Sky Ring

The big excitement today was as I was walking back from lunch I noticed everyone looking at the sky. So I ducked.  Not really but I looked up and finally figured out they were looking at this huge ring around the sun.  I have seen this before but not so big or like this. One colleague asked if I saw it and said it has been 8-10 years since that has happened.  

http://earthsky.org/space/what-makes-a-halo-around-the-moon

Other than that, aweful jet lag is slowly subsiding and I have been working more than plenty.  

Picture may not do it justice. It was a spectacle.  It is getting hotter here now too. 

Fruit to go

Little routine win. I go to the staff house "to go" door in the evening and can get some fruit to go. This is also where we get our bottled water.  

You learn to hoard here- fruit, water, sanitizer. I take my fruit to the office each day for breakfast since I get up and go without hitting the staff house breakfast.   

Any little useful amenity here is a good win. 

Staff house from the outside. Guards 24/7 just like at my office.  

Round 4

Groundhog Day feelings as I arrived in Luanda again exhausted but conscious.  I'm looking forward to getting settled and working. 

Final Days

I have thoroughly enjoyed home, people, relationships and good times but gearing up for the next hitch.  Still a bit more glutany of drink and sushi before I go. 

Time off fun- 

Can't show the rest. 

New Years miracle

Work visa does exist. Now I'm official and can get to work. 

Home Indulgence

Enjoying sleep, food, drinks, people, loved ones all around for now just another week and a half. Nice to enjoy and recharge.  

Groundhog Day 3

Home, quick trip to Houston and I can only hope this completes my visa. 

Got to wait 4 hours but bless the lounge

Moving in the right direction is all that matters now. 

Ready for a break and great year ahead.   

Sunday half day before heading home Tuesday

Took a nice walk, sat on the beech and had a caipirinha. 

I'm more than ready to head home Tuesday.  Counting down this last week for sure. 

Local Cuisine

Most of the influences are from Portugal but there are some local cuisines that I have tried.  One staple everyone eats is Funje. It's a traditional Angolan food with dried cassava ( yucca type plant) flour and water. 

They serve more local dishes every Friday at the staff house lunch. Tastes kind of like grits or pourage. It's pretty starchy and not so much nutritional value. 

Also calulu which is a fish stew made from dry and fresh fish, okra, jumboa or spinach stew in Palm oil.  Lots of Palm oil here which is not so good for us. 

I have also seen women on the streets grilling bananas and they serve cooked or fried bananas and plantains at the staff house. 

Pandora

I have tried pandora and netflix many times while here and even through different VPN's with no success.  

I did connect to pandora once in Malingo.  And now for some reason I can get pandora in my office.   

It's the little things. I was getting tired of my playlists.  

Christmas Day

I guess it's all perfect that I don't even celebrate Christmas. Gonna miss the Chinese food this year. But worked and took a walk on the marginal. Tons of kids around. I got some sun and hung out on a bench for a while. Groups of kids sat with me and crowded around and took pictures. Maybe they have not seen a white person tanning in the sun before. I think they were making fun of me in one way or the other.  

Then relaxed with my super bock on the usual hotel roof deck. Relaxing place. 

Christmas Eve

Just another work day for me, and tomorrow and the weekend.... 

No plans but a staff house dinner.  A Angolan colleague invited me to lunch down the block at Andy's, an Indian resteraunt. They have a clothing store next door and no one I know ever has seen anyone go there so it's a suspected laundry of sorts if you get that. Figure it out. 

Food was not bad. 

Got a bottle of Portugal tawny for dinner and joining the other misfits that have no where to go. The few of us here are not part of the resident expat community to the south. It's a good drive down there too. 

I had someone email me from Cabinda and said he did not even know anyone rotated out of Luanda. I like to be special so fine by me. I have my routines and just fine with it all. 

Office life

Back in Luanda office. Got a new desk and they took away some old furniture. That is big progress. 

Quiet in the office on weekends so most of the day is on the computer.  Get to watch the usual weekly crash outside though. They are building the infrastructure here but many roads don't have lights so people just go and it works most of the time. 

Long days

Up early and to bed early. Not much time or energy for much else. Usually try to get a little work out in, eat, watch TV and off to bed.  Malongo is very different than Luanda.  Pros and cons to both. 

Holiday season

Malongo camp is getting in the spirit with Christmas decoration around. 

I did manage to find some candles too. 

Lots of neighbors coming over as well for the evening meal.  They don't bother much. 

Yes, all huge bats. 

Malongo camp. 

We have a great clinic here as well. Pretty busy helping people. 

Cabinda travels

From the staff house yard to Cabinda province where Malongo camp is.  

Travels went smooth enough and worked through the standard mishaps and logistics, got a room and to the clinic.  

Pouring rain- we could solve the CA drought with 2 hours of this. Other than that mass huge bats all over and some other random jungle creatures.  

The yard at staff house. 

New room for a few days. When you come to visit you never know whose or what room you may get.  Some have shard bathrooms but all in all they will do.  Staff house room is much larger.  

The company makes good efforts to provide.  It's truly a nonstop life here.  

Feliz Natal

Christmas decorations everywhere.  I like this tree made out of plastic water bottles the best.  Good use of recycleable waste.  

Rec Center event.

Our business here is called CABGOC- Cabinda Gulf Oil Company. We have a very nice recreation center for employees here. Mostly nationals utilize it.  

We had our last big Health and Medical event of the year for HIV awareness. The team did a great job.