Adjustments

Well, we are officially out of Angola. I swore up and down that I would NOT be sad to go, that I would NOT miss it.....but I lied. I miss seeing Sao and Tomas. They became part of our family, and I will never forget the kindness and gentle patience they showed us.

I miss the friends we made in Angola. I know I've said it before, but being in a place like Angola really brings out the best and worst in people. There were countless times that another person came to my rescue, and I will miss knowing that I always had people to help nearby.

Life back in the US is great, though overwhelming at times. I needed to go grocery shopping today, and halfway through I felt like I was sort of panicked. There are SO many choices! So much food, so many options....it really made my head spin.  I really would like to find a smaller store to shop at, at least until I get acclimated...isn't that silly?

The kids are handling the transition pretty well. They've all said that school is great, though they do have more homework here. We are all anxious to get moved into our new house, as this temporary apartment living is chaotic!

All in all, I feel so thankful for the experiences we've had in Africa.  Our family has a new appreciation for life, and a new outlook that I don't think we could have gotten without this journey.  If anyone reading this has the chance to live overseas, I highly recommend you do it.  It's not for everyone, but even a scaredy-cat like me managed to do it!

The Beginning of the End

I have been MIA from this blog for a long while, but there has been a lot going on in our lives. We found out in October that we will be relocating to Houston in February. This is super exciting, but very stressful, as there are a million tasks to do in order to transition back into life as American residents.

Our Christmas holiday was spent finding a house, cars, and schools. We will travel back to Angola for just a few weeks to wrap things up there, and then it will be another series of 'firsts' for us in Texas!  I think this blog will naturally come to a close as we will no longer be so far from family and friends, but I hope that other expats might still benefit from some of my experiences here.

I have mixed feelings about going back to a 'normal' life. On one hand, it's a relief. The past two and a half years have been a struggle for me, and I have spent most of that time living way outside of my comfort zone. I will miss the people I've met in Angola, including our dear housekeeper, who I will likely never see again. I will miss the slower pace of life, and the wonderful vacations that we were able to take. On the other hand......America! I haven't let myself dwell too much on what I've missed in the last couple of years, but now it is so exciting to think about! Driving myself! Fountain sodas! Gorgeous, clean, affordable fruits and veggies!

I think it's always a good thing to have a new appreciation of your blessings, and I most certainly have so much gratitude for the gifts in my life. I hope I can take this grateful outlook with me, and continue to benefit from the lessons learned during our time overseas.

Year 3

I can hardly believe it!  We have started our final year here in Angola!  In some ways it feels like just yesterday that I was staring out the windows of our house here, wondering how on earth I was going to survive an entire three years.  I would walk around the path inside our compound, surrounded by barbed wire, and feel like I was serving a prison sentence.  I experienced fear, discomfort, and frustration like I'd never known before....but I kept putting one foot in front of the other and pushing through.  And now I'm one of the 'old' girls in the neighborhood, a seasoned expat wife who gives advice and tips to the newbies.  It's pretty weird, but pretty great.

The summer was wonderful for us.  We spent loads of time with our family members in the US, and just like the previous summers - I am so appreciative of the love and support we have.  The kids have an amazing array of grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and friends who dropped everything to spend time with them.  I am always humbled by the way people show us over and over again, that we are special...that we are loved.  It might be the greatest gift of an experience like this one - because none of us takes our time together for granted.

Now we're back, and the kids have finished their first week back at school.  I haven't had any trouble getting back into the routine of going grocery shopping and cooking everything from scratch....it's actually quite pleasant to have the quiet routine after being so busy this summer.  It hasn't all been roses and sunshine, however....but it never is!

I had to take Molly to get blood drawn to check her iron levels.  We had them checked over the summer, and she was very anemic.  Her pediatrician advised us to have her blood checked after a month of iron supplements, and of course that meant that we'd have it checked here.  In the US, we went down the hall from the pediatrician's office, and had her blood taken at the lab.  It took less than 5 minutes, and we had the results in 3 days.  Here, I had to take her to the local clinic.  We explained what we needed to the front desk, and then waited 20 minutes.  A nurse took her weight and temperature, and then we waited 10 minutes.  We then saw the doctor, who made several phone calls, and about 30 minutes,  informed us that they were unable to draw blood in this clinic.  We'd have to drive into the city, on a weekday, and get there between 8 and 10 am.  Which means that Molly will miss a full day of school, and we will spend hours in the car and at the city clinic, and who knows how long it will be before we get the results.  It's frustrating, especially after enjoying the easy access to medical care over the summer....but we will get through it.

A Kiss Goodbye

We are packing up and heading out for the summer!  Or winter....depending on where you live.  I have survived another school year here, and it's been a doozy.

I had two dear friends that moved away.  I volunteered on the PTA board, and immediately regretted it.  I hung in, and while I wouldn't wish to repeat the experience, I'm glad I did it.  We visited Dubai and South Africa, and saw amazing sights.  The kids grew and thrived, and we've all gained even more patience and compassion from our time here.

We are leaving two weeks early, so we had to say our goodbyes to everyone in the neighborhood, and at school.  I am always extremely awkward at greetings and goodbyes here, because it's so different than what I'm used to.  You see, people here are kissers.  They kiss when they meet, they kiss when they say hello, they kiss goodbye......that's a LOT of kissing!  Some do the single kiss on the cheek.  Some do the double.  Some do a sort of combination, grab your shoulders and kiss you on each cheek.  I'm much more comfortable with a wave, a fist bump, a "Yo, how's it going?" sort of approach, but I'm definitely the odd man out.  Someone told me that in certain areas of Europe, they do up to SIX kisses at each greeting!  I'm so relieved we didn't move there!

So, two years down and one to go.  I'm still not completely loving this experience, but I'm confident that I can make the best of it.  Ciao, Luanda - I will see you in August....but I'm still not going to kiss you.

Sun City

Finally!  Here is the post about our trip to Sun City, South Africa.

This trip was the first time we've done any 'safari' activities, and now I can honestly say that I can see the appeal.  I'm not exactly a fan of 'roughing it' - so when I imagined a safari, I wasn't really enthused. I pictured dirt, bugs, heat.....all things that I've get more than enough of, living in Angola!  I couldn't have been more wrong, though - it was an amazing experience, getting to see the amazing animals of Africa.

Adam and Miles rode a mama elephant, whose baby followed the whole time, often nursing!

Taken from on top of a mountain, right before riding the longest, highest, fastest zip-line!

Zip-line - equal parts scary and terrifying!

This cheetah REALLY liked Adam. 

We rode elephants and did the zip-line.  We petted a cheetah, and watched warthogs run around.  We also ate at delicious restaurants, did a bit of shopping, Adam played golf, and Molly and I got our hair done!  It was a great mix of activities, and I'm so glad we went.  If you ever get a chance to visit Africa, I can't say enough good things about South Africa!  Every time we've visited, we've met the nicest people, and had a wonderful time.

Doing Good

I still need to post more pictures from our holiday to South Africa, but that will come a bit later today.  Right now, I want to make sure I write this, while it's fresh in my mind.

I've been in somewhat of a funk for the past few weeks.  There are a lot of reasons, but nothing huge.  As much as I've adapted and learned over the past 18 months, I think I'm still struggling with truly accepting my life here.  I've said before - I don't feel like I belong.  I have a lot of guilt over the undeserved blessings that we have, and there are many days that it feels like a sea of hopelessness is just outside my door.

I try and help where and when I can, but it never feels like enough.

Our maid, Sao, is a single mom.  She has three daughters that she is raising, and now she's also raising her young nephew. She comes to work every single day, with a smile on her face.  She is endlessly kind to me, to the kids, to Adam, to Fletcher.  Her quiet presence makes our house feel like a safe haven in this strange place.  I try to tell her, in my limited Portuguese, how much I appreciate her.  Today I think I was able to show her.

Beautiful Sao!

I made her a dress.  Such a simple thing, but she was SO happy!  She's never had something made just for her, and all of the money she makes goes to support her family.  She thinks that I gave her a gift, but I feel like I got the best gift of all.  In this one person's life, just for today, I made things better.  That's enough, at least for today.

A day in my life

Living an expat life is an entirely different experience from being in the US.  Because this is our first time doing an expat assignment, we've had to adjust to the shock of living in Angola, and adjust to being an expat family.  Angola is such an isolated place, with very few modern conveniences, so it makes the entire experience full of wild contrasts. I've written a lot about how I have to make all of our meals, and often I make a lot of things from scratch. But today, I have a professional chef in my kitchen, making some meals for us! In the US, this would be unheard of - a luxury!  Here, it's not unusual for families to employ a chef several days per week. It's very affordable, and not everyone wants to spend a good chunk of each day in the kitchen. I figure with one day of the chef here, we can get at least three dinners made - and it will cost less than going out to eat ONCE at a nice restaurant in Angola.  But it's still very weird for me to say to people back home, "oh yeah, the chef is here!"

Another odd thing is that the kids are not exposed to all of the commercials and advertisements that are a part of life in America. They have no clue what the latest toys are, what video game just came out, or what clothing is popular. This is a nice thing, because clearly, there's no access to those things anyway. The kids don't ask for toys, and in general, most of the kids here seem very unspoiled. At the same time, you'll hear the kids talking very casually about where they've just gone on holiday, where they're going on the next holiday, and what their chef is making for dinner!  Expat kids are likely to know all the different perks of flying business class vs. economy, and they learn quickly which airlines have the best kid-friendly in flight entertainment. As someone who grew up living in the same small town her entire childhood, these things are just so different (and funny) to hear.

So I guess like anything, there are good and not so good parts about living here.  Some days, it feels like the bad stuff outweighs the good....but it's definitely an experience that our family has gotten a lot out of, and for that, I'm very thankful.  Oh, and I'm also thankful for what our chef has made today! Stuffed chicken with roasted potatoes, lasagna, mini pizzas, couscous salad, marinara sauce with meatballs, banana muffins, and chocolate mousse. YUM!