Negative

Yesterday I stayed home the entire day, waiting for the repair people that we were told were on the way.  All day long, no one came.  This morning, a supervisor came by to look at the water heater, and he thinks the brand new one is broken now - so tonight will be the 4th night in a row of cold showers.  Add this to the fact that the new cell phone that I waited 3 weeks for only worked for one day, the bugs I found crawling in the popcorn kernels I bought last weekend, and our computer's inability to download ANY shows or movies from iTunes.....and I am one unhappy camper.

I try really hard to be positive, and most days it's not so hard.  I can laugh about most of the inconveniences, and having JoAnn to pal around with makes most of the days fun.  But sometimes it just all piles up, and I want desperately to get OUT of here!  I want to sleep without having to be shrouded in a mosquito net.  I want to hop in the car and drive myself wherever I feel like going (mainly Target).  I want to eat at a restaurant without picking through my child's food to remove eggshells, pig hair, or whatever else has been thrown in (that's a story for another day).  In short, I'm just having myself a pity party.  Maybe a cold shower will help!

Under Water

There was a line of 6 taxis, all with "Jesus" on them.

Yesterday was a pretty good day.  JoAnn and I left the compound early in the morning to go fabric shopping in the city.  It took about 2 hours to drive the 15 miles or so into town, which is about what we expected.  On the way, we played our favorite game in Luanda, "What crazy stuff can you spot on the street?"  This game is very entertaining, and there's really only one rule - don't point!  With your car surrounded at all times by people attempting to sell their wares to passengers in cars, pointing at someone means they will assume you want what they are selling - and they will chase your car and knock on the windows to sell it to you.  As always, I'm too chicken to take pictures while we're driving, so JoAnn 'No Fear' Jones handles the photography.

Brooms - not heavy but tricky to balance!

Tupperware

         There  should  be  a  TV  program  showcasing  Angolans' talent for balancing outrageous loads on their heads.  I could nominate a few impressive people.

Fabric shopping was fairly uneventful, but the real excitement started after Adam got home from work. He went upstairs to change his clothes, and yelled out, "We have a problem!" Water was pouring out of the ceiling in our master bedroom, covering the entire floor. Apparently the water heater that was replaced earlier in the week was either A) not installed correctly, or B) the second water heater in less than 2 weeks has broken. Either way, not really a fun way to start the evening. We called the maintenance supervisor, and got a recording that the number no longer exists. We called the help desk, and got no answer. We called the condominium emergency line, and were told, "No fala ingles." So....just a typical experience here! Repair guys finally showed up at 8pm, when the kids were going to bed. They managed to mop up the water in the attic, and disconnect the leaking water heater. When Adam asked if they'd be back to fix it today, they said, "Maybe." In case you don't speak Angolan, let me translate for you - that means "No way it's getting fixed tomorrow!" So now we have no hot water, but hey, there's a pool in the compound, so we'll get clean one way or another.

I'm always being reminded how fortunate we are.

Maracujo

I have a new love here in Angola!  A passion, actually - the passionfruit!  I've always liked passionfruit-flavored juices and smoothies, but I'd never even seen an actual passionfruit before we moved here.

They're weird looking little guys, and they kind of smell up your kitchen when they hang around for a while .....not unlike the maintenance men here!  But the fruit inside is delicious - tart and sweet.  JoAnn brought me one from her vine, and I've become a little obsessed with them.  I'm making passionfruit chicken for dinner tonight.  I asked our gardener to plant two passionfruit vines in  our yard, and then my maid pointed out that we have a BIG one growing in the front already!  Then, as if that weren't enough passionfruit - I used 4 of them and made fresh passionfruit juice today - fabulous!

The Biz

My fledgling home sewing business has taken a big hit since we moved here.  Snapdragon Stitches, my little dream of using my love of fabric, color, children's clothing, and sewing -  to do something that would bring in a little income - well, it's pretty well come to a screeching halt in the past 4 months.  I'm regrouping, and putting together a plan to make my creations something that people know about and can purchase here in Angola.  In the meantime, I'm still sewing up a storm.

Sour Cream Saga, continued

My last post talked about the sour cream crisis in Angola, and apparently I have been deeply affected by it. On Friday JoAnn and I went to ShopRite, which is the closest store to the compound.  They don't carry sour cream, and their selection of food isn't the nicest - but it's a place we go at least once a week and stock up on basics.  So - we're cruising around ShopRite, chatting on a quiet Friday morning, when suddenly I shouted out, "SHUT THE FRONT DOOR!"  JoAnn practically hit the floor, she was so scared, and another lady turned around to stare at me - but I didn't care, I had found SOUR CREAM!!!!  Not only that, but it was less than half the price that the other store charges for it!  The lady that was staring at me couldn't stop laughing, but once she saw what we were excited about, she hurried over to snag some sour cream for herself.  JoAnn and I generously let her have one - and we cleaned out the store of the remaining containers.  I have a sneaking suspicion that I will have a hard time settling back in to life in the US when we return....I feel like I'll be one of those crazed shoppers who have a full stock of hundreds of grocery items in their house at all times.

While we're on the topic of ShopRite, I'll give you an example of why I say it's not the nicest place.  We were trying to find our usual brand of pasta sauce on Friday as well, and though we found it - we didn't end up purchasing any.  Even though JoAnn and I have really prided ourselves on lowering our standards, we couldn't force ourselves to buy the pasta sauce that was covered in ants.  If it had been the sour cream, though - I might have brushed them off!

Hungry

Foraging for food, as you know, is my main job here.  I've been feeling pretty smug the past few weeks, as I felt like I'd gotten a system down, and getting what we needed wasn't too tough.  As usual, as soon as I start patting myself on the back - it all goes downhill!  Last night I started making a new recipe for dinner, only to discover partway through that I didn't have enough sour cream.  I called JoAnn, to see if she had some - she was out, too.  We brainstormed, and came up with the plan to send my driver to the store to get some.  Now - let me pause for a moment here to explain the sour cream situation in Angola.  I think I lived here for almost 3 full months before I saw sour cream for sale, so it's a hot commodity.  When you can find it, it's only in ONE shop in town, and it's $6 for roughly 8 oz.  But we'd seen it in the store just a few days prior, so I was fairly confident that Paolo could find it.  I sent him to the store with the $ and an empty container of the prized sour cream, so there would be no misunderstanding what I needed.  Half an hour later, Paolo returned empty-handed.  No sour cream, madame.

Our dinner was okay, I managed to wing it and make do with what I had....but it was a little reminder of how essential it is to plan ahead. It's a pain in the rear in the US if one store happens to be out of the BRAND of sour cream you want - can you imagine not being able to get any in the entire town?

Cat tongue crackers, however, are no problem to find.

Buddy System

Friends make all the difference in my life. Through all of our many moves (8 since we married, if you're counting!) I've had lots of friends come and go....but most of them have stuck with me, and they are blessings that I am thankful for every day.

When I was pregnant with my first child, I had no friends nearby, and I really struggled with feeling isolated and alone. Through the miracle of the internet, I found a group of ladies who were all expecting babies the same month as me, and they became a source of comfort, humor, and understanding for me. To this day, we keep in touch online, and it never fails to warm my heart when I think of them.

When I moved to Alaska, I knew no one. It was the dead of winter, and I had no idea how I would meet anyone, much less form any friendships. A mom's group led me to find the strangest, funniest, most creative bunch of wickedly smart potty-mouthed friends a girl could ever hope to find!

Now, in Africa, I've become convinced that God really cracked himself up when he sprinkled my future friends all over the globe. JoAnn, who is from Oklahoma, has become my dear friend here. If a day passes without us hanging out or chatting, then it feels like something's just not right. She kicks my butt when I need it, and helps me see the bright side of living in a third world country. This post is just to express what I don't say enough - if you are one of the few people kind enough, brave enough, patient enough to be my friend - thank you. You make my life so much brighter.

Pitiful

Miles has had a cold all week, but he woke up early this morning screaming that his ear hurt.  He's so pitiful when he's sick - he just wants to be held.  I confess, though I hate seeing him in pain, it is really nice to get some snuggle time with the kid who never sits still.

Fletcher agrees.

Am I moving forward?

I often ask myself this same question.

No More Bungo

Some of you know that the driver assigned to us since we've lived here is named Bungo.  He's worked for us 5 days a week, up to 12 hours a day, for the past 4 months.  He's picked up Adam from work and brought him home quite a few times, but the bulk of his time is spent with me.  He is the person I depend on to take me where I need to go in order to provide for my family.  He is the person that I depend on to help me change money, to keep me safe in questionable situations, to keep my kids safe when they're in the car......and all five of us have grown quite fond of him.

Yesterday all of that changed, and it's thrown me off my game a little.  Long story short - he wasn't there when I needed him, which was frustrating - but the real problem is that he lied to me.  He lied to me, then he lied about me....and I'm adding this to the list of things that I've learned about myself:  I do not tolerate dishonesty.  I can roll with the punches, and I like to think that I'm pretty darn easygoing as an employer - but this is one thing I can't - and won't - accept.  So Bungo is going to be reassigned to the pool of drivers that are on call for the driving service, and tomorrow we will meet our new driver.  I'm hurt and disappointed that it's going down like this, but at the same time I feel confident that I'm doing what's best for me and for my family.

And hey, on the bright side - maybe our new driver will go a bit faster so we're not constantly being honked at!  :-)