It's Thursday, which means this post is just in time for the weekend- not that you can't be grateful any day of the week. This weekend also happens to be the last before returning back to school. I'd like to be happy and celebrate but am fearful the festivities may begin to warp into "Where has the 'summer' gone?" pity party rather than a futuristic, optimistic outlook on another year of educating young minds. There's a fine line there.
For now, I will try to concentrate on things I do like about Kinshasa, wet or dry season, vacation or school season not dependent.
1. Traffic lights- It definitely took me awhile to get used to the new traffic lights (something about seeing both a red and a green at the same time was initially mind boggling.) However, I have come to appreciate, not just the colored arrows which indicate which lanes of traffic have the go- ahead, but, more importantly, the countdown timer located in the middle. It lets all impatient drivers and their passengers see just how much time they have to wait before they can fly off down the next block. It always makes me think of the queue theory- which I only just found out had such a respectable name. It's the stories of how the lines at Disney World and other theme parks were rearranged to to make people happier while waiting in line (and, perceptually, to make them feel as though the line were less long than it really is.) James Robert Watson explores some of the most efficient ways to lay out lines all the while trying to make us feel less like sheep (which we apparently hate.) Johnny Holland gives a nice summary of the psychology behind waiting in lines and Donald Norman's 8 principles of designing waiting lines. I am a little confused about the double 1's but right in the first principle (or maybe it's the second) the question of time comes up. How long do I have to wait? I firmly believe the success (mostly) of the Kinshasa traffic lights (that is to say, most of the time people actually follow the rules- during the day and during periods of high traffic) is due to the fact that everyone knows exactly how long they have to wait. While 90 secs may seem long (had to suppress a smile when one of the boys was obviously having a bad day and said, "Really? A minute and a half? Why do we have to wait so long?!") it is completely do-able.
2. Street noise- At times, the street noise can be alarming and disorienting, particularly in the more crowded sections near markets and down small roads but in general I really appreciate the street noise of Kinshasa. There is always singing, whether it is someone calling out whatever they happen to be selling, calling out taxi destinations or just someone inspired to sing their favorite song. To accompany this, there is the wooden clacking of shoe shiners, the metallic clink of bread sellers and thwumping of rubber bands on boxes by those wandering guys who travel with a small convenience store on their heads, selling everything from cigarettes to chewing gum to cookies. I recently read We Need New Names by NoViolet Bulawayo. There is an apt description at one moment in the story when the main character, Darling, has moved to the US. She is in her Michigan apartment in the middle of winter and happens to be talking to her friend back home in Zimbabwe. Conversation is hard to come by as it is more than miles that separates them now and Darling's friend asks her, "What do you see outside?" She responds only in silence as a glance out the window reveals nothing more than dreary, snowy sidewalks barren of life. Her friend begins to recount all the little movements going on in her African street and the two worlds suddenly seem even more disconnected. Just another thing to miss. I spend a lot of time being seduced by the street noise of Kinshasa.
3. Busy signals- One last funny thing I like is the female voice recording that let's you know the party you are trying to call is busy. She says, "La correspondent vous voulais rejoinde est occupe, eh?" The number you are calling is busy...but it's the last little "eh" that gives her such a human touch. Just like a real speaking person might inflect at the end of a statement. I hear a bit of condolence and consideration-"Sorry, they're busy, ok? Try back later...." is communicated in that little 'eh'. Maybe it's just me but I feel a little better even though the person I am trying to reach is obviously busy with someone else. No hard feelings, eh?
