The hardships of Kinshasa

This is the pool here at the school. It is beautiful. However, lest you think all we do is take in rays sipping Pina Coladas and other drinks with little umbrellas in them consider the following. Twice a week I meet with some of the students that are trying to get in shape for the swim team. Mrs. Triller is notoriously tough on them and so they want to get ready for her arrival this December. She has been out enjoying her new baby. Congrats, Mrs. Triller.

We are now officially in the wet season which means there is a lot of rain and there are a lot of frogs. We arrived at the pool one day this week only to be serenaded by amphibians. They were out in epic proportions. The males croaking out their love songs and the females on there quest to string the pool to welcome us with their infantile pods. We were so overwhelmedwith gratitude. Any sane person would have turned and come again another day when the festivites had died down. But us little pirates are not sane individuals are we? I proceeded to scoop the amorous pairs out to make room for the girls who wanted to swim. I scooped 15 pairs of lovers out of the brothel, known locally amongst all frogs as the Ceaser's Palace. (where all hoppers stand a chance to beat the odds) I finally had to give up my struggles as there were still no less than 14 more couples having quality time.

I say all of that to simply reassure you that a picture does not always tell the whole story. Sometimes it only tells us what we wish to remember. And so, to all and myself I leave this wonderful picture of a pool that looks as if we were at a resort enjoying the good life because for all its, "attractions," it is still a wonerful place to be. (afternoons the pool is frog free)

On a lighter note here is a beautiful flower just outside our porch. We can sit on our porch and enjoy the tropical bushes and flowers to our little hearts content. We also love to sit out there during the rains and watch the storms roll by. When it rains it usually starts out as a gusher. Think Hurricane style downpours and heavy winds. Then it will slack and produce a nice steady rain that jsut soaks into everything. I love the rainy days because the temperature drops. The day before the rain the heat is like Charleston in August, Hot and Mugy. All in all it can be a beautiful place if you know where to look. I am pretty sure there is a life lesson ther but I am not sure exactly what it is so I leave that to you who are life lesson inclined. As for me I am off for another day of adventure.

Au revoir!

Kiki is here!

There is much rejoicing in the Cabalka house today!! This is the long awaited and much talked about Kiki. She is Steve Cabalka's daughter who spent some time with a friend from college in Kenya this summer. Mom and Dad are absolutely thrilled. The parents have only been talking about here all year especially dad. I think she might be a daddy's girl.

This is Kiki's firend Katie. She is also from California and is a load of fun. Steve and Grace threw a welcome party for them both the first night they arrived in Congo. If the airport did not rattle them than the party with all of the school showing up would. (remind me to tell you about the airport later)

Anyhow, we would like to extened a pirate welcome to the girls so welcome to the Congo.

Dolce Vita

This is a great little joint to eat at just down from the Shepards.

We ate there and had the pizza which was great. They had a little band

that played music and we had a grand old time.

This is the pizza oven. Every pizza joint that I have been to so far have had the brick ovens

and they make a great pie. In fact that is one of our pies right there. :-)

Costume Day, Friday the 13th

There I am your fearless leader dressed as a Congolese Samurai. It was supposed to be a Samurai but the costume was made out of local Congolese fabric. I don't know how you women walk in long dresses. I about fell on my face 100 times trying to walk up and down stairs. Give me pirate pants anyday.





There is my beautiful sixth grade class. They were all decked out in costumes. Don't they just make your heart swell with pride? I am teary-eyed just thinking of their dedication to the spirit of costume day. :-) I am so proud. (Take special notice of the pirate on the right. Yeah, baby can you spell E-X-T-R-A C-R-E-D-I-T )




Here are the seventh graders. Did someone say, "wild costume day" in zwahili? Has anyone ever seen another seventh grade class with 100% participation in anything, other than trouble? Yeah, I did not think so.

School Days

There is my room. That's right Edwina you do see a tiger paw and a tiger flag. We keep track of the AP 25 every Monday.







This is Ava she is helping Shannon do the math in the second grade class she is teaching. She is good as gold. Notice the typical dress and it is great. I am working on getting my own shirt made out of African fabrick. It will be a little more colorful.

A typical Sunday

Here are a few pictures of the church. It was built insomething like 1913. They hold a French service before us so we start 11ish and end whenever.

The People love Walt here especially when he goes into his African dialect. Don't you just hate talented people.

There she is. Look at that beautiful girl. Her name is Morgan and her mother is Julia one of our teachers here at TASOK.

Here is a picture of our home here in Congo. This was taken during the dry season and so it does not look as good as it does now. I will post again when all the flowers bloom. It is a great little apartment and we are quite comfy in it when the air is working. (not bad for a pirate hangout is it/)

Long Time NO Speaky

Finally, I'm back. That was a long time to hold my tongue. Whew! So a little explaining is in order. The internet here in Knshasa is not always reliable due to frequent power outages. However, it is on now and I got my server issues supposedly taken care of so here goes. This past week I had my first basketball game with the guys. We played a Congolese basketball club. the shortest player on their team was 6' 5" and the tallest on our team is only 6' 2". They had two seven footers but they could not get the ball because my guys played their guts out against them. We only lost by three points which is good for the pride as everyone in the stands thought for sure we would so loose by 20 points. Never underestimate the power of team work.
I have a few more articles that I will post that I have been saving for you beloved readers. They are about a couple of great places to eat. Speaking of whcih let me tell you about the best chicken in the Congo and probably in about half the world. It was a little joint called, "Mama Cornells". The joint has an outside courtyard and an indoor room that is nice and clean and cool. They grill an entire chicken and cook some of the best fires. They have fried plantains that are real good. The chicken is so moist and tender and has a beautiful flavor that makes my mouth water to even think about it. The restaurant only will seat about 60 between the inside and outside. You have to make reservations and it is well worth the forty or so minute drive through the heart of Kinshasa. The food was Phenominal and cheap. Nine of us got stuffed for only 13 dollars a piece. Wow!!! More later.