Just Call Me Betty Crocker

            My cooking was definitely not one of the many reasons that Adam married me. I’ve never really been much of a cook at all. It wasn’t that my mom didn’t teach me, but it was the fact that cooking didn’t always fit into my lifestyle. During college I lived in the dorms my freshman year and then the sorority house for the remainder of my time in Manhattan. I lived on my own while in Omaha and Wichita, but to be completely honest, cooking for one is often times more work than it is worth. Like many Americans, I always found myself sticking to the quick and easy recipes or the take-out that was just a short car ride away.

            Since getting married and moving to Luanda, I have started the process of experimenting in the kitchen and have taught myself a lot about cooking. Not having the temptation of fast food restaurants has also pushed me to dust off the ole apron. It hasn’t been easy considering cooking in Luanda and cooking in the States are two completely different tasks.

            For example, our oven isn’t nearly as fancy as those that you can find in the States. And when I say fancy, I mean we don’t have a dial or a button that we can use to set the temperature. We have a gas oven that I light the flame in the bottom of it with a match. And instead of having a temperature dial, we have a dial to control the size of the flame. I find myself monitoring the cooking process extremely closely because a timer just won’t do the trick here.

            Besides the fact that our appliances are far from being high tech, we also don’t have many of the same foods or ingredients on our grocery store shelves. Finding a specific item or a complete recipe at the grocery store can be somewhat challenging. I’ve taken the trial and error process to a whole new level here but have managed to come up with some tasty treats.

            And lets not forget the absence of some of my favorite things. Growing up during the Ranch obsession era, it has been really hard for me to adapt to a non-salad dressing society. I have used the Internet to find a few simple homemade salad dressing recipes that don’t require very many ingredients, just a little bit more work in the kitchen. One of our favorite recipes that I found on TLC’s cooking website is the Ginger Ponzu Sauce. It includes:  

• ¼ cup soy sauce 
•  ¼ cup lemon juice 
• 1 tablespoon of peeled and crushed fresh ginger

            When combined with a plate of fresh greens and mandarin oranges, it is absolutely delicious! And although none of the recipes will ever compare to Ranch, I can’t complain because they still add a burst of flavor to my greens while being extra friendly to my waistline.

            Salad dressing isn’t the only item I’ve learned how to make. Adam often brings home fresh fruits and vegetables, some of which I have never made or even heard of before moving here. One week he brought me home a bag of homegrown sweet potatoes. An extensive Google search taught me how to make a very delicious batch of homemade sweet potato mashed potatoes. Each your heart out folks!

            I am certainly not the best cook in the kitchen, but I have slowly started to find my way around it. It is probably a good thing that I didn’t come here as an expert chef because I’m sure I would have been extremely disappointed and frustrated with the differences between Luanda and the States. Instead, I’ve learned on what I have available to me. And based on what I’ve learned, I don’t think that Adam and I will starve anytime soon.

The Circus Is In Town And I'm The Main Attraction

            A few weeks ago, Adam and I decided to go to the cinema at the shopping center to see a movie. All of the hype on social media networks surrounding the movie We Are The Millers peaked our interest. Luckily for us, Trip De Familia, as it is known here, just happened to be on the cinemas play list.

            I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect at the movies considering most of my other experiences here in Luanda have been so vastly different from those in the States. But no matter what, I couldn’t have prepared myself for the experience that was awaiting me.

            Adam and I grabbed a bottle of water and a coke from our fridge to enjoy during the 45-minute drive to the theater. Of course, the beverages were mistake number one. By the time we arrived, I already needed to make a stop in the ladies' room. Adam ill-informed me that the theater did not have a restroom. If I needed to use one then I would need to use the one in shopping center before we went into the theater.

            I walked into the restroom and was shocked to find that most of the stalls didn’t have doors on them. Unlike most stalls in the States, the lack of doors didn’t stop people from using them. As I stood in line debating on whether I thought I could wait until after the movie or if I should just suck it up and join the rest of the Angolans, my bladder made the decision for me. I was going to suck it up and use the open stall just like all of the women in line before me.

            I quickly made it to the front of the line and headed towards the open stall. And this is when I discovered mistake number two. When deciding whether or not to use the restroom, I hadn’t considered the fact that I wasn’t Angolan and of course stood out in the restroom. You would have thought that the circus was in town because everyone in the bathroom was staring at me. It wasn’t that people here haven’t ever seen a person of my color before, but it was that most people here haven’t seen a pale skinned, blonde-haired, blue-eyed person.

            I tried to ignore the fact that I had about ten pairs of eyes on me while using the restroom, but when a three-year-old little girl stood directly in front of me in the stall and looked at me with her big brown eyes, there was no denying it. The movie theater was no longer the main attraction; instead, it was now me.

            I was so relieved when the bathroom experience was over with and was looking forward to enjoying the movie. Adam purchased two tickets, which were surprisingly cheap for Angola. The ticket prices were only $8 a piece, very comparable to those in the States. Next we went to the snack counter. What is a good movie without the right snack and beverage? Our selection was very limited with the only options being popcorn, M&Ms, and canned soda. Of course I didn’t mind that they only had 12oz cans of soda instead of the extra large fountain drinks that we have in the States because after my first trip to the bathroom, it certainly wasn’t something that I wanted to do again.

            We grabbed a popcorn and a couple of Coca Colas before heading into the theater. I noticed that other people were bringing in food and drink from outside and weren't trying to hide it. Apparently the theaters here don't have a policy against outside food and drink, which is probably why there was such a limited selection at the snack counter. But the outside snacks weren’t the only thing that I noticed. I also noticed a couple of bathrooms INSIDE the theater. Adam obviously noticed them as well because before I had a chance to point them out, he turned to me and told me that they were new to the cinema. New or not, the bathrooms probably would have saved me from the embarrassment I had experienced only moments earlier.

            Adam and I found a couple of seats and waited for the movie to start. The movie was in English but had Portuguese subtitles across the bottom. I expected the subtitles to be a bit of a distraction, but quickly became so engrossed in the movie that I forgot all about them. The only thing that reminded me that they were still there was the fact that Adam and I would laugh at something, and then about a second later the rest of the theater would erupt in laughter. Everyone else had to read the subtitles causing a bit of a delay in laughter. What a unique experience.

            My first time at the movies was more of an experience than I had anticipated and had no trouble securing a spot on my top ten list of uncomfortable/embarrassing moments. Although I am not sure when we will see another movie, there is one thing I am sure of, I will not be drinking anything before the movie starts.

A Hailstorm. In Africa. In Our Living Room.

            With the kick-off of summer, it is time to crank up the air conditioner. And yes, I said crank up instead of turn on because we usually use the air conditioner all year round. Most homes in the States have central air or window units, but homes in Luanda have wall units.

            Learning about the wall units has been interesting, to say the least. We have very high ceilings in our apartment with air conditioning units located towards the top of the wall. We use a remote controller to turn the air on and off, as well as to adjust the temperature. And of course since we are outside of the States, the temperature is in degrees Celsius instead of Fahrenheit. All those years of being thankful that they left the metric system out of the schools in the States has finally come back to haunt me.

            We have three air conditioners in our apartment, one in each of the main rooms allowing us to control the individual room temperatures. For example, during the day we leave the air conditioner in the bedroom turned off and the one in the living room turned on. We can also set different temperatures on each air conditioner which makes keeping our living room area at a comfortable temperature while keeping the bedroom slightly cooler for better sleeping much easier.

            Despite a remote to control the air conditioners, they seem to have a mind of their own. One afternoon Adam and I were watching television when all of the sudden I felt a mist of water on my arm followed by a dripping noise that slowly turned into a continuous stream of water running down the wall. I looked up and noticed that water was leaking out of the bottom of the air conditioner and forming a puddle on the floor below. No sooner than it had started, it stopped. We assumed that it was a one-time freak encounter and that we had nothing to worry about. We were wrong.

            A few days later, Adam and I were watching television again when we heard a loud clanging noise coming from the same air conditioner that had been leaking water previously. And before we knew it, we were being pelted by chunks of ice that were shooting out of the vent on the air conditioner. Who could have predicted that it would hail in Africa, in our living room? I guess I brought a little Kansas with me after all. There's no place like home. It took just a few phone calls and a visit by the maintenance man before our air conditioner was back up and running. We are just hoping that the next hailstorm we encounter isn’t in our living room.

Summer Nights

            Luanda doesn’t give its residents a chance to experience winter, spring, summer, and fall seasons like we get to experience in the States. Instead, there is a wet and dry season here with temperatures ranging anywhere from the lower 60s to upper 90s. Shocking, considering most people think hot, hot, hot when it comes to Africa. But in reality, the temperatures are pretty much perfect all year around.

            The wet season or “summer” runs from about October to May. The dry season runs from about June to September. The wet season may have more sunshine and hotter temperatures, but it also means more rainy days. It very rarely rains during the dry season, hence the name, dry season.

            Now that we are about midway through October, it is goodbye winter, hello summer! Yes, it is officially summer here in Luanda, and what better way to welcome it back than with a three-day celebration in its honor. Last weekend Adam and I went to the summer kick-off party at Lookal with a few of our friends.

            After purchasing our tickets, we stepped inside the bar to find out that this wasn’t going to be just any Saturday night party. There was a huge stage set up for the guest dee-jay (as they say) Miko. But he wasn’t the only source of entertainment hired for the evening. They brought in several groups of dancers; one group lined the stage, bars, and tables, while the other group made special appearances in costume on stage.

            Three women changed into elaborate costumes throughout the night and had a different routine for various songs. During one song they came out dressed in metallic outfits holding “guns” that shot out sparks to the beat of the song. I have to say, I was thoroughly impressed. But considering the amount of hair product I had applied, I decided to keep a safe distance from the stage. 

            The women, dressed in all white, came out on stage lit up from head to toe with white Christmas lights. I am not exactly sure what the costume was meant to represent but enjoyed letting my mind wonder about the endless possibilities.

            At one point in the night, the stage crew and dancers inflated giant balloons and sent them floating out into the crowd. Of course the balloons didn’t last long in the crowd of less than sober people, but it was neat to see them flying through the air for a short period of time.

            Adam and I made an appearance on the dance floor, but spent most of our time enjoying the show from a nearby table. We sat and watched all of the excitement surrounding us before calling it a night around 4am. And no, we didn’t leave because the club was closing and the party was ending. We left because we were tired. The party was actually just getting started, and there is no doubt in my mind that it was still going on when the sun made its daily appearance. Welcome back summer, the city of Luanda has missed you.

Three's Company

            Being newlyweds, I was excited to get settled into our apartment in Luanda. Just Adam and me. Little did I know at the time that we would be getting a roommate. Introducing Lizzy the Lizard. Yes, our roommate is a small lizard, and yes, we gave her a name. Who wants to live with a no-named stranger?

            At first I hated everything about the fact that we had a roommate. One, we are newlyweds with a roommate. Two, she is a lizard. Three, she doesn’t live in a cage and makes herself right at home in our apartment. And four, she isn’t the slightest bit scared of us despite the fact that we are practically giants in her little world. I’ve never been scared of lizards, but I can honestly say that having a lizard pop up out of no where can certainly get the blood flowing.

            Lizzy often joins me for breakfast. I’ll be fixing myself a bowl of cereal, and when I go to grab my spoon, she is sitting there on the counter right next to our silverware just waiting on me. Good morning to you too, Lizzy! And when she isn’t joining me for breakfast, she loves to help out with the laundry. I found her just sitting in our laundry basket one afternoon. Although she is friendly and helpful, she still needs her own space as well. I often find her lounging in her favorite “me” spots, the corners of the ceiling.

            I told Adam that Lizzy needed to find a new home, but he convinced me to let her stay. He explained to me that the lizards eat mosquitos, so if we let her stay in our apartment she will be sure to keep the apartment and us malaria free. The thought of having to go through the traumatic malaria experience again was enough to secure Lizzy a permanent room in our apartment for as long as she wants to stay.

            Even though Lizzy is always welcome in our apartment, she has taken a recent vacation to go explore the rest of the compound. I am sure that she isn’t too far from home, though. I just keep waiting for her to pop back up and surprise me. Until then, it’s just the two of us.