Win-a-Trip: Mitch in Kinshasa, Congo - Nicholas D. Kristof Blog - NYTimes.com.
But after starting to get comfortable with the hospitality and beauty of rural Africa, it was important to also spend time in a population center. Here, millions of people live in poverty without access to a steady source of income or transportation while just down the road stands an expensive national soccer stadium that seats 80,000 (certainly not something unique to the DRC, but still an ugly glimpse of priorities).
Mitch and Nick,
I have been following your trip. I have especially interested in the Congo (DRC) leg. I am sorry you all did not get a chance to experience the real Congo and its people. Kinshasa is my least favorite place in Congo. I agree, it is "a migraine in motion".
The historic and famous Mai 20 (May 20) Stadium is a contrast to the poverty in Kinshasa. It was the site of "The Rumble in the Jungle". The challenger and former Heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali fought current Heavyweight champion George Foreman on October 30, 1974. Ali was victorious and regained the title from the younger Foreman.
You all saw a part of America's sports history! I hope you took a picture. That's a joke since Congolese authorities do not allow the taking of photos in Kinshasa.
[Mitch Smith is a 19-year-old journalism student at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and the winner of the 2010 Win-A-Trip with Nick contest. He and Nick have spent the last week traveling in Africa, in Gabon, Republic of the Congo, and Democratic Republic of Congo. This is Mitch’s first time ever outside the United States. Nicholas D. Kristof, a columnist for The New York Times since 2001, is a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner who writes op-ed columns that appear twice a week.]