My Experience in the DRC Part II

The list continues, click here to read the first part of what I've learned, noticed and experienced after being here for more than a year.

23) Don't expect to have a good night sleep. The no.1 most annoying thing is the mosquitoes, they feast as if there is no tomorrow and you could hear them buzzing like they're in an orchestra.  We don't have stable electricity and I would wake up sweating and scratching in the middle of the night.

The small little bulb on the tree is an indicator whether we have electricity or not

24) You can do a lot with one pail of water. I now can bathe and flush with just a pail of water. And there is a technique to flush your poo down the toilet bowl. If you fail to do it in one go, habis la.

25) Always carry a torch with you. Refer to 23.

26) Don't expect to eat whenever you want. If you have cravings for Maggi in the middle of the night, you've to get your guard to start a fire for you. By the time the charcoal is all heated up, you might lose the mood for supper.

Mama Beloti preparing lunch

27) Be prepared to eat the same dish over and over again.

Rice & dhal

Rice & curry green beans

Rice & beans

Rice & dhal

Chapati & red beans

Rice, ikan bilis & egg

Rice & dhal

Rice & spinach

Rice & red beans

Rice & beans

Rice & beans

Rice & spinach

Rice & beans

28) Your drinking water comes is all sorts of shapes. Courier service here is the shit. It cost us $300 to transfer a 16kg package from Kindu - Lubumbashi.

Drinking water

29) Picking your taxi driver is like buying a lottery ticket. Sometimes you strike a clean ok smelling rider, sometimes not.

30) Finding new spots/scars on your body is normal.

Look like I got stapled 

Scratch scratch scratch 

31) They clap their hands and cheer joyfully when the plane lands.

32) They put soap on their body after shower and let it dry. This is to make them smell nice.

33) Mothers breastfeed openly here. (no pics, sorry)

34) They put most things on their head; i.e umbrella, pails, handbags, broom. There was once I saw a man cycling with a basket of vegetables on his head!!!!!!

35) Taking photos publicly is prohibited.

My Experience in the DRC Part I

To click the 'create a new post' icon after more than a year is a dread. My last post was exactly one year ago about my trip to Kalima. But I'm just gonna take my buddy Sam's advice and start blogging, hopefully this would make me famous one day. Haha!

So what have I learn after living in the poorest country in the world for more than a year.

1) Don't think about getting out from the airport without a cost, even when you have your visa and all travelling documentations. 

Kindu Airport

2) The time stated in your flight ticket is just a number.

3) Getting your flight ticket does not guarantee you a seat on the plane.

4) Don't expect the air stewardess to smile at you!

5) Everything in the plane's toilet is incomplete or missing.

6) People say you pay a premium price for better service, but not here. Check out my in-flight dining experience.

7) Children are a super independent. I've seen so many 4-5 years old taking care of their baby brothers/sisters. There was once where this baby was crying non stop because she was thirsty, her brother just grab a plastic from the ground which contains a little water and put it in the mouth of the little one.

Beatrice, age 5 washing her own cup without being told

The crying baby and her brother

8) They chew on anything they find like a chewing gum. i.e ear phone plugs, paper clips, plastic bags, rubber, pen cover, etc

9) Mothers and pregnant women here are in the teens, twenties, thirties, forties and fifties. They are everywhere on the street because they don't believe in using a condom. One of the locals told me using a condom is bad. In addition to that, I've never seen one being sold here in Kindu.

10) Most women have a pin buried in their braided hair. They use this to dig and scratch their scalp because they don't wash their hair daily. Itchy ma.

11) They don't have running water here and I don't understand why we have to pay $50 a month for water charges. Water pipe and shower are just for decorative purpose only.

A typical stationery shop

12) Some locals who live far away from the water source (wells, water pumps, etc) have to walk for miles just to get water for washing clothes and cooking. And carrying 30L of water is no joke!

13) People here live in simplicity. No electricity, no running water, no gadgets, no electrical appliances, nothing to keep them entertain except human interaction.

Mama Mayaza cutting some sugar cane for me

14) Nothing is impossible for them because they are really innovative in making use of the resources they have. For instance, the light bulb at the gate of my house is not covered from rain. What my worker did was, get a plastic container and use that as a housing for the light bulb. The mic stand in my church is even more amazing. It is made out of wood, it can hold the mic but sometimes, it will drop out.

Light bulb cover

15) The doctor takes your medicine after your treatment is complete but I think this only applies to us expats. Probably they can sell those leftover medicine.

16) Men and women care about the outward appearance a lot. Those who can afford will go to a salon to get hair extension. For guys clean shaved head for two thousand Congolese Franc (approximately RM6).

17) Most people walk everywhere they go, that's why you see a lot of people walking in town. Their taxi is a motor bike. Taxi fare ranges from five hundred to one thousand Congolese Franc to get around town (approximately 3km - 5km).

With Biay at one of the sundry shop

18) Most of them have bloodshot eyes, not sure whether they're drunk most of the time or its the dusty environment here.

19) Children and people gather in big group outside shops which sells CD and DVDS for a taste of entertainment.

20) Corruption is inevitable.

21) When they tell you they are hungry or thirsty, they really mean it. One of my worker came to me and told me he was thirty. I gave him a 1.5L mineral water, he finished it on the spot in less than 10 seconds.

22) They share their food, eat together and smile more than most of us who have everything

The locals having lunch together

I'll continue to add on to this list because there are many new things I learn about the people here. One year seems like a short time but being here away from family/friends/Shadow and the comfort of life feels like I've been here for three years.