Lingala

I think that "Lingala" should be defined as: A variety or plethura of languages. Doesn't it sound like it?

Actually, it is one of four national languages in DR Congo besides the official language of French. In the past week, I have put to use the little I know of English, Portuguese, Spanish, Sign Language, and French. This is certainly not to brag, considering that most of the people I meet these days (besides Americans) speak that many languages fluently with or without any formal education. Our driver in Kenya spoke not 5 but 10. He also informed me that Safari means "journey" (see previous post).

I enjoy the atmosphere of multiple languages. It seems to open up the expanse and possibilities and foibles of communication. It's fun and connects all kinds of people. We made a friend here at the Guesthouse in Kinshasa who is bilingual in Fench and Spanish. Perfect! My brain got an outlet for the Spanish that keeps clogging my head, we had an interpreter and she had an English teacher. Between four of us, we were doing three-way-interpreting-teamwork for our errands and visit to the market.

As you fellow bloggers know, there are many more 'posts' that could be written, many of which are lying on the stack of "drafts" in my head. But for now, I want to be present here where I am, which is really a short time. Trying to absorb it all and transpose the stories into words I'll save perhaps for later.

So for tonight, I'll post the update that I am safely in Kinshasa, DR Congo, in good company, and contentedly so. In 2 days, another teammate and I will fly by small plane to Kajiji which is a long-established mission station in a rural community in southeastern Congo, near the border with Angola. A nearby town you could find on a map is "Kahemba".

We will join others at the guesthouse there at the station where there is a hospital, a school and a church which were started by the MB (Mennonite Brethren) missionaries back in the 1930's. We will make time to get to know families there and work with colleagues in the hospital. I will be collecting some data at the nursing school nearby and we hope to tag along on some public health outings (by motorcycle- woohoo!) to nearby communities.

*Note for anyone concerned re: safety, even though the reports of DRC's history that make it out to the broader world have been brutal and staggering, many communities have actually not been ravaged by that violence and Kajiji is one of those. This is a very large country.

That's all I know for now.

In Kajiji, there are no cars, no internet, no phone (Ah! what blessed quiet...) so I'll see you on the other side.

Salut!