First Impressions

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Arrival

We arrived in Brazzaville on Friday, July 26th, 2019, with Nala the golden retriever and two kitties. The embassy staff picked us up from the airport, facilitating all parts of our arrival.  What I mean by that is, we were pretty spoiled, we came out of the airplane and went straight into the VIP lounge to relax for a bit while the staff retrieved our luggage and our dog.  Once we had it all, we drove to the house accompanied by barking Nala who protested being in the cage on the way home.  

On Saturday, we were invited to the ambassador’s house for dinner. Very private affair, just the four of us. Dinner began at 7 p.m. with welcome drinks on a balcony overlooking the swimming pool.  Since the sun sets at 6 p.m. we were not able to see anything else but were amused by the bats flying around the property.  After drinks, we proceeded to a downstairs, outdoors area, where we started with crab salad and then had salmon with roasted potatoes and avocado salad. We must have drunk five bottles of yummy South African wine, before we knew what a precious commodity that was in the Congo!  We chatted, we laughed, we told jokes…  It was a truly lovely welcome.


Within the first few days I quickly discovered that I am sensitive to the bites of local sand flies i.e. fourous. Small, annoying, Ninja sand flies which you don’t see.  But they see you.  And they welcome you with their best bites.  Unless you apply oil to every part of your exposed body before going out, they will bite you and it will itch like crazy! For ten days! My legs are covered with bites which are now raised and ooze a yellow liquid. They itch and leave scars. Fun!


Loose thoughts on the first days in Brazza:

  • People will not correct your French so make sure they understand you. They will also not correct you if you call them by the wrong name - I started writing names of everyone I meet.

  • 90% of traffic in Brazzaville is taxis and buses, all green. Only a small percentage of the population owns cars.

  • After the first trip to the grocery store, I learned to look closely at prices to avoid spending CFA 5,900 (about $10) on four beets imported from Cameroon!

  • People will look at you like you are a weirdo for walking your dog (no locals do it and there are very few expats around) but if you smile and greet them, they are warm and friendly.  One guy asked for Nala’s name, said she was lovely and touched her. I was surprised he wasn’t scared but he said it was obvious she was a very nice dog!

  • Diplomatic community is tight and fun. We attended two parties within the first week - Moroccan National Day and a farewell party to a UN Ambassador hosted by a Belgian DCM.

  • “30C feels like 34C” is a cool day. Dry season is a local cool season.  When the rains begin, around September, the temperature and humidity rises.

  • Saka saka (cassava leaves - a local green) is always mixed with fish. So, if you don’t like fish, you will not enjoy it.  Also, having eaten a great variety of East African greens unknown to the Western world I do not believe cassava leaves were meant to be eaten.  Just saying….

  • Everything in Brazzaville is within a 5-15 min drive from our house. Traffic will not be a problem for us here!

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