We are back in Luanda! Adjusting to the 8 hour time difference, unpacking, and gearing up for another year...it's all so much less stressful than it was last October. I had a hard time leaving our friends and family in the US this summer - that part never gets easier - but our house here is feeling more and more like home.
The flight from Houston to Angola went smoothly. You'd be amazed at how easy it is to be on a 14 hour flight with three kids! Well....at least a 14 hour flight on the Houston Express, anyway! The kiddos are getting to be pros at international travel, and they were happy to watch movies, read books, eat, sleep, and talk for the entire trip. When we arrived in Luanda, there was the usual long line at passport control. We were brought to the front of the line within 5 minutes (the perks of having children!) - but this doesn't guarantee a faster passage through. Shockingly, this time it helped, and we were through and at the baggage claim in record time!
This is where reality set in, however. We stood in front of the baggage carousel for TWO HOURS, waiting for our luggage. Apparently whatever machine is used to load the bags onto the carousel had broken. The airport baggage area is not air-conditioned, there is no seating, just hard linoleum floors and two baggage carousels. I repeat - TWO HOURS....and this is after flying for 14 hours, with very little sleep. The kids were champs - they found some other kids to play with, and did a great job passing the time. We finally got all 15 of our bags (don't laugh - another lady had 29!) and saw that our driver, Tomas, was waiting for us.
It was so great to get to our house, where Fletcher and Sao greeted us. Now the kids and I have a couple of weeks on our own, before the rest of the expat families start returning to the compound. I'm so thankful for the fabulous time we had with our family and friends...we are so blessed.
