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!

Madikwe

Our vacation had two parts - for the first six days, we were in Sun City, South Africa.  It was tons of fun, and I will post those pictures in another post.  The final four days were spent at Tuningi Lodge in Madikwe Reserve, also in South Africa.  Those four days were the most amazing that we have had on vacation, and we literally have thousands of pictures.  I will try to share some of the best here.

The watering hole behind our lodge

One of only five cheetahs in the reserve

The animals usually let us get very close!

Us in front of a termite mound - impressive!

We saw, heard, and learned so much in our short time in Madikwe.  All five of us agreed that it was the best trip ever, and we'd love to go back.  It's the first time I've seen nature as beautiful as we experienced in Alaska, and it was awesome.  We met the nicest people, and it was really an experience I will treasure forever.

Fond Farewell

It's that time of year again - VACATION!!!  We are leaving today for our spring break, and I can hardly wait to get on the plane.  I don't care how long the flight is, I don't care if there's any shopping where we're going.....all I care about is knowing that we can leave Angola!

It's been a stressful few weeks here.  Being on the PTA board is awful (though I do love the girls who are on it with me), we've got water problems again, and there have been some robberies/shootings that have happened in places that we go to frequently.  So....this mama needs a getaway.

I was chatting with a neighbor yesterday, who told me that she thinks she might be able to compete with me for the 'house with the most problems' title in our neighborhood.  I laughed, because I had sort of forgotten that we are the proud holders of that title.  Anyway, she's had a leaking roof and mold, and no one seems to be able to fix it.  She has called the help desk numerous times, and each time is told that someone will come, but no one does.  This is nothing new.  What is new is that yesterday she called again, and they told her to be patient, because they'd hired a new service company.  The only catch?  The service company doesn't have any tools yet.  I'll just let that sink in for a moment.


Seriously?  A service company without tools.  Of course!  That, my friends, is the stuff that Angola is made of.

So yes, I'm really anxious to have a break from this place.  I will return with pictures, stories, and hopefully - renewed patience, because clearly I am going to need it!