Getting ready

For someone who was an English major in college, I never would have thought that starting something as simple as a blog would be so vexing. Jeez, how do you begin these things?

Well, for those not in the know, I'm off to Kinshasa, the capital city in the Democratic Republic of Congo. My wife received a one-year fellowship with an international aid organization and they're sending us both there - travel, insurance, and housing are all paid for and we have a stipend to live on for the year.

As of this entry, I'm in a hotel room in Baltimore and surrounded by 150 pounds of luggage, an unmade bed, and a complimentary copy of USAToday. My wife is at the first day of her orientation and I have a 3:00 dentist appointment to look forward to.

I may as well kick things off with an FAQ:

Why are you going?

I'm going to Kinshasa for a number of reasons. Obviously, I'm going because my wife is going. This job is a dream opportunity for her and I don't want her to miss out on it because I wasn't sure how things were going to go. I'm surprised at how many people have asked me if I was going to accompany my wife to the DRC. Well, yeah. She's my wife. Maybe I'm missing something, but wouldn't it be strange for married couples to spend a year apart, especially after they've only been married for a year? I guess if you're in the armed forces or some kind of celebrity, maybe not, but I didn't want to just hang out somewhere in the US for a year while she does this.

I'm also going because hey, free trip to Africa. Our housing, travel costs, insurance, and most expenses are paid for. We don't have a house to sell or responsibilities to mind back in the States. Besides our family and friends, we're not leaving a whole lot behind us. No kids, we're in good health, we're relatively young. Why not?

This is also a chance for me to possibly take a new career path (more on this below). Who knows what opportunities await me in Kinshasa? Since the pressure is off me for a year to make a certain amount of money for us to live on, I can try a new line of work should the opportunity present itself.

In no small measure, I also feel led to go to the DRC. I've been pretty serious about my faith in God for a number of years and for whatever reason (believe you me, I'm asking), I feel that the Lord wants me to go to the DRC. Maybe it's to begin a new career as a Congolese garbageman, maybe it's to experience life in a different culture, maybe it's to get me to sell most of my worldly possessions (as I've already done)... who knows? I'm interested to find out what awaits me there.

What will you do in Kinshasa for work?

The most common question I hear after "Why are you going?" is "What are you going to do there?"

I. Have. No. Idea.

Really, I don't. For the past ten years or so, I've worked as a technical writer and instructional designer in various corporate environments. I haven't found any job openings online for tech writers or instructional designers in Kinshasa and I tend to think that I won't. There aren't a lot of international companies there (too unstable for many years). So, I figure I'll start knocking on doors when I arrive, working whatever contacts I can make, and I'll do my best to scare up whatever kind of work I can. If I can find decent internet access, I may try working remotely, doing tech writing and instructional design contract work. I won't know about web access till I get to Kinshasa, though. I hear there are a lot of NGOs and aid organizations there, so that's an option as well.

What's the city like?

Kinshasa is one of the largest cities in Africa with a population of around 7 million people. The city is offically called "Kin la Belle"(Kinshasa The Beautiful) but has been renamed "Kin la Poubelle" (Kinshasa the dustbin) by the locals. Here's an interesting photoessay on the city from the BBC. As a side note, the Foreman-Ali "Rumble In The Jungle" was held there in 1974.

What language do they speak there?
French is the official language of the DRC, and Lingala is the local language that's primarily spoken in Kinshasa. I know about thirty words in French and zero words in Lingala, so I figure I'm on even ground when it comes to learning the local languages.

What's the weather like?

Hot.

What will you eat?

Dunno.

Will you travel around the country?

Doubtful, I think. There are very few roads out of the city and they're in pretty bad shape, so I don't think I'll be taking any weekend jaunts out to the bush to go rhino-hunting or anything. The primary means of travel outside of Kinshasa is via air, and since that's pretty expensive and potentially life-threatening depending on your carrier, I don't see it happening a lot.

What will you miss from the States?

I'll miss my family and my friends, of course. No ice hockey in Kinshasa, and I don't know about speedy internet access so I can't watch stupid videos of people hurting themselves on youtube or episodes of LOST. No White Castle or decent pizza, and I think my intake of high fructose corn syrup and fried foods will decrease dramatically as well. I don't think I'll be able to go hiking on the weekends like I did in Denver.

I may remember a few other things that I miss from the States and I'll be sure to post them here.

Why are you going there again?

To recap - wife, free trip, new job, God.

And how long is this for?

One year. Like I've been telling people, we're not joining the Army or anything. If we don't like it, we can go home. I think we'll be back in the States in a year regardless - if things go well, we would get reassigned to another location and (hopefully) have a month or come back to the US, and if we decide that we don't like it, we'll come back to the US to figure out what's next.

Here ends the FAQ for now. I don't know how often I'll be able to update this blog, but I would like to add to it on a fairly regular basis. For those reading, ask me any questions you like and I'll do my best to answer them.

If you'll excuse me, I think housekeeping is at the door. Be seeing you...