I like to sit at the edge of the patio, near the permeable fence that separates it from the street. A rut in the street assures that passing cars slow down. They eye you. You eye them. Men cruising for young women sometimes pull over, park, and come in.
Street vendors step in.
I could see how much fun Kinshasa was before everyone spent all the money. I had just recorded a man on tape who explained how locals change the meanings of foreign words, which I could use for a BBC radio feature. In Japan, a 'ninja' is a martial arts fighter, but here they are scantily clad girls who stand in the streets after dark. In Europe, Iveco manufactures heavy-duty trucks. Prostate' is a cancer that strikes older men.