candle light eye candy

Inviting Julia and Philip into my electricity-free apartment and enjoying the companionship of a language exchange in the dark, punctuated by flickers of orange flares from the candle lodged in the NesCafe tin was a completely normal evening. Oh Brazza!!

Eye Candy

I was comparing notes with Andrew, a former student from Zimbabwe, who lives with his family in the U.K.

Being black in rural England

Being white in Congo-Brazzaville

We decided it’s like being the wrong variety of eye candy- orange jellybeans in a bag of cherry.

Sometimes, I think people enjoy being with me because I am an odd sort of status symbol, like an expensive car or a golf club membership. This feels awkward and uncomfortable. I had the benefit of blending when I lived in Lithuania at least until I opened my mouth. But most of the time, I love the Congolese friends who surround me daily and the missionary community members who have embraced me as SIL.