Marine Ball

We recently attended our 2nd Marine Ball.  The Marines are celebrating their 240th birthday.  Luckily it was at the Epic Sana hotel, just a few blocks away from our apartment, instead of out in Talatona like it was last year.  Epic Sana is a $500 a night hotel and is one of a handful of nice hotels here in Luanda.

I didn't feel like fighting traffic or getting home later with that drive.  We were even able to leave the kids watching a movie with the plan for them to fall asleep in the front room together.  It's always nice to have a date with my hubby, which are far and few between here.

Before dinner, we had a few hours of cocktails and mingling.  We had a chance to talk with our colleague Casey and his friends from the Italian Embassy.

We sat at a table with Alex and Caleb along with Carla and Armando from the embassy, as well as two couples we didn't know--one couple from the Netherlands and one from the U.S.  They're in Angola working for oil companies.  The one from the Netherlands came to Angola 8.5 years ago and said that the conditions were even worse than they are now as far as electricity availability, restaurants, the existence of nice hotels like the one we were sitting in, etc.  I was shocked to hear that things were even worse in the not so distant past and that we had many reasons to be grateful that we came to Angola at this time.

The security guards that welcome us every day to the embassy also welcomed us to the ball.  Again, it's not a natural thing for Angolans to smile for a camera.  :)

The Marines posted the flags, as we put our hands over our hearts and listened to the "Star-spangled banner."  They presented a video giving some of the history of the marines, and then walked the birthday cake to the front of the room, ever so slowly, where they cut a piece of cake with a sword and gave it to the guest of honor who was our ambassador, Helen La Lime.

After the presentation by the marines, we ate a nice buffet dinner, followed by dancing.  I didn't get very many pics, but I got a few with friends, including Claudia and Melissa, my twin for the night.  She had a long-sleeved, shorter version of my dress.  We laughed!The dance floor started out like this, but by the time we left, it was packed.  Sonya was leading the dancing with all of her fellow dance students that she teaches at lunchtime at the embassy.  They were so fun to watch!  Happy Birthday Marines!