Weekend List!

Sarah's List:

This week Congo "welcomed" back the body of Mobutu. I say, "welcomed" because I heard exactly zero people mention this news.

"The Leopard's Last Monument." But does anyone really know of a monument to Mobutu?

  by  Julien Harneis 

In other news, Congo got its name ranked pretty high on the Global Slavery Index. (As you can imagine, a high ranking on this list a not a good thing.)

The New York Times had an article this week on A Reason for Hope in Congo's Perpetual War. Really. Can there be hope in a perpetual war? I guess you take what you can get.  

"Lac Vert." Another plus. It never stops being beautiful here.

  by  Julien Harneis 

Can't we just all get along in Congo?

If you've got a kid who can read and you live in the States (or even abroad) chances are at one point or another their reading level has been assessed. I was tipped off to Lexile.com during a little teacher PD this week and mind. blown. You can find out exactly which books are on their reading level and perfect for them.

I can't wait until Charlotte can read more than the letter "C." (Turns out it's really hard to assign a reading level to a kid who can only recognize one letter.)

Mademoiselle Nancy. (Or Fancy Nancy, for the less fancy.)

The Touch-Screen Generation. Sigh. And an interesting theory to just put the iPad in the toy basket with everything else and see what happens.

Want to see an exasperated American expat? Ask them what they do about their taxes. Some say it takes us 40 hours to do our taxes and then we still don't get them right.

    Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com 

Oh man. HonestSlogans.com. So, so true.

Still in a Halloween mood? Here's the recipe for movie blood. And I've always wondered what's wrong with people who like being scared. Turns out they are different.


Jill's List:

I loved this Cup of Jo list about the not-so-good things about living in NYC.  Though, I refuse to believe that the pizza tastes like cardboard.  I started thinking of a similar list for Kinshasa...and then stopped.  Better to focus on the positive.

I took these with the Hipstamatic IncrediBooth App against our NYC cityscape photo
after Elias declared that he "really wanted to move to New York City...because it's so close to New Jersey."

One of my favorite ways to practice my French literacy is by reading Garance Doré's blog.  I force myself to ignore Google's kind offer to "translate this blog" and hit "Nope."  Not only do we share the same frizz-prone hair, but Garance's French lessons involve makeup and beautiful photography. Magnifique.

Read in English here.

Did you see this article?  What do you think?  I was surprised to feel conflicted about it.  Even though it doesn't quite address the issue (artist friends, I know!) I thought Swiss Miss's quote for the day summed up some of my pensiveness:

“Be generous with your time and your resources and with giving credit and, especially, with your words. It’s so much easier to be a critic than a celebrator. Always remember there is a human being on the other end of every exchange and behind every cultural artifact being critiqued. To understand and be understood, those are among life’s greatest gifts, and every interaction is an opportunity to exchange them.”- Maria Popova

I've been thinking about rugs.  We actually bought a huge sisal rug at Ikea after our first year, rolled it up, and brought it with us on the airplane as oversize luggage.  The airport people thought we were fools.  Rightfully so.  I like them that much.  I've been perusing this site with love.

Go!  Check out this gorgeous store here.

One of my favorite things about looking at Africa is the signs.  Advertisements, store names, and traffic directions are all painstakingly painted by artists all over the city surfaces.

Check out this video demonstrating a more Western-hipster hand-lettering technique:

My 7th graders are working on a mini-development lesson where they are researching, developing, and implementing a plan to get middle schoolers to wash their hands more often.  We're using Graham Wallas' 1926 theory of the Four Stages of Creativity as our guide.  I'm sold!

See.  Look how creative he was.

On Sunday November 3^rd, Christy Turlington Burns will run the ING New York City marathon to raise money and awareness for her non-profit organization, Every Mother Counts (EMC).  Those who have been reading for awhile know how much we appreciate the mission of EMC to make motherhood safer all over the world.  Watch this to understand a little more:

And. Our kiddos in all their costumed glory.  Spaceman Spiff thrilled with his pagne lightening bolt and the batik alien princess kept her wire crown on for 80% of the Trick-of-Treat trek.

We forgot the Chocolate Frosted Sugar Bombs.

New fake smile.  Seems Loulou has been an alien princess before.  Look:

Circa Halloween 2010.

The girls.  2013.

Plus.  Had to tack this one on to the end.  (Thanks, Anne Callie!)  Favorite line:  

Twentysomething party: Food is a couple of bags of random tortilla chips.

Thirtysomething party: Someone brought something homemade and uber-fancy to show off how good they are at cooking.

This might be a photo of a party in which I participated a few years ago.
Dead give away for thirtysomethings party?  The LAMP on an outdoor table.
No twentysomething would ever be caught dead with such a set up.

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Weekend List!

Sarah's List:

When a Congolese woman is at a loss about how to describe another they just say, "Elle est compliquée!" Or "she's complicated." I love this. It's not a bad thing and it's not a good thing. But you get the point that there's a lot to her story.

Apparently writers are making this great character less complicated and "more likeable." How is that even possible? So I totally agree that we're... 

"...missing out on an opportunity to usher in 

a new era of sitcoms: 

the era of the complicated woman."

I've never had a baby in the NICU, but the sentiment here in Dear NICU Nurse hit home. There's nothing like the gratitude you feel towards someone who cares for your baby and knows them sometimes better than you do. 

  by  Official U.S. Navy Imagery 

Are you a double-is-er? The thing is is I didn't even know this was a thing. (See how that works?)

Okay. If you're in the slight margin of people who missed this this week (Ah! I'm a double-this-er), check out Dear Parents, you need to control your kids. Sincerely, non-parents. And holy comments section!

C'mon, this cereal is just asking for a meltdown.

  by  pawpaw67 

The option of universal pre-school!? Slow clap D.C., slow clap.

Unless this is how you feel about pre-school... Find the story here.

We made this ice cream this week. It's 1-Minute Ice Cream. Seriously, ice cream in one minute. Life changed.

1 minute later.

Jill's List:

How one person in Congo is changing the world.

Image from UNHCR, by B. Sokol 

Do you read fast enough to be successful?

One of our many book stacks.

Have a layover in Paris?  Brush up on which iconic, reasonably-priced, fabulous French pharmacy products to buy...  (Or you can order a bunch of them from here.)

Some of my favorites...

Trader Joe's gets smart with expired food.  Novel.  People have been smartly ignoring expiration dates in Kinshasa for ages.

  by  Michael Bentley 

Some amazing work in Haiti.  Long live the midwife!  Thanks to Jessica at EMC.

Note:  The following three links were all gifts from Alice Proujansky, who always, always finds the best reads. I couldn't resist stealing sharing these gems this week, but must give credit where credit is due. If you like photography, birth, and world issues, please check out Alice on Twitter and her blog where she draws attention to the most deserved projects and writing out there.

Doulas doing what (I personally feel) they should be doing: providing support to the mothers that need it most (and can't afford to pay for it).

Check out this Brooklyn program here.

Although a very different scenario, this piece by a war correspondent mom reminded me of my own worries and questions as we choose to live in a "questionable" location with small children.

Talking to Anna Blundy (author, journalist and daughter of foreign correspondant, David Blundy) was probably one of the hardest things I have ever done. There I was, about to go to Syria on a clandestine mission, and I decided to interview the adult version of my own child, who basically told me I had no business being a conflict journalist.

I love the title of this article:  Everyday Nigeria - Not Idealized, Not Debased.  (I feel like that's what Sarah and I aim for with Mama Congo.)  The photos are out of this world.

This is my own photo of Kinshasa transport and is not a part of the series.
Go here to see iPhone photos in Africa at their very best.

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We're on Every Mother Counts!

Go check out the Every Mother Counts homepage today!

Why?

1.) EMC is an organization working to make pregnancy and childbirth safer around the globe.

Do you need another reason?

Well, okay.

2.) Mama Congo is making an appearance today in order to tell the story of Mupwa & N'Landu's twins. Remember that?

Figuring out how I wanted talk about "motherhood in Kinshasa" in 800 words was a struggle to say the least.  So, I decided to start with a father.  Namely, Mupwa, who generously gave me permission to tell his family's story and share their photos all over the internet...for the third time.

So, head on over.

While you're there, take some time and look around at their website.  The quality of information on the issue of safe motherhood is amazing - including the film trailer for "No Woman, No Cry" directed by EMC's founder, Christy Turlington Burns.

(Many thanks to Alice & Jessica.)

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Friday List!

Jill's List: (It's just me today - Sarah is in-transit from Brussels via Istanbul back home to Kinshasa. Lucky duck.)

The house I grew up in had radiators.  It used to be my job to bleed them.  I am not kidding.  If only we had painted them like this.  It would have made the gross upkeep more palatable.

Image from Refinery 29.

Okay.  I admit it.  I'm a hypochondriac. Poor Johan is usually the only one to hear the full extent of my ridiculousness, but when it comes to me and my body, I'm a fantastic alarmist.  Just like Woody Allen.  Okay, that makes me feel better.

Image from the NYTimes.

People with TVs in the United States have told me about a certain commercial that I really should see.  It features a "cup of Johan" and a blond Scandinavian.  Say no more.

When I saw that this blogger and I all have a lot in common, I tried really hard to figure out how we know each other.  We are the same-ish age, have the same friends, went to the same small school.  We HAD to know each other.  Nope.  So, we are really happy that Kate at Motley Mama linked to Sarah's - now infamous - spider/marriage post. Our paths have finally officially crossed.  Read her blog.  It's smartly hilarious.

Image from Motley Mama.

Like many people with hair, I worry about frizz.  Particularly, that special kind of frizz which comes from living in a rainforest.  Mama Congo is partial to this stuff, but are always on the lookout for more.  Thanks to Rue Magazine's thoughtful "Spring Hair" roundup, my fake shopping carts are full of Drybar, Kiehl's, and Sachajuan.  I'm starting to prepare for the great summer stock-up...

Image from Kiehl's.

Last week, my 7th and 8th graders debated whether McDonald's should come to Congo.  Is is a sign of progress or a threat to culture?  Their answers were fascinating - mostly anti-fast food.  I wonder what they would have had to say about Mark Bittman's "improved fast food" idea - Chipotle in Kinshasa, anyone?

Image from Salon.com.

And.  Christy Turlington's writing + Alice Proujansky's photos = a moving article over at the Daily Beast on an incredibly important topic.  One that's ever so immediate here in the DRCongo - a country with some of the worst maternal mortality statistics in the world.  Christy & Alice - I'd love to introduce you to Dr. Laure...give me a call, will you?

Unbelievable photo with an unbelievable story by Alice Proujansky.

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