Sep 2007

Recap: A couple weeks ago I got to travel home to America for a meeting. The Congo airport is more frustrating than getting a fish hook stuck in your arm. I was shuffled from one line to another. "Come over here", "Oh, wait. That's not the correct line". That was fun. Then, they go to do the security check of my bags. They find an elephant that John got from Tanzania. They sent me to another lady that wanted to charge me for the elephant. I kept saying "Tanzania", but she didn't get it. I had to call our translator. He tried to reason with the lady. She asked for proof that I bought it in Tanzania. Is she for real? The market/street vendors really hand out receipts...RIGHT. So, I ended up paying for the blasted thing. $10 USD for an elephant that probably cost $2. Grrr.

Once in the US, my parents came to meet me in DC. I am surprised that I had any energy because I was suffering from jet lag, but we had a great time. I got to shop at Banana Republic in Georgetown and go eat at some really great places. Although, it was not smart to eat a hamburger and have a shake at Johnny Rockets for my first meal back in the states. The monsters in my stomach were very unhappy with me. Too much grease, and too much milk. Yikes. My aunt, uncle, and cousin came in town to eat dinner with us one night. My cousin left her keys with the valet at the restaurant. The restaurant closed, leaving her with no keys. So, she had to spend the night. It was really nice though, because we got to eat breakfast together. She is amazing, but that’s another story…

After DC, I got to fly home to Atlanta. It was raining in Atlanta, which means the airport shutdown. Our flight kept getting delayed. We did not get home until after 1am. It wasn’t too bad for me, though, because dad drove all the way home and I slept in the back. While I was home I got to go see my doctor. Afterwards I met my mom for lunch at Panera Bread Co, then met Sara to get my nails done and hair cut. In the afternoon, I had to drive to Birmingham to pick up stuff for work. That gave me the opportunity to see Maria and Krista and eat Moes! I got to hang out with Christina too later that night. We went to our high school football game. We lost as usual, but Chilis was good after the game. Dad cooked ribs on Saturday and we all watched the Auburn game together. I was so tired that I didn’t make it through the whole game. I had to watch the highlights on ESPN in the morning. It was nice to be home, but it did not feel real. It was serious culture shock. I didn’t have to worry about checking my food for bugs, driving in to bottomless pot holes, or sleeping under a mosquito net. However, all my stuff is in storage, my car is for sale, and my apartment is no more. Those facts made me kind of miss Congo. That may sound strange, but I guess it’s just what you get used to

Traveling. Can I please just tell you how horrible Charles Degaulle Airport is??? I had to get off my plane, and on to a bus. I got off the bus and walked to a tram. I rode the tram for 5 minutes, got off and waited for another bus. I got off that bus, went through security again, and waited at the terminal. At the terminal, you check in and take yet another bus to the middle of nowhere France to catch your plane. WOW. Why can't all airports be arranged like ATL? Think logically people. I realize you're French, but you can do it...

Back in Congo, the time transition was very hard for me. I got up and went to work the day after I was back, but I crashed during lunch and slept for a couple hours. The next day, I didn’t wake up until 9am. I slept right through my alarm. After that I was better. I thought I might be sick again from the food or water, but I wasn’t. It was great to be back at home with Charlie. One of the guys from work looked after Charlie while I was away. Apparently, they had male bonding time and didn’t miss me at all. I think that is just a cover story. I mean, how could Charlie not miss my smiling face? He was happy to see me when I returned.

Since I have been back, I have been very busy. I got my shipments of food, so I have only had to go to the grocery store twice. That’s kind of nice. I already ate one box of Cheezits and one bag of Famous Amos cookies. Last weekend was fun. I got up in the middle of the night to go up to work to listen to the Auburn game. Game was on from 2am-5:30am. I was upset about the loss, but I was happy that I got to listen to the game live.

I tried to have a vet come see Charlie. However, the vet that was recommended to me got mugged and robbed by the Ninja bandits that were in Brazzaville last week. Needless to say, he didn’t answer his cell phone because it was stolen from him. Yikes. When I could not get in touch with the recommended vet, I decided to take him to the Ministry of Agricultures vet clinic. The vet at the clinic said that Charlie is getting natural pigmentation that comes with age. Hmm… not sure I believe that. While in the clinic, Charlie tried to eat a monkey in a full body cast and a sick puppy. I think next week we will go see the Wildlife Conservation Society vet. He has agreed to see Charlie. He usually only takes care of wild animals. What he doesn’t realize is that Charlie falls into that category…

This weekend was crazy. Friday night, I accidentally committed to attend two parties at the same time. When I realized what I had done, I tried to do both. I went to dinner with the missionaries first. The guy from BBC was there, as well as another guy who is doing construction on the mission compound. That was really fun. After that I went over to the restaurant where all my work people were eating. I nearly missed them. Everyone was walking out as I arrived. The dinner was for one of the guys wives, who had just arrived in Congo. They appreciated my effort, even though I missed dinner.

Saturday was even more crazy. During lunch I had to run errands. We went to Score to look for hamburger buns, but found nothing. We tried Manderine. Thankfully, they had buns. Next we went to the market to buy veggies. After that we hit Park N Shop for juice, plates, napkins, and plastic utensils. On the way back to work, we stopped at the Post Office were they have artwork lining the street. Someone gave me a tip that it was a good time to buy. The artists need money right now so that they can pay their art school fees, so they are selling their paintings for cheaper prices. I got two large paintings for my living room for $40 each. Gebran got two smaller ones for $10 each. He got the better deal, but oh well.

Saturday night I got invited to the DCM’s house for dinner. It was potluck, so I was scrambling around trying to figure out what to take. I started off thinking about brownies, but when I got home I found out that the brownie mix called for yougart. What is that about? Anyway, so I threw together a bean dip with refried beans, chicken, salsa, and cheese. I also made some chocolate chip cookies. The party was fun. I knew about 50% of the people there. Some of the missionaries were there, the embassy staff, my company staff, and other government people. I met two young people. The girl was from Namibia and the guy was from France. I have seen them around town several times. We are going to start hanging out with them. I am excited.

Sunday, I got up really early because I invited everyone over for barbecue. It was sort of in honor of Charlie’s belated birthday, and sort of just because we wanted to have a barbecue. One of the guys from work brought over the grill that he built. It is a huge electrical box that he welded legs to. The grill is actually 10mm rebar welded together. African style! He cooked the chicken, hamburgers, and fish. Everyone brought side dishes and drinks. It was so much fun. We had almost 30 people at my house. The bad part is after the party. My house is a mess. I picked up all the trash, but I left the dishes and the cleaning for the maid. She is going to hate me when she comes into work this morning. Ha.

After the party, I went to this English club that one of our site guys invited me to. I was impressed. The embassy started the English club in Brazzaville, but now there are off shoot groups all over the city. This particular group had about 50 members. Almost all the members were at the meeting on Sunday. I talked about where I am from, my education, my job, etc. Then they started asking questions about cultural differences in American and Congo, Congo and Uganda, etc. They asked about education and government, predestination, and all sorts of other things. It was so much fun. The fact that they want to learn English in a French speaking country is so amazing. At the club, they go every week to practice speaking to one another, present songs, and drama. It turned out that the guy that invited me was the president of the club. Wow. That gave me hope for this country. If they are that motivated to self educate themselves, I believe that they can change the future of their country.

Sunday night worship was good, too. I found out that three young girls are arriving in Congo this week. I got invited to join a bible study that they will be attending. I am excited to meet more girls my age. I’ll let you know how it goes. I am meeting them next Friday at dinner.

I am feeling much better now. Thanks for your prayers. Continue to pray for the mission groups here and for my health. My spirit in this place is very affected by my health status.

I think that is all for now.
Love you all,
Allie