FOREIGN SERVICE DAYS - 1975-2010

Au Revoir Afrique, Au Revoir Foreign Service Life

2010-06-29T03:31:00.009+01:00

Stars and Stripes Flying over the US Embassy Boat "Liberte" Underway on the Congo River

What a life for our family...Since 1975 We have moved 18times, served in Washington DC numerous times, Nepal, Kenya, Pakistan (twice), Zaire, France, India, Malawi, and finally Republic of Congo. Our boys Mark and Michael (born in Nairobi) attended schools in Bordeaux, New Delhi, Islamabad, and Lilongwe,in addition to McLean, VA and it all worked out fine in spite of their trepidations at some points!

It's time to come back to the USA and start new beginnings, but it has been a true honor to be a part of our own team in representing the United States of America, and I can say I served as well, because serving I did; lots and lots of food along with organizational and administrative tasks mixed in with the travel over the years. I was not a Foreign Service Officer, but overseas did manage to work intermittently here and there. I felt just as much a part of Service as if I had been, and the adventures and education of parts of our world, friends and good times that we acquired and experienced along the way were my bonus.

I left Congo in December, 2009 and Al formally retired in July, 2010 and joined me to start his new career as a college teacher. I plan to continue to add material here with his retirement ceremony, and some special memories good and bad, that I will relate...

Meat Market

2009-11-27T21:34:00.014+02:00

Here are pictures taken at the Bush Meat Market in Brazzaville, here we have eels, turtles, smoked monkeys, crocodiles...

Yes indeedy, fresh monkey meat here, these are whole smoked animals, but the meat is also available cut up.

Sorry to say the bushmeat trade is alive and well in Congo Brazzaville. Today's foray into the Ouenze Marche' turned up this assortment of meat selections; also on offer were wild hog and antelope. Anything is fair game.

Air Travel in Congo

2009-11-16T09:40:00.020+02:00

Our trip to the jungle required us to fly north to Ouesso

Pamela relaxes in the Airport Cafe at Ouesso while we called Brazzaville to see if the flight was coming..

The Cafe and VIP area, Ouesso Airport
I asked the location of the restrooms, the answer...... "Dans les arbes!" In the trees!

Departure Lounge, Ouesso Airport

Arrival of Air Congo flight, Baggage Claim area

Al above at the Baggage Check in Ouesso and the last two pictures are of the luxurious VIP Lounge, Brazzaville, oh-la-la, coat and tie required!

On the Streets of Brazzaville

2009-11-13T08:16:00.023+02:00

Flame trees in bloom

As I spend my final days here, I am taking pictures of what I want to remember or forget depending on the image...

From the corniche, the River Congo facing Kinshasa, DRC...

Photos taken from the car...

Congolese fashion at its most colorful..

More Jungle Ramble

2009-11-08T09:34:00.017+02:00

In the pirogue on the Mbeli River

More river hiking

At first sight of gorillas up close

Baby gorilla poses for us

Ramble in the Jungle part 2

2009-11-06T18:50:00.014+02:00

The jungle hike came on day 2. After a night at Mondika Camp, we set out in the truck for our departure point for the 4-hour jungle hike, some of which was in high waters. We followed our guide and Tomo with wife Aniko brought up the rear, thankfully the Pygmy porters carried our backpacks. Arriving midday, we took turns going to see Kingo, the male gorilla and family in the habitat, after walking 15 km, it was only a few more to see them. After the night in tents there, we retraced our route, then boarded the truck again to take us to pirogues to float the Sangha and Mbeli Rivers to Mbeli Camp where we spent the next lazy day viewing gorillas and elephants in the natural grassy clearing. Returning from the viewing platform we got drenched, slid in mud to the comfort of our cabins, then dinner, and a delay before going to bed until a rambunctious forest elephant was chased away from the camp. We listened to him crash around until we could safely move to the cabins.

River Walking Through the Jungle

Kingo climbing

Kingo's baby

Gorilla in Mbeli Bai

Ramble in the Jungle part 1

2009-11-05T18:55:00.013+02:00

Nouabale-Ndoki National Park in northern Congo (in the area near Ouesso in map at right) is one of the most remote primary forest areas in the world, and we were recently fortunate enough to travel there. Here I am pictured with one of our guides and Pygmy porters. An arduous 5-day journey, we five travelers were happy to experience life in the dense forest to visit the Wildlife Conservation Society's http://www.wcs.org/ research stations there and to view lowland gorillas in their habitat. Bill, Oi, Pamela, Al and I flew north to Ouesso on Air Congo, where we were met by Paul Telfer, director of WCS Congo on his way back to Brazzaville. We were turned over to Dr. Tomo Nishihara, Logistics Coordinator for WCS's northern Congo operations and expert on these gorillas. He led us to our first leg of the journey, a ride in a wooden pirogue up the Sangha River to be offloaded across the river from the Central African Republic and Cameroon borders. There we boarded WCS's vehicle for a bumpy ride on a logging road to Bomassa Camp, passing through logging operations of Congolaise Industrielle de Bois, (CIB) where we saw huge logs being cut, processed and hauled out of the forest. WCS works with the company, influencing them in the direction of preservation of forest and animals.

Baggage Claim at Ouesso Airport

Oi Shows the Way
Al and Outoing Logs - the trucks cross the Sangha River by ferry to Cameroon for export..

Good Fences...

2009-09-13T18:32:00.010+02:00

Here are photos taken in a residential area of Brazzaville of some fences made from found articles - apparently mostly old car parts, sinks, anything goes that is sort of flattened out, or not...another art form put to good use.

Cafe' Societe'

2009-09-13T16:29:00.015+02:00

Here are pictures of a few cafes in Brazzaville.

Fine for a stop during a stroll in the ville, some cafes serve only drinks and snacks, but many are restaurants as well. The French influence in the food offerings are a definite plus in a city without a lot going on in terms of things to do or places to go...one can always find a drink and a bite to eat to enjoy while watching the life on the street, as well as admiring the hand painted signs, my favorite form of Brazzaville art

Cathedral in Brazzaville

2009-07-11T16:38:00.014+01:00

Looking around for old pictures of Brazzaville I came across these old undated postcards. The photos looked familiar, so today I took a picture of the Cathedrale de Sacre Coeur, and sure enough it is one and the same; the other pictures are of the exterior statues, and in the adjoining cemetery the oldest markers are from the late 1800's. The graves there appear to be those of nuns and priests both French and Congolese who have served the parish and community.

Community Service

2009-06-29T16:10:00.007+01:00

On Saturday the 15 members of the Foreign Service National Employees Association, (Congolese employees) at the U.S. Embassy got together with American friends and coworkers to volunteer their time, efforts and money to help out Mikalou Orphanage run by the Community of Our Lady of Perpetual Help here in Brazzaville. Kristina from IPHD identified the facility and got the supplies; and the project commenced. A latrine was dug and surround built, kitchen painted, concrete shower surface made, and concrete latrine top was made. Plans are to return two more times to complete the projects, along with rehabilitating a crumbling shelter and building bunk beds for the children. It was wonderful to see how much got done in so little time, with so many helping hands.

Brazzaville Skies

2009-06-29T07:54:00.006+01:00

"If a house on the Congo River conjures up dark forest, luxuriant foliage, brilliant sunshine, excessive heat, elephants, hippos, crocodiles, mosquitoes, tsetses, sandflies and jiggers, it is deceptive. All these things exist in Equatorial Africa, but not in the same place or at the same time.

There is no tropical forest or luxuriant foliage within several days of Brazzaville. The country round is bare or overgrown, according to the season. Nothing thrives normally. I never remember seeing brilliant sunshine for a whole day. The sky is generally overcast, the sun rarely piercing through the clouds for more than two hours at a time. When it blazes down untrammelled it naturally scorches you. Of all surprises in Africa, this for me was the greatest, having lived in tropical Asia, where the sun is rarely hidden. "

From Life in French Congo by Gabrielle Vassal 1925

I say ditto to this, despite hearing the description from Al about the gray skies of the dry season, I never fully anticipated these cloudy skies...a surprise for me too, Gabrielle..

Traveling West

2009-06-28T07:40:00.019+01:00

Breakfast in Dolisie

Piles of American rice in warehouse, below

Our hotel in Dolisie

School lunch ready to serve, U.S. beans and rice

Gifts from the school Students at Mongo School

Breton at Sewing Shop Project

Reading aloud

Last week I went along to see some US-funded projects in the south of the country...flew to Dolisie along with Al, IPHD (International Partners for Human Development )staff Christian, Kristina, and Roman, who are running the projects and Breton from our Embassy along with IPHD staff members. We travelled many kilometers on dry dusty roads enroute, visited the small town of Sibiti. We visited district Prefects, and a school where girls receive Embassy-funded scholarships, a sewing shop, market gardens in Thaiti; visited Mongo school where mosquito nets and supplies were donated, and where we saw one of the IPHD-run USDA-funded school lunch programs; and visited a village chief in Mouindi which was the last stop before our 5-hour ride back on a road being built by the Chinese, to the airport to catch the flight back to Brazzaville..

Following a log truck

Brazzaville to Margaritaville

2009-05-28T21:02:00.010+01:00

No entries lately from Brazzaville...but have lately travelled to Margaritaville, (Key West, Florida), for a little R &R...Al and I went to pick up son Mark from school in North Carolina, then take him to Islamorada, Florida for his summer job at the Boy Scout High Adventure location, SeaBase, then on to Key West; not to take anything away from Congo, but what a wonderful destination for fun and natural beauty. Too bad we could not just get down to Cuba, only 90 miles away!

The vegetation was so like Brazzaville, I have these same plants in my yard in Congo. So great to be able to appreciate the tropics in our own continental U.S.

Olde Tyme Communications...

2009-03-31T10:57:00.014+02:00

Letters and aerogrammes were about the only way to communicate with family at home at the beginning of our years of moving. These are letters that I sent to my parents from Nepal and India in the 70's during our first post to Kathmandu. In one I tell about being in Delhi getting braces on my teeth ($300 total) and in another I was writing from Jammu in northern Pakistan, on our way up to Kashmir to stay in a houseboat in Srinagar. We had been to see the Golden Temple in Amritsar, and were headed for Kabul on a bus, my friend Donna and I along with our group of 26 (it says in the letter) on one of those overland tours on the hippie trail. We had time but no money, and managed to see so much of India and Pakistan, leaving our spouses to toil away at the Embassy to give us rupees to spend. Wish that trip were doable today, but the times they have a-changed. I am sure the houseboat that we stayed on sank a long time ago. This entry could take me so many directions, but I think going down memory lane is getting away from Brazzaville Days. My travel memoirs could be another blog.

Now everywhere you go in the world, everybody wants to be your Facebook friend, every cook, gardener and taxi driver has a couple of cellphones, and ...here is a picture of a maintenance man yakking while working on the pool, and a picture of the cellphone battery I am asked to bring back from the US. Son Mark traded the phone to a vendor for some souvenirs at Christmas and he saw me at the market today and asked for a new battery...this one, hope I can find it.

Bienvenue Monsieur Le President

2009-03-27T11:44:00.010+02:00

President Sarkozy visited Brazzaville during his African tour. He came yesterday by open French Army helicopter across the Congo River following his visit to DR Congo (Kinshasa) and enroute to Niger. There was a state dinner, which Al attended along with all his associates in the diplomatic corps. My part in the proceedings consisted of putting up with closed roads for the motorcades to pass...one main road and barricades every time the president moves makes for tough traveling for us normal citizens in the city.

Just after Sarkozy's departure, this man was one of many who were busy taking down the Tricolours and Congolese Flags which were displayed to welcome the President. Here he is pictured with Congo's President Denis Sassou. It's all on the Congo webpage http://www.congo-siteportail.info/ .

Flags in a row including the Stars and Stripes at our Embassy..

Marche du Plateau Then and Now

2009-03-16T16:14:00.005+02:00

Here is an undated copy of a picture postcard from colonial days of Le Marche du Plateau, the closest market to our house where we often shop for vegetables and fruit. I took a picture of the way it looks today; what is there now is not new, but it doesn't appear to be the same building. The dressed up man with the suit and hat (although I think he looks barefooted) reflects the way the Congolese love to dress up and look smart today as well.

Trip to Lifoula

2009-03-09T22:13:00.006+02:00

We went on a trip to the area of Lifoula, a creek which runs down into the Congo River north of Brazzaville. The distance is not far (about 25 miles) , but on this road, the National 2, it took over 1 1/2 hours, but most of that was before we left the city, we were in slow crawling traffic. Here are some pictures from the road enroute, a vantage point looking down at the Congo, and at the picnic area. Lots of kids were enjoying the day there, and we enjoyed the chance to get out of town and find we appreciate even the most simple of weekend activities.

Congo Arts

2009-03-05T18:26:00.011+02:00

This week I had the chance to visit Kinshasa again, to attend the International Women's Club there, and with me went Gail, former president of that very club. It was great fun to visit there with her, we met up with some of her old friends, and she took me to a wonderful place, Galerie Symphonie Des Arts, a fabulous garden, art shop, coffee shop and dance/exercise studio, all run by Christa, a German woman who has lived there for years, and her daughter.

Here is a crested crane, and Christa with a parrot on her arm.

I have been doing some painting in oils with a small group of "girls", and yesterday we went on a sortie, took our gear and worked beside the River Congo. Here we are hard at work under the direction of Beatrice, our dear and talented directrice.

Gorilla Babies

2009-03-01T21:14:00.008+02:00

We travelled north to a gorilla "orphanage", part of Projet Protection Des Gorilles, http://www.ppg-c0ngo.org/ funded for over 20 years by the John Aspinall Foundation http://www.totallywild.net/. There we saw a group of five orphan gorillas, viewed from across a small river, here are some pictures, but I did not have a good lens to get up close views. We hope to go back another time to stay overnight at the center, which is operated by a Luc Mathot, the Belgian Project Coordinator, who has been out there for three years. We were a group of seven from our Embassy, and we had lunch overlooking the beautiful "Lac Bleu" near the Reserve...

Lac Bleu

Brazza Congo Golf Club

2009-02-17T13:13:00.008+02:00

So here is a pastime to get one out of town, The Brazza Golf Club is a lovely course beside the Congo River, the only difficulty is getting there, a long way on a bad road. I went today with friend Oi for nine holes. She is shown above lining up with the pro and taking a swing. Below is a picture of the road to get there. Thinking of joining for me and Leroy the dog, he is afraid of walking in this hectic traffic in town, and it's OK for a dog to come along on weekdays!

Bats (Chauvres-Souris) for Sale

2009-02-16T14:57:00.009+02:00

I continue to explore the world of retail for the greater part of my entertainment here in Brazzaville. While Mark was still here we went to Marche' Total, our local outdoor market to look over the bats which are sold for meat.

Here is Mark being entertained at a CD stand while he was looking for music. The vendor decided to show us his moves to the latest Congolese music.

Days of DeGaulle

2009-02-02T17:25:00.018+02:00

Tile monuments commemorating DeGaulle's participation in the Brazzaville Conference...

DeGaulle depicted with Gov. Felix Eboue'..

Memorial to Gen. Charles DeGaulle located just beside the River Congo and the residence of the French Ambassador, now appears to be a popular place to hang out.

Gen. DeGaulle is honored here in many memorials because of his history here in Brazzaville. In 1908, France organized French Equatorial Africa (AEF), comprising its colonies of Middle Congo (modern Congo), Gabon, Chad, and Oubangui-Chari (modern Central African Republic). Brazzaville was selected as the federal capital.

During World War II, the AEF administration sided with Charles DeGaulle, and Brazzaville became the symbolic capital of Free France during 1940-43. The Brazzaville Conference of 1944 heralded a period of major reform in French colonial policy, including the abolition of forced labor, granting of French citizenship to colonial subjects, decentralization of certain powers, and election of local advisory assemblies. Congo benefited from the postwar expansion of colonial administrative and infrastructure spending as a result of its central geographic location within AEF and the federal capital at Brazzaville.
Source: http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2825.htm

Hard To Love

2009-01-30T10:33:00.010+02:00

Luckily the dry season is here, so we are spared the mud. It's sandy now, and we could actually use some rain. The city really needs a cleanup program, but there is no place to put the trash. And in a country where everything is imported, the packaging abounds and there is not an organized trash pickup service or landfills, except if you count everywhere. The plastic bags are the biggest culprit. I hope something can be done to improve the sanitation problems here for health and hygiene as well as appearance.

Here are some pictures of markets and roads here in Brazzaville, for someone who who normally enjoys poking around in markets, this is pushing it for me.. I continue to go to to these places sometimes as there is always something interesting to see in spite of the difficulties in trying to feel the love. There is no drainage provision in this city of torrential rains. Protective footwear here is a must!

Cost O' Living

2009-01-27T20:18:00.003+02:00

So it must be official if it's on the web! Congo makes into the top ten for something, and that is cost of food. So we are due for congratulations for achievement over here.

The top 10 most expensive global cities for expatriates to live based on the price of groceries as at March 2008 are as follows:

1. Seoul, Republic of Korea
2. Brazzaville, Congo
3. Ashgabat Turkmenistan
4. Accra, Ghana
5. Lagos, Nigeria
6. Copenhagen, Denmark
7. Abidjan, Cote D’Ivoire
8. Kinshasa Congo Democratic Rep
9. Luanda, Angola
10.Oslo, Norway

So six out of the ten are in Africa...Maybe I will start going across the river to Kinshasa to shop since they are only number 8!

Source:http://http://www.hittrafficer.com/2009/01/27/68107

The items above (10) cost US$52...

Inauguration Day in Brazzaville

2009-01-24T20:35:00.009+02:00

On January 20, 2009, following the morning opening of the new Embassy, a party was held in the Embassy for guests to watch the television coverage of the Inauguration ceremony going on back in Washington. Guests were offered tours of the embassy before settling in with drinks and snacks to watch the news. Here are a few pictures taken at the event.

What is wrong with this picture?

Opening of U.S. Embassy Brazzaville

2009-01-24T09:45:00.012+02:00

January 20, 2009 was the opening date for the new U.S. Embassy building just completed. Pictured here are some images from the ceremony. The Stars and Stripes fly again over our Embassy for the first time since June 18, 1997, when they were lowered after our Embassy was taken over during a civil war here. The Embassy has been operating from rented space in a bank building and out of Embassy Kinshasa during the interim. Ambassador Eastham here addresses the guests after U.S. Marines from the detachment in Kinshasa raised the flag. Below Al stands with Mr. Karamoula, longest-serving Congolese employee at the Embassy. The building was completed in less than two years under the direction of the State Department's Overseas Buildings Operations and construction company B.L. Harbert of Alabama.

The spokesman for the Congolese government was the Foreign Minister.

More pictures from Nouabale-Ndoki Park

2009-01-10T20:25:00.008+02:00

Here are some more pictures sons Mark and Michael took on their trip to see gorillas....

Gorilla Watching in Congo

2009-01-04T20:33:00.011+02:00

Mark and Michael are back from Nouabale-Ndoki National Park in northern Congo. Here are some pictures they brought back from their adventure. They both agreed this was really worth the effort. They were lucky enough to see gorillas and elephants and to spend time at the WCS research station at the National Park headquarters. The link is WCS if anyone is interested in more information on this organization which operates in several African countries as well as running zoos in the U.S. Above they are pictured with their Pygmy trackers, and pictures taken from the viewing station and in the forest.

Christmas Vacation

2009-01-03T08:47:00.008+02:00

Michael beside the River Congo
Mark's "before the haircut" picture

Mark and Michael have been spending their Christmas vacation here in the Congo. They are now up north in the gorilla reserve, Mark volunteering to help out on a project for the Wildlife Conservation Service, and Michael to keep him company. They are now out viewing the gorillas in the rainforest. Here are some pictures of what they did here in Brazzaville before they left for this adventure. Now we look forward to pictures of that.
Michael and Leroy kick back.

How Do I Look? The "after" in the makeover.

Christmas in the Congo

2008-12-25T21:29:00.009+02:00

We celebrated Christmas at our house on December 23 with an open house. We had about 80 guests to come to join us, and for our entertainment we had the choir from the International Evangelical English Fellowship, created "to help English speaking people to worship God in English in a French speaking country". They sang beautifully and brought speakers, equipment and used the grand piano here at hour house.

Here are some pictures I took at the supermarket of Christmas goodies for sale...many people are scrambling to make ends meet, but some are able to buy the nice things as shown here. I took these pictures in the Casino Supermarket, the most upscale store in town. Most things are available, for lots and lots of money.

Employee Christmas Party

2008-12-21T13:34:00.006+02:00

The Congolese employees of the US Embassy here in Brazzaville held a Christmas lunch party after their intramural soccer game. Our two sons are visiting so we all took the opportunity to travel to the home of one of the employees, not too far away but takes awhile to get there as there are only a few main roads and lots of traffic.
Here are Mark and Michael with Benjamin, our host and the Economic Aide in the Embassy, at his home.

Here are a few more of the attendees, the people who loyally serve and support our Mission here in Brazzaville.

in Pointe Noire...

2008-12-14T19:02:00.017+02:00

Here is a look at the "Grand Marche" in Pointe Noire, very busy and crowded..fish preserved in salt at left, and fresh..

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Pictured above are bags made of "plarn" or plastic yarn, strips of plastic cut from shopping bags. These bags were for sale in the market in Pointe Noire, I had never seen how to actually do it, and this lovely young lady showed me how. I thought it would be a good use for the bags that litter everywhere, but they were using new ones, which of course are clean and easier to work with.

Here is a seller of cloth material or pangas printed in beautiful colors and busy designs. I was surprised to find many of them are manufactured in England. The ones I saw cost about $10.

The French influence shows in the sidewalk cafes on Avenue Charles DeGaulle
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Here's the ad on the wall at "La Citronelle" and the reality of living it up in Pointe Noire.

Ship Visit at Pointe Noire

2008-12-10T23:20:00.016+02:00

Light area in map at left is Republic of Congo with Pointe Noire southwest

The USS Leyte Gulf, pictured above, visited Pointe Noire, the Atlantic port in the Congo. The ship was in port December 7 - 12, and the Captain invited Americans in the area and Congolese military and civilian leaders to go aboard for a reception on deck with the added attraction of the opportunity to tour the ship and, memorably, to stand on top of Tomahawk missile storage. The sailors performed a community service project of rebuilding, in cooperation with Chevron Oil, a local primary school as well as enjoying liberty ashore.

USS Leyte Gulf (CG-55) is a Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser in the United States Navy. She was named in memory of the World War II Battle of Leyte Gulf in the Pacific. She is powered by four large gas-turbine engines, and she has a large complement of guided missiles for air defense, attack of surface targets at sea and ashore, and anti-submarine warfare (ASW). In addition, she carries two "Seahawk" LAMPS multi-purpose helicopters, whose primary mission is ASW.

Pointe Noire also is a site for several oil companies including Chevron, Murphy, Conoco and Texaco.

Two of our sailor hosts...
Anchors Aweigh....
Until we meet once more, Here's wishing you a happy voyage home

US Embassy Congo Brazzaville New and Present

2008-12-05T17:49:00.012+02:00

Here is a picture of our new Embassy which will open January 20, 2009. Below is a picture of where the offices are currently located, in the BDEAC Building (Development Bank of the Countries of Central Africa), as of March 2006. Our original Embassy was looted and damaged in the civil war in 1997, and operated for years across the River Congo in Kinshasa. Embassy staff is planning a big opening and open house, and the U.S. flag will fly over its Embassy building here for the first time since 1997.

Signs

2008-12-01T21:26:00.009+02:00

One of the things I like best about this town is the abundance of hand-painted advertising signs, some even signed by the signmaker. These pictures show a bit, but there are thousands out there that I have not had a chance to photograph. In many African countries, they have abandoned these in favor of more modern sign-making methods, but these really do it for me.

More Shopping

2008-12-01T11:15:00.007+02:00

This is the local vegetable and fruit market, Marche' de la Plateau, near our house. I call this woman in the first picture "Michelle", I told her she looks like Michelle Obama. They are very friendly there, selling flowers, mangoes, pineapples, peanuts, bananas, lettuce, carrots, potatoes, also Congolese "fast food" which is a baguette with your choice of fillings, mostly avacado.

Our House is a Very Very Very Fine House in some respects

2008-11-29T09:46:00.017+02:00

The Stars and Stripes hang at our front door

Front Entrance of Residence

Here's the good part

...with one dog in the yard, life is not so hard...and garbage out the back, trash tossed out the back door of the compound into a ravine, an established practice here I discovered! I was appalled to be part of the problem when I am looking for trash solutions! I have asked for burn barrels and materials to construct a compost pile out there. Here is Leroy surveying the damage.

Here's the bad part..
Mmmmm, this smells great!

Y'a Bon Banania

2008-11-28T07:32:00.029+02:00

Y'a bon Banania, 1915 by Alexandre Andreis on left, a later version, and today's look..

I see this product in stores here in Brazzaville, and wondered what it is. This is what I found out. Its history...(mostly from from Wikipedia). Sounds like a French version of Ovaltine, now I have to buy some and taste it!

"In 1909, during a visit to Nicaragua, French journalist Pierre Lardet tasted a drink made from banana flour, ground cereal, cacao and sugar that was popular there. Back in Paris, Lardet began commercial production of a powder simulating that product. In 1914, he marketed it as Banania, showing an image of a woman from the Antilles. Her image was replaced in 1915 during WWI with the drawing of a widely smiling Senegalese infantryman enjoying Banania. Senegal was at that time a French colony whose soldiers fought as Allies in France fighting valourously in their red fezzes, with casualties of 30,000. Their courage endeared them to the French.

Lardet took advantage of their popularity for the launch of his product, handing out the product 'for our soldiers, the long-lasting nourishment they need, and which takes up the least amount of space'. The slogan "Y'a bon", "it's good," was coined from vernacular used by these soldiers. The slogan and character became inseparable as the expression was coined:" l'ami y'a bon" the "y'a bon buddy."

The advertising slogan and images have been labelled racist and colonialist by some who argue that they reinforce the old cliché of a friendly yet stupid African. Some French black people connect this stereotype with aggressive colonialist policy in Africa of the global group Unilever, the old unique owner of the brand.
In France the Banania brand is now owned by the French company Nutrimaine, which acquired it from Unilever in 2003. This slogan has not been used since 1977...

If you want to read more about Banania go to http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/02/16/features/blume.php?page=1

To Market To Market

2008-11-25T08:18:00.010+02:00

Here is one market, there are several here in addition to the Avenue Foch and the grand supermarche'. It's Brazzaville's Marche' Total after a rain, it's much more doable when it's dry. This is not normally where I shop, but if there is a market, I have to see it. The main road of this market is much better.

Bats for Sale, Appetizing Young Bats for Sale....that's what's in the cage and in the seller's hand. I don't have any recipes for these either...

Leroy's Security Duty

2008-11-24T22:11:00.004+02:00

Leroy, the African Wonder Dog

Leroy, our Golden Retriever, Malawian by birth, and loveable by nature, was cited for heroism by the Embassy's Regional Security Officer for his valiant effort to call attention to a neighboring guard in distress. Last night at 3 am Leroy barked and called attention to an attempted robbery nearby, leading to such a tamasha that the robbers aborted the attempt and left the scene.

Rain, Mud, Traffic

2008-11-23T22:23:00.007+02:00

The green cars are taxis...1,000 francs ($2) for anywhere you want to go without a seatbelt.

Heavy rains and no drainage, plus many cars and lots of garbage and trash make for a pretty clogged up situation in Brazzaville. I was trying to walk in my neighborhood and came to this juncture, no way to get by....

A Wet Weather Favorite?
Fresh Caterpillars for sale! Get 'em while they're wiggling. I don't have any recipes for these yet...

Bienvenue a' Brazzaville

2008-11-23T17:42:00.012+02:00

The Congo River downriver from Brazzaville looking across into the Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly Zaire). We arrived in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo, on October 17 for an expected three-year stay, and after five weeks here I am beginning to find my way. The language is French, and so difficult for me, but day by day communication is becoming easier. Brazzaville lies beside the Congo River pictured here looking across toward Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo. Our last post, Malawi, seems long behind us, and as much as we loved our time there, it is now the time to adapt to Congo.

The picture above left shows the welcome sight of sweeping African plains after having been in the traffic and dirt of Brazzaville. Yesterday we took a trip up north to a game reserve, Lefini, 281 km. outside of town (4 hours drive) along with a group of mostly French people to launch an association for preservation of wildlife there, the Association des Amis de la Reserve de la Lefini, whose honorary president is the wife of France's Ambassador here. Also pictured is a dance performance by a pygmy troup who performed there. We enjoyed a drive through the bush in the Nambouli Valley to look for elephants (we saw none). Many spent the night there in an old hut from the 50's established as a hunting cabin so maybe they had better luck in the early morning.