Author Archives: annie17flo

From Giles, 12/7/19 Among the wonderful people we’ve met here in Kinshasa, Jean Felix Mwema has made a deep impression on us. He has committed his life to being an activist for change in the DRC, where much change is badly needed. For brevity, I’ll call him JF, and he invited us to a cleanupContinue reading “Trash Bash”

Giles 11.26.19–Okay, if we don’t get a response or two from this entry (there’ve been fewer than I expected), I’ll know that no one is reading these. Well, it was bound to happen, I guess. People who travel tell of encounters with corrupt police in countries all over the world. We had not experienced itContinue reading “Congo Cops”

From Annie 11/9/19 Take my hand—we are going for a walk. After you see what I saw in three blocks, you’ll understand why walking may be boring when I get home. People here do so much living outside—working, talking, walking, rushing, building, repairing, buying, selling, eating, waiting in line for a ride. Life goes onContinue reading “Our Neighborhood”

We found ourselves attending the Kinshasa International Film Festival last week. Banners were hanging over the boulevard near our apartment, so Annie and I inquired about it. We asked Hugh, and we found out his NGO has been one of the sponsors in the past and would be doing it again this year. The nextContinue reading ““Awa” Means Here”

From Annie, 10/23/19 A photographer, whose name I can’t remember, once said, “The human face is the universal language.” What do these faces say to you?

From Annie 10.22.19 We followed our curiosity a little ways out of town to a place Hugh and Marcy said was an oasis of art, music and dance.  But our taxi driver must have taken the wrong turn. He drove us down a dark, narrow road littered with derelict cars and trucks that had beenContinue reading “A Touch of Germany”

From Annie, THINGS YOU PROBABLY WON’T SEE IN AN AMERICAN SCHOOL: A young girl welcoming me with a slight curtsy, a smile, and a heartfelt inquiry into my emotional well-being that day  A grinning 12-year-old boy bowing his head slightly and putting his hand over his heart as he  greets me Secondary teachers traveling fromContinue reading “Rainy Day”

From Giles 2 Oct After our first month of teaching in conditions that are new to both of us, we have seen each other actually teach. So after years of just telling each other how our day went or about this class or that at our separate schools, with all the bests and worsts, highsContinue reading “Teaching Together”

One thing I knew I’d never do—and I had to come 8,317 miles to do it—is write a food blog! But not including food in our story is a waste of a good trip, right? We’ve had two recent exploits, one extremely American, one as Congolese as it gets.    One Friday night, we hadContinue reading “Food for Thought”

From Annie 9/28/19 I watch boisterous, frolicking children—each dressed in white and navy blue–instantly freeze at the sound of a whistle, then run to form a silent line. Each child places two hands on the shoulders of the one ahead so the line is perfectly spaced. I see them sit quietly at their desks, copyingContinue reading “School Days”