Two articles on Angola

From artist John Keane's artwork on children in combat done for Christian Aid

The first is actually a slide show from the BBC News website. Christian Aid, a UK NGO commissioned the artist John Keane to do a series of artwork on Angolan children and the war. The Christian Aid website has a nice write-up about the exhibition- I highly recommend taking a look- this is the type of stuff I see in my work, not oil riches or a booming economy. Or if you happen to be in the UK, take a look for yourself. According to the website:

Children in Conflict will run until 16 February 2008 in the new contemporary
£6.7 million extension at Wolverhampton Art Gallery, which opened this spring,
and will tour the UK in 2008.

The second article is one from the Economist on the future of Angola's oil reserves. According to the Economist:

Angola continues to post strong growth rates, thanks to the booming oil sector.
However, the industry is going to start shrinking from 2010 according to
government figures, and it is far from clear that Luanda has an alternative
growth strategy.

And you know if that's according to government figures, it's probably sooner than 2010! It doesn't paint a pretty picture.

Willie and the Whale

One of the biggest surprises coming back to Angola was to see just how big my cat, Willie, has grown! She's still a little terror- loves to bite and scratch in spite of my efforts to train her not to- but she has calmed down a bit and seems to really enjoy just sitting on my veranda watching cars go by. Here she is in action with her favorite toy:

Hard to believe she was ever this tiny! (And calm...)

In other exciting animal news, I finally saw my first whale in Lobito! Everyone kept telling me about all the whales and dolphins they have seen- mostly in the ocean but even in the bay upon occasion. For some reason, I've just missed seeing whales and dolphins many times.

But last Sunday, Stella, Sergey, baby Aram, Bernie and I went to Gama Beach (seaside restaurant with good caipirnhas) in Compão. Suddenly there was lots of excited shouting and pointing on the beach. We asked the waiter what all the commotion was, and he said, "Baleia (whale)! Big fish!" It was hard to see with the white caps, but I finally caught a glimpse of a tail hitting the waves, soon followed by spray from a blowhole. I didn't see the tail again, but I did see the spray several times. I have no idea what type of whale it was, but it was exciting nonetheless!

Señora Presidente

When I lived in Chile, I closely followed national politics there. To me, it was so interesting to be in a country where discussions of democracy and human rights were debated- perhaps it was just because I was in an university setting and had very political friends, but I remember talking about the dictatorsp with a number of people, both opponents and supporters.

I was there when Pinochet assumed his "Senator for Life" position (something he made sure to put in the constitution, ensuring his role in government after he stepped down from the military) and when Ricardo Lagos won the first round of presidential elections in 1999. I went with my good friend when she voted for the first time (separate facilities for women and men, interestingly enough).

I was pleased to see this NYT article on Michelle Bachelet, the current president. I haven't been able to follow Chilean politics as much from Angola, but I am very curious to hear how she is doing. Politics aside, her personal accomplishments are impressive. I personally like this quote from the article:

During the presidential campaign in 2006, Bachelet liked to say that “as the old joke goes, I have all the sins together. I am a woman, a Socialist, separated and agnostic.”

Child "Witches" in Angola

Picture of "witch" orphan from New York Times

In today's New York Times there is an article about the troubling and disturbing practice of labeling children as witches. Sadly, this is very commong in Angola. Witches are a big deal here, as I've mentioned before. Even in Lobito, a large city, I hear stories about witches. They aren't as horrible as the ones mentioned in the article, but they show that such notions persist even in urban areas.

The worst thing is that these children are simply poor and often times their families can't (or won't) care for them:

But officials attribute the surge in persecutions of children to war — 27 years in Angola, ending in 2002, and near constant strife in Congo. The conflicts orphaned many children, while leaving other families intact but too destitute to feed themselves.

“The witches situation started when fathers became unable to care for the children,” said Ana Silva, who is in charge of child protection for the children’s institute. “So they started seeking any justification to expel them from the family.”

Benguela armazém

Interesting metalwork at the entrance of the armazém

About two weeks ago my friend and I went to Benguela for the day. I go to Benguela quite a bit for work, rarely for pleasure. I’ve become a Lobito snob- our beaches are better, our restaurants are better- what could Benguela offer that Lobito couldn’t? Well, according to my friend and Benguela resident, Nancy of Nancy’s English School, the answer is: a Chinese restaurant/massage parlor! It’s not open yet, but I’m anxious to try it.

I gave my friend the same tour that Nancy had given me a few months back. This time we poked around the old armazém (warehouse). Rumor has it that the armazém was a slave warehouse. I asked the artist at the local art school about this and he said it wasn’t true- that a lot of people think it was literally a building with slaves just crammed in there, waiting to be bought. He says it was more like a passage point, where they were held after being brought in from the interior. He did confirm that the docks were in fact used by slave ships heading to Brazil.

Here are some pictures of the armazém. Note the current day use as a garage for someone’s car. There’s a sign outside the building that says Museo de Arqueologia AUDITÓRIO (Archeology Musem: Auditorium). Guess not!

Museum? Or...

Parking lot?

Remnants of the old slave docks

Life ain't so bad after all

Last weekend I had the pleasure of receiving a visit from my Peace Corps sitemate, who happens to work in Luanda. I hadn't seen the guy in over 6 years! He was blown away by Lobito and the life here. I did more in the long weekend he was here than I normally do all week! His enthusiasm was infectious, and I've been a lot more positive about being here since then. I've even revived my 5:45 am running schedule. Getting up at 5:30 ain't so hard when you're greeted by a sunrise like this. (Okay, this is an old picture is from the balcony of my old apartment, but you get the idea.) Maybe I'm still high from my time at home, but life ain't so bad in Lobito. At least it's not Luanda!

Whoa.

Yet another airline to avoid. From CNN.com:

A plane carrying more than 100 people made an emergency landing in South
Africa after an engine fell off during takeoff from Cape Town on Wednesday,
officials said.

"I heard this huge bang, and he said, 'That's our engine that's just fallen
off.' I couldn't believe it. He had to repeat it to me," she told SAPA.

There were no injuries.

Improve vocab and donate rice- at the same time!

I came across this neat website, www.freerice.com. You take a vocabulary quiz, and for every word you get right, Poverty.com will donate 10 grains of rice.

FreeRice has two goals:

1. Provide English vocabulary to everyone for free.
2. Help end world hunger by providing rice to hungry people for free.

This is made possible by the sponsors who advertise on this site.

A good way to procrastinate and do something good at the same time.

To the Baggage Handlers at OR Tambo International Airport

I’m sorry- really, I am.

When they told me I might have to wait up to 4 weeks to get my 3 suitcases, I automatically assumed the worst. I’ve heard many a rumor about theft in the Johannesburg airport- about wily workers who can get around suitcase locks and unmercifully take things like prescription medication.

But not you! Oh, how I was wrong. My suitcases arrived to Luanda on Friday, albeit a week later. When I finally got them in Lobito, not a thing was missing. So, thanks for not stealing. I appreciate it.

But I still will never take SAA to the US again.

South African Airlines is out to get me

South African Airlines is out to get me

I never considered myself to be an unlucky or lucky person- just normal luck, I guess. Lately though, the tide has turned for the worse. Last week during my return trip to Angola, I had possibly the worst luck I could have had.

My flight from Houston to Washington left late. I arrived with only twenty minutes to make my connecting flight to Johannesburg. I ran up to the gate with my boarding pass and they directed me to the ticket counter to get my passport verified once again. After anxiously waiting in line, I was finally called over to the agent, who promptly ignored me. As the people behind me in line sped past, I tried to get the woman’s attention. I like to think that I am a polite person, but perhaps I asked, “Excuse me, ma’am?” in a nasty tone because she responded, “You need to wait.” She was having a conversation with her supervisor, and all I could hear was, “…before we close the gate… passengers need to get off… unload bags… no more passengers on the plane.” What?!

Apparently, the plane was too heavy. They weren’t letting any more people on the plane- boarding pass/ticket or not- until they could resolve the weight issue. They found 12 suckers- sorry, I mean, volunteers- to give up their seats for a free ticket. (Having done this once before I know it is more of a hassle than it is worth.) As I finally boarded, they assured us that if we were on the plane, so were our bags, and we were, in fact, NOT going to crash into the Atlantic. Great!

We then proceeded to sit on the tarmac for an hour. No explanation, other than that we were experiencing some delays. We finally take off, and the 15 hour journey began. I was able to sleep a bit, which was nice. As we prepared to land, I looked at the “Local Time at Arrival” on the screen: 1520. Whoops! My flight to Luanda was scheduled to leave at 1550. I prepared myself for the worst.

As I ran to the international transit check-in lounge, I could see the TAAG screen on the monitor. Filled with hope, I ran up to the counter and presented my ticket. As I did, the TAAG logo changed to an Olympic Airways flight to Athens logo. The guy looked at me as if I were crazy and said, “That flight is already in the air.”

Somehow still calm, I checked in with the South African Airways people. The guy looked at my ticket and said, “We are not responsible for putting you up in a hotel because this is an illegal booking. There is only one hour for an international connection. Whoever did this is responsible.” With immense satisfaction, I showed him the address of the South African Airways office in Ft. Lauderdale that issued me the ticket.

They put me up in an acceptable hotel that was at one point nice, but by the time I got to it, it had passed its prime. By now, I realized just how stinky I was going to be the next day, because I had no change of clothes. Luckily I had saved the travel toothbrush from SAA, so I could at least brush my teeth.

As I checked in the next morning, the ticket agent asked about my bags. He took my claim tickets and said, “Okay, they’ll be fine.” Excellent! I don’t know if my body knew something before I did, but I began to feel ill and immediately ran to the bathroom, where I puked. In the end, I managed to get on the flight alright, feeling better.

Ah, the joy of arrival in Luanda. Always a genius, the Angolan government has decided to change the way you get your passport stamped. Unlike most other countries in the world, Angola no longer distributed custom forms on the plane for you to fill out with plenty of time. No, no! You must first get in line to show your proof of yellow fever shot to the agent in the airport- THEN get your customs form- THEN fill it out- THEN get in line for the immigration control. Of course there is only one agent with papers for the entire plane and crew, so you can imagine how long it must take.

I got through immigration with no problems, which was surprising. I got the little cart of my three bags- I paid US$180 extra in the US to have a third bag checked- and was relieved to be back in Angola and on my way home.

My relief was short-lived, for not long after I got to the baggage area did the handler com out yelling, “Acabou! Não tem mais! It’s over! No More!” As in, unloading of the flight’s baggage has finished and there are no more suitcases. Wonderful. I go to the claim line to fill out my form of missing baggage.

I got to the agent and he asked what happened. I said, “Perderam a bagagem. My luggage is lost.” He responded in a typical Angolan way: “Não, não se perdeu. Só que não veio. It’s not lost. It just didn’t come.” Of course he could give me no guarantees of when it would come or with which airline, so I was out of luck.

Trying to be positive, I thought, “Well at least I don’t have to check bag for my flight back to Lobito.” I went outside to meet the driver, and he said, “Hurry! The flight is supposed to leave in an hour! Check-in’s already closed!” I had nasty flashbacks to the last time this happened, but I just tried not to focus too much on the nice shower and change of clothes that was waiting for me.

Since I didn’t have any bags, they let me through without much complaint. The flight was 2 hours late, but finally at 1700 they called us for boarding and we got out onto the tarmac. We boarded the plane and started to move- about 100 meters. Then a flight attendant comes on the speaker and says, “O vôo está cancelado. The flight is canceled.” A minor uprising ensued, and several angry passengers demanded to know what was going on. We weren’t given an explanation, of course; just that it was canceled and we had to be at the airport the next morning at 5:30.

By then I was ready to burn my clothes. It was Thursday night and I had been wearing them since Tuesday. I had no deodorant, no conditioner, no other toiletries, nothing to sleep in. I was not happy. However, I was too tired and jet-lagged to really care, and at out guest house I fell asleep at 6:45 and slept until 5 the next morning.


From there, I didn’t have any more problems. My luggage has still not appeared. I don’t have any of the things I bought in the US- clothes, shoes, presents, medicines, toiletries, contact lenses, DVDs, etc- and the longer it takes, the less hope I have of seeing them. This happens a lot- I’m surprised it’s the first time it’s happened to me. I bought locks and put them on everything, but I’m sure the airport workers are smart enough to get around them.

I’ve not heard any info on where they could be. I suspect they didn’t make it on the flight I was on to Johannesburg, due to the weight issue and my delayed flight from Houston. However, SAA in the US can’t give my parents any information, and conveniently, the office in Luanda doesn’t have a phone.

Welcome back to Angola.

Angola in the Americas

Here is an interesting article about the only known Spanish-based creole language, Palenquero, from Colombia. Much of the structure has origin from the Congo River basin area.

Palenquero was strongly influenced by the Kikongo language of Congo and Angola, and by Portuguese, the language of traders who brought African slaves to Cartagena in the 17th century. Kikongo-derived words like ngombe (cattle) and ngubá (peanut) remain in use here today.

Kikongo is spoken in northern Angola, whereas in the Benguela area people speak Umbundu. However, there are similarities. For example, the Umbundu word for peanut is ginguba, similar to the Kikongo ngubá mentioned above.

Growth and Poverty

Luanda, from New York Times article

There's an interesting article in today's New York Times. In spite of increased spending on reconstruction and economic growth, many Angolans still live on less than $2 a day. There's nothing new or shocking in the article and they cover all the basics: Chinese, corruption, bad roads, poverty, and Western oil executives who shy away from the press because they are afraid of the government. There's a nice slideshow with the article. My favorite picture is the one above, which nicely shows the contrast of utter ruin and the oil boom.

Dos Santos visits Castro

President Dos Santos visit Fidel in Havana. Photo from SaFP.com

Well, I'm still stuck in the US, so I'm out of the Angolan news loop. I just saw this article, dated Sept. 23:

HAVANA, Sep 23 (AP): Cuba published a photo Sunday of a standing, smiling Fidel
Castro looking heavier but still gaunt as he met Angola's president, the first
head of state to see the ailing 81-year-old since June.

I was browsing in a Barnes & Noble, waiting for a friend and came across The Heartless Stone: A Journey Through the World of Diamonds, Deceit and Desire, by Tom Zoellner. My friend was late, so I got through most of the chapter on Angola. I can't vouch for the whole book, but the chapter on Angola was pretty interesting. Zoellner talks about the role of the Cuban military in aiding the MPLA fight off UNITA. I admit I'm hazy on the specifics, so look for the book for the actual details, but protecting foreign-held oil sites was a big priority for the government, since oil revenue funded (and still funds) most government expenditures.



So how best to put to use the communist, Cuban military? Why, protecting capitalist yanqui oil companies! Yes, while in Angola the Cuban miltary was sent to protect the likes of Chevron and Texaco. Oh, the irony...



There are still lots of Cubans in Angola. Apparently, it's fairly easy for Cubans to get a visa to Angola, so many have immigrated to Angola. I know of at least 15 Cubans in Lobito who have done this, 3 of which are doctors. COnversely, Cuba is a popular destination for Angolans to attend university. A nice young female doctor whom I saw for my stomach trouble had done her medical degree there. She asked me about my last name and if by any chance I was related to Haydee Santamaria, hero of the Cuban revolution.

Disco will save us all

Boney M pic from http://www.musiclange.dk/

One of the things I like best about living in other countries is seeing which pop songs are popular and why. In Angola, its Akon and Beyonce. In Honduras it was Christina Aguilera song from "Moulin Rouge" and Journey.

When I lived in Chile, I would hear this one song, "Rivers of Babylon" by Boney M OVER and OVER again. (What would we do without YouTube? Here's a video.) It's a truly infectious song- and very cheesy. But I've never heard it outside of Chile. The first time I heard it, I asked a friend who sang it. He looked at me like I was crazy and said, "Don't you know Boney M?!" He was intent on proving how little I knew and proceeded to stop 5 random people on the street if they knew who sang "Rivers of Babylon." Every single person he stoped knew the answer.

I love listening to that song because it reminds me of the time I spent in Chile, some of best times of my life. Whenever this song came on- in the discoteca or in a private party- the place would erupt. Even my Chilean pololo (boyfriend), who singlehandedly put to rest the myth that all Latin men are good dancers, would jump up and bop along.

Well, it seems that world leaders are finally catching on to the awesome power that is Boney M. According to the BBC:

Georgia has drafted in 1970s disco icons Boney M in its battle to regain control over the tiny separatist region of South Ossetia. Our correspondent says the Georgian authorities want to show the South Ossetian separatists that life would be better and more fun if they returned to government control.

I think they're on to something...

Bed Nets to Fight Malaria

Here is an interesting article from the New York Times about the debate on free vs. social-marketed bed nets used to fight malaria. The article does a good job of laying out the two sides.





Basically, the social marketing camp says if you market bed nets as a branded good and charge a small, nomial price, beneficiaries will take better care of them, use them as directed, and NOT get malaria. I saw this in Honduras, although not with bed nets. In the market, vendors would sell USAID vegetable oil in big cans labeled USAID: GIFT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE. Everyone wanted to buy this oil, claiming that it was better because it was from the US- never mind that it was likely low-quality surplus oil that would never be sold in the US! The point is that people were willing to pay more for something basic they judged to be of superior quality.



The free distribution camp points out that those who are the most adversly affected by malaria are the poorest of the poor. Is it fair to make a poor mother choose between buying food or a bed net? The article bring up a point I hadn't considered: in a small village, unless everyone uses a bed net, the mosquito will simply move from the netted-bed to the next available unnetted-bed.

I'm not sure which side I am on. I lean towards the social-marketing side, just because of what I saw in Honduras. Those same cans of vegetable oil distributed by USAID were given free of charge to people. Rather than use them for their own consumption, recipients would just go the the market and make a buck!

I'm happy to say that I haven't had malaria yet, in spite of the fact that I don't take any medication. I do, however, use a bed net!

This works for me, at least!

Luanda - Beijing on TAAG

Starting October 23, TAAG (the infamous national airline of Angola) will start a Luanda-Beijing route. (Link to article in Portuguese.) Unfortunately it's just a charter flight, but it's indicative of the growing relationship between China and Angola. According to my sources (sources = random people in my office prone to gossiping), it's so they can ship in more Chinese prisoners to build the railroad! (Gotta love China rumors.)

TAAG is also increasing their flights to Addis Abba and Dubai. No word on the Luanda-Houston route.

More delays...

As predicted, I have had to extend my stay in the U.S. It's due to a combination of factors, really, but mostly due to health reasons. One of the important things I needed to do at home was get my health checked out. I won't go into details because it's not a topic for polite conversation, but something didn't quite check out and I had to go in for minor surgery last Friday. No big deal- everything went well and I am on my way to a full recovery. However, this means that I have to stick around a little longer for follow-ups and recovery.

Tomorrow, Oct. 9, was my scheduled departure date. Even without the surgery I would not have been able to leave, because I just got my passport about 1/2 hour ago! I now have an extra two weeks to begin the work visa process. Hopefully it will go smoothly. I have complete faith in the Houston consular office, since they were very efficient last year when I applied for my visto ordinario.

The good news about all of this is that I get to go to my friends' wedding in New Orleans! I'll be leaving a few days afterwards, on the 23rd. I must say, I am anxious to get back to Angola- especially to my cat, Willie, who has been so lonely all this time! Six weeks is a big chunk of time to be at home, a little too long to be hanging out on my parents' couch catching up on TV. But I am glad that I am able to get well in the comfort of the US!

It's not just Angola...

My fears that my passport renewal would not go smoothly came true, but not for the reason I thought! Just take a look at the path my DHL package (containing my passport!) took in order to get to Luanda:

9/19: Package departs NYC
9/25: Packages departs for London (meaning that it sat in NYC for SIX DAYS)
9/26: The most traveled package in history goes to the following places: Brussels, Belgium; Lagos, Nigeria; Libreville, Gabon
9/27: Package arrives in Kinshasa, DRC and goes BY BOAT to Brazzaville, Congo
9/30: Package finally arrives in Luanda and is delivered on 10/1.

Not exactly the 4 days they guaranteed.

But it's not just DHL! I requested a transcript from Columbia. It was sent via USPS on 9/21 and still has not arrived. The doctor's note I need was sent 9/28 and has not arrived. I live approximately 15 blocks from my house.

I might have to extend my visit home after all...

NYC 2007

This is how fast my trip went by.

I'm back in Houston after 10 days in NY. I lived in NY before leaving for Angola, so it felt like a homecoming.

Spencer Finch piece at Mass MoCA

First on the agenda was a road trip to North Adams, MA to attend the wedding of my good friends Liz and Greg. It was at the Mass MoCA, America's largest comtemporary arts musuem, a beautiful space for the event. They had an excellent exhibition by Spencer Finch. It was a beautiful wedding, very reflective of who they are as people.

At the hairpin turn in North Adams

I spent the following week in NY, revisiting my old haunts. I didn't visit any museums or do anything touristy; for me it was more important to see friends. And shop, shop, shop!

Cesar and me

Arie and me

Under the Brooklyn Bridge at night, after eating a ton of Grimaldi's pizza.

Jade and me

All in all, it was a wonderful visit. A bit too wonderful, actually! It was bittersweet to be around so many real friends whom I have known for years. I don't exactly have that in Angola. And of course, New York City is the greatest city on earth, so how can I not miss it?

Mmm, funge!

One question I've gotten a lot while at home is, "What do you eat in Angola?" Well, my bouts with salmonella have made me wary of eating out, so I tend to eat at home and eat the same things over and over (beans, pasta, soups).

While in Luanda, my coworkers included me on their lunch order. Here's what we had:

FUNGE: The staple of the Angolan diet. It can be made with corn meal (funge) or with yucca/manioc flour (bombô- not sure if this is correct spelling). I've had both and prefer funge. People say it's like polenta- but it is not like polenta! Neither really have any flavor, so you eat it with whatever food is on your plate. It of course tastes better when eaten with your hands.

BEANS: Having spent two years in Honduras, you'd think I would have had my fill of beans, but I can't get enough of them! I especially like beans in Angola, beacuse they are made with dendem, or palm oil. (Yes, Brazilians, it's called dendem here, not dendê!) Dendem gives the beans a heavy, delicious flavor.

STEWS: Angolans love their stews, and I don't blame them! This particular one is made with goat meat- not my favortie, but it was good. A national favorite is kalulu, made with okra.