Living in the Congo

Since there is no electricity, there is no refrigeration - so shopping for food must be done almost every day.

We visited the Gemena market one afternoon. What an experience! It was pandemonium! (Check out some of my photos by clicking on one of the Picasa photos on the right of the screen.) Crowded, noisy, hot, yet not rude like I've experienced in some tourist markets. In fact, even though the several of us were the only "anglos", I felt very safe. A good portion of the merchants in the markets are local church members. And since we are so welcomed in this region anyone "messing" with us would probably get into a lot of trouble.

There's not a lot of variety. Some items are strange, like live caterpillars. Other items raise questions, like fresh meat sitting out on an open table all day. Other things are familiar, the fresh pinneapples, bananas, locally grown coffee, and the ever present manioc. I'll write more about that item later.