Trouble In Kinshasa

Hey all,

Just thought that I would let everyone know about several robberies and possibly two murders that have occurred here in Kinshasa recently.

            Last weekend, a friend of mine named John was robbed heading back to his apartment in a part of Kinshasa called Macampagne (sic). John is here working for an NGO and was driving back home after an evening out. He was stopped by three “policemen” armed with AK47s, who then proceeded to place rocks beneath the wheels of his car so he couldn’t drive away. The men then whisked John out of the car, searched and took all of his possessions (wallet, driver’s license, even his belt). Next they searched the inside of his car, taking all of the documents in the glove compartment, along with his iPod. Upset that they didn’t find enough money on John, they prepared to search the trunk (which contained John’s laptop). Instinctively, John told them about some additional Congolese Francs that he had in the ashtray inside the car, peacefully handed over his money, and then got back into the car slowly believing that the soldiers would not stop him.  John then proceeded to move the car forward, hitting one of the rocks, having forgotten they were there.  Again, after feeling that the soldiers would not take action against him, he backed up and drove slowly around the rocks toward his destination.  Needless to say, John has been a bit distraught for the past few days as he now totally unable to even use his car until he gets new documents (lest he get arrested legally and has his car taken away, jailed, or both. Unable to report this incident to the police, John has reported it to both the US Embassy and the MONUC security unit.

The same area is a known “hotspot” on the MONUC watch list, and it is highly recommended that all UN staffers avoid the area. Still though, many of those same staffers have their homes, apartments or hotels there, and one has to wonder what their thoughts are at this time. Robberies occur with an ever increasing frequency, and usually not a week goes by where someone fails to recount some event or another. Even Jarko, the Chief of the GIS Unit, and Louis, the IT guru live there. John, however, has since moved to a new place – whether it’s any safer remains to be seen.

This past weekend, in the same vicinity where John was robbed, for sure one man was murdered, and possibly two. I’m not sure of all of the details, but Saturday saw the murder of a politician on the Kinshasa city council – the Vice President I believe. Sunday saw an acquaintance of former Vice President Jean-Pierre Bemba’s supposedly killed in the exact same area, though I cannot confirm it.

Needless to say, things appear to be heating up a bit here in Kinshasa. Recent security reports discuss the possibility of demonstrations over rising food and gasoline costs. Moreover, some UN staffers are concerned that if events turn worse, many of the recent strides forward will be for naught.

While I don’t live in the area of concern, I am only about 15 minutes away by car from the hotel. That area is even closer to the MONUC CongoBat compound where I work each day. One should never leave their guard down here in Africa for too long.

 

Tim

Holiday Weekend

Well it’s been quite a while since I did an update, so I figured that it was time to do another just to let everyone know that I’m still alive and kickin.

The project I’m working on still has the same snags as before, that being that I basically need additional training in the software that I’m supposed to be using. I still haven’t received the assistance I was looking for from my employer, even though he knows the severity of what the project entails here. I still hope that he’ll come through soon enough for me to get a firm grasp about where to go from here in training the staff.

Everything in Kinshasa has been relatively calm the past few weeks, and there’s nothing really new to report on that front. All in all that’s a very good thing. Even though it will be quite a ways into the future, MONUC has had some discussions about the pullout phase. How that will be achieved is beyond my comprehension though.

Friday nights have, as usual, been spent having dinner at the British Embassy, with the exception of last Friday. Friday evening I went out with the GIS Technical Administrator and had dinner at a place called Hunga Busta

http://babelfish.yahoo.com/translate_url?doit=done&tt=url&intl=1&fr=bf-home&trurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pagewebcongo.com%2Frepertoire%2F4185_livraison_domicile.htm&lp=fr_en&btnTrUrl=Translate

A weird name for a pizza place, but great pizza for the depths of the Congo; a thick crust pizza, with lots of cheese, and a decent amount of toppings. While there, Louis and I were descended upon by the local street “merchants” selling whatever wares they might have in their possession. I ended up buying some really nice hand-painted cards for $7.00 from an elderly gentleman who had a whole portfolio of material from which to choose. This gentleman then offered his “services” in helping us procure additional souvenirs at a reduced price. By the time dinner was over, I had also snatched up a carved elephant for $15. As we were getting into our UN vehicle, we were again accosted by a different street vendor selling the 24” tall wooden statues of a man and a woman. Originally asking $60 for the pair, the vendor was quite taken aback when I explained in my broken French that I was almost out of cash and could not afford the $60. He was even more upset when I said I didn’t even have the newly reduced price of $30, and was quite in a bit of a fluster when I finally agreed to give him my last bit of cash, $21, for the pair of statues. I even went so far as to tell him that I would give him and additional $10 the “next time we saw each other”, both knowing that the chances of that would be slim to none. Still, overall a great dinner complete with several nice gifts for back home – assuming that I can figure out how to get everything there.

After dinner, Louis and I headed out on the town. Louis had never been to several of the Kinshasa clubs, and as it was a 3-day weekend (DRC Independence Day), it would prove to be a very memorable one indeed. We started the evening off at the Standing Club, where people normally purchase bottles of booze outright verses ordering by the drink. An eclectic place for expats, Standing offers great dance club music, and a packed vivid atmosphere.

Next up was a trip to the Club VIP, another well established place in the downtown part of the city. VIP is, more than anything else, a place where one goes when they desire the company of a Congolese lady. Yes, that kind of lady! Run by a non-English speaking Frenchman, the place is expensive if nothing else. Still though, it is usually frequented by a youthful group, even if it is sometimes just at heart.

We met up with John while there, an American finishing his Doctoral degree here. I’ve know John for a few weeks now, and have been out with him before; I’m well versed in how the evening will end up when I head out with him and his Belgian friend Steven. We closed the VIP at around 530am, and headed back to our various homes.

Saturday morning meant a hangover, naturally. Still though, I managed to do a few small thinks here at the hotel, and the late breakfast was unusually good. Saturday night meant another evening out. I had been invited to the British Embassy once again for an evening of frivolity and imbibing. It was the farewell party for two of the Embassy staff, and the booze flowed freely, and snacks were abundant.

John and Steven called at around 11:00pm, and it was once again off to the Standing. It was Steven’s last night in the DRC, as he was heading back to Antwerp Sunday evening. John and I were still a bit off from the previous evening, but we managed to plow forward. From the Standing it was off once again to the VIP, and then on to the Mombo Room, another place to pickup ladies. Having had quite my fill for the evening, I ended up leaving around 4:30am with another UN guy in a taxi who was heading my way.

Sunday was downtime, even though the Grand Hotel was having quite the celebration evening in honor of 48 years of Independence. The music blared until well after 2:00am, making for a fitful night of rest.

Today was much of the same…rest, relaxation, and TV.

Next weekend is the American celebration, and while I’m not sure if I will work on the 4^th or not, the Americans who are here in Kinshasa have been invited to the US Embassy for a barbeque. I’ll let you know if the food compares to that of the Brits…

Not Much of a Week

Nothing much really happened here in Kinshasa this past week, other than I finally made a wee bit of progress on the project that I’m working on here. Not enough to make a huge dent, but a dent nonetheless. There’s still quite a bit that yet needs finished and or figured out, but I suppose that’s what the next few weeks will entail.

I’ve also managed to get a hold of a training manual that help everyone involved with the project here understand how to decipher the actual software that will be need to be used. The problem is that it doesn’t actually explain how to use the software, just the concepts behind it. That’ll be a problem, and I’ve suggested to my employer that I head off someplace for some additional training. I’ll have to wait and see how that all plays out and what he thinks is the best way to approach the problems here.

Other than making the small bit of progress, nothing else has really been worthy about writing about. I did manage to go to one of the few supermarkets here and stocked up on some water, juice, and assorted cheeses with bread, along with a few single bags of chips. I tried to go to the MONUC PX, but was turned away — seems contractors aren’t allowed to use the facilities.

Friday night was another evening at the British Embassy club for dinner. They had the current Euro football tournament on a big screen TV, so that was interesting. Cedric was there, as were a few other people I know from here in Kinshasa. The evening ended up with a trip to another club, and then back home.

I spent the rest of this weekend here at the hotel, not evening venturing out of my room really.

I’ll bet you time was much more enjoyable than mine — wanna bet?

Tidbits About The DRC

1) Cuss words are bleeped from the TV here.

2) The word GOD is bleeped as well.

3) I get 5 English Channels — BBC World News, ESPN, MNET 1 and 2, and Sometimes Discovery Channel.

4) My TV comes through DSTV — Known Here As Dry Season TV.

5) I usually have pizza 4 times a week simply because I know what it will taste (and look) like. And it comes with exactly 4 green olives on it — with pits. It costs $23.

6) There’s a swimming pool at my hotel that I’ve never swam it, and it closes at 6:00pm everyday.

7) I have a shower that leaks water all over the bathroom.

8 ) Drivers here often take up 2 lanes of a single land road. How they do it is still a mistery to me. 8)

9) Police sometimes watch the intersections here directing traffic, but to block traffic the stand with their bodies against the traffic that’s okay to go through the intersection.

10) Police and guards here carry rifles, and they travel in packs.

11) The dry season is here, but its been more cloudy now than during the rainy season. And the temperature is lower as well.

12) I get charged a Foreign Fee everytime I use my Debit Card (Visa or Mastercard), whether its taking money out of one of the 2 ATMs, or being used at a grocery store or a hotel. It’s about 2%. That sucks!!!

13) Night here come at around 6:00pm and sunrise is at around 5:30am.

14) I have better internet connection spped in my hotel room than I do at the United Nations compound. The UN is like a slow dialup, the hotel is like a slow DSL line.

15) In general, everyone says that the situation hasn’t changed much here for the better since 2005.

16) They import almost all food staples from someplace else outside of the DRC.

17) There are only 3 operating trains within the DRC, so I was told by a General Electric contractor.

18 ) It’s time I went to bed:)

Life at MONUC

Below are some questions I’ve been asked about working in the DRC on a United Nations military compound. I’ve tried to explain a bit about how life is here, but will add some more to this list later. Please feel free to ask me about any aspect of life here and I’ll try to answer your questions.

 1.    Are you working within the UN compound?

Yes, there are more than 10 compounds here in Kinshasa, and I work in one called Congo Bat. This compound has mostly administration, operations, and logistics offices.

Basically the procedure is that I am picked up at my hotel each morning by either a GIS staff member who’s heading to the office, or I catch a MONUC transport bus that goes that way. We pass through security checkpoints, park the vehicle and head into the office.

We break for a half hour lunch period somewhere around 1:00, walking up to the MONUC cafeteria where they have discounted pricing for those on the compound (usually around $6.50 for lunch).

After lunch its back to the office, where I continue until one of the guys tells me he’s going to be passing by my hotel. Otherwise, I have to get the transport bus back to the hotel (one leaves every ½ hour up until 7:00pm).

I’m pretty much stuck at the hotel unless one of my colleagues is heading out someplace – the grocery store, a bank, dinner, or if lucky, a pub. UN security here states that UN vehicles must be off the streets by midnight Sunday – Thursday, and 2:00am on Friday and Saturday.

2.    Are you working with UN Staffers?

Yes again. I work with 10 people here in this office, and the field offices have another 6 or 7 people working with GIS. Most of the field offices have military GIS staff, though not everyone. The staff here is a combination of UN staff members as well as volunteers, with the main difference being the amount they are paid each month – volunteers only get a stipend and no actual pay, while staffers get both and the mandatory paid breaks every 8 weeks (more about that below).

3.    Is there any talent there to help you or are you on your own?

While the staff here is quite knowledgeable, they see me as being the “expert” and the one and only reason that I’m here is to show them how to produce VMap Level 2 standard maps (normally used by combat troops). I do ask for their assistance on many issues, but for the most part I’m on my own. They have no expertise onsite in Defense mapping or data extraction from satellite imagery (see below for more).

4.    Are you training UN Staffers as you go?

No! Training will actually come as one of the final pieces of this project. There are Standard Operating Procedures that I am/have to write up on each portion of the mapping project, but actual training will not happen until the 2 pilot areas have been mapped by me, and are okayed by those in charge here.

5.    What is the working situation, do you have an office, is the equipment, computers etc. yours or theirs?

I do have an air conditioned office and use their equipment, most of which is fairly new. I have also brought my personal laptop and use it here as well sometimes, especially the USB Jump Drive. One of the problems with the software here is that they haven’t enough licenses for some of the ArcGIS extensions (i.e., Spatial Analyst and 3D Analyst – which are all they have anyhow.) Additionally, the actual extensions that I’ll need to finish the project aren’t here yet, even though it went through the procurement process last year. I have to use a trial version of that software (PLTS for Defense Solutions).

6.    Do you have to leave the compound, assuming that is where you are working, to do work?

The only time that I’ve had to leave the compound was to go to the GIS conference in Entebbe, Uganda. That MONUC base is centrally located and was the easiest access for all field offices to reach.

Field work is actually taken care of by the field offices, with data being transferred back to Kinshasa.

7.    How many days of the week do you work. 

The normal work week here is from about 8:30am until about 6:00pm Monday through Friday. Most staff then comes in on Saturdays for a 2-3 hour period at their leisure.

8.    Are your hours typical of an American company or do they work varying hours?

See above answer.

9.    Are there any customs that are very different than if you were working here?

Yes, they are different. Other than working with an extremely diverse group of people from around the globe, the biggest difference here is that it is REQUIRED that all staff members take a 1 week “vacation” for every 8 weeks of active duty. This causes an extremely rotating schedule, and is one of my (and their) biggest difficulties. Staff members come and go all based upon when they started, and not according to a preset vacation calendar.

In addition, staff here are on limited contracts and must either renew by opting to stay here, rotate to another MONUC mission, or leave the UN completely. Contracts range from just a few months to a year, with the average being 6 months.

Of course language can also be a barrier. While English is the official MONUC language, French is the Congo’s primary language (as are the various African dialects). Still, most people converse in their own primary language first, and then try English second.

10.  Are we making positive progress?

Bit by bit yes. But I could always use additional support and training. In the end though, only the guys in charge here will know for sure if I’m on the correct path or not.

Let’s hope I am…

Return To Kinshasa – Oh What A Trip!

Well I can start this entry off by saying that the way home from Entebbe was not the golden-lined road of Dorothy’s day. Not even a dull yellow. In fact, if I had to choose a color, I’d have to say that it was a mind-numbing grayish black.

The bus ride went smoothly back to the Entebbe airport, and after waiting in line for MONUC to check us in and take our baggage, we quickly passed through Ugandan customs. I have to say one thing for the Entebbe airport, it’s nicely laid out and a breeze to navigate through.

Having more than two hours before our flight to Kisangani, several of us perused the Duty Free shops that were in the terminal. Prices sure didn’t appear to be “duty free”, hovering higher than costs back in the States, and most assuredly higher than what I could get goods for back at the MONUC PX. Still though, I did manage to blow (?) $20.00 on five Milka white chocolate candy bars. Instead of wasting more of my hard earned money there, I opted instead to have a small meal (almost $13.00 worth) knowing that there wouldn’t be anything available on the plane ride home.

As I finished stuffing both my face and belly, I noticed that there were more souvenir shops to avail myself to. Prices here were definitely higher than those I had paid in central Kampala, but I still had a few Ugandan Shillings (1650 UGS = $1) left, and cash burns through my pocket faster than tornados go through the Midwest. I didn’t get a whole lot, a few postcards that I only just mailed here from the DRC and a new wooden lion for my ever-growing collection from around the world. There was an awesome carved elephant that Joanne would have loved, and a huge mask that would have found a good home in Connecticut, but both were too big for my carry-on limit (and pocketbook as well).

Now I’ll bet you’re thinking that none of this sounds too bad, and I’d be the first one to agree with you. So far that is!

The boarding call came over the loudspeaker and most all of us looked up to see why, as it came almost an hour and a half before we were to fly out. What was different about this announcement was that they were calling for “pre-boarding”. Okay, so I had never heard that term used before – unless one was traveling first class or has small children perhaps. In our case, pre-boarding was a way for MONUC to once again screen all passengers, herd us like cattle into a small room without decent ventilation, and then have us wait there for our plane to actually arrive.

We waited.

And we waited some more..

And then the time of our flight came and went…

And we waited.

And waited…

And then the announcement came that our plane had been commandeered. No, not by hostiles, but by some sort of diplomatic group who obviously needed the plane more than the 150 or so soldiers, UN employees, and contractors such as yours truly. I immediately sent an SMS (text message) to my Canadian pilot friend, Cedric, who had previously taken us to Entebbe. All he had to say was “HA! Wait until you see what’s taking you back to Kinshasa.” Boy were those words ever more true!

Our group would have to take a different plane, one of Russian manufacture called an Antonov. Now I didn’t realize it at the time, but this was the same type of plane that recently crashed in Goma, DRC (http://www.france24.com/en/20080526-near-catastrophe-dr-congo-plane-makes-emergency-landing). These planes are really screwed and need to be grounded for life. They remind one of being in an Indiana Jones movie – you know the one where they bail out of the plane on a life raft as it’s about to crash into the mountain.

Now I’m not sure about you, but I have an aversion to being on a plane where one would have to stand up and force him/herself into the aisle just to get hold of an oxygen mask. You see, on these planes, the masks are where normal planes have luggage compartments. You can’t place any luggage up there, as that would impair access to the masks – assuming you could do all the standing up, get to the mask and actually placing it over one’s face before you DIED!

And just when did planes start having a need for chop axes on them? I must have missed those instructions during the take off announcements. And what are life ropes and fuselage break points meant for, and when are they to be used? And why in the hell didn’t the Russians think of installing any passenger comforts on board – like fresh air circulation for example.

Here’s a pic I took of the safety instructions: (http://www.ouboy.com/Gallery/uganda_2008/pages/Our%20Russian%20Airplane%20Back%20to%20Kinshasa.htm).

Anyway, the normally 4 hour flight all the way from Entebbe to Kinshasa took an extra 2 hours to leave the Entebbe terminal, then another 3 hours to reach Kisangani where a second surprise awaited us. We had to switch to a second Antonov propeller plane. The one we were on had some sort of “malfunction”, but luckily (or unluckily as one sees fit) we were escorted directly from one plane to the next, hiking along the runway tamarack like we were mechanics or something.

Well, on a more positive note, we were served room temperature water on the second flight. A single, 8oz plastic cup of it to be exact! Guess it was a good thing I ate at the Entebbe airport.

Taking another 4 hours to reach Kinshasa, we arrived more exhausted than thirsty. We should have arrived at 5:30pm, and finally made it in at almost 11:00pm. Once again we were made to wait another hour as they processed everyone passports (yes, even UN people have to go through customs even at their own terminal). And then it was another hour bus ride back into town as the driver dropped off everyone at their respective lodgings. Needless to say, I took the next day off, opting to work from my hotel room instead of another bus ride to the MONUC Congo Bat compound.

It might have been the end of the journey to Uganda, but it was an adventure riding in an antique plane. What’s worse is that the end of that trip wouldn’t come for several more days. I had caught the “bug”. The African flu, or cold, or whatever! And that illness lasted me another 4 days, as I’ve already mentioned here.

And I never even got to see Cedric to tell him how right he was!

Next up – more of what life is like working for MONUC and how living in Kinshasa is a life altering experience.

Kampala – Pt. 2

Okay, the brief rest ended up being a few days. Forgive me, but as I mentioned before, I’ve been sick of late. I’m back to about 90% of my usual self, but this damned African flu must be a strain my body wasn’t quite used to just yet. Well, it’s either that or I have something entirely different that I’m just not ready to consider just yetJ

But enough of sickness when we can be talking about Kampala and the single evening and afternoon that I was able to spend there.

After enjoying a few Ugandan beverages from the bar, our group headed out for some dinner. Reservations had been made by another MONUC member, Pricilla, at a restaurant that had a Moroccan flair to it. While I cannot remember the name, the food was really, truly excellent. I had grilled pork chops, with a massive mound of – get this – mashed potatoes. Yes, I said mashed potatoes! Here, in Africa! I could have just ordered a plate or two of those and been as happy as a kitten with a bowl of milk. Of course we killed off three or four bottles of South African wine with dinner, but hey, when in Rome as they say.

After dinner we started our night at an Irish pub named, of all things, Bubbles O’Leary’s. An awesome place with a large outdoor patio area, excellent Club music, Guinness beer (but none on tap), and a good-sized dance floor, the place was packed to the hilt with ex-pats. I wound up talking and drinking a great deal of the night with a young white Kenyan guy named Peter. Unfortunately, Peter was a bit too wasted to accompany us to our next party spot, the Kyoto Japanese Restaurant. Believe it or not, this was another great place/club/dance bar.

The Kyoto is another garden type place, with small individual “huts” for private get-togethers, or those intimate moments with your significant other. There is a covered patio area, complete with tepanyaki, or Japanese grill and barbecues. On this night, however, food was not the mainstay for entertainment; it was music filling the evening, and alcohol filling the soul. A small dance floor is located just inside the restaurant, adjacent the bar and right on the way to the – well, you know whatJ.

Most of the gang left the bar at around 4:00am, heading back to the Serena Hotel and a good night’s rest. Diego and I stayed a bit longer, him heading off somewhere with a young Ugandan lady of the evening, and me taking a taxi home. If I recall correctly, he and I were the last to leave the place, with just a glint of sunrise appearing on the horizon.

Sleeping late, I awoke famished and thoroughly enjoyed my breakfast of Eggs Benedict, crisp potatoes, and fresh orange juice. There was even an English language newspaper that was slid under my door – just the way I like a hotel to be.

We met up later that morning with the rest of the gang from our GIS conference that had stayed behind in Entebbe. Heading off to explore Kampala, we drove around the city for a while, eventually landing at a very large shopping center that obviously catered to those much more well off than the average Ugandan. With an eclectic mix of Persians, Indians, Asians, and Europeans, I felt right at home as an American.

I bought some souvenirs, a few postcards, ate some chocolate (though I gave away the majority of it to some young Indian children), had some awesome coffee and banana ice cream, and even enjoyed a hotdog. The best part of that mall though, was the fact that they had a MOVIE THEATER. What’s more, several of the group actually wanted to see a film. Indiana Jones and the Curse of the Crystal Skulls was the order of the day, and while the popcorn wasn’t the best I’ve ever had, the flick was spectacular. There’s nothing like seeing a movie in a foreign country when all you’ve had lately are TV shows in a language you don’t speak.

After the cinema, the Kyoto Restaurant was again chosen as the place to finish off our adventure in Kampala. And what an awesome dinner it was – see the pictures if you don’t believe me.

We spent our last night in Uganda back in Entebbe, arriving at the Golf Hotel at around 11:00pm. Shadrack navigated us back along the darkened highway, missing the vehicles without lights, the never-ending array of pedestrians out on their various errands, and, most importantly, the motorcycle taxi drivers who pay no heed to anything around them.

I awoke somewhat refreshed, even knowing that this part of my adventure was coming to a close. What I didn’t know about was what was to come next.

 Some new pictures have been added and can be found here:

            http://ouboy.com/2008_grand_hotel_kinshasa.htm

            http://ouboy.com/2008_uganda.htm

Kampala — Pt.1

You’ll have to forgive me for not finishing this post earlier, but I’ve been sick the last several days and am still not feeling 100%. If I don’t finish the Uganda post today, I promise I will in the near future – one that hopefully envisions me being all better!

Happened after our GIS conference was pretty hysterical, though I’m sure that one had to be there to fully appreciate all of the antics involved. We had a ten minute drive back to our hotel from the Entebbe compound and within the last five minutes of the drive five out of our group decided to go to Kampala tonight instead of waiting for tomorrow’s free day. Not only did we decide to go to the capital city of Uganda, but within those five minutes we also decided to rush back into the hotel, pack a bag, and be back out at the UN van within ten minutes. Pack a bag? Well that was just in case we decided to spend the night at another hotel, even though we’d all prepaid for the hotel in Entebbe.

Now I ask you – if you’d never been to Kampala before, or even Uganda for that matter, would having two hotel rooms deter you for staying in the capital city and having a good time? I didn’t think so – nor did it us.

Driving from Entebbe to Kampala one immediately notices the vast differences between the DRC and Uganda. First off, being a former English colony, people drive on the left side of the road. Streets are broad, paved and decently maintained. Small shops, building supply material stores, and other assorted sundries dot both sides of the road. People move freely about, using minibuses and motorcycles as the main way to get around. Gun-toting security guards pace back and forth in front of the stores they’re guarding. Still though, the city is a vibrant place, nestled amongst green rolling hills and looks like the Africa I expected to see when I first touched down in the Democratic Congo.

Javier, one of the GIS gang, has already decided to spend the night at the Hotel Serena, a newly remodeled 5-star hotel in the city center. As we drop him off, I too go inside to have a look around and decide that this IS the place for my first night in Kampala as well. A gorgeous place with exotic African art strewn around the premises, we check in and immediately head for the bar.

More after a bit of rest…

Saturday in Entebbe

We started the morning quite early, having breakfast in the Golf View’s glass enclosed restaurant. The buffet spread was quite nice, though neither American nor European. The bacon served here in Africa, for example, couldn’t be more close to being “straight from the hog” as they say. With small bits of bone still present, it’s a smoked delight, even if it’s never cooked enough for me. The scrambled eggs looked as if they had been cooked all at once in a large stainless steel pan, and then turned unceremoniously out. Still though, the juice was fresh squeezed and the coffee strong enough to stand a spoon up in – just the way I like it.

As I’ve said before, things happen here much more slowly than they do back in the States. After finishing breakfast, we had to wait for everyone to get their collective butts in gear. And that took almost 45 minutes, even though we were supposed to be at the conference by 8:30am. We finally made it by about 8:50, once Shadrack came down and loaded us all into the UN minivan.

Conferences are conferences, and this one was no different. Presentations were given, speeches were made, and Microsoft’s illustrious PowerPoint was once more the center of attention. My talk was third on the agenda, and I’m pretty sure I did a decent enough job. The problem is that you have to speak slowly enough for those not proliferate with English to understand you, but fast enough for those that do to not get too bored. I ended up speaking for about 45 minutes, and then answered questions for another 30. No real insight was gained by yours truly about the project I’m involved with here, but I really wasn’t expecting any. More or less, I was here to tell them what the project involved and how it would make their lives easier –especially for the military personnel.

By the way, for those that might be interested, I’m currently sitting on the patio outside my hotel room after just getting off of work. I haven’t even made it to my room yet, as I wanted to enjoy a bit of fresh air after being cooped up all day in my cubicle. You see, I’m coming down with something – or so my body says. I think it’s just a mild cold, but have been told that one never knows here. Either way, I’m getting some air, and will work from my hotel tomorrow writing a report that for the next phase of my mapping project which is due June 1^st. Personally, I think it was the cramped conditions on the flight back from Entebbe, but more about that later.

We had lunch on the Entebbe MONUC base, having had to pre-order it earlier that morning. Nothing special, but better than what I get at the base here in Kinshasa. Actually, I just order a hamburger and “chips”, their word for French fries. The meat here was actual ground beef, versus the pressed cubes we get where I normally work. Oh, and a Fanta too! For those that don’t know, a Fanta is as close to an Orange Crush as it gets, and now available in pineapple as well.

After lunch, it was time for the remainder of our conference. Another 4 hours worth, and we didn’t take lunch until 2:00pm. Fortunately for me, but unfortunate for Jarko (the chief GIS guy in attendance), stomach sickness set in. Off to the toilet he was with a bound, several times to be found. Now mind you that stomach sickness is quite the common thing here, and even I’ve had it a couple of times (though not near as bad as he did). It’s almost never from something you ate recently, but something within the last 12 to 24 hours. Jarko most assuredly got it the previous night from our candle lit evening. Too many anchovies on his pizza perhaps?

Either way, presentations were cut short, the local doctor was brought back to the compound from his Saturday retreat, and Jarko was taken for some much needed medicine. The remainder of us stayed behind to complete our presentations, and presently enough Jarko returned, looking a bit pale green. We completed our task and returned to the hotel just after 5:00pm, a bit early but not too much.

It was on the way back that the discussions began. What to do tonight with a sick chief? What to do tonight with Kampala only 30km away? What to do tonight with ourselves when tomorrow was a “vacation” day?

The answer seemed simple – or at least we chose to make it a simple one – go to Kampala NOW! And we did!

Entebbe Finally

The entire reason that I was even on this short vacation from Kinshasa (one I didn’t even know about until 2 weeks after my arrival in the Democratic Congo) was to meet with several members of the MONUC GIS staff stationed throughout the DRC. These were military men, UN volunteers, and regular staff who came to Entebbe once a year to find out what other units were doing with their data, how they were producing maps, and, for this particular conference, to hear a two hour  presentation by me, Timothy Price, the 1:50000 scale mapping specialist from the United States.

Touching down in Entebbe, my first thoughts were from the movie “The Last King of Scotland” and Idi Amin. Perhaps the farthest vision of Uganda, at least for me, was Winston Churchill’s “Pearl of Africa”, as he called it in 1907. Luckily for me, Churchill’s version was correct and Amin’s Uganda was now a thing of the past.

Entebbe International Airport is a fairly modern place, quite unlike the place it was in 1976 when the Israeli’s rescued passengers after an Arab-German hijacking of an Air France flight out of Tel Aviv.  In fact, the only portion of the old terminal that’s still around is the air control tower standing next to the new airport and just beside the UN compound. The airplane from that confrontation supposedly sits alongside the road into town, now transformed into a restaurant with a view of Lake Victoria.

Transported to our hotel, the Golf View Inn, by a dispatch bus from the Entebbe UN compound, I was pleasantly surprised by the remodeling going on. A modernistic place set amongst rolling hills and lush green vegetation, the hotel rooms were clean, spacious, had central air, internet access, large screened balconies, and an excellent outdoor patio/beer garden/restaurant overlooking a golf course. We arrived tired after our journey, and most everyone took a short hour rest before meeting up in the beer garden for a cold beer – Nile Special don’t you know. Afterwards, it was off for dinner.

Night comes a bit later in Uganda than it does in Kinshasa. Two hours later to be exact! Still, by the time we left the garden bar, night had fallen. We chose a restaurant that was located on the beach of Lake Victoria and served, of all things, just pizza and fish – fresh Tilapia from Lake Victoria. Me not liking fish, I ordered the salami pizza. I can’t recall the restaurant, but the place looked amazing as we drove up. Well, at least what we could actually see of it that was. The street the restaurant was located on was a dark one, without any streetlights. The restaurant had no lights on whatsoever, being lit by nothing more than candles burning in paper bags found along the paths between the tables. Each table had a kerosene lantern on it, wafting the noxious aroma into the surrounding air. Had I been there with a date, the evening could not have been planned any better. The pizza was decent, though not quite as good as what I have become accustomed to here at Kinshasa’s Grand Hotel.

Heading back to the Golf View Inn, our first night in Entebbe came to a close. Breakfast was planned early so we could complete our mission here – the GIS conference.

After that, Kampala awaits. Let the party begin….