We are here! We actually moved to Luanda!

We are here! Almost two years after we were planning to move to Luanda, Angola for Jordan’s job we landed and I am currently sitting in our house on the west coast of Africa. I will continue sitting in this house because we are under a three-day quarantine. It might be ten. At some point we thought it might be 14. We are hoping to get some clarity today. The questionable quarantine length is perfect example of the uncertainities and flexibility we have had to acquire for this assignment. My new mantra is “Plan as best you can and then figure out the rest as you go.” 

The timeline below recaps the roller coaster that we have been on.

September 2019 – Jordan tells me there is an opportunity in Angola and would I consider moving there. I said YES!

October 2019 – We found out that Jordan got the job and we are over the moon with excitement. I mentally start planning all the trips we are going to take while living in Angola.

January 2020 – We tell our kids we are moving to Angola and proceed with medical clearances and getting the proper vaccinations required to enter the country. Yes, certain countries required proof of vaccinations even before covid.  

February 2020 – We start sorting our stuff into “storage,” “take,” and “get rid of” in preparation of our move. We prepare to sell our home in Greatwood. 

March 2020 – COVID-19 hits the United States and restrictions are imposed. (Let’s be real, it was here before March, but that’s when the world seems to stop for us in Texas.) We aren’t moving in April like we planned. We wait for more information from Chevron. We think “Ok, we will probably move in the fall.” 

April 2020 – April 2021 – LIMBO. Are we moving there? When? Will it happen? Jordan has already started working for the Angolan business unit from Houston. All the trips I plan seem very unlikely. It doesn’t seem like a move is imminent. We continue waiting. Those of you who know me understand that patience is not a strong point and uncertainty about the future can put me into a tailspin. 

May 2021 – My tailspin results in a crash which leads to an explosion. I lost it. I lost ALL my marbles. I am done. I’m pretty sure my neighbors three doors down heard me say I am done.  My life felt on pause since March 2020 and I was over it like Britney is over Jamie Lynn. I walked into Jordan’s office and said “I’m looking for a job and we need to start seriously looking at homes.” We accepted this move would never happen and decided to move forward with our lives. For us, that looked like buying a new house and for me, personally, it meant going back to work full-time. 

June – July 2021 – I start interviewing for jobs and become and expert at hunting down homes in our neighborhood before they hit the market. 

August 2021 – I start a job which I absolutely love. I work 1-2 days in the office and the rest from home. I love the people I work with. I love the work I am doing. I feel productive and valued. We also close on a house in Greatwood that is perfect for our family. There is a lot of work we want to do to the house, but as we told everyone “We are living here at least until the kids graduate high school!”  so we have plenty of time to complete it. Dare I say… we feel settled? 

Late September 2021 – Chevron tells us they are moving us to Angola. 

It was like a bad joke. Over the next several days we had many conversations. Our excitement had morphed into weariness. Our home and my job felt good. Security felt good. Were we going to leave that? 

Ultimately, the decision was relatively easy. Our main goal in moving overseas is to show our kids as much of the world as we can. To experience living and traveling in Africa and having relatively easy access to Europe is an experience we weren’t going to turn down. I’ll do another post on the preparations that took place this past fall, but spoiler alert: it was a lot of work!

Now we are living in Angola. Even in the midst of jet-lag and general moving frustrations Jordan and I will look at each other and say “Can you believe we are here?” 

I’m not ready to wrap this roller-coaster up in a bow and say that all the twists and turns were worth it. We’ve only been here for 24 hours. But I can say that the twists and turns were beneficial. I learned that Jordan and I can weather uncertain times together. We didn’t weather them perfectly (see above to my May 2021 meltdown), but we did it together and that counts for something. I learned that my kids are fairly resilient. Perhaps their future therapist will tell me this whole ordeal has caused deep issues, but for now they seem fine and I’m rolling with that. I have mostly learned that I can’t control events, people, or even my own plans. To try and control all of these things causes exhaustion and anxiety which is funny because anxiety is what causes me to try and control things in the first place. What a terrible cycle. Like I said, my new mantra is “Plan as best you can and figure out the rest as you go,” and let me tell you, we have had to figure some things out in the past 24 hours!

Until next time…

Sarah