Hi, anthrochica just told me about your blog, so I thought I would check in. My primary blog is Congogirl, but I have one here too.
Welcome to DRC--the air in Kinshasa smelled just like that too, when I landed, but I found out through observation that it's not wood...more of an amalgam of organic and inorganic components...plastic bags, banana leaves, you know, a tasty combination!
Also, I drank lots of Primus when I was in Kigali and Umutara, but there is a big dividing line here in Kinshasa between the Primus drinkers and the Skol drinkers. You may have to align yourself with one or the other--and I warn you, Primus is not the same here!
Hope the suitcase showed up, I think it is a rite of passage--can you make it without your deodorant and toothbrush when you first arrive?
Hi, anthrochica just told me about your blog, so I thought I would check in. My primary blog is Congogirl, but I have one here too.
Welcome to DRC--the air in Kinshasa smelled just like that too, when I landed, but I found out through observation that it's not wood...more of an amalgam of organic and inorganic components...plastic bags, banana leaves, you know, a tasty combination!
Also, I drank lots of Primus when I was in Kigali and Umutara, but there is a big dividing line here in Kinshasa between the Primus drinkers and the Skol drinkers. You may have to align yourself with one or the other--and I warn you, Primus is not the same here!
Hope the suitcase showed up, I think it is a rite of passage--can you make it without your deodorant and toothbrush when you first arrive?
Hi, anthrochica just told me about your blog, so I thought I would check in. My primary blog is Congogirl, but I have one here too.
Welcome to DRC--the air in Kinshasa smelled just like that too, when I landed, but I found out through observation that it's not wood...more of an amalgam of organic and inorganic components...plastic bags, banana leaves, you know, a tasty combination!
Also, I drank lots of Primus when I was in Kigali and Umutara, but there is a big dividing line here in Kinshasa between the Primus drinkers and the Skol drinkers. You may have to align yourself with one or the other--and I warn you, Primus is not the same here!
Hope the suitcase showed up, I think it is a rite of passage--can you make it without your deodorant and toothbrush when you first arrive?
Post a Comment
<< Home