Compoundin' around...

Your classic shot of school children anywhere on the African Continent.
A little Congolese game-making with Eric and the local kids - we even played a French version of "Duck, Duck, Goose!" that became a huge hit!
Sucking on the Sassou....woops, I mean Saffou (A joke you may not get unless you know about Congo's reigning autocrat and how close his name is to a tasty sour fruit that grows in every yard.)
Maman Louise, the family matriarch, roasting manioc in banana leaves for the blind residents of the Salvation Army compound.
A carousel like play area for young children about 20 feet away from the room where we were sleeping...any guesses as to what time we woke up?

Chillin' in the ville...

The Brazzaville skyline, nestled majestically on the Congo River.

A glimpse into the bustling life of the "Total Market," where one can by anything from toenail clippers to monkey meat....no joke.
Emmanuel posing with one of the few exhibitions of modern art to be seen in the City of Brazzaville...an advertisement for a "coiffure," or hairdresser.

A river runs through me...

This photo wasn't nearly as hard to take as my face might suggest.
Sitting precariously in the pirogue after negotiating with the owner to come down from a 4000% price increase for the "whities."
Back on the edge of Brazzaville - this place flow around the river.
A warning to intruders?? If I had a franc for every severed Caucasian baby part we saw...

We Congo to the river...

Common Pirogues used for transport and fishing.
A picnic?? Not exactly. These opportunists wait to sell sweets to workers needing respite from the backbreaking labor of hurling sand into the back of these trucks.
A view of Les Rapides, a more turbulent area of the river where fisherman in dugout canoes - Pirogues - search for sustenance.
The mighty fleuve, the Congo River provides sustenance for millions as it carries life laterally across the continent.
Tradin' licks at one of Emmanuel's regular restaurant gigs...He's rockin' believe me!

What the Brazza......?

Janna with Emmanuel and Orphee in the city center.
An all too common scene on the streets of a city where institutionalized trash collection is a yet to be imagined pipe dream.
Our entrance to the Nzoko Salvation Army camp we lived in during our visit.
A typical street scene in Brazzaville.
A monument to imperial outsourcing...de Brazza (the dude with huge toes) was hired by the French to deal with the messy bits of colonial exploration in the Congo.

From infinity to beyond...

Quintessential shots from the most opulent of beans.
I guess the curators at the Field Museum in Chicago are challenging theories as to when transfat was introduced to American Indians.
The infamous Baywara, bounding through waves of snow like a good snow loving dingo.
Straight from the scene of the slaughter...Americana par excellente!