Seven days later

I didnt sleep very much last week, because of a funeral going on behind my apartment. It lasted for seven days. in a wierd twist of fate (twist in that I certainly didnt see this coming, wierd because it just was) they played really loud music through really bad speakers aimed at my window. This house is actually located equidistant from my apartment and work, so guess where i would also get bombarded with the music? on the phone with a colleague in Kinshasa I crouched into a corner trying to escape the noice but maintain cell reception. not a pretty sight.

i other news, still forging ahead with my internaional friendships. not that hard, since actually, i dont recall there being any other americans currently in kindu. the indians had me over for yet again for the best food in town, my Sierra Leoneon friend brought be chocolates from Germany, and i am heading out tonight with one of the Russians.

i am also doing battle with the no-frills lifestyle. last night i killed three large cockroaches by candlelight and decided to ditch the bucket-bath because i had forgotten to heat up the water. my neighbors kitten once again broke into my apartment to forage for food. but inspite of all this, we are watching the european soccer championships on a big screen. the moral of the story is that even african towns short on food will always have satellite TV around if you know where to look (i swear, even refugee camps manage to prove this).