My first learning experience in Goma, DRC

Positive Minds | Positive Stories | Edition 027

A view of Goma | Photo by Sasha Grabow, Wikimedia

(This story was first published on my LinkedIn page)

I set foot in Goma, DRC, for the first time on Saturday 16 October. I was pleasantly surprised by the beauty of the city but especially by the hospitality and the joie de vivre of the people of Goma. The food is excellent and above all healthy and natural. The signature dish is undoubtedly Tilapia from Lake Kivu, the lake that gives the city its splendour and provides a temperate climate all year round.

But in Goma, there are also things that stand out for the first time. Here is one of them.

I go to eat in a restaurant. After enjoying a hearty dish of Tilapia, I ask the waiter for the bill. Here is the short version of our conversation.

• Me: Please, can I have the bill?

• Waiter: OK Papa (meaning dad) —here everyone calls everyone Papa (dad) or Maman (mom)— I'll send it to you right away.

A few moments later.

• Waiter: Papa, here's your bill, it's $16.

I remember a friend's warning before my trip: in the DRC, all prices are set and paid in dollars.

• Me: I don't have change. Here is $100.

I hold out a brand new $100 note that I received at the bank in Dakar. The waiter disappears and returns a few moments later.

• Waiter: Papa, my boss didn't accept your $100 note.

• Me: What's the problem? Is it a fake note?

• Waiter: No Papa, it's not a fake note. It's because the note is a bit torn. We don't take banknotes that are torn.

Surprised, I take the note to inspect it. I had to wear my glasses to notice a scratch of only 1 mm, enough to reduce the value of $100 to $0. Resigned and appalled, I hand over another $100 note, holding my breath that it will pass the boss' quality test. The waiter disappears again and reappears.

• Waiter: Papa, we only have $70 in change, we'll give you the rest —ie $14— in Congolese francs.

• Me: No problem (I say resignedly and in a hurry to get it over with)

This is when I realise that the Congolese franc notes I have been given are crumbling to the touch.

• Me: But how can you refuse a new $100 note with a scratch on it and give me change in crumbling Congolese francs?

The waiter looked at me, smiled a big mischievous smile and disappeared without saying a word.

• Lesson 1: almost everything is negotiated and paid for in dollars.

• Lesson 2: only impeccable dollar notes are accepted.

• Lesson 3: you have to accept all or part of your change in Congolese francs, which are also crumbling.