First day of school...again, in Angola

We arrived in Angola on a Thursday, so the kids started school on Monday.  It was just enough time to deal with the jetlag, so when we woke them up bright and early to catch the embassy van, they were ready.  I am loving the uniform thing!  No clothing drama or indecisiveness! 

Going down the elevator, still under construction and exiting our apartment building.

The kids attend an English-speaking international school.  It looks like a great school with great teachers.  Unfortunately because of the traffic, I won't be able to just stop by the school to see the kids or volunteer to help.  I did the drive with them though on the first day to help them find their way around and ease their nerves a bit about starting again at a new school.  All of their teachers seem very nice.  Rhea’s is from Jamaica,  Savvy’s is Danish, I believe, and Thomas’ is from Ireland. 

 Being a lover of all things Irish, Briant is very jealous of Thomas!  Side note:  Last week when Briant and I went to the kids’ school to meet up for Trick or Treating in Talatona, we stopped by the kids’ classrooms and Briant got to meet their teachers.  He told Thomas’ teacher that we have Irish whistles and that Thomas is learning how to play, so Mr. Angus invited Thomas to play it in class, which he did yesterday.  Thomas reports that it went well and his teacher really liked it!  Our kids seem to be the only kids from the U.S.A. in their classes except for Rhea who has one other U.S. Embassy boy in her class. So far, so good.  A few of their “specials” are Portuguese, swimming, art, library, music, and computers.  Some of the after school activities that we’re waiting to hear about, include gymnastics, soccer, taekwando and other martial arts, etc.  The kids came home on their first day happy.  They drive in an embassy van to and from school with kids from a few other embassy families.  They are happy AND loud as they goof around together so it helps to pass the time and gives them their after school social time before coming home.   It’s a long day for them with leaving for school really early to be there by 8 a.m. and then getting home before dinner.

 I had only been in a car two other times at night, just driving around here locally.  So this was a much longer drive, and it was in the daytime.  My eyes were opened to a lot of things, including the crazy driving and traffic.  I think anyone that travels internationally comes back to the U.S. with horror stories about the driving habits of the country they visited--Angola is no exception!   We were inches away from other cars around us the whole time, changing lanes, always trying to get ahead of the next person.  I thought for sure someone was going to hit another motorist—but it never happened!  I think there was a lot of luck involved there though too.  One of the first questions I asked our Angolan driver, in Portuguese, was about how people learn to drive here. J

Here are some of the things I observed on the drive and what my driver, (let's call him Bob) explained to me:

The blue vans are taxis.  They fit about 16-20 people.  They're always packed with people.  And all the locals say that they're the craziest drivers.

It seems like all of the roads are narrow and have parked cars on both sides, which leaves only one lane's worth for cars.  This gets interesting, and causes a lot of congestion when it's a two-way street!

Houses along the beach, shanties mostly.

And of course the women who carry literally anything and everything on their heads.  I've seen it all--all kinds of  food, cleaning supplies, clothing, drinks, etc. on their heads.  I think it's amazing...they're even more amazing when they have a baby or toddler wrap tied to their backs at the same time while also carrying things in their hands.

Many walls are covered in either old or new advertisements.

I took a picture of this because it's a very busy road with cars going a good speed, but yet people would always dart out in front of the cars and the cars would have to suddenly slam on their brakes so they wouldn't hit them.  No fear at all.

The infamous Luanda traffic that we heard about before we came.  The kids school is only nine miles away, but it takes at least 45 minutes to get there.  This is the traffic that I sat in on my way home--it took 2 hours to go nine miles.  Because of the civil war, they don't have the quantity of roads they need.  The infrastructure is gone.  There really are only a few roads to go certain directions in and out of the city.  And of course in the city the roads are congested too because they aren't large enough to meet the demand of cars.  Bob said that they have plans to build a 'highway" but they haven't started it yet.  I'm learning that you have to plan your errands around the traffic if you can.  Luckily the weekends are better!

This guy is a street vendor selling purses and bags, that is walking in between the lanes during the stopped traffic.  There are a zillion of them selling everything.  I've seen belts, shoes, clothes, glasses, pornography, movies, plug adapters, food, houseware, home decor, etc.  They pass by the car, just inches away.  So at one point, I was a little nervous when a man selling things looked into my passenger window and stared at my lap where I was holding my camera.  He had a threatening look on his face as he walked slowly by, so I was glad that Bob made sure my door was locked before driving home.

A group playing soccer--they pretty much play soccer wherever they can.  Coming from the states, I am trying to get over my misconception that soccer has to be played on a large grassy field with large goal boxes.  :)

Bob explained to me that these cars drive around to deliver purified water that people buy.  They have to buy clean water to drink.  And the water they use to cook and clean with is delivered also.  It comes from a river and is emptied into a hole in the ground on their house property that they line with concrete.  It's definitely a different way to get water than we have with a water purifier that the embassy has supplied us and a constant supply of water that never runs out.

The police.  Sadly I've learned about corruption in the government and police, and that when they want/need something done, they will want to be payed off or will bribe people with expensive cars -- which is pretty much all of them.  Basic cars can start at $70,000, so it's a real temptation.  I asked Bob if he's ever been approached with a bribe.  He said, "No, I'm Christian.  They only go to people that they know are those kinds of people."

 All in all, it was a very good drive for me.  I learned a lot, and I got to practice my Portuguese with Bob who was very patient with me and took the time to help me learn new words.  I asked him about his family as well.  He has kids of his own, but yet he leaves at 3:30 am because he lives a ways out of Luanda and he wants to make sure he's on time for work.  He has to take three different taxis to get to the embassy and three different taxis to get home after work.  So he doesn't get home until late.  Very long days for him.  Despite that, he's happy and pleasant.  He's really good with my kids in the van. My one morning of driving with all the embassy kids made me appreciate him even more--they are so loud, goofing around together.  I don't know how he keeps his sanity especially with negotiating through traffic at the same time!