Life in Congo

Hey All! This is Emily blogging. So we’ve had a few people (including Josh’s mom) ask us about the house we’re living in. We decided it was about time to update a bit about what it’s like here, and our daily routine and stuff like that.

So the house is a big guest house run by an American couple. All 3 boys share a room, and us girls are split into two rooms. The rooms are pretty big, and the ceiling fans really help us keep cool at night. We were provided with mosquito nets, but the screens in the house keep it so there aren’t many mosquitos at all. We DO have lizards, giant spiders, cockroaches, ants, termites, and massive moths. None of us seem to be too affected by the wildlife though. :)

We have our breakfasts and dinners made for us here at the house. The menu is the same every week. Lunches (which we miss) are Congolese, and dinners are American. So we’ve had pizza, pasta, hamburgers, etc. The hamburgers are our favourite. :) The great thing is that we’ve still got to try some Congolese food with all of the churches/groups that have fed us. A normal Congolese meal is fufu (which looks like crusty playdough and tastes like nothing), spinachy stuff (made from the leaves of the root that makes fufu), and chicken or fish. We also get pop, peanuts and bananas for snacks quite a bit.

So a normal routine for us is: breakfast, meet with Jean-Baptiste at MPH (the name of our house), and head off in some sketchy taxi to the church/place where we will be for the day. I’d have to say yesterday was probably my favourite day in terms of taxis. We travelled all classy in 2 different van-taxis. These things are crazy! They pack a ton of people into a van with tiny benches that are way to small for most of us. At one point we counted 28 people in at once! It’s good times.

Well today we went to an orphanage called Boma Ya Sika. We will be going there for the next 2 Thursdays, so I won’t say too much about it. But it was a great day. :) The kids were super cute and we had a lot of fun with them. We got to act out a bible story, sing some songs, and just hang out with the kids and staff. When we were outside we had time to skip and play soccer too. We’re saving the good stuff (bubbles and facepaint) for another time. :)

A bit more about our daily routine is that we spend a lot of our free time in the library in MPH. As long as the power is working, the air-conditioning is running. :) So that’s where most of us are right now. Rob is off giving Jean-Baptiste a guitar lesson, Aurora and Alysha are in their room (I think), and the rest of us are chilling in here. Tonight we’re going out for dinner with the couple that run MPH, as well as Jean-Baptiste, so that should be good too.

Well, hope that gives you a bit more of an idea about what it’s like here. When we get back, I’m sure pictures will help in getting the idea across. :)