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.