Kinshasa (Part 1)

So far, I've been in Kinshasa for the past two nights and this is the first time that I've been able to post. Since I do not know how long I will have behind the embassy computers, I'm going to write as much as possible and continue at a different time.
I touched down in Kinshasa around 6:05pm on the 19th. Because we are just south of Equator, the sun sets well before this time. Coupled with the absence of street lights, the city streets are incredibly dark. Right before entering Immigration, one of the agents saw that I was an American, took me aside to a room for questioning. To my surprise, they were incredibly concerned about the Swine Flu incidents in the US. As a possible carrier of the virus, I was of particular interest to them. This is extremely ironic because the DRC has Ebola, Malaria, Yellow Fever and a whole host of other illnesses more dangerous than the Swine Flu.
At any rate, I was cleared by their health services and by the immigration counter (the agent behind the counter was so pleased that Obama was the first Black US president that I think he expedited the process when he found that I was American).
The car ride from the airport to my housing compound was 45 minutes-not because the airport is far from the city (I think its only 18 km or around 11 miles away) but because the roads were terrible. 4 wheel drive was absolutely necessary especially where the roads had enormous craters.
I really want to take some pictures to show you what I'm seeing. Apparently in the DRC all photography of public installations is illegal. If I am caught taking pictures by a soldier or a plain clothes officer, my camera will be confiscated and I risk being jailed. I asked an embassy worker whether this is enforced and she said that it was --not so much because they are doing their jobs but because they often want the cameras for themselves. When I was in the airport, I did manage to take a few photos to show you how busy the terminals were. Unfortunately, it is forbidden to add flash drives or any disks to embassy computers. As soon as I get to a non-embassy computer, I will upload them. Sigh...So many hurdles. In my next post, I will update you about my evening with the ambassador and deputy chief of mission, as well as my summer project.