Summary: Ticket To Congo

Ticket to Congo

With a ticket to go anywhere in the world most people would head to places they could only dream of like the white sand beaches of the Cayman Islands or the unforgettable city of Paris. Not me I would go to Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

When people think about Kinshasa or the DRC in general the UNICEF ad with Alyssa Milano showing starving African kids pops into their head.Which is really annoying because the image of Africa is a nappy-headed kid that’s malnourished yet somehow has a big belly. The DRC and Africa in general have made a comeback from the stereotype but nevertheless has a long way to go. I think people are confused about DRC because it’s a poor utopia. It’s literally a paradox. DRC is a

The reason I have to stay in Kinshasa is that the country is not safe and the reason for that is that infrastructure of the country isn’t stable. Poverty mixed with corruption is not a good recipe. Last year when I was at the airport about leave to head back to Richardson a security guard with a AK-47 strapped on his shoulders asked me for 200 US dollars. He was pretty intimidating especially with his orangish color surrounding his iris from the lack of vitamins in the water. These things can happen and can cause riots or worse a civil war. The DRC has been in a civil war for a long time. It is difficult to support the right side of the war. While I was visiting on the news was talked about murders, riots and kids getting blown apart by mines being set down by both the rebels and government. These horrible things happening across the country prevented me from seeing the beautiful sites I have read on the internet. The loud roar of the Congo River or visit the Virunga National Park to see gorillas in the humid, dense jungle. These sites are often overlooked because the unrest happening everywhere in the

My uncles talked about their experiences on becoming a man and how they were left outside the city and had to make it back home. My grandfather even asked me if I wanted to be left in the middle of nowhere so I can return a man. I remember thinking there was no way I was going do that. My mom told me so many stories of witches and animals lurking just waiting for me to slip up when I was little that I didn’t even want to risk it. So I thought I would do my manhood journey in a different way. I decided to travel alone back to Richardson by myself. It seemed like an easy plan just bring your ticket, put away your luggage, and sleep through the flight. But traveling can never be that easy. There were these people pushing around in different directions like a riot and through this hectic time I spent most of my time thinking. And the more I thought the lonelier I felt. I can’t, lie when I entered the plane to leave to Brussels, Belgium I was scared. For the first time ever I was all alone. The first day in Brussels I didn’t have enough money for the fancy hotels so I slept on a tandem sling at the airport with nothing but a shirt, shorts and my little brother’s batman blanket. The long lines, sleeping in the Arctic front, and the bearers of bad news also known as customer service. All these things I endured turned me into a superhero in their eyes. Maybe I did exaggerate the