Bump, bump, bump - roads, residence, rebels

View from the office steps. One of the CRS vehicles we take everywhere - due to the crappy roads, lack of road understanding by any of the "motorcycle taxis" and overall likelihood of being abducted or kidnapped.

Rats! Or is it mice? The first night here at the guesthouse, there was a mouse chase. Now, mice aren't an issue for me, but rats can be. Apparently there is a rat inhabiting our living area, and has subjugated (or rewarded) the mouse to the kitchen. Which is fine for now, until it starts gnawing through my food, which thankfully hasn't happened yet. We have a new staff member who arrived today, preparing for his family to come over later, with 2 cats and I am seriously petitioning head of household (HoH as we like to term it in the international development field) to vie for one. At least give it a short-term rodent-catching assignment. Tempting..

Speaking of rats, LeBron and the Heat have taken game 3 from our court. Wasn't able to watch the game but I'm sure Jet, JJ, or Peja need to step it up. In this case, "drats" applies as well. Either way, I'm confident we'll bounce back to take the next two games. MFFL!

First day at the office today. All staff meeting - Hershey's chocolate from the motherland always starts you off on a good foot. Not just any Hershey's chocolate, but the Pot of Gold with the diversity of dulces, to reflect the diversity in the world and in the office. The local staff is great and the international staff has already built a good rapport, which will go a long way later on. The HoO at the Bukavu office is as great as ours, which leads me to believe that the DRC portfolio is on the up and up.

Tomorrow, we'll probably check out the gym again and sign up. For now, it's back to reading and familiarizing with anything program-related, situation-related, and country-related.

OBSERVATION: There are only 2 real main roads, any veering off of them leads to quite a bumpy ride. I know because I lost a good bottle of Kahlua on the way back from the store. Expat community, as in many cases, is super close here. There is a Google Group that provides a good beat on the area's pulse. Apparently, there are quite a lot of "Blue Helmets," AKA UN peacekeepers of MONUSCO - which you'll see all around town. Everytime one passes the FARDC (Congolese military) training grounds, it can send shivers down your back. Anytime the flag is being raised or lowered, all traffic must halt to a stop. Photography of any official building is also prohibited.

CURRENT AGGRESSION SITUATION, from what I've gathered thus far:

FARDC 

(Congolese Armed Forces)

and

Mai Mai Militias 

(local defense groups, usually organized by ethnicity - fighting with the government against foreign invaders)

vs.

CNDP 

(Rwandan backed rebels, Tutsi)

vs.

FDLR 

(anti-Rwandan government, Hutu)

and

PARECO

(largest Mai Mai group)

Now, to familiarize myself with the program..