- I have seen 3 accidents- or the results of accidents, but I haven't seen any crazy, twisty traffic jams. Haven't seen anyone driving on the wrong side of the road or the sidewalk. I can tell I will need to get a new brand of favorite story. (Maybe it will come in the form of taxi drivers. The variety and responses are infinitesimal.)
- Tissues- I haven't seen anyone selling packets of tissues- an odd thing to mention, I know, unless you've been to kinshasa. Tissue packets are big there, and, while it seems just as hot and humid here, no tissue hawkers abound.
- Military- I have seen a few but not the plethora found in kin. I don't see a million salutes a day- and when someone was talking to me about the "tension" and uncertainty she felt in the air here, I realized it all depends on what we're comparing to.
- Arms- in addition to the missing military, I haven't seen the number and collection of guns. Security guards don't have automatic weapons slung over their shoulders, police aren't swinging their guns absentmindedly as they talk and even the few military I saw made an impression because of their crisp uniforms and commanding stances- not their weapons.
- Money- No one has asked me for money. There aren't swarms of street kids waiting at every traffic light or on every street corner. The beggars I have seen appear to be from a different cut of cloth. They are usually sitting on the streetside, a pagne or wrap of some kind laid out and, if there are children, they are sitting quietly, sleeping or playing alongside. The most common number of children seems to be 2 and they are usually well dressed- Muslim, or so it appears. There is a bowl placed close by for collecting change. Its a much quieter affair and something about it doesn't resonate with me. I am trying to determine why my soul isn't shaken. I continue to think of the kinshasa street kids - especially when it rains, even though I am aware it's not raining there. I know they are still hungry, still cold, still sleeping on some hard patch of ground outside somewhere alone.
- Sunglasses- another oddity perhaps, and of course, with everything I write I realize my frame of reference doesn't extend very far, but in kinshasa, everyone wants to be a star and sunglasses abound. There always seems to be one of those sunglass sellers walking by or set up on the corner. When the sun does come out, in brief patches between the constant rain, it hurts my eyes as if it were glinting off a snow white landscape. Nothing is especially white here so not sure what's happening there, but I feel conspicuous when I don my shades for comfort.
- French- this falls more into the category of things we haven't heard- a lot of French we can understand. The Ivorian French is so fast and mumbled I end up asking people to repeat themselves multiple times. I really want to ask them to open their mouths and enunciate their words, but there's no polite way to do that. I suspect in months we'll all be able to better understand the fast talking rhythms around us.
Hoping next post will include photos. We are so far off the grid, we no longer qualify for municipal garbage pick up- it means there are some beautiful morning views. Other things I hope to capture include the number of clothing boutiques on the way to our house- along with the full sized mannequins out front. Seems we've left the world of fruits and vegetables for the garment district.
