Traffic, Traffic, Traffic

In a city of an estimated 8 million people, there are going to be lots of cars. And by a lot of cars, I mean more than you can imagine. In an early post, we talked about the "10 Commandments of Driving," but what I failed to mention was the wait time required when driving. The nearest grocery store is about 5 kilometers away (give or take a few blocks). If the streets were empty, I could get there in less than 15 minutes. If there is traffic, the commute can be hours. Yes, hours with an "s."

There are many causes for traffic. There could be a new "pothole" that makes everyone slow down to drive across safely, there could be a car that has broken down and they left it where it was to repair, there could be 3 lanes of people trying to cut one another off instead of one lane of traffic, or it could just be that there are too many cars on the road going in the same direction.

That being said, I got stuck in traffic the other day and decided to take two photos. If you look closely at my side mirror, you will see that I was in the middle of the traffic.

Pausing from making cement bricks to watch
everyone argue about how best to solve the car puzzle

The cause for the traffic jam was a taxi driver. The driver decided to go around another slow driver, except he did not beat the driver facing him. They both slammed on their brakes but the taxi driver swerved and was blocking both lanes of traffic. No vehicles touched and no one was hurt. There was lots of yelling as people tried to figure out how to unblock the other cars, who at this point, were following so closely that the taxi was blocked in. (*I did not take a photo of the incident because I did not think a crowd of people wanted me in their way, snapping photos while they were arguing).

As I grew bored of waiting for the giant puzzle to be solved, I turned to my right and noticed two adorable children playing with a broken box.

Doesn't this melt your heart?

The one in blue pretended to repair the box with a rock and the one in white kept climbing up and down the box. It is amazing how much fun children can have even when they appear to have nothing.

The Congolese Swing

Playgrounds are a rare occurrence. There is no such thing as a public park here. That is something that is sorely missed - a nice open green field for kids to run around and get out their energy. And the few playgrounds that are available charge per person anywhere from $5-$10 for use, which is not something your average Congolese can afford on their daily salary. It does make sense culturally. If no one is using the playground, who is to prevent someone from "borrowing" a piece from the equipment (which could render it unusable or unsafe). This is why the few playgrounds available are behind large gates with people working there to guard the equipment and prevent people from misusing it. The fees go to pay for the guardians and upkeep.

The exceptions are schools. All schools are built behind large gates and people work there all the time, keeping the precious equipment guarded at all times. Each school that I have visited has some sort of playground fashioned out of anything available - old metal trash cans, old tires, metal poles, etc. It is really quite brilliant how resourceful people can be!

The following photos were taken at our little girl's school playground, but she was unable to model the usage due to her collar bone.

But my favorite thing of all is the swing! It is perfect for little ones who must sit back in order to use it and it prevents kids from jumping out of it at enormous heights. It is an old tire turned inside-out. Impressive!

A Rainy Day

When it rains here, life appears to stop. Everyone and everything moves in slow motion. The vendors who sell on the side of the road wait for the rain to cease before setting up, leaving the streets eerily vacant. The peddlers who walk among the cars are holding their items while standing in doorways and under vendor umbrellas staring. People who are walking places go much slower trying to avoid puddles and the occasional fall. The same can be said for driving.

The cars on the road after and during a rain move at a snail's pace. The drivers of the cars are trying to pay close attention to the puddles in the road, which could be masking a much deeper hole that could cause some damage to a vehicle. The drivers also make an effort to not go quickly through smaller puddles which could splash water everywhere and on everyone. Let's face it, if you splash someone with your car it is rude in any country!

So this morning I left extra early in anticipation of the slower traffic but I took advantage of it and took a few photos while driving. (*Please note in one of the photos that my speedometer is not even registering speed because we were either stopped or were going too slow. I would not attempt to take a photo while the vehicle is in motion placing others in danger.)

A taxi will just stop in the road to pick up
 people requiring others to drive around

This road is only one lane of traffic on each side.
The taxi (right) attempted to go around the slow poke in front.

The black truck is carefully driving over a large
puddle which IS masking a large crater

Just Another Day

I was up fairly late with baby boy last night. He was quite colicky and I could not determine a reason. When this morning came around, I certainly missed Kevin and possibly my only opportunity for a nap. I decided I wasn't going to let a little something like sleep deprivation get me down...this time!

During brother's nap, I was determined to take a quick nap so I came up with a genius mom idea! I put sister's robofish in an empty food container with some water and let her play. I got some cute photos and a little bit of a reprieve before continuing with the day. While our floor did suffer a bit I was able to keep my sanity in check! 

One of the things I have learned recently is how to tie a "pagne." This is the preferred method of the Congolese women for carrying their children around.

My first attempt at tying a pagne

Once brother was up from his nap, I packed us all into the car for a trip to the grocery store and made certain to bring my pagne. When I got to the crowded parking lot, I had an audience of people watching me slowly fit and tie baby boy onto my back. The moment I was finished and had sister by the hand, I was greeted with many smiles and nods from the onlookers. Let's just say the Congolese are very proud of their culture, and to see a non-national attempt to fit in with their culture, they are quite pleased! Lots of people stopped me in the store to greet me, not simply because our cute little blonde headed girl speaks a little bit of French, but the mama with the pagne! I was so tickled but it definitely wore me out a bit. I was exhausted and so ready for bedtime. 

When we got home, brother decided that he wanted to continue being colicky, so I wrapped him back up in the pagne and paced the floor while sister played some more with her fish bowl. When 5:30 PM rolled around, I was giddy. The day is complete and I am now going to bed! 5 more days till Kevin returns home. 

Vaccines

Getting your vaccines in the states is normally a simple process. You go to the doctor or health clinic, tell them what you need, they give them to you, and you are done. Not so here. This process definitely raises your blood pressure.*

*(Please note that this is my personal experience as I have not been brave enough to try out the pediatrician and see if he vaccinates in office because my French just isn't that great).

First, you decide when to vaccinate and you research the information on your own using the CDC guidelines. Baby boy is 6 months old and fairly healthy. I realized it was time for his first vaccines. To date he is able to receive the standard DTaP, Hib, Polio, Hep B, and Pneumococcal.

Next, you personally call the local missionary PA to see if she is available to give said vaccines and arrange a date to show up at her house. The day before your "appointment" is the best time to fight traffic and drive to the reputable pharmacy known for having a back-up generator (because without it, vaccines that require refrigeration will spoil).

Once at the pharmacy, you get to have an awkward French conversation about which vaccines are available for each illness, which you must now only refer to them by their French names because someone along the way decided that their trade names would not be in Latin.

After getting laughed for not saying pneumocoque correctly, you proceed to pantomime your desire to know if there are any generic vaccines or alternate options because $280.38 is a lot of money for two vaccines. But since I have researched the illnesses and I know the worst case scenarios if contracted and I have compared that to the current outbreaks, I happily pay the price.

Once you have paid, you take your kids to the car and pay the police officer to help you get into the traffic because the pharmacy is at a terrible intersection. Then you proceed to sit in another hour's worth of traffic but wait happily knowing there is no electricity at home and at least you are sitting in the air conditioning!

Now you get to put your medication on ice until your appointment time (the following morning) where you drive to the PA's house and wait for the vaccines to be administered and the CDC card to be filled out.

Your final step is to pick up your toddler from school and look at a note from the teacher about another outbreak of mumps and wish you could give your baby the MMR vaccine early.

Super snugly squish after his shots 

Life at Home

I was recently discussing with some other moms the delusion of what happens all day at home. No one walks your personal walk and does not know what happens behind the closed door of your home. This made me realize how secretive my life might appear when I have yet to open my doors and invite you in. So I decided to challenge myself.

Many of you know that my personal call to ministry has been the ministry of motherhood, but how has that changed with two children? What do I focus on all day? Do I step outside the doors of my house? Do I interact with others (besides my children) on a daily basis?

My challenge to myself is to present to you over the next few days (and hopefully weeks), snippets of my "life at home." Some days reveal cultural lessons, some days reveal struggles with parenting, and some days are quite and boring. My goal is to give you an idea of what I do. Many posts will be a simple picture with commentary and some may be long-winded but I hope you enjoy the view!

Today's view is our countdown to Daddy's return. He is on a week long flight/adventure. We are very excited for this opportunity for him to watch a local pastor visit villages interior to do training, but we will definitely miss him.