Update 8:

What's new on the other side of the world? I wonder who is winning in the Stanley Cup playoffs, and if the spring rains have come and gone, and how life is treating you. I guess I have been away for almost 6 months, which neither is nor feels like a long time. It is quite interesting how different life is here from France, from Maroc, Germany, or Canada. And yet life was quite different between each one of those countries as well.

One thing that has maintained a consistency from France then to Uganda and now to the Congo is the damned cold showers that attempt to plague my existence. Sure it's nice and hot here, so the cold shower is much more refreshing than those taken in the tree stunting winds of Southern France, but the first 15 or so seconds still are an unnecessary and needless to say unpleasant shock to the system.

It's been a busy week in terms of celebrities, President Kabila was supposed to show up for some form of session or negotiation or talks on the local abundant petroleum reserves. These reserves are quite close to the border to the more developed and hence more capable (at extracting petroleum) Uganda. There is unease in my mind to this possible problem, I mean if everywhere else in the world wages war over petroleum, is it too big of a stretch to imagine war returning to this conflict ravaged region? These people are just in the first stages of recovery from their last grotesque machete de-limbing guerre here in 2003, and with the prospect (at least in my eyes) of another possible conflict…. Not so trop cool.

But the President didn't show up, yet, as he tends to prefer more surprise oriented visits for reasons of security. Surprise visits make those coup d'etats that are oh so famous in developing countries harder to organise and accomplish for some reason. Celebrity number two; Ben Affleck showed up here at MSF's hospital in Bunia for his new ABC television program depicting a well known American actor posing as a journalist in places where he isn't known. Funny thing is, most if not all of the MSF staff didn't recognise him either, one even gave a tour to Affleck's group and then had to ask which one he was. Apparently he holds less notoriety in Europe. Side note: celebrities are not as rare as one would think with MSF, Angelina Jolie was here in Bunia visiting the hospital shortly after the war in 2003.

On the more cooler side of life. Watching a movie at the Medical staff quarters I was summoned by one of the guardians to return to the non-medical staff quarters, as there was an ongoing disturbance. So I got in one of the faded pink LandCruisers with a chauffeur and bumbled down the road. Greeted at the gate by a very angry Congolese woman, and a scared stiff (rather small) member of the national staff. God knows what he said to her that resulted in such fury, but needless to say he probably won't do it again. 30 minutes later, and with the reinforced steel gates closed, she stopped pounding and hollering so I was able to send the chauffeur and his Cruiser back to base.

Falling asleep less than half an hour later, knocking on the door woke me. The Hospital director, on his way to Manhattan (the bar), had been informed that a little girl needed blood to make it through the night, me being O+, I was the candidate. I suppose whenever we give blood at home we are saving a life somewhere someday, but the realisation was a bit more pronounced for me that Saturday night. For me, trop cool dude. Thanks Mama and Papa for hooking me up with O+.

That concludes the second update from the "Heart of Darkness."