First couple of days

Blogs

I want to start this off with an apology for not updating sooner, but access to a computer in the Congo, like I said, is very limited…and also like I’ve said, having that computer have access to the internet is just as rare. With that out of the way, let me so kindly fill you in (if you’re interested, but of course you are that’s why you’re on this site) with some of my travels.

I flew in Entebbe, Uganda fairly early and I was worried that my contact, Adam, wouldn’t be there to pick me up. I didn’t want to start off my trip in Uganda fending for myself. Upon exiting the airport I saw a large group of people, but no Adam. When I got closer to the crowd I saw many holding signs such as “Mr. Smith” or something like that to pick up their parties that they were expecting. In the very back of the crowd I saw one white arm holding up a sign that I know was only for me “JACKASS”. It was perfect because I didn’t see Adam at all, only the sign…oh man, this trip is starting off good.

Settling in is always difficult in a place that is so different and I wasn’t given much time because the next night we caught a 2AM bus from Kampala to Kigali (Rwandan capital), Rwanda. Me thinking that this would be a good idea because I’d be able to catch some sleep on the bus ride was in for a rude awakening. All started out fairly well except for the amount which was packed on the bus. The driver managed to fit in some 50+ people in the bus, so much that people were standing in the aisles which first caught my attention because this was suppose to be an eight hour ride, were they going to be standing the whole time? The bus takes off and in the first 20 minutes I knew this ride would be a miracle to survive. The bus was going 150 km/hr, swerving like a mad man, the woman behind me was throwing up on the bus floor (to which to received some on my foot…thanks ma’am), and the temperature was insanely cold. Looking out the front windshield gave me the chills. For the longest time I thought the bus was going to crash, only when I finally figured out that the bus’ alignment was way off—let me try to paint a picture of the alignment...Think of a car traveling down a road as 0 degrees...now our bus traveling straight down the same road at a 45 degree angle (confusing?), because that was how off our alignment was!

Upon exiting the bus, I felt it necessary to kneel down and kiss the3 solid ground. I vowed that I’d never go on something like that nine hour trip from hell again! I was in Rwanda and feeling pretty good about myself on cheating death an uncountable number of times on that bus only to see Adam in line at the Rwandan bus park.

“Adam, just what are you doing in that line?” I inquired.

“We need to buy our bus tickets to Goma, Congo” was the answer that I received.

So, I leave the “one-way-ticket to death” bus just to get on another…hey, if anything I know that death by bus crash is kind of cool. This would be safer in the fact that it is shorter, only five hours this time. I figure that it was safer because I’d be cutting down my bus riding time by four hours—less time on the road = less chances to die, right?

Goma, Congo at last! Thank thee Lord for all the narrow misses of death and delivering me to a country that --- I cannot at all communicate with. French would be the language of the Congolese. All I know in French is “bonjor”, “oui”, “moi”, and “Voulez-vous coucher avec moi ce soir”, which I wasn’t going to dare say to someone on the street just to impress them with my French knowledge. Primitive sign language on my part was used to get where I needed to go which was to meet up with our contact in the Congo.

Thus ending this chapter of the blog…I know that I’m just keeping you guys on pins and needles, but I have to give up the computer now, so I should be back with some more good stuff on me being in the Congo!

Cheers,

Scott

ps...ill try to get some videos and more pictures up and going soon...again sorry for the delay