Before arriving in Congo we had high expectations. We were not coming to Africa for the first time - our year in Uganda had dispelled many of the apprehensions most people would have about life in the sub-Saharan continent. There was much to enjoy and appreciate there; we’d had a good lifestyle (although that is easier… Continue reading How Congo is More French than France (and one way it’s a bit like the Big Apple)
Category: (Expat) Living
Stitched Up: Contrast Top Refashion
I've written before about how valuable to me time sewing with friends has been (in the book Once Upon an Expat...available now on Amazon...click here!) Here in Congo we have a group who get together around once a month to craft together, in surprisingly diverse ways: last week, we were drawing, making dreamcatchers, sewing garments, and… Continue reading Stitched Up: Contrast Top Refashion
Breaking Out of the Bubble
‘Tu as peur? C’est ça?’ No, I wasn’t scared to visit our housekeeper (ménagère) in her quartier, not in the way he meant anyway. But it had been two months since she’d had her baby, and he was right to wonder. I had plenty of reasons I could offer: I’ve been too busy; it’s difficult… Continue reading Breaking Out of the Bubble
Recalibration and Carrying on Regardless (with NaNoWriMo)
When I started teaching - hard to believe now - it was in front of a blackboard, the heel of my hand permanently chalky. But a few years later, a brand new interactive whiteboard was installed in my classroom. For the uninitiated, this now-standard (in UK classrooms at least) piece of equipment uses a special… Continue reading Recalibration and Carrying on Regardless (with NaNoWriMo)
So you’ve learned French? Now here’s how to actually speak it…
You've learned some French at school, maybe at university, or perhaps you've lived long enough in France or a francophone country to learn the language. You can buy bread, order lunch, arrange a delivery, even sort things out over the phone with the electric company or the mairie. But when it comes to having an… Continue reading So you’ve learned French? Now here’s how to actually speak it…
The Leaving Season – and a Giveaway!
It was around midnight, but still warm enough to sit outside the Irish pub in the French town on this early summer evening. My leaving night had taken us from the hip café restaurant in the old town, via a relaxed wine bar, to here, where we had taken a table beside the boulevard, looking… Continue reading The Leaving Season – and a Giveaway!
Congo Sketch – Balls to the Wall
Another Sunday, another trip up the coast for some beach time. After a couple of years of African living I don't always stare out of the window on every road trip, like I did at the beginning. But I still do it often. There are moments where the thought presents itself - I'm living in… Continue reading Congo Sketch – Balls to the Wall
Time to start carrying a towel…
Recently I wrote about the feeling I had, a couple of years ago, that I'd given (up) the best years of my life to being a trailing spouse and having babies. I entered my forties at that time, thinking my peak years were behind me, work-wise. Irrational though I knew that to be, it spurred me… Continue reading Time to start carrying a towel…
Getting Out Of Town
I was recently emailing a friend who's on her way to live here. I described Pointe-Noire as a 'grey, flat shabby town'. I stopped to ask myself if I was being ungenerous. Well, no. Sometimes it seems like half the sites in town are either in the process of being built (a very positive thing)… Continue reading Getting Out Of Town
I’m in the wrong country today…
...because it's Shakespeare's birthday, and the 400th anniversary of his death. This year all sorts of events are taking place across the UK, not just in Stratford-upon-Avon or in London, where President Obama was welcomed today at the Globe Theatre. And not even just in the UK - tonight, in cinemas in Europe and other… Continue reading I’m in the wrong country today…
