Living like Laura Ingalls

As we have now been living here in Congo for over three months, we have a much better handle on living daily life. We know that many of you are curious about how we live daily life here and we want to tell you all about it. As a child, Sarah was always enamored by the Little House on the Prairie books and of course the TV series starring the beloved Melissa Gilbert. It seems to make the most sense to write this blog by comparing the similarities and differences of how we live in Congo and how Laura Ingalls lived on the prairie.

Every few weeks we buy and roast our own coffee beans which involve sorting out all the bad beans and stirring them in a pan over the fire for at least 45 minutes to get them just right. Afterwards we hand grind all the beans in the antique coffee grinder Sarah’s mom bought us. But, if we feel like it, we can call her mom on our cell phone to tell her how well the coffee grinder is working.

Michelle’s doctor makes house calls once a month to check up on her pregnancy. But, instead of coming in a horse-drawn carriage, he drives his dirt bike
 

Hand washing our clothes is the only option we have and it is best to do on a hot day so the clothes will dry quicker on the line. Even though Sarah works up a good sweat while washing clothes, she can always grab a frozen pineapple from the fridge to help cool down

We can buy certain fruits for 2¢ apiece, but it costs about $24 to buy enough milk powder to make 3.5 gallons of milk.

 

After slaving over hot coals on our back porch for a couple hours to make a simple dinner of rice and chicken, we like to relax together by putting in a DVD of The Cosby Show on our computer while the generator is running.

Since we don’t have our own mode of transportation, we walk about three miles twice a week…so we can get an internet connection.

We live on the outskirts of town (or the prairie, if you will) and the “general store” where we can purchase items, such as charcoal irons, is in the city. But, we can try to call a motorcycle taxi to come pick us up if we need to get to the store in a hurry.