So last night, I am walking back from the bus stop. It had just turned dark and was starting to rain. I was about half way home and less than a block from La Volcanica, so I thought that I would pop in for a bite. Naturally, I was the only Umuzungu in the place and it was packed. Being obvious in the crowd, the owner came over and introduced himself. I got the pork and some fried potatoes (everything here comes with potatoes) and it was awesome. I ate, the rain quit and I headed home. End of story? Not hardly.
Today, I had my second tennis lesson. It's a lot to remember. The coach is very strict when it comes to form and my form stinks from all of those years playing racket ball at MSU when I should have been studying. Long reach and fast hands made up for slow feet. Slow feet with Tony the Tennis Pro is not an option. Naturally, when the hour was up, I was exhausted (because of my soft middle). Now, we are up to speed, all on the same page because the tennis court just happens to be right next to La Volcanica, so I went in for an ice cold coke.
Being mid-day, there wasn't much going on. The manager came over to talk and told me that his sister, a waitress there, talked about me after I left last night. She thought that I was cute. She's only about 18, if that. The custom here is for girls to marry young and to marry older guys. He told me that their father was dead and he looked after her. Then, he told me that for 2 cows and some cash, I could have her for my wife. I thanked him for the lovely offer, but declined.
This gets me thinking though; Paul, I gave you and Johnny 3 cows. I will be up at your place in January, we'll need to do some negotiating.
Now, for Mackenzie, who didn't like the last entry because there were no pictures, here's a picture just for her. I took it in Gysengi on October 26th, the day that the rebels took the park headquarters in Congo, (just 20 miles north of where we were) and two days before they marched to Goma. Goma just happens to be the sister city to Gysengi, it's like one big town with a border right through the middle of it. The second picture is looking across part of Lake Kivu at Goma (these towns are on the north end of the lake).
Enjoy,
Johnny Umuzungu
