Hotel Fontana Inn Kinshasa

This morning we were to have had services at 10:00, so I was expecting Jacob between 09:00 and 09:30. But it rained hard during the night, which further messed up the roads and slowed everything down. He didn't reach the hotel until nearly 11:00. Taxis at the hotel want $50 even for short runs. Prices here are incredibly high for everything. I think it has to do with the UN and so many aid agencies being here. That always drives prices up steeply. The same used to ...

This morning I woke up about 04:30 as the cabin lights came up for breakfast. We were over Lake Victoria though it was too dark to see it. We came into Jomo Kenyatta and landed at the sky was brightening, about 05:30. I love to step out of a plane on the tarmac in Nairobi, especially in the early morning; the air is cool and smells of the grasses of the Athi plain (and some kerosene). I walked across the landing ramp with a spring in my step in spite of not having slept ...

hello peoples YAY!! I leave tommorrow.:P Em so looking forward to getting back my friends. :P YAY, I am so excited. I can not say enough thank yous to... in alphabetical order Erin Jackie Jovian Yasmeen ...

... ask you how your day was, tell you your earrings are pretty and are JUST FRIENDLY. At the Congolese supermarket, you get are lucky when you are given a blank stare and a monotonous "bonjour" to your happy care free "Bonjouuuuuurr, comment allez vous?" If looks could kill I could have died a long time ago. Denise (my dad's friend) explained that they dont get paid to smile...also, they dont get paid anything. Super **** wages... I get it ...

... me $150 in New Zealand. God, and $US20 here does not go very far. At least in our case, because we are foreigners and everybody tries to rip us off all the time. :P Nywho, Im OK. Dawn and Panashe went clubbing with my dad and his friends last night. I was going to go, but fell asleep before they even left. :( Lame, I know. Hopefully I will be getting another chance to go out at night and check **** out. Things have ust looked up for the better... TV is now working. woo hoo. :P

... the way they think. NO sense at all. This university was not just a university. It was a medical school and hospital all rolled into one. To destroy something that is so integral to the well-being of your people shows a deep stupidity. You have to be a complete ****ing moron. Now I am getting angry and its the day before Christmas. The thing is its 3.17am here and I cant sleep. The A/C in my room is not working. I am now in the living room and it is so so much cooler in ...

... it. Mr. Mukendi has offered to pick me up early tomorrow and drive me to the airport. It's important in Kinshasa to leave plenty of extra time because all sorts of things can happen on the road out there and even in the airport itself. He told me "our airports are not like yours" to which I smiled and said that I had noticed.... Tomorrow if all goes as planned I will fly to Nairobi where I will have to spend the night before going on the Bujumbura the next day.

... commonly used in Africa to diff**entiate the two countries. Instead of saying "the Democratic Republic of the Congo" which is a mouthful, people h**e usually say "Congo - Kinshasa" and for the oth**: "Congo - Brazzaville." The cities face each oth** on opposite banks of the Congo Riv**. The respective armies have sometimes shot at each oth** across the wat**. As we approached Brazza, as it's often called, and began our descent we hit some pretty sev**e ...

... the wedding supper. They sang another hymn, then there was some beautiful special music: a vocal solo by a fantastic tenor singing a capella. The words were a mystery to me but his voice was enthralling. I spoke for about an hour on the subject of the annual Holy Days taught in the Bible, observed by the Early Church, and about the New Testament meaning of those days. This is a ...

... way... Everybody made it this time, though. Bonus question: How do you get a Congolese driving license? A: You produce the cash after negotiating a fair price.