Lakwe tene (Always talking - or - always problems; "talking" and "problem" is the same word)

 A fortuitous concordance between traditional French bureaucratic style and Central African culture produces an occasionally delightful opportunity for longwinded flowery speech where least expected.  Morning greetings may go on for quite some time through an assortment of polite inquiries into each other's previous night's sleep quality, the health of relatives, and so on.  Meetings may be punctuated by gracious thanks on the part of each speaker for the kind attention of the listeners and the generous sharing of the floor on the part of the meeting leader.  In such meetings ambitious plans may be shared to general acclaim.  And, when nothing happens by the next meeting, we get to do it all again!

     My predecessor launched multiple worthy initiatives, but there are not fully evident less than a month after her departure.  The patients, the hospital, the prefecture (province), the health system, the country - a bottomless pit of need.  There is generally a gratifying alignment between individual, organizational, national and patient priorities.  And, despite other expat perceptions to the contrary, the resource "leakage" through graft seems to me quite low.

     The expatriate house - we are from US, Austria, Italy, Congo (biggest contingent), Venezuela, Senegal, Colombia, Belgium, Rwanda - is a tropical paradise, with daily meals, laundry, hot water, electricity, French cable TV (it sucks), internet (also sucks, with near dial-up speeds on a good day).

Peace Corps it ain't!