Crazy Nights

O.K. so things here in Kinshasa have settled down a little. Monday night we had some action around town. The elections results were released on Sunday night and some shooting occurred but then on Monday night while I had a stomach virus I was awoken by gun shoots. I went out onto our porch in the darkness and listened to the sounds of the installation next to us as they got amped up to go into town and shoot up the joint. The women ran up and down the streets screaming and yelling and then every now and then they would get into a chant. It was cool after the intimidation was over.
We heard a tank fire up and try to make it down the street but it kept breaking down and then they finally got it fixed right and away it went and within ten minutes the night fell silent around us. My wife and I were left with questions to ponder about life and death and war and peace. Personally I only wanted to sleep. However, I was sick.
Sickness for the first time here in the Congo is an interesting proposition in the best of times but when the city is in uproar it is worse. The first thought when you are doubled over on the floor is "O my Gosh I have malaria" and then you have to try to determine if the symptoms are really malaria or not. However, since you have never had it you don't know what to look for so instead you go with the only advice you have received and that is that you will be the sickest you have ever been. I then tried to talk myself out of malaria because I would not make it into town since that is where the bullets were flying. I eventually realized that I had experienced this feeling before and it would "come to pass" so to speak. Anywho, we had two days off of school and then we finished the week at school.
I have some great kids but we all shared our experiences about the past week and some of the kids had a really wild ride. I do not envy them at all. We (those of us here in Kinshasa) all have to endure crazy nights. There is always yelling and chanting and and noises and fears that are standard to darkness but when you have a war threatening on your doorstep over things you don't understand or think are ridiculous it gets worse. I thought teaching was going to be the adventure and it turns out to be the easy part and life is the hard part. So bring it on Congo I am ready for a wild ride bring on the good stuff. Readers buckle your seat belts cause this ain't over yet. As long as I can I will keep you posted. (No pun intended, o.k. a pun was intended but only a little)

A sweet Sunday

O.K. so today we went to the International Protestant church here in Kinshasa. It was pretty cool. They had the choir sing in French and it was really good. Then a bunch of us went to this great little Lebonese restaurant called Al Dahr. Kinshasa does not have a lot to do by way of entertainment(ie no movies, no bowling alley, no skating rink, etc... ) but it does make up for it in places to eat. There is no shortage of really cool places to eat. Al Dahr is great food and resonably priced. I had Shwarmas which are thick pita bread wrapped like burritos around chicken and french fries (yes, I said french fries) with mayo and vegetables. After lunch we went to see the rapids just outside of Kinshasa. All week people have been telling me no one has ever survived the rapids and they have thirty foot standing waves in there and they are so dangerous. So I being your fearless pirate leader on this expedition had to go see for myself. I wish I could have taken pictures for you but they had a security guy follow us the entire time so No Photos were allowed.
The majority of the rapids for as far as you can see are doable. The problem is the Congo river is like the Mississippi and for a one mile or so stretch turns into a raging inferno of boiling holes and monster whirlpools. There were a couple of sections Where half of the river comes around an island and drops like ten to twelve feet into a river wide hydraulic. It is DICEY to put it mildly. Shooting the v on this bad boy will challenge your heart muscle to the max. There are then three standing waves that are a good eight to ten feet high possibly more but no thirty foot waves on my side of the river. I could not get a good look at the Brazzaville side but from the road they looked twice the size of the ones we were looking at. They say pros have lost their lives on these rapids and it is certainly no place for the faint of heart. I would love to see the son of a sea going bicuit eater who makes the first descent. After those three major hydros you punch into the calm water which looked like mostly a class three wave train. Then there were a few class four hydros in the middle. This stretch is about a quarter of a mile to a half a mile then you need to get out if you value your life and do some more scouting cuz from where we stood there were some serious holes throwing up monster rooster tails. I was impressed. Anywho, not a bad way to spend an afternoon huh? Doing some worship, eating some food, and then scoping the river. What a sweet Sunday.

yee haw! This is me in the Okeefenokee swamp in south Georgia in the U.S.

Opening Statements

O.K. here goes. I am starting another blog. However, here in Congo I should have plenty of time to get-er-done on-line. I am starting a two year stint as a teacher here. I am ready to start classes next week. I will be posting all of my adventures here in an effort to share the fun. I have a dream to raft, canoe, kayak, or otherwise boat on 1,ooo rivers before I die. I am trying to accomplish this by hitting at least one of those rivers in 100 different countries. I will do plenty of other things but here is my goal and we shall all see how it goes. I will also be posting the little things I do here at school as well so if it is not always high octane don't worry I will have some good stuff every now and then. (stoundmeal)