Friday List!

Jill's List:

The Look3 Festival of the Photograph is happening right down the road.  I'm itching to get to Charlottesville ASAP.

Image from here.

Still following the Turkish news with interest...and checking my children for signs of PTSD following our dinner with a side of tear gas in Istanbul this week.  Sounds dramatic, and it is.  We were awed at the energy emanating from absolutely everyone we talked to about the protests. (Special thanks to Yasmin, who will be featured in a later Mama Congo post.)  Even the mamas have gotten in on the action.  Check out their human chain:

This image from Facebook.

Also from Istanbul: My new shoes.  Stepped into the tiny Old Sandal shop near our hotel and fell in love with the blue leather oxfords.  Highly recommended.

Bourdain on Congo.  (I still need to watch the episode!)

And 60 Seconds of Congo.

 

60 SECONDS IN CONGO from Vision Film Co on Vimeo.

I teach a lesson in a digital citizenship unit that has my middle schoolers explore what to do about the fact that "Happy Birthday" is totally copyrighted.  Not for much longer?  Check this out.

Image from the NYTimes.

"The Art of Being a Goal-Getter" from Oh Joy!

Image from Oh Joy!

Using this to study for the GREs.  Anyone tried it?  One month plan, here I go...

Two editions of Kinfolk were waiting for me upon arrival to the U.S.  Sigh.  They will be my reward between study sessions.

Image from here.

Sarah's List:

If only the view from our seats looked like this. Pilot Documents His Journeys from 35,000 Feet. Yowzers! (Thanks Joanna.) The one and only time I have been in the cockpit was to force an introduction between the school group I was traveling with and the two female Kenyan pilots flying our plane. A truly special moment. 

Find more amazing images at Karim Nafatni's photo website.

If you're still in Kinshasa, check out the Jazz Festival. Many great memories have been made here. And many Bralima glasses may/may not have been stolen...

You said it right, New York Times: In Brussels, Frites are More than Just Fries. And to prove our daughter has been thoroughly Belgianized via Congo frites, when we're served fries Stateside she screams, "But where's the mayonnaise?!"

 

A very good recipe for Pommes Frites with Mayonnaise.

Are you getting married this summer? Here's something to read regarding your guests and photography. Nothing sends me into deep breathing exercises faster than sitting behind someone at an event who's using their iPad or other oversized i-Thingy to record it. Put the screens down people, and watch the moment as it happens. And if you can't, please stand to the side so I don't have to watch the event via the large screen you're holding in the air. Okay, deep breaths...

From Corey Ann photography and here.

 
 Bill Clinton on Chelsea's birth story. Father of the Year indeed. 

Chelsea and Bill. From here.

 Expat Culture Shock. It's a thing people. Here's my favorite tip:

You’ll need to prepare a three-sentence answer to the question:

"Oh, you lived in [fill in the blank]. What was that like?” or “How did you like it?" Your answer to this question should take no more than three minutes. 
Most people lose interest after that amount of time.

 ...unless you live in the Congo. In that case, it's best to stick to 30 seconds or not mention it at all.

This year I've been dealing with expat culture shock by spending way too many hours -okay, days- searching online for the perfect leather bag. Won't you help my readjustment and tell me where to find one? Suggestions welcome.

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Friday List!

Sarah's List:

Mama Congo Success! Remember when we started an all-out campaign to get Anthony Bourdain to come to Congo (Tony, COME TO MAMA)? Well it worked! Okay, who are we kidding? It was a total coincidence that he came, but still...

Here he talks about the: "Most terrifying, stressful, physically difficult shoot of his life."

Speaking of terrifying things in Congo, could the Lord's Resistance Army get any worse? I guess so, it turns out they're funded by elephant poaching. That's real classy, Kony.

Is specialization the secret to a happy marriage, home and children? Maybe so. Read all about: The Retro Housewife: Feminists who say they're having it all--by choosing to stay at home. And The Gay Guide to Wedded Bliss.

“In the morning, I’ve got kid duty; Amy doesn’t even see the kids,” says Isabelle Dikland. “She does pickup and makes dinner every night.” (Gail Albert Halaban). Image from TheAtlantic here.

If you're reading this, there's a good chance we're somewhere over the Atlantic struggling with two little children. Remember Whac-a-Mole with Wings? One strategy we'll be using is car seats. Moms have tipped us off to taking your kid's car seat on the plane and it's kind of amazing. Your kids can't move and they're safe. The Car Seat Lady agrees.

You'll wish you were flying with an infant once you start flying with toddlers.

It only took 5 years, but we finally saw President Kabila. In our backyard. (Okay, he was here for an event, but it was basically our yard.) Jill and I really wished we had our Mama Congo business cards so we could slip him one. Whatever Joseph, we know you're already a fan.

And you go girls. TheGirlEffect.org.

Jill's List:

Spending today Googling "best pro-biotics for babies and their fathers" after Johan and Loulou both were told by our Belgian doc to get some to "restore stomach health."  (It's so funny how it's totally normal to get a script for Arnica, pro-biotics, or St. John's Wort from this doctor - he's not exactly crunchy.  Turns out it just more the Euro-norm.  Unfortunately, he hasn't quite realized that the pharmacies in Congo don't carry many of these lovely things.)  At least they've been thoroughly checked out by a guy who knows his way around a parasite or amoeba infestation.  I had nightmares that after returning to the States next week and saying, "Yeah, my kid's been vomiting off and on for a week...and we live in the Congo," the CDC Special Investigation Team would be called in for a simple virus.

Image from BioGaia website.  Anyone every tried these?  The packaging sure is cute!

Okay.  I also somehow managed to find this incredible bag during my exhaustive search in the name of my family's health:

Beautiful Besace bag "for the well-traveled woman" from Clair Vivier.

Four or so years ago, we hosted a dinner party at our home in Harrisonburg to spread the word and garner support for an idea.  That idea has been up and going strong for two years now.  Congrats, Friendly City Food Co-op!

Image from here.

This has been making the rounds like crazy - but it is so interesting.  (I say "Crawdad" - why?!  It doesn't match!)





Extremely excited for Istanbul this weekend.  What a week to visit!  The most interesting thing for us?  Everyone we've chatted with in Istanbul says that this is an "unprecedented" time in Turkish history and our family is super lucky to get a glimpse.  Absolutely no one has acted worried or concerned that we would be planning a little family va-cay in the middle of a monumental demonstration.  We are hoping to meet up with a friend of a friend (for coffee, of course) on Tuesday so that she can fill us in on everything.

Image from BBC.

Craving Paneer Saag by John and Rama.  Hopefully, I will have eaten at least 5 servings before the next Friday List.

Image from our friends at I Love My Burg.

Babies in boxes = public health is awesome. (Imagine the possibilities...)

Image from BBC.com

And.  A sweet blog I've been looking through this week.

Finally, we know some weirdos who do this here in Kinshasa...

The oddball club got its start 75 years ago in prewar Malaysia and now has nearly 2,000 chapters spanning all seven continents. It began with a group of British colonial officers and expats looking for ways to ease their weekend hangovers. The name came from their billet, often referred to as the Hash House, where they'd eat their monotonous corned-beef dinners, and the pastime they came up with was a wilder version of a British paper chase.

Kinshasa Hash House Harriers picture from here.

***many apologies for the lack of a pink arrow this week...we're between computers***

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