There was an embassy-organized outing to the Poto-Poto neighborhood this weekend. Poto-Poto is a diverse and densely populated neighborhood of Brazzaville.  There is a large market area for fabrics, or pagne, where you will find a myriad of different fabric patterns. You can buy the fabric and take it to a tailor with a photo or description of what you want made. To spruce up our rather boring embassy-provided furniture, I plan on getting pillowcases made for the sofas and chairs. Maybe some table runners or table cloths, too. I bought Lily some super cute dresses. I successfully negotiated prices down 50%, which is really amazing considering my French is so bad. Speaking of French, I am starting an intense French language program soon. I’m really excited about it!

Also located in Poto-Poto is the Poto-Poto Art School. The art school is nestled among beautiful, enormous trees. You can take unlimited art classes there for 15,000 CFA/month (about $30/month). The art on display is all local, and very impressive. I really liked the giant trees. I’m not very artistic, so I don’t think I’ll sign up for classes, but it’s a lovely place to visit. After visiting the art school, we went to a Senegalese restaurant. I ordered the yassa chicken, which is chicken with caramelized onions. It was delicious.