Life On The High Way
The Travels and Adventures of the High Family
And… We’re back!
We are back in Luanda!
I know I haven’t posted here since March! We took a 17-day trip to Victoria Falls, Sabi Sands and Mauritius and I didn’t want to blog during the trip. I wanted to enjoy it without feeling like I needed to recap every day. And some days were very long. Unfortunately, I never picked the blog back up. I kept thinking I needed to write about the trip before I posted anything else. But, now that we are back after our summer break I decided to move on. It was a fabulous trip and maybe someday I’ll do a recap, but for now, we are fast forwarding to August!
Well, perhaps we should rewind to June. I will not sugarcoat leaving Luanda. I was ready. There is a reason Chevron encourages us to take vacations and that is because while there are amazing things about this expat life – you also need a break.
The kids and I flew back to the states on June 7. We had an 8 hour overnight flight to Frankfurt (there was very little sleep) and then a 10 hour flight to Houston (the kids finally passed out for 2 hours). You know it’s a long flight when you think to yourself “Ok, we only have three hours left.” My parents met us and all of our luggage at the airport. It was a happy reunion. They picked up El Tiempo and Whataburger as our “first meal” in the US. We were all exhausted. My goal was to stay up until 8 pm. I think I made it.
Our summer was full of all the things: swim team, sleepovers, summer camps, tennis lessons, tumbling, time spent with grandparents and other family members, playdates, going to the Lakehouse, and eating all of our favorite food. Jordan flew home in July and we were all thrilled to see him. As a rookie expat, I may (most definitely) have over scheduled us, but when I look back I can’t think of what I would remove. The kids loved their time at home and seeing friends. I enjoyed going to HEB and Target. The summer deserves it’s own recap as well and maybe someday I will get around to it.
We left Houston on August 6 at 6:30 pm with 10 checked bags, 3 carry-ons and 3 backpacks for our 10-hour overnight flight to Frankfurt. Once again, there was very little sleep. We had an eleven hour layover in Frankfurt so we booked two rooms at the transit hotel and crashed hard for about 2 hours. After some mediocre airport food, we took off at 10:00 pm for our 8-hour overnight flight to Luanda. You should be picking up on the theme here… there was very little sleep. We landed at 5:30 in the morning. Luckily, we were out of the airport in an hour! We were home by 7:20 and the kids were playing with friends by 7:30 in the morning. I have no idea how they were still standing, let alone playing.
Here is a short video I made about our 25 plus hours of traveling.
It was good to see Emerson (our driver) and Paula (our maid). While it’s still strange to me that we have people working for us, I can honestly say they are more than just employees to our family. We genuinely like them and want the best for them. Our backup driver, Custodio drove by and rolled down his window to yell “Bom Dia, Madame!” It was a warm welcome back!
The kids played ALL day long. Their lives here remind me of what life must have been like in the 70s for kids. They roam the compound on their bikes, going from house to house, eating lunch or having snacks wherever they are. I literally have no idea where my kids had lunch yesterday. I told Jordan I was feeling guilty about that and he said, “As long as we feed all the kids when they are over here it’s fine.” I’m really thankful my kids get to experience this freedom and I’m also thankful for parents who watch and take care of my children like their own. Other parents have gotten on to my children and I’ve gotten on to theirs. Other parents praise my children and I do the same. I think Monte Belo (our compound) is the epitome of the saying “it takes a village.”
Hudson passed out at 5:30 and slept for 15 hours. Lucy slept for 13. Jordan had to wake up at 4:45 and head to the office. He has been a trooper.
Unfortunately, at this point, I haven’t been out socializing much yet. Our shipment arrived (hallelujah!) while we were gone. That, plus the ten bags I had to unpack, has kept me very busy. I made great progress yesterday although there is still a lot left to do (unpack shoes, organize pantry, organize kitchen, organize “garage”). I cannot express how good it feels to have some of our things here now. There is a peace about being in this house that wasn’t there before. It feels like OUR house and that makes a huge difference.
The rest of the week will be more of the same. I’m going to play tennis this morning with my friend, Karen. We will see how rusty I am. I think I played two or three times over the summer. The kids start school on Monday and I think they are in for a shock when they have to walk out the door at 7:05 to catch the bus for school.
While I was home in Sugar Land, I kept thinking how much I loved our house there. How wonderful it is that my kids are close to their grandparents. How thankful I was for our community in Greatwood. It was bittersweet to head back to Luanda. Now that we are back I feel the same gratitude. While it certainly isn’t always an easy place to live, I am so thankful for the friends and community we have here. Everyone really does help each other out. I’m thankful for the amazing experiences and travel we get to do. Sometimes I find myself falling into a false binary option: this or that. There are times I catch myself picking between Houston or Luanda, but the truth is is can be both: Houston AND Luanda. I can find the things I enjoy about both locations and treasure those for what they are. Bottom line: we are lucky, blessed, and thankful for the stability we love in Sugar Land and our adventure in Luanda.
Let me know if you have any specific questions about our life here!
Until next time…
Sarah
Cape Town – Travel Day to Luanda
I am terrible at finishing up blog posts about our trips. If you look at the posts from our RV trip you’ll notice that there is no post about us actually getting home. My goal was to wrap up our trip to Cape Town… and boy, do I have a story.
When we woke up on Tuesday at our airbnb we thought we were in a pretty good spot. We had packed all our groceries and really only needed to load up and head to the airport. Unfortunately, Lucy’s iPad wasn’t charging and wouldn’t turn on. We definitely weren’t interested in tracking down an iPad in Luanda so we went back to the VA Waterfront to an electronics store. No iPad. They sent us to another store about ten minutes away. They, too did not have a new iPad, but they did have a used/refurbished iPad. So, we bought it. It wasn’t able to download any information before we got on the plane, but at least we had one.
Getting through the airport in Cape Town was a breeze other than our flight being delayed about two hours. We saw our friends in the security line. We grabbed some food to eat on the plane. I alerted Emerson, our driver, that we would be in late so that he wouldn’t have to wait too long at the airport in Luanda for us. The flight was easy. Lucy sat with Jordan this time and they played games. I read and Hudson alternated between watching downloaded movies on his iPad and asking me questions he knew I didn’t have the answer to. For example, “what is the distance between the sun and Mars? (The answer is 142 million miles). He has recently decided he is going to be an astronaut and now, we have space trivia all the time.
We landed in Luanda. You would think if you had a seat at the front of the plane you would be one of the first off, but no. They unload from the back of the plane so we were the last people to disembark. This also meant we were in the back of the line for covid testing, although since we had kids they did let us skip a bit. It also meant we were some of the last people to go through immigration. This is where our night started falling apart.
A quick background about Luanda and visas. Jordan entered the country on a border visa. This means he couldn’t leave the country, but as soon as he arrived Chevron begin the process for him to receive a work visa. The kids and I entered the country on tourist visas. Once Jordan had his work visa, then we could apply for the dependent visas that let us be in the country for one year. The process for us to get our dependent visas was taking longer than expected (everything takes longer than expected in Angola) so Chevron applied to have our tourist visas extended. That extension was approved. Before we left for Cape Town, Jordan confirmed that we were OK to travel to another country on a tourist visa. We have the email that confirms we are all good to travel March 2-8 in Cape Town, South Africa.
Back to Tuesday evening. The immigration officer checked Hudson’s passport and put it aside. Then he checked Jordan’s passport. All of the sudden, someone else came to us and told us that we didn’t have the correct visas to enter the country. We looked at him confused. One, because he was speaking Portuguese, but two, because we confirmed that our visas weren’t an issue. Jordan asked, “so what do we do?” and he replied “Apply for another visa.” The first tourist visa took three days to be approved so I was thinking… ummm, what?! There is a number that Chevron employees have to call during emergencies or situations like this. I told Jordan to call immediately. They told us to wait and that they would send the “travel guy” to the airport. We made that call about 8 pm.
At 9 pm we still had no clue as to what was going on. Jordan would get phone calls that basically said “just wait.” At 9:30 the kids started getting panicky. They were asking if we were going to have to sleep in the airport. I said no, but I wasn’t certain. At 10 pm, they were both so thirsty, that I asked a security officer using broken Portuguese and hand gestures for bottled water for the kids. I’m so thankful he found some. At 10:30 the kids were asking me if we were going to have to take a plane back to America. I once again told them Chevron would get all of this figured out, but I really didn’t know what was going on. We were tired, thirsty, hot, and stressed.
At 10:45, Jordan was finally called back to pay for another round of tourist visas for us. He did and at 11 pm we were finally walking out of the airport. It was a little creepy because there was absolutely no one else in the airport. Our luggage was sitting on the baggage claim carousel. There was no security there. Only Emerson waiting in the area outside baggage claim. He had been waiting just as long, if not longer, than we had! Three hours of being detained by immigration in Angola is three hours too long. I was so thankful to be headed to our house.
I don’t know where the breakdown happened. The HR guy that gave us approval to travel out of the country on our extended tourist visas adamantly claims immigration should have let us in, but others have told me that they had similar issues when traveling on an extended tourist visa. No the tourist visa itself, just the extension. The good news is that while we were in Cape Town, our dependent visas were approved. Our passports were picked up Wednesday morning so that the visa could be affixed properly. Hopefully this means we won’t have any issues when we travel in April. It is also not lost on me that we had to pay for another round of tourist visas after our dependent visas were approved.
I let the kids sleep in Wednesday morning and took them to school late. I, personally, felt like I had an emotional hangover all day. I tried my best to not look afraid or too worried in front of the kids Tuesday night, but being told by officials in a foreign language that we couldn’t leave the airport and go to our house was really upsetting. I seriously thought about refugees and how lucky I was to have a number to call when we were in a bind. So many people are leaving their homes with limited resources, scared children, and heading into countries where they don’t speak the language while war is going on around them. I can’t imagine how hard it is for these mothers who are trying to keep it together for their children.
The night we got home I had a dream about our house in Sugar Land. I was decorating it just like I wanted to and had a distinct feeling of being cozy and safe. I woke up wanting to be home. I know these feelings come and go. I know that in a couple of weeks I will decide I could live as an expat for the rest of my life. But Tuesday evening and Wednesday were hard. Hard days are going to happen. No one said this was always going to be easy, and yet, even in the challenges I know how fortunate we are to have this experience. Although I don’t need to experience being held at immigration in any country again. That box has been checked.
Until next time…
Sarah
Cape Town – Monday
Monday. Our last full day in Cape Town.
We left the house around 9 am and headed to the wine country which is about one hour east of Cape Town. I was hesitant to head out to the vineyards on this trip because we had the kids and typically I wouldn’t bring my kids with me wine tasting. I’m finding out though that other countries are much more accommodating to children than America is and activities are provided to keep them entertained.
Our first stop was Warwick Wine Estate. They had a “wine safari” that seemed a little hokey, but I thought it would entertain the kids. It turned out, we all enjoyed it and learned a lot. We piled in the open top Land Rover and took off into the vines. We learned about the dirt that is best for white wines and which areas from the vines they harvest the grapes from. We were even able to eat some grapes directly off the vine. Hudson asked engaging questions (How many grapes go into one bottle of wine?) and both the kids took photos with their cameras. Our guide, Prince, was personable and we enjoyed his company. As we headed back to the tasting room, Hudson said “this is one of my most favorite things we have done. Let’s put this on the list of things to do when we come back.” I was so surprised… the botanical gardens and the vineyard turned out to be some of his most favorite memories when I was certain he would complain the entire time we were there. Kids… they keep you guessing.
While we tasted the wines, the kids played on the playground. I can’t get over how family friendly these establishments are! After our tasting at Warwick, we headed to Allee Blue for a picnic. Once again, there was a bounce house and a playground. Jordan and I sat and chatted while the kids played. They brought out our picnic and while the kids weren’t all that thrilled with their choices, the adults enjoyed it. I feel like our photos don’t capture the true beauty of this area. I hope we come back!
When I was looking at wineries to go to and things to do in the area I saw something called the Franschhoek Motor Museum. It is a private museum that has four large garages. Each garage has classic cars. The cost was minimal (seriously some things in Cape Town are so affordable!) and we made our way through the cars. My favorite was a mint green 1956 Aston Martin. Hudson thought the 1982 Deloren (the back to the future car was pretty cool). Lucy said she liked and orange one (I don’t think I have a photo of it) and Jordan liked a very old Bugatti. Hudson liked that Alfa Romeo C4.
As we journeyed back to Camps Bay, the area in Cape Town where we were staying, we decided to stay in and order from Uber Eats. We all had our fill of pizza, burgers, seafood and Italian food so I ordered form a Mexican restaurant. While the food sort of scratched the itch of missing our beloved Tex Mex, it still wasn’t quite the same. We are looking forward to a big bowl of queso when we return to Texas for the summer.
Tomorrow is a travel day. I think it is safe to say we are all having mixed feelings about heading back to Luanda. On the one hand, we are ready to be back in our routine. Hudson wants to play tennis and Lucy is ready to go back to gymnastics. On the other hand, in a lot of ways Cape Town felt more like “home.” People speak English, the money is easy, getting around is easier (even if we were driving on the other side of the road), and we can buy pretty much whatever we want or need without much effort. I think that is the most accurate word – effort. It takes effort to live in Luanda and Cape Town was a little more effortless. We do enjoy living in Luanda, but I see why these small breaks are important.
I’m certain we will be back to Cape Town at some point during the time we spend in Luanda. There was much we didn’t do or see and obviously a few things the kids would like to do again!
Until next time…
Sarah
Cape Town – Sunday
Sunday was an easy day for us in Cape Town. We didn’t have plans to be anywhere at a specific time so we had a slow morning which was nice. We have to have a covid test to fly back to Luanda so once we were dressed we headed to a testing site we had registered at earlier. It was a little strange as the pop-up testing center was right next to a rugby field, but it worked out. Shirley, our airbnb host who has been an absolute gem, said she would print out the results once they were emailed to us.
From the covid test we headed to Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens. I was a little unsure of this stop. I had read it was a great spot, but the kids were already complaining about going. It was hot. They were hungry. Lucy asked why I planned the trip to “only do the things you (meaning me) wanted to do.” I kept my cool although I wanted to scream at how lucky they were to be in CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA and to get it together! I told Jordan that first thing we were doing once we arrived was heading to the restaurant to eat in hopes my children would have full bellies and, in turn, have grateful hearts. I’m so glad we went directly to the restaurant as we snagged the last table before a huge crowd showed up. The food was much better than I was anticipating. Once the kids were fed and happy we headed off.
I’m certain we only saw a small section of the botanical gardens, but what we saw was amazing! The kids ran along the paths, climbed trees and took photos. We did a tree canopy walk. When we had to leave the kids didn’t want to go. Hudson said “this is a definitely a place I want to come back to the next time we are in Cape Town” and Lucy later apologized for saying I only planned things I wanted to do since “the gardens were amazing.” In hindsight, I’m really glad I kept my cool because having them come to those realizations on their own probably made more of an impact than me ranting and raving about how entitled they were acting when they were complaining about having to go there.
We headed back to our airbnb for a couple of hours. We have been on the go and we all needed some downtime. I finished a book. The kids did stuff on their iPads. I really have no idea what Jordan does when we all zone out. I should ask him.
Once we were sufficiently recharged we headed to the grocery store to load up on some goodies to take back to Luanda. We bought snacks, baking mixes, chocolates, nuts (nuts are SO expensive in Luanda), and a few gluten free options. After we put the groceries in the car, I ran to a store nearby and grabbed a swimsuit cover up and a hat. The sun in Angola is incredibly strong and I need to have a hat on most of the time I walk outside, but my hats are…. you guessed it… in our shipment. Now I’m prepared for more pool days in Luanda and our trip in April.
Another Chevron family was in town and we had plans to meet up at a brewery. They got there first, and said the food looked terrible. The location seemed terrible, too. It was in some sort of cruise terminal. We picked them up in our rental car (that seats seven) and headed to what we thought was another beer centric restaurant. Upon further reflection, I’m fairly certain it was a bar. We were there early enough that no one else was really there so we grabbed a couple of beers, some burgers and enjoyed the company. The area was really picking up when we left and I’m sure it looked a little funny when we strolled out of The Beer House with four kids in tow.
We made it back to our lovely house and settled in for the night. Tomorrow is our last full day in Cape Town and while I’m looking forward to getting back into my routine, I am also already counting the days until we can come back here. It has become one of my favorite cities!
Until next time…
Sarah
Cape Town – Friday and Saturday
We decided not to go to Table Mountain on Friday as it was too cloudy. We had designated Sunday as a day of shopping, but changed our plans and went ahead and did the shopping on Friday. We went to the VA Waterfront.
I know it may sound ridiculous to go shopping while we are in Cape Town, but keep in mind that one, we haven’t received most of our stuff from America and two, most things in Luanda are extremely expensive. We had varied things on our shopping lists like dog leashes/collars, bed sheets, tennis rackets, and a cookie sheet we can use until our shipment arrives. We also needed to buy the kids new shoes. I bought shoes and included them in our shipment, but they won’t get here in time before the kids outgrow their current sizes. We brought an empty suitcase to carry all of our purchases back to Angola. Before we leave we will also hit the grocery store!
While we were shopping, we all got hungry and our family can get downright hangry. I was hoping to sit outside at the waterfront and have a nice meal, but the kids saw there was a McDonald’s and were so happy! I was not, but it worked out well because we didn’t have a ton of time to spend at lunch anyway. We knocked a few more things off the list (headphones for Lucy as hers broke, hats for all of us), and then headed back to our house around 3 pm.
Our friends who are also in Cape Town mentioned they were at the beach so we quickly changed into our swimsuits and walked the two minutes to sand. The kids were elated to see friends and we were, too! The wind was too strong at the beach so we moved to a tidal pool nearby for a couple of hours. We all decided to go to dinner together at a nearby restaurant cleverly named The Codfather. The restaurant is also near our house so on the way home I stopped by and mentioned 13 of us would be coming for dinner. They told me they had an outdoor “terrace” that would fit us. I wouldn’t call it so much a “terrace” as a side porch, but it worked and the kids were contained.
The Codfather has a conveyer belt of good sushi, but the highlight of the meal is that you go with your server to the fish counter to pick out the fish they will grill for you. Not only that, you watch them cut it and you then indicate if you want more or less. They had at least eight different types of fish. Three of the adults went to pick out the food and we chose tuna, salmon (hard and expensive to get in Luanda), king clip, seabass, and scallops. The food and service was great and the company was even better. I’m glad we were able to see our Luanda friends for a bit in Cape Town.
The wind continued all night Friday. It was so thunderous that I was sure there would be damage to our AirBnb. I have never heard wind that loud that wasn’t accompanied by a storm. By Saturday morning the wind was gone and the skies were perfectly calm. After we dressed and had coffee (hello my old friend, Starbucks!) we headed out to Boulder’s Beach to see the penguins. The drive south was beautiful, but I don’t have any photos because I was a little stressed. There were so many bikers on the road. I have never seen so many cyclists anywhere in my life. The roads were narrow, curvy, and hilly. I told Jordan these cyclists had to be confident in their abilities to climb these hills and to not be hit by a car.
We had been told that there are two ways to get to Boulder’s Beach. One is the boardwalk. The other, you go to a beach and then climb over a boulder (makes sense) and then you will be on the beach with the penguins. We opted to climb over the boulders. I underestimated how big these boulders would be. I had on a dress and sneakers that didn’t have much grip. We all managed to make it over and see the penguins. The penguins weren’t interested in us at all. It was kind of funny, but very cool to be walking around them. Of course, Hudson climbed every boulder that he could. Lucy also followed along.
After Boulder’s Beach we drove 20 minutes to a nearby restaurant that someone had recommended to us. Blue Water Cafe had a wonderful view, playground that kept the kids entertained, and great food. It was such a lovely afternoon.
On our way home, we decided to do Table Mountain. I had already purchased tickets so we parked and stood in line for the cable car. Luckily, we didn’t have to wait long. The trip up to the mountain was much quicker than I anticipated. Those cable cars can move. I had made the kids bring their jackets because I had heard it could be cold and windy at the top. We happened to be there on a warm day so instead of jackets we were seeking out shade. The views were incredible. Hudson said they should build a hotel on the top of the mountain. After our look around (and a fight in the gift shop were I refused to buy Hudson yet another hat), we headed down the mountain. We arrived home after a full day feeling tired, but grateful.
Hudson took his new racket outside and “practiced” tennis while the rest of us relaxed. He was begging for me to find him a tennis court to play on, but all of the tennis courts nearby are part of a club. He suggested we join. I said no. We realized we needed to eat dinner and headed to a restaurant I had read about. Unfortunately, a huge van for a bachelor party was parked right in front of the restaurant and blocked our view for our entire dinner.
The kids wanted to play on the beach so Jordan and I found a bench to watch the sun set while the kids played. They started playing tag which then turned into roughhousing. They both were enjoying themselves and we let them wrestle, but I kept thinking people were probably wondering where the parents were of these children who were participating in fight club.
Once the sun set, we walked home, took showers and went to bed at a decent time.
I mentioned to Jordan last night that I’m not sure if I’m enjoying Cape Town because it’s that incredible or because it is such a contrast to living in Luanda where buying and purchasing items is so hard. I think it is probably both. Cape Town is special and I’m so thankful we are spending time here. I never thought I would vacation in South Africa and here we are!
Until next time…
Sarah
Traveling to Cape Town
From the time we heard we were moving to Luanda people told us we will spend long weekends in Cape Town. It wasn’t a suggestion, but merely a statement. I didn’t really understand until we arrived in Luanda, but now we get it. Since things are so expensive in Luanda and, let’s be honest, some things are really hard, traveling to a place where you can buy items that aren’t triple what you would pay in America AND have the ability to simply use your credit card seems luxurious.
We left our house yesterday morning at 6 am and arrived at the airport at 6:30. Our flight was scheduled to leave at 9. I thought Jordan was being an anxious traveler for getting us there so early, but as it turns out… we got there just in time. I think we waited in a total of seven lines before we boarded the plane. Passports, Covid tests, yellow fever cards… there was so much documentation to have and to keep track of as well. The plane looked old me, but I was told that’s only because they don’t update the interior of the planes like they do in America.
We were all settled in and were about to take off. And when I say we were about to take off I mean the pilot accelerated quickly and then immediately stopped. We were then told there was a mechanical issue and headed back to the gate. After sitting on a VERY hot plane for twenty minutes, they told us all to get off. We waited inside for maybe 45 minutes before allowing us to get back on the plane. I didn’t realize how much I was looking forward to this trip until there was a chance it might not happen. I was so incredibly disappointed. We all were. When we sat down in our original seats Lucy exclaimed “They put us back on the same plane?!?” I told her that it wasn’t in the airlines interest to fly a large group of people if they were certain the plane was fixed and that seemed to alleviate her fears.
The flight was about 3.5 hours. They served us lunch. I tried to nap and read a book. The kids and Jordan played games on their iPads. Arriving in Cape Town was so easy. I was prepared for the seven lines we had in Luanda, but we simply had to fill out a health declaration, show our passports to customs and then go pick up our rental car.
The rental car! Jordan keeps saying he is driving on the “wrong” side of the road. I’m trying to say we are driving on the “other” side of the road because it’s not right or wrong… just different. The other interesting thing is that our rental car is a manual transmission. Neither of us have driven a manual transmission in quite some time. Add in the hills in Cape Town and it was an experience getting to our AirBnB. Jordan did great though. I think the most disconcerting part of the drive was seeing cars coming at you on the other side of the road. My instinct was telling me they were in our lane, but obviously that isn’t true.
Our Airbnb has a lot of character. Keith, the owner, met us and walked us through the house explaining keys, alarms, wifi, etc. I think he was British and I told Jordan it felt like Hugh Grant’s cousin was giving us the tour. He was funny in a charming way. The house is large – probably too large for us. When I was looking for airbnbs I had to be mindful of cancellation policies. Most would only let me cancel within 48 hours of booking. Given that we had to test for COVID and travel restrictions are always changing I needed a house that would let us cancel closer to our arrival date just in case. The location is amazing and the hosts are so sweet. There was a personalized welcome note along with a cake and lollipops for the kids. They also put some basics in the fridge like milk, eggs, fruit, yogurt, bread and a bottle of wine.
We were all so hungry that as soon as Keith left we headed out the door to eat. It was a short walk (like two minutes!) to beachfront where there are tons of restaurants. We ended up at Surf Shack. Hudson was incredibly hangry. He wasn’t all that impressed with his airplane lunch and when I thought about it he hadn’t had a snack all afternoon. We ordered calamari as soon as we sat down. Note to self – make Hudson eat while traveling. The kids had pizza. I’ve mentioned the meat in Luanda isn’t the best. Apparently the kids have noticed and missed it because they ordered a bacon and pepperoni pizza. I had grilled fish and Jordan had an ahi tuna burger. The food was good, but we were so hungry that I’m sure anything at that point would have been great. The sunset was gorgeous and I sat there thankful the trip actually happened.
This morning we were going to head to Table Mountain, but it looks a bit cloudy. It might clear off later today. We are adjusting our plans a bit. It’s funny. You would think after living through a pandemic and moving to a foreign country I would have learned to not hold to my plans so tightly, but I’m having a hard time this morning letting go of the itinerary I created for our time here. I had a specific way I thought we were going to explore Cape Town, but the weather is telling me otherwise. I know it will all work out. I mean, we are in CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA! I can just enjoy being here!
The kids are stirring and we are going to figure out our next step for today.
Until next time…
Sarah
Life in Luanda: An Update
I know it’s been a while. In some ways it’s hard to recount your life when it becomes very normal and routine even if you are living in a foreign country. I’m grateful for the normalcy, but it doesn’t make for very exciting blog posts. To catch up I’ve listed bullet points below and included photos at the end of the post. We leave on our first short trip this Thursday and we are all looking forward to it!
- Yesterday marked seven weeks we have been in Luanda. Jordan and I both agreed that it feels longer. I’m not sure if that’s a good or a bad thing. Maybe it’s both. On one hand, we have settled in fairly quickly and living here feels very normal. On the other hand, we have had to jump through a lot of hurdles.
- Our shipment will not arrive until May 9. There were groans, rolled eyes, some tantrum throwing and general bad attitudes when we found this out. The kids weren’t happy either. We leave for Texas in mid-June so at this point, I’m hoping I can get everything unpacked and put away before we leave for the summer. Yes, I’ve already calculated that I will only have a little over four weeks with my beloved coffee maker before we leave.
- Our fifth week here was tough. I think we all hit a wall. The realization that we aren’t on vacation and that we actually live here sank in. I keep saying it because it’s true, but the good is really good and the hard is really hard. The kids miss certain things in America… mainly food and things like their bikes, rollerblades, and some toys. Jordan and I were both in a funk which is saying a lot because Jordan doesn’t get in a funk easily. I logically knew “the dip” was coming as we had been warned it happens, but I thought we were all doing so well. And we are, but it’s normal to have a hard week regardless of where you live. I’m happy to report that after that week we all perked up a bit.
- Hudson is obsessed with tennis. OBSESSED. I think he has played at least 3-4 hours each day of our holiday weekend. Whether or not this obsession will stick or goes the way of golf, baseball, and soccer is TBD, but I’m happy he is outside playing and not arguing with me about screen time.
- Today is Mardi Gras and Hudson desperately wants a King Cake. I’m doing my best to make one, but I’m using a large water bottle as a rolling pin so I hope his expectations aren’t too high.
- Lucy has started taking tumbling and hip hop classes at a local studio. The instruction is all in Portuguese, but it’s a great way for her to pick up the language and luckily with dancing you just need to follow along.
- One day last week the water just stopped working while I was in the middle of a shower. I had just lathered up my hair with loads of Pantene when all of the sudden the water pressure dropped. I thought… maybe Paula turned the water on somewhere else in the house, but that never has caused the water to just stop. Turns out… we just didn’t have any water. I had no idea why. After a panicked WhatsApp message to a group of friends I tried to flip the breakers. No water. Someone suggested turning a valve on the ground outside. No water. Unfortunately, it is the Chevron employee (Jordan) who is the only one who can submit a “ticket” for a work order which makes no sense because usually the Chevron employee is at work while their spouse is running around in a towel with shampoo in their hair trying to solve the water problem. Jordan was home, but in a meeting, so I snuck into his office to get the name, email or phone number of anyone I could call. After texting, gesticulating and sighing loudly to get his attention I finally had an email address. As I’m sending an urgent email Paula tells me she is just going to walk down to the administration office and tell them to come fix it. Bless this woman. Before she left though she pointed at my hair and made a face like… is that what it normally looks like? At least I had some comic relief. They came and about two hours later the water was fixed.
- I’ve started taking Pilates two days a week. It’s SO HARD! The instructor will demonstrate movements that look easy, but that I can barely execute. It’s nice to change up my workout a bit! I’m still taking tennis lessons and would like to think I’m getting better, but I’m not really sure.
- Jordan is still mountain biking most weeks. A couple of weeks ago we met him at Shipwreck Beach once his ride was done. Shipwreck Beach is north of the city and derelict ships are stored there until they are completely scrapped. Getting there was an adventure. At one point I wasn’t sure if the company van we were in was going to be able to clear a section of the road, but it did and we ended up on a very deserted beach. Some of the other bikers brought grills so we cooked food on the beach and enjoyed the company. I’m glad I’ve seen Shipwreck Beach, but I don’t need to go back. That box has been checked and I prefer the beaches south of the city.
- Cooking here is getting a little easier. Most of our meals are vegetarian because the meat here isn’t very good. I’ve found a new to me website – cookieandkate.com – that is my go-to while we are in Angola. If you are looking for some vegetarian meals I suggest checking it out.
- Access to money is still hard. We have the cash we brought with us, but that won’t last us until June. We obviously have money in our US bank account, but getting it transferred into kwanzas and into our local bank account is incredibly challenging. Angolan banking laws are arcane. I *think* we have figured out a solution, but nothing seems guaranteed here.
- I say that because a week ago Saturday, Jordan and I went to lunch. On our way out, he decided to use the multicaxia (ATM) machine so that we can get an app to make bank transfers. Yes, it’s confusing. Use the ATM machine so you can get an app so you can make transfers from your phone. This would be very helpful as we have several coaches to pay each week (swim, soccer, tennis, dance). The machine is in Portuguese and it kept timing out as Jordan figured out the translation. Each time it timed out he would insert the card again using the CORRECT pin number, but he used it too many times within a certain time frame. The machine KEPT OUR CARD!! The screen went red, an angry face appeared, and from what I gathered it basically said “you’re out of luck.” The one debit card we share between us is gone! All the kwanzas we have in our account we can’t access. The bank is only open on Tuesdays and Wednesdays so Jordan had to go back to the bank to get another card.
- We went to the beach again this past Saturday. Going to Cabo Ledo, an area south of Luanda, is quickly becoming one of our favorite things to do here. The kids took surfing lessons and had a blast. They had so much fun they both took two surfing lessons! Lucy’s instructor stabilized her board so she was able to get up on her surf board fairly quickly. It took Hudson longer since his instructor wasn’t stabilizing his board, but after he stood up once he got up on the board every other time. We had fresh grilled lobster on the beach and it was delicious. Going to Surfer’s Beach is such a fun thing to do with friends and I wish I could take all my friends “back home” there.
- Speaking of friends, we feel incredibly fortunate to have met some really great people here. Living abroad is such a wonderful opportunity and one of the best things about it is becoming friends with other expats!
- The kids are enjoying the new friends they are making. We have had several birthday parties the past few weekends at our rec center and other playdates with friends.
- Lucy and I went and got our nails done yesterday. We really enjoyed the salon and the owner, Lucia, was so kind! She and Lucy hit it off so much so that she didn’t charge us for Lucy’s manicure and pedicure. She gave us her number so we could book services in the future. I really enjoyed our experience there!
- This week we head to Cape Town, South Africa for five days. We are looking forward to it! Stay tuned for our South African adventures!
PHOTOS!
Until next time…
Sarah
Week 4: A lot of Beach Photos
It’s hard to believe we have been in Angola for four weeks. Some days I feel like we have settled in to our new home and other days I am wondering when we will head “home” to our normal lives.
We had a good week with a couple of not so great moments. We didn’t have a driver on Monday which was fine, but not normal. We met our back-up driver, Paulo on Tuesday. He will work two days a week so Emerson can have some time off. Emerson had worked every day for three weeks straight so I was happy he was getting a break. The other notable item on Monday was that maintenance installed a gate on our stairs so that the dogs (really, just Mollie) won’t go upstairs. Mollie has been pretty terrible since she arrived here. Her main offense is using the restroom on our beds. Yes, our beds. It also doesn’t help that we have the smallest washer and dryer ever so to wash bedding takes some time! I was seriously asking Jordan how we tell the kids she is leaving our house forever, but we found out maintenance will install a gate so we are trying this first. The gate works, but now she is pulling off shoes from our shoe rack by the front door and chewing them. She is the worst dog.
On Tuesday, I went with three other ladies from our compound to Cantinho do Sossego, a traditional Angolan restaurant, for lunch. The entire restaurant is outdoors and the tables are under several huts. One of the ladies speaks Portuguese so explained the menu to us. It’s so nice to have someone who speaks Portuguese in your party and it’s even better that I really enjoy her company! We ordered way too much food, but [most of] it was delicious. Funge, one of the more popular Angolan dishes which is made from cassava flour whisked in boiling water, was a strange consistency. You are supposed to eat it with a sauce, but the texture was just a little too sticky for me. The rest of the food, which included fish, beef, rice and beans was tasty though and I’m glad we tried it. I plan on taking Jordan and the kids soon.
On Tuesday, the kids started swimming with Coach Joao. There are a lot of Coach Joao’s in our life as this is the name of their tennis coach, too. Swimming Coach Joao went to the Olympics in 2000 and seems to be a great instructor. For the first thirty minutes of their 1.5 hour lesson, they did conditioning drills that consisted of squats, push-ups, running, and crunches. I don’t know much about swimming, but Joao had them working on technique and was great at explaining what they needed to do differently.
Jordan went to the bank on Wednesday so we could open a local account and get a debit card. In America going to the bank is a normal, if irritating, errand. Here, it’s an ordeal. First of all, the bank is only open on Wednesdays which means it gets crowded quickly. Jordan left the house at 6 am even though Banco Sol didn’t open until 8. Once he was there it took a couple of hours to open the account and get a card. He came home around 10:30 am to an elated wife who was very excited to have a debit card. I will still carry some cash around, but I won’t have to carry such a large amount. Later that day, we found out the bank will open on Tuesdays as well to hopefully alleviate the very long wait times.
Later that afternoon I was sitting at my desk and Mollie was outside. She had run through the sprinklers and was soaking wet. Our grass is still growing in so there is a lot of red dirt in our backyard which had turned to red mud in the sprinklers. Mollie, per usual, was a disaster. I decided to leave her in the backyard to dry off. A few minutes later out of the corner of my eye I saw two large dogs run in my backyard. They did not look like they wanted to play. Almost immediately Mollie came running to the back porch as the larger dogs were trying to pin her down. I started screaming Jordan’s name. He started running down the stairs, which now has a gate and therefore slowed Jordan down, and Paula rushed in from the kitchen. I had two thoughts going through my mind. One, I don’t really like Mollie, but I didn’t want to watch her die. And two, I was hoping that we could get Mollie taken care of before the kids buses arrived. I seriously thought they might come home to a dead dog and lots of blood on the back porch. As I was panicking, I kept thinking didn’t want to open the back door because I was afraid the larger dogs would push their way in, but Paula, who was much calmer than I was, opened the door about 4 inches. Just as Mollie was about to really get torn apart she was able to flip out from under the dogs and rush in. Mollie was shaking all evening long, refused to go in the backyard, and wouldn’t eat her food. We could tell she was sore and had one small tooth mark in her side. We were very lucky that is all that happened to her. Like I said, I have seen these dogs before on the loose. They seem OK with people, but I have genuine concerns about what they would do to a toddler if they wandered into someone else’s backyard. We have let the correct people know about the dog attack, but I expect little to be done about it as people have complained about these dogs before. They live with an Angolan who is a few houses down from us. I’m not sure who they are, but I know they are important as they have a police escort when they drive their very expensive car out of the compound. At least there is a record of this happening so that when, not if, it happens again, there will be a history. I know make sure the gates are closed before I let Maisie and Mollie outside. And I made sure to tell the kids Paula saved Mollie’s life.
I can’t remember what day it was, but Paula brought Lucy a dress. I’m not sure if she bought it or made it, but it’s darling. When I asked her how much I owed her she said “No, madame! From me! From me!” I’m still not 100% comfortable employing two people full-time, but I genuinely like them both and want to do as much as I can to be a good employer and take care of them the best we can.
Bringing it back to a more superficial topic, I had dyed my hair more my natural color before moving to Luanda. I wasn’t sure what my options would be to maintain my highlights so that felt like the safest option at the time. After I lived here couple of weeks though, I knew I needed to find someone who could take me back to blonde. One, it’s warm and tropical here so my brown hair didn’t feel right and really, I just didn’t feel like myself when I looked in the mirror. I went back to VIP Beauty Salon where a lady named Mirna, who is from Lebanon and one of the co-owners of the salon, highlighted my hair for me. She was a lot of fun and she did a good job. There was one moment though I was concerned because she asked me if I wanted gray. “Gray?!” I asked! “Yes, gray,” she replied. I said “umm, no gray!” The other interesting thing was that there were five people helping with my hair! FIVE! Mirna and a lady she trained were highlighting it. (Mirna was doing the front and the top and the other lady was doing the back). Then there were two people holding the dye and another lady handing out the foils. I also was given a fresh passion fruit juice! My hair turned out well and I am thankful I found a place here I can maintain my highlights.
Most of the time, having one driver isn’t really an issue, but Thursday afternoon it was. I was done with my appointment and ready to get home knowing the kids would be home soon, but Jordan had asked Paulo to take his copied passport to be notarized. (Remember how important notarized passports are? We don’t want to be on the wrong side of a police stop again!) I waited for thirty minutes hoping Paulo’s task would wrap up before I asked a friend if their driver could come get me. Luckily, he could and 45 minutes after my appointment was done, I was finally headed home. I do miss my independence in just heading out when I want to. For example, today I need bananas and chicken. In Sugar Land, that would be a quick trip to HEB. Now, I’m waiting on Emerson to finish getting the car washed and when he gets back then I can head to the store. Maybe this is all teaching my patience. Or to stock up on groceries.
The kids didn’t have school on Friday which was nice. We went to the store for food for for the weekend and our day beach trip. Then we had a mostly lazy day around the house. Later that afternoon we went to the pool for a little bit before I headed home to prep for our beach day on Saturday.
Saturday, we met up with several other families around 8 am and headed to Cabo Ledo. Cabo Ledo is roughly 2 hours south of Luanda and the drive was beautiful. We first went to Praia dos Surfistas (Surfer’s Beach) and were amazed at how pretty and fun it looked. The sand isn’t white, but the water is crystal clear although a little chilly. Hudson also loved the large rocks on the beach and found a few “caves” he and his friend, Lucas, explored. There is a small restaurant you can order food and drinks from as well as cabanas you can rent for the day. They also provide surfing lessons (Hudson said he wants to do it next time!) for about $14/hour. The surfing looked like fun. I might even try it next time we are there. We stayed for about an hour and then headed to our reservations for lunch at a resort, Carpe Diem, nearby. We estimated it was about 15 minute walk (maybe 25 with kids), so we sent the gear with the drivers and started walking. The walk ended up being more like 35-40 minutes, but it was enjoyable. The restaurant has plenty of room for the kids to play and the beach was close by. The parents took turns watching the kids when they were in the water. While the food at the restaurant was delicious, the service was inconsistent. It took me 1.5 hours to get my first caipirinha and lunch overall took about 3.5 hours. It was ok as we weren’t really in a rush, but it did make for a long day. I think I would only go back to Carpe Diem if we had a reservation for the night there. If we were just going for the day I would stay at Praia dos Surfistas.
On our way home, we saw several monkeys on the side of the road. Emerson told us they like cookies, so Jordan held an Oreo out of the window and a monkey ran up to the car and took it from him! We really enjoyed our time in Cabo Ledo and I am trying to find a way to get back there as soon as possible. I see us spending many days at Praia dos Surfistas.
Jordan went mountain biking again on Sunday and rode 43 km (26.7 miles). He had a fall and is a little sore, but I can tell he is proud of his war wounds. The kids and I were lazy most of the day Sunday. I prepped my usual food – made hummus, boiled eggs, and cut up fruit – for the week. Lucy had a friend come over to play and they pretended they got married. They also pretended they honeymooned in New Mexico. I can’t say that would be my first choice of a honeymoon destination, but they seemed cool with it. Lucy said “it’s what we both agreed on.” They are already learning how to compromise in marriage. Hudson was able to play Xbox with some friends in Houston. While I’m not the biggest video game fan, I do appreciate that he is able to keep in touch with his friends at home though them. Around dinner time we FaceTimed family. After watching a Lego Masters, everyone went to bed ready to start week five in Luanda.
I think this was our most “normal” week here so far. We are settled into routines. We are making good friends. Not everything is new and different anymore and we are able to relax a little. When everything is new, it’s exciting, but also exhausting. In small and slow ways, I can tell we are making this place our home. Now… if only our shipment would leave Houston.
Until next time…
Sarah
Week 3: Pink Eye, Soccer & Mountain Biking
Week Three started off with our normal routine of school and tennis mixed with some pool time. On Tuesday, I mentioned to Jordan that I was “a little bored.”
I love routine, but I’m not nearly as busy as I was in Houston with various obligations. I’m trying to enjoy the downtime, but I also like to be challenged in some ways. Anyway, I suppose I shouldn’t have said anything about being bored because on Wednesday morning, Lucy woke up with pink eye. This wasn’t the type of excitement I was looking for, but our routine for Wednesday was disrupted. I took her to the International SOS which is around the corner from our house. It was the easiest doctor’s appointment. We walked in, they verified we were with Chevron, we waited a bit, saw the dr and she confirmed it was conjunctivitis. She told us she would be right back and 45 seconds later she was handing me eye drops and sent us on our way.
Lucy was fine and I needed to run to the store for a few things. She came with me and while there suggested we buy Paula and Emerson something. We got them both a small package of cookies they could take home to their kids. While we were out we passed a martial arts studio and I told Emerson that Lucy had asked to do Jiu Jitsu. He got the biggest kick out of that.
The kids started soccer this week. Lucy wasn’t going to play, but then was cajoled to. The lesson started at 4 pm and at 4:12 she came over asking me if she could quit. Ha! I told her she had to finish the class she started, but didn’t have to play soccer if she didn’t want to. She doesn’t.
Hudson started playing soccer on Thursday. Coach Tony played for the national team at some point and seems to be a very good coach. Hudson loves soccer (although he has only played one season of recreational soccer), and didn’t mind that it was blazing hot while he practiced. He immediately went from soccer to tennis so it’s safe to say he was pretty worn on Thursday evening. While Hudson was in lessons, Lucy was swimming in the pool with her friends. After all of her friends left, she continued playing with some Angolan children. Jordan looked over and they were touching her hair which we found amusing. We think it’s because of her red color.
Both kids have made friends at school. Given it’s an international school, they have made friends from Angola, South Africa, Peru, Columbia, and California. On Thursday, Hudson’s class hosted a “Celebration of Learning.” In normal times (do we even know what those are anymore?), parents would attend these in person, but this was on Zoom. Hudson’s class had taken the subject of flooding and incorporated it into every subject. He read about flooding, did science experiments on flooding, somehow did math about flooding, and conducted research on flooding. He was broken into a small group of three and their focus was the recent volcanic explosion and tsunami that affected Tongo in early January. To show their knowledge they hosted a “newscast” during the zoom call. It was fun to see Hudson interact with his classmates.
Friday, I ventured out to get my nails done. A neighbor had her nails done at a salon nearby, so I went to the same place. The location is interesting because it’s in a house, but most of the houses around it also were businesses. Another interesting thing is that the technicians did one foot and one hand at a time. In the states, they will clip the cuticles on one hand then clip the cuticles on the other. Not here. They focused on one hand and one foot at a time. I will say it was one of the more thorough pedicures I have ever gotten. The salon was nice and very affordable. In Luanda, it seems that goods are expensive, but labor is cheap which, I would assume, is problematic for the locals here. I met the owner, also named Sarah. I’m going back this week to get my hair done by a woman from Portugal.
Fridays are nice because there are no after-school activities and it truly feels like the weekend has kicked off. The kids and Jordan went to the pool for a bit that evening. Saturday, we went to what I call “the beer place” for lunch. Technically it is called Cerverjaria Pur Malta and they usually have imported beer on tap except for the Saturday we went which was disappointing. Oh well, we had caipirinha’s instead (which quickly becoming my favorite drink here) while the kids played card games and had plank and push-up contests with their friends. The food was good (Hudson gave the hamburger two thumbs up) and I expect we will be back.
After lunch we went to a hair salon and Jordan, Hudson, and Lucy got haircuts. They turned out great and the price ended up being about $10 per haircut. Once again, goods are expensive, but labor is cheap.
Speaking of hair… I’m going off on a tangent… my hair is so gross here. It’s hot and humid – not unlike Houston’s summers. It’s often during the summer in Texas I contemplate cutting off my hair which is what I am doing now, but then I would have a harder time pulling it back into a ponytail.
Saturday night we ended back up at… you guessed it… the pool. The kids have such fun there. Sometimes they play on the playground, sometimes they are playing swimming games. On Saturday night, an older girl was trying to teach Lucy how to dive. I bet in a couple of weeks she will have it down.
Jordan left about 6:30 am to go mountain biking on Sunday. He drove about an hour south of Luanda and then rode 23 km while ascending 241 km. He said it was very technical riding, but that he also found himself riding through a goat herd, private farms (the farmers didn’t care and came out to say hello), and saying hi to kids that came running after them. After the ride, the group went to a restaurant near the Kwanza river. He enjoyed himself and hopes to do at least a weekly mountain biking while we are here. He was also very tired and very red when he got home Sunday afternoon.
While he was mountain biking, I was preparing for the week. I made banana bread muffins for the kids to take to school as a snack and I made some hummus to go with our veggies. I hard-boiled some eggs so we have another easy snack to grab and go. I also went ahead and cut up our mangos and watermelon for easy access. Food here is still hard, but it’s getting easier. It wasn’t all work though. Hudson and I went and played a little tennis on Sunday.
Our shipment is still in Houston. That’s all I have to say about that at the moment.
We are starting to plan for our two-week spring break trip in April. I started poking around to plan it myself, but felt overwhelmed with my options so contacted a travel agent for some guidance. She has already proven to be invaluable! Once we are confirmed, I’ll share the details about where we hope to go.
This week felt more “normal” and for that I am grateful. I’m not as anxious going grocery shopping or running errands by myself because I have a better handle on the money situation. I finally bit the bullet and bought a couple of kitchen items to make cooking a little easier (a hand mixer and a couple of plastic bowls). It’s hard to spend a lot of money on items you know are coming in your shipment, but these were the items I was borrowing the most so I decided to go ahead and get them since we have no idea when our stuff will actually arrive.
Jordan is busy with work, Hudson loves his freedom running around the compound, and I’m having a difficult time keeping up with all of Lucy’s playdate requests from friends. It was a good week, minus the pink eye, and this place is starting to feel less like a long-term VRBO and a little more like home.
Until next time…
Sarah
Week 2 in Luanda, Angola
I’ve been trying to decide how I’m going to recap our time here in Luanda. While I could probably write a daily blog I think it will be best if I commit to a weekly post. This isn’t like our RV trip in that our time here is only 7 weeks, so to to say I will write a daily blog for years is only setting me up for failure.
I will go back and write about week 1 (highlights: virtual schooling is still terrible, internet issues are still frustrating, kids are loving it here), but to kick off the weekly routine I’m starting with Week 2.
Monday was a big day! The kids went to their first day of face to face schooling at Luanda International School. Here, Hudson is in Year 5 (4th grade) and Lucy is in Year 2 (1st grade). There are two classes for each grade. Luckily, Hudson and Lucy met kids in our neighborhood (compound… I’m not entirely sure what to call it), that are in their classes so while there were normal first day jitters they weren’t as bad as I was expecting. There are four buses that take kids ages 3 – 18 from Monte Belo, where we live, to the school. These aren’t regular school buses. Below is a picture of Hudson by the bus. There is a bus parent on each bus. The woman who organizes bus duty is a saint. She prints out a student checklist for each bus everyday and the entire process is very efficient. I love efficiency. The kids came home and reported they had a great day at school which was so wonderful to hear! The school is a lot of one story buildings on a lush and green campus so they keep saying how big the school is. They also have Portuguese, singing, visual arts, performing arts, PE and swimming classes in addition to their regular courses.
Monday was also a big day because Paula, our empregada (maid) started. Most families here have an empregada. Paula is here Monday – Friday from about 7:30 am – 3 pm. She only speaks Portuguese and I only speak English so we laugh as we make our way through the google translation app or our many hand gestures. She has four children ages 9 – 20. It feels strange having a full-time employee. I haven’t found my groove yet with this whole set-up. Someone said it’s a very American thing to feel unsettled by this arrangement. Jordan told me it’s important to remember that we are providing her a living wage. While the average Angolan makes $324/year (yes, you read that correctly) she makes significantly more. We also paid her a starting bonus since empregada work has been hard to come by the past two years. Covid has been very hard on the drivers, gardeners, and empregadas who work for expat families.
I’m not sure I will ever fully feel comfortable having a full-time housekeeper, especially since I’m not working, but she is so helpful! All of our floors are white tile and they get so dirty so quickly. We have become a “no shoe” house which helps, but not entirely. When Paula leaves the floors are so clean I consider asking everyone to stay in their room for the afternoon knowing that by bedtime they will look filthy again. She also is great at washing our produce. All produce here must be thoroughly washed with either vinegar or a solution that is sold at the grocery stores. When I come home from the store Paula will have started washing our produce before I have even put up all the groceries!
Other notable events this week are that three out of the four of us have started tennis lessons. Lucy’s group lessons are Monday and Wednesday in the early evening and Hudson’s group lessons are Tuesday and Thursday. Both kids are enjoying it so far! I play with a group of ladies on Monday and Wednesday mornings. The lessons are fun, but also really technical. Coach Joao (pronounced Joe-ow) is a stickler for technique so I’m having to unlearn some bad tennis habits I wasn’t even aware I had. Tennis is also very social given we play in groups and the parent chatter that happens while the kids are practicing. It’s a nice way to wrap up the day before heading home and starting dinner.
I have fallen into somewhat of a routine. I wake up early, have my coffee and play the NYT crossword puzzle. Playing the NYT crossword puzzle reminds me of my grandmother, and multiple times a week I wonder what she would think about me playing it on a computer. Would she find it amusing or shake her head in confusion? Maybe both. I wake the kids up, make their breakfast, get them ready for school. Getting ready for school here involves applying sunscreen and bug spray. Lucy is the one every morning who reminds us to take our malaria pill. We head out for the bus about 7 am. Once the kid are at school, I work out at the gym. The gym’s dumbbells are in kg and there is a gap in the weights. They have 5 kg weights (11 lbs) and then the next size up is 16 kg (35.2 lbs). I’m probably going to buy some dumbbells soon, but I am putting it off because everything here costs a fortune. After a quick shower, I run any errands I have.
This week I had to buy a local SIM card so I can have an Angolan phone number. I had to go to the school and pick up my access badge. I set up our water delivery. We bought a water cooler from someone who is leaving Angola soon, but we needed to set up the water jug delivery. Emerson, our driver (who I will tell you more about later, but the short story is we adore him), drove me to Saudabel, the water company. When we pulled up I was so confused because I didn’t see a building. It turns out this wall (photo below) opens up and you drive through. They then close the wall and the buildings, warehouse, etc are all behind it. Saudebel is closer to downtown and therefore there are more people on the streets. Usually Emerson will ask if I want him to come with me into the store. This time he didn’t ask. He just got out and walked me through “the wall.”
I also have been making the rounds at the grocery stores to see what they have. Once I’m home I usually have a little less than an hour before the kids come home. I read or answer any emails/texts. I know that as more people move into the compound there will be more to do and my schedule will shift. For now, this works.
Grocery shopping is an ordeal here. It’s getting easier for me, but not having a debit card is a hassle. I’m currently having to pay in cash which makes me mildly uncomfortable especially since the currency here is so different than US dollars. I have to carry a large stack of bills and then whip them out and count out the correct amount for my bill. I generally feel safe, but we have been told that because of covid people are more desperate than they have been in the past and robberies and muggings have increased. Puling out a huge stack of bills isn’t the smartest thing to do, but this is how we have to pay right now. We are waiting on a letter from Chevron HR before we can set up a local bank account to use for things like groceries, restaurants, etc. I have found most things I’m looking for, but it’s all just a little bit different. I’m still learning how to cook here. That may sound weird, but we currently have one pan so in a way I feel like I’m camping. I don’t mind camping for a night or two, but this is what we have until our sea shipment arrives hopefully in March. We are all ready for our shipment to arrive.
Friday evening after an early dinner we went to the recreation center! The kids swam, played soccer and tennis while the adults chatted and played some beer pong. A random lady told me living in Luanda is like “college, but in your 40s with money.” As the beer pong table was set up I thought… that statement might be kind of true. Although I never played beer pong in college. True story.
Yesterday, we drove to the Ilha which is a peninsula that has great beaches and restaurants. A picture of the map is below. Our destination was Cafe Del Mar which is a favorite among our neighbors. As we were approaching the restaurant the police had set up a check point and motioned for us to stop. They checked out Emerson’s paperwork and then asked to see our passports. We had copies (as we have been told to not carry our originals), but they weren’t notarized so they weren’t compliant. We were on the side of the road for about 20 minutes. The police were speaking Portuguese, of course, so we weren’t following. While I knew in the end we would be ok (Chevron has provided us an emergency number to call for any instance), it was still stressful. Later, Emerson told us they were asking us to come to the police station. He told the police we didn’t have time which made me laugh. In the end, we paid them $20 and drove the last 300 feet to Cafe Del Mar. A friend in America asked me why the stopped us and I said “because they wanted to.” I don’t think police here have to provide just cause for a traffic stop.
The restaurant was delicious. Our food was great. The service was amazing. The views and sea breeze were relaxing after the police run-in. In what seems to be a recurring theme here… it was incredibly expensive. I can see us going to Cafe Del Mar or a similar restaurant once a month, but we have to save some money for trips!
Speaking of trips, I booked our first vacation in Cape Town over a long weekend when the kids have off of school in March. I made sure that we can cancel up until the last minute given COVID. I’m really hoping it happens.
Saturday also included a birthday party at the pool for a sweet neighbor turning six and FaceTime calls with grandparents. We watched The Wonder Years (the new series narrated by Don Cheadle), which seems like it will be a good family show, and then called it a night.
All in all, I’m proud of all of us and how we have adapted to our new situation. I asked the kids “On a scale of 1-10 how much did you think you would enjoy living here?” In true form, Hudson replied 1 and Lucy replied 5. I then asked them on the same scale how much they actually enjoying living here. Hudson replied 8 and Lucy said 9.7. She said it wasn’t a full 10 because “it’s easier to live in Sugar Land because you don’t see so many people suffering.” I call her little Buddha sometimes because she drops these little nuggets of wisdom. The abject poverty can sometimes take my breath away. Hudson is very uncomfortable with it. I told him one evening “We aren’t any more deserving of the material things we have than the people on the street we see” he said “I know. I think about that every time we drive.” I’m not sure I’m handling the whole discussion on global poverty well. In fact, I know I’m not. I’m stumbling through making mistakes, but we are talking about it and hopefully, I will learn along side the kids. I don’t want them to feel guilty, but instead feel grateful for what they do have. My biggest hope in making this move was that my kids realize just how big the world is and to be grateful for all they have in this life (and not just the material things)!
And just because we are settling in more quickly than I expected is not to say that we haven’t had hard moments. There are a lot of hard moments. In the span of two hours I can go from thinking “Wow, let’s live as expats forever” to counting the weeks until we are home for several weeks in June and everything is easier. America is convenient and I have to admit I miss those conveniences a lot of days.
Here are some photos I took of Luanda as I have been venturing out.
Until next time…
Sarah
Life On The High Way 