Look Around You

We think of Africa as jungle, but that's not true everywhere. The jungle -- or "tropical rainforest" -- mostly follows the rivers. Our part of Congo is often called "the Ubangi" (you-bahng'-gee, with a hard "g" in the "gee").That's because it lies between the Ubangi River and the Congo River. The places close to the rivers are mostly rain forest. 

The places where the Paul Carlson Partnership works are in more open country in the middle between the two rivers. There it's mostly grassland. But the rain forest is never far away, because there are lots and lots of smaller rivers all through Congo. So the people live in the grassy areas, and the forest is always near enough that you can walk there.

How tall is the grass in your yard? Maybe two inches? Three inches? Well, the grasses in these grasslands are measured in feet -- usually about 4 to 5 feet high. There are trees around, but just a few. In the rain forest the trees are close together, and they are very tall. There are lots of kinds of trees, including rubber trees, mahogany trees, and different kinds of palms.

There are lots of fruit trees, too. Many of them are in people's yards, but some grow wild.There are lots of flowering trees and plants, mostly in people's yards, and many of them have sweet scents. With the homes clustered together, a village can look and smell wonderful! At night you can also smell food cooking and coffee roasting. You can hear crickets and frogs, and sometimes even bats singing! (Did you know that bats can sing?)