Democratic Republic of Congo!

I have arrived safely in Kinshasa, where I have been for the past two days. It's too early to give detailed feedback, but so far the Congolese people have been wonderful and extremely friendly so I fit right in. My team is great and they've taken many security precautions to ensure that I remain safe, so I'm very grateful.

My past interest in International Law has paid off as I will design a mediation program to address judicial retard and increase access to justice for vulnerable populations, including women and children.  I hope to conduct research (primarily discourse analysis) on existing tribal justice mechanisms and learn more about the constitutional twists and turns inherent in Congolese Law. Of course the implementation challenges are multifaceted but I remain an idealist!

Everyone here speaks to me only in French, so I hope I will improve quickly in sha Allah, and I would love to learn Lingala- one of the four main local languages. I have a lovely little apartment on Colonel Avenue Tchatchi, very close to the President's Office and the Ministry of Justice, only a few minutes from my work. I can already sense that it will be very difficult to leave Kinshasa.

In two weeks time if things go as planned I'll have the opportunity to travel to Goma and Kindu in Eastern Congo for a week. I'll keep you all updated of course. Please say a little prayer for me as I begin my first African and Congolese adventures. Also feel free to connect me with any contacts you may have in the DRC as I really want to immerse myself to the fullest and learn more about Congolese culture.