Heart of Darkness

We have been stationed in Kasugho (or rather Katoyu – a village next to Kasugho) for the past five days, covering what’s going on at GRACE rehabilitation center: they have here confiscated baby gorillas, whom they are hoping they will some day release back into the wild, as a group. At the beginning we were allowed only one hour a day in the forest, together with the caregivers – who act exactly like mother gorillas for the vulnerable infants – and we had to keep a 7-meter distance, in order not to get them to used to humans (so that in the future they would not just walk up to poachers…) After a couple of days though they got used to us quite a lot, and the male of the group – Kyoma , the future silverback – would come to us and check us out very closely, so then we would get much more time around them.

The forest is AMAZING. I cannot believe my daily routine now consists of walks up there – so green, so lush, so vibrant. It rains quite a bit every afternoon, so the roads get all washed down, and walking is quite difficult, but it is all the more fulfilling when you’ve finally reached your destination. Otherwise, the schedule is quite basic: waking up at 5 or 6 a.m. cram in as much as possible until lunchtime, sit tight for the rain, do some more stuff until 5.30ish, have an early dinner as it’s getting dark around 6.15, go to bed soon after 8. Food here is mostly potatoes, rice and some meat (very chewy, I gave up on it), and the avocado/guacamole bonus, as we have a huge avocado tree in the back yard.

The film crew have behaved quite well – it’s just that they are SOOO loud and annoying at times. Granted, so is the Australian woman who is in charge of this place for another week, and the American wife of the director. When you would just want to take it easy and enjoy the view and the quiet, they just keep on babbling, LOUDLY, so I took off quite a few times to just get some time on my own and enjoy this thoroughly.

The African World Cup also started a couple of days ago. We knew that right away, when we were up in the forest and heard this loud roar – South Africa had scored :-) I watched my first game the following day (Argentina-Nigeria) in the auditorium at the university (there are students from all over Congo, who have come to study conservation here). Needless to say everyone was rooting for the black team, calling me “mzungu” (“the white”) in the process. Of course I would get all excited about Messi’s amazing play and passes, and they would all shush me angrily – but friendly. They took most issue with Maradona – the moment he was on TV, they would all make faces and laugh at him. Luckily Argentina won. Africa would get its first victory the day after, when Ghana scored a late penalty against Serbia. I was not in the TV room at the time, but I knew exactly what was happening, by the loud cheers next door.

We have also visited the local school - Muysa – and saw the children scribble in the dirt outside (notebooks are a very rare commodity here). They blew me off when they sang the gorilla song, with so much energy and dedication. Otherwise, locals are just excited that they get a mzungu who speaks French with them – so I have been asked several times to move here and teach them English, through French. Maybe my next job?!

I am now writing from Butembo, from a fancy hotel with a beautiful courtyard (they are charging me $5 for using the internet half-an-hour)then traveling back to Rwanda (if I can get in - as of now, I don't have a new single-entry visa, so I might have to be in Goma for a while)...