writing travel

Impressions of Kinshasa

Cedric_Kalonji_in_Kinshasa_CHILD_LABOR, originally uploaded by bukavuonline.

Guest post by Sandra Basgall, Catholic Relief Services Central Africa

Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, is a bustling city of 8 to 10 million on the Congo River. Across the river lies the capital of the Republic of Congo, Brazzaville. This is the only place in the world where two capitals lie side by side.

From certain locations, you can see Brazzaville, just as large and busy as Kinshasa. There are no bridges connecting the two cities. Many people cross by speed boat and others on the overcrowded ferries. You need a visa to visit there.

Many of the boulevards in Kinshasa are very wide, but traffic is heavy, and during rush hour, the buses and taxis race each other to get the next passenger. These yellow and blue vehicles defy description. Some of them look like vans or old delivery trucks with windows cut out of the sides. People hold the doors closed by just hanging on to them. They are full, full, full of people and remind me of the old ‘70s game of seeing how many people can fit into a Volkswagen!

Many look like they can barely move, but my colleagues tell me that just a month ago, the worst of them were taken off the road. I can barely imagine what they looked like as this bunch is so rag-a-tagged. We have been told not to use buses or taxis as they are not safe mechanically and you might get robbed. I have no desire to ride in one.

Green bus in Kinshasa.Originally uploaded on Flickr by FredR/Creative Commons

Sandra Basgall: Settling into Kinshasa

Kinshasa street scene, originally uploaded by Irene2005.

Guest post by Sandra Basgall, Catholic Relief Services for Central Africa

I have been here a week now. I went from 16 hours plane sitting to 3 days of regional meeting sitting and so was really glad when the weekend came. One of the last tips I received before I left the States was to see if anywhere they served a fish called capitaine. This was someone who had eaten it 40 years ago as a Peace Corps volunteer in Togo and still remembered it with fondness. Imagine my surprise at the Thursday evening dinner during the regional meetings that the restaurant served capitaine. I, of course, ordered it. It was cooked in a banana leaf pouch with a lovely sauce and it was truly wonderful. I will have it again, many times.

At CRS CARO (Central African Regional Office), most of the major management positions are held by women. I think it sets a very interesting flavor and there seems to be a lot of collaboration and support. The regional director is an African-American woman who was three years in the Peace Corps in the Gabon and is married to a Senegalese. She has been RD for the last five years. Although we service seven other countries, the DRC is the largest in terms of program dollars, and they have the largest country program, also directed by a woman, an American. There is a real hodgepodge of other nationalities here, and it is interesting to learn where long-term Congolese CRS people have served.

Gifts for people who have everything made easy with Kiva and Passports with Purpose

  

This morning I received a couple of emails from a long-time friend who has just started a new job with Catholic Relief Services in the Congo. One of them contained a link to the website of the micro-loan project Kiva, with a note: "This is an idea for a Christmas present for someone who has everything. It was given to me and I love it."

Last week, I celebrated my 4000th Twitter follower with a promise to award a prize "suitable only to that person."

This was a bit risky, as my follower number 4000 could easily have been a spambot pushing whiter teeth. Luckily, that wasn't a problem. I was overjoyed when I saw that my 4000th follower was @JoeDiazAFAR, co-founder of AFAR Media and experiential travel expert. I can't think of a more suitable prize to award Joe than a contribution to Kiva in his honor.

Thanks for the follow, Joe! I enjoy reading AFAR and love that it takes me places I can only dream of experiencing.

As you finish your holiday shopping, don't forget Passports with Purpose as another end-of-year gift idea. They have met the initial target of $13,000 toward building a school in rural Cambodia with American Assistance for Cambodia and have doubled that target to include health services for the school. So far, there's enough money to build the school and hire a nurse. Additional funds are needed to create a garden and hire a gardener and cook to improve the students' nutrition.

Please consider donating. It's easy, in increments of $10 through Paypal, and every $10 buys a chance to win a great prize. See the list of donated prizes here.

United takes back upgrade from exec in track suit

Definitely bad business for United, possibly even worse than their recent lost-luggage double whammy on the musician whose "United Breaks Guitars" video went viral.

Travel blog Gadling reports that United revoked the first-class upgrade of a passenger traveling in a track suit. Oops! That passenger was an articulate, otherwise very well-groomed Best Buy vice president and frequent flyer. Watch the video for yourself.

Will Thomas of Fox News DC has since reported that United has responded and is investigating the allegations.

Wednesday Window ~ Organic green tomatoes in Kate's kitchen at Blackberry Farm, Homeworth, Ohio

Soon-to-be-fried green tomatoes in the kitchen window of my dear friends Keith and Kate McMahon.