A Working Vacation

Lubumbashi is a breath of fresh air compared to Kinshasa. For one thing, it offers cooler temperatures. It's not so dusty and dirty. The traffic isn't nearly as bad, with only one million people instead of eight. There's less harrassment by police. More space in general. A South African influence in its restaurants and hotels. I felt like i was on vacation, which I really was, except that we were working at least 10 hours every day. But at night, Carole and I went out to some great restaurants: Chinese, Greek, Lebonese, and Italian. We stayed in two hotels, both first class, complete with running HOT water and air conditioning. And, I didn't get one mosquito bite. It was a great reprieve.
Following our interviewing of 18 candidates and the selection of 10, we trained them on the teaching methods of the Congo American Language Institute. Starting in January, 100 high school students, chosen from 340 applicants, will be awarded English training through the Access Program of the U.S., complete with teacher and books. Following their 18 months, they should be relatively fluent in English.
There's another difference between Kinshasa and Lubumbashi. People there are crying for English because their martkets are in Zambia and South Africa, just south of the DRC border. Everyone was so excited about talking with a native speaker. Back in Kinshasa, English doesn't seem to have the same importance. Students know they should be learning it, but it doesn't seem like such an urgent need.
Caption for photo: Chantal, Marcellin and Claude share a book during the Teacher Training. Each one has a story to tell.