The Night The Lights Went Out In Luanda

            Considering we woke up recently to a very dry faucet, I thought this would be a perfect opportunity to write about electricity and water in Luanda. I always had electricity and water in the States unless there was a rare power outage or a break in the water line. And even then, the problem was usually fixed in a reasonable amount of time. But Luanda is no stranger to power outages and limited water supplies.

            I never realized the impact that electricity and water had on my life until I faced a moment without it. We lose electricity almost daily and more frequently when the weather heats up because more people are turning on their air conditioners. We are fortunate enough to have generators that come on while the electricity is out. So in reality, we usually only go about ten minutes without electricity before the generators take over. However, not everyone in Luanda is as fortunate. Many people don’t have electricity and if they do, they often don’t have generators that kick on when the electricity is out.

            So ten minutes without electricity isn’t that bad, mostly just annoying. But the fact that the electricity cuts out almost daily at random times is actually dangerous. I like to run on the treadmill in our gym at our compound. I have no idea when the electricity is going to cut out, and of course I never have any warning. So if the run isn’t enough to get my heart rate up, the anticipation of the electricity possibly cutting out certainly does the job. There are times that it cuts out mid run causing me to stumble a bit. My "cat like reflexes" have kept me from face planting on the treadmill, and I am hoping to keep my perfect record. Knock on wood. Based on my first run-in with healthcare, I know that Luanda is the last place that I want a broken bone.

            Now water, that is a different story. We have a couple water pumps outside of our complex, but when the pumps are down, we go without water. Of course we drink and cook with bottled water, so dehydration is not an immediate fear. But it is all of the other tasks we do throughout the day requiring water that makes it so difficult. For example, showering and brushing our teeth is quite a chore. Bottled water suffices when it comes to brushing our teeth, but it isn’t exactly practical when it comes to a nice shower. And how about flushing the toilet or washing our hands? Luckily, the nurse in me was extremely prepared when I moved here and brought anti-bacterial hand sanitizer with me. Unfortunately, the hand sanitizer does nothing for our toilet issues. As for the morning dishes, they just sit in the sink taunting me because they know I like to keep a clean house. Mopping our floors is another task that falls to the back burner. The dirt can finally make itself at home without me interrupting its stay.

            Needless to say, life without electricity and water has been a major adjustment. We are fortunate enough to have additional water sources and generators that help us get by when the electricity is out or the pumps are down. Not everyone is as lucky. Just one more thing I no longer take for granted.

Happy Birthday To Me

            Yesterday was extremely bittersweet for me. And no, the fact that I am one year closer to the big 3-0 had nothing to do with the fact that it was bittersweet. I actually think that being able to celebrate another birthday, no matter what age, is extremely exciting. Life is too short and you never know whether you will get that opportunity to celebrate another wonderful year.

            It was bittersweet because I have spent every single birthday for the past 27 years with my family and friends back home in Kansas. This was the first birthday that I have spent halfway around the world and six hours ahead of my loved ones. And as hard as it was, it was still a very special time for me because this is actually the first birthday that I have been able to spend with Adam. In the past, that beautiful body of blue water has prevented us from being together on my special day. But not this year.

            Adam didn’t give me anytime to think about the fact that I was spending it without a majority of my loved ones. He treated me like a princess! Despite his long hours at work, he still came home and took over my cleaning duties. Seeing him mop the floor was absolutely priceless and a present in itself. Not only did he clean for me, he also surprised me with a beautiful chocolate cake, my favorite! And don’t forget the candles! I hadn’t even blown them out yet and it was as if all of my wishes were already coming true. 

            Adam took me out to dinner to my favorite restaurant Cais de Quatro. We spent nearly four hours on the deck enjoying each other’s company, delicious food, cool air, and the beautiful Luanda skyline. And yes, four hours is an extremely long time for dinner but when I am with Adam I seem to get lost in time. 

            After dinner was over, we came back to our compound to find our favorite guard working the door. Icing on the cake. We wanted him to be able to join in on our celebration, so we gave him a big slice of cake and a coke to wash it all down. I think he was probably more excited about my birthday than I was because of the pleasant surprise. 

            And how can I forget all of the wonderful Facebook messages and posts from my family and friends wishing me a happy birthday. My parents Skyped me the minute they woke up. Carolyn, my mother-in-law, “sang” me happy birthday through a text message. And my Grandma not only emailed me but also left me a Facebook post. Even though I spent my day halfway around the world from everyone, I still felt extremely loved and special on my birthday. Technology is truly amazing.

The Real Housewives Of Luanda

           Thanks to reality television, many people think that housewives are women who are living the dream. Their days consist of shopping at expensive boutiques, drinking champagne in the middle of the afternoon, enjoying leisurely massages, ordering around maids and chefs, and preparing for unnecessary dinner parties. Life as a housewife in Luanda, and for the majority of the world, is anything but what is depicted on reality television.

            I spend a great deal of time cleaning our two-bedroom apartment, washing dishes, and doing the laundry. And yes, I do realize how ridiculous that sentence sounds. How many dishes and how much laundry can two people go through in a week? Not to mention that a good clean once a week or two should be plenty to keep such a small place neat and tidy, but that just isn’t the case in Luanda. The environment plays a large role in why it is so difficult to keep our apartment clean. The considerable amount of dirt that makes up much of Luanda always seems to find its way into our little apartment. Another factor is the lack of appliances and cleaning supplies.

            One of the first things I noticed about our apartment was the flooring. Instead of being carpeted, every room is tiled. I don’t think I have ever lived in a place that didn’t have atleast one or two carpeted rooms. At first I was a little disappointed because there is nothing like waking up in the morning and putting your feet down on nice, plush carpet. But now that I have been here a few months, I am grateful for the tile because it makes keeping clean floors a much easier task. I sweep all of the floors daily and mop atleast twice a week. And when I say mop, I don’t mean that I get out my fancy Shark and clean the floors. I use a good ole mop and bucket. You would be amazed at how dirty the floors can get in such a short amount of time. And as if the environment wasn’t reason enough to mop so frequently, Adam is reason number two. He has a habit of dropping food on the floor, which is usually followed by, “you might want to mop by the couch really well because I dropped some chicken there lastnight.” I keep telling myself that he is just trying to prepare me for what it will be like when we have children. How thoughtful.

            The dirt outside doesn’t just make sweeping and mopping necessary; it also makes dusting a MUST. The air conditioners are wall units that circulate air from the outside. The dirt makes itself right at home in our apartment. I have to dust atleast once or twice a week to keep a thin film of dust from covering all of our beautiful furniture. I also use water and soap to wipe down our cream colored couches to keep them from looking black.

            Dusting and mopping aren’t the only things consuming my time during the day. I spend a lot of time hand washing dishes. I never realized how spoiled I was in the States to have a dishwasher to do all of the work for me. But now, I AM the dishwasher. I can’t spend two hours making a fancy meal and then simply throw all of the dirty dishes into the dishwasher. Instead, I have to scrape every bit of food off of the dishes to avoid clogging the small drain that doesn’t have a garbage disposal. I then have to hand wash each and every item before piling them into a drying rack. Needless to say, I have a new appreciation for the garbage disposal and dishwasher.

            Laundry is a job in itself. When we first moved here, I didn’t realize that there were laundry machines in the utility room of our complex because many people in Luanda don’t have machines and do everything by hand. I spent hours a day doing laundry because I had to collect and carry the fresh water to the spinning machine, and then afterwards I had to drain the dirty water myself. I had to hang all of the clothes to dry and then iron each piece, including socks. Who needs a gym when you have a pile of dirty laundry in a third world country? You can imagine how sore I was after doing a load or two of laundry. But now that we know about the machines, we utilize them weekly. The only differences between machines here and in the States are that it takes a little longer to wash and dry and there aren’t as many cycle options on either machine. I can’t complain though because a few extra hours in the machine mean less backache for me.

            Life as a Luanda housewife is anything but glamorous. It really makes me appreciate the things that we have in the States that I took for granted before I moved here. But a little hard work never hurt anyone. 

My Mind On My Money And Money On My Mind

            Angola, like most countries, has its own currency: the kwanza. It has been the currency for quite some time but has changed throughout the years, most recently with the introduction of the 5000 kwanza bill. The money comes in different forms, shapes, colors, and designs.

            The currency includes 5000, 2000, 1000, 500, 200, 100, 50, 10, and 5 kwanza bills as well as coins; however, the coins are almost pointless when you consider the currency exchange. Each bill is a different color and has its own design. The size of the bill is similar to its worth, meaning the 5000 kwanza bill is the largest with the 5 kwanza bill being the smallest. What an interesting concept, and one that much of the rest of the world follows.

            The best way for me to explain the kwanza is “monopoly money” because it really has no value outside of Angola. You wouldn’t use monopoly money to buy a log cabin in The Game of Life, just like you wouldn’t use kwanza to buy a dress at Von Maur. The exchange rate to the American dollar is about 100 kwanza per dollar. So, if a can of soda is 139 kwanza, it is $1.39 in American dollars.

            The money and exchange rate were easy to figure out, a little too easy. So of course there had to be a catch and that came with the use of separators. The decimal point and comma are interchangeable here and don’t follow the same rules that they do in the States. For example, the price of a new television in the States may be $2,000.00. Knowing the exchange rate, we know that $2,000 is the same as 200,000.00 kwanza. Easy, right? But that isn’t how it is written here, and instead, the price would be listed as 200.000,00. It has been quite a chore trying to retrain my mind.

            The new form of currency has been a big change in my life. No matter how much or how often I use the kwanza, I still don’t know how much something is until I do the exchange rate in my head and compare it to the only form of currency I have really known my entire life: the American dollar.

That Will Cost You An Arm And A Leg

            The three months that I spent in the States were a bit of a blur. After Adam and I said, “I do” and the chaos surrounding the wedding calmed down, we began preparing for our trip back to Angola. We started by making a list of all of the essential items in the States that we couldn’t get and also those items that were a bit too pricey for our liking in Luanda.

            Angola has just about everything that a person could need. However, there isn’t much of a variety and everything is A LOT more expensive. It seems strange, I know. Most people would expect for things to be dirt cheap considering it is a third world country, but in reality, it is quite the opposite. Luanda is the most expensive city in the world. For example, we bought a few plastic hangers for our clothes. In the States, a pack of eighteen hangers may cost $3. Now prepare yourself. In Luanda, a plastic hanger is the equivalent of $2 PER hanger. Face wash is another perfect example. There are a variety of brands of face wash in the States, and it is easy to find a bottle of cleanser for under $5. Apparently they don’t wash their faces in Luanda because most stores don’t even carry it, and if they do, there is usually just one brand that runs about $28 a bottle. Mind blown. And don't get me started on sunscreen. A bottle of sunscreen in the States may cost $8 but in Luanda it costs around $35. In the States, people pay a ridiculous amount of money to "fake bake" and now I am going to have to pay a ridiculous amount of money to keep my pale skin light. 

            Prices aren’t the only reason we chose to take items from the States. Luanda doesn't have everything that we want and need. Because of my two-month trial period in Luanda, I knew that I needed to pack my own hair products. Five minutes in the African heat and my naturally curly hair is having a party. Anti-frizz/calming serum has managed to tame the out of control party. I also knew that dental floss, bug spray, tampons, sunscreen, hand sanitizer, and Tylenol among other things would need a place in my suitcase.

            After packing our clothes and the necessities that were either non-existent or too expensive in Luanda, we decided to tackle our wedding gift problem. We had spent a lot of time registering for gifts and carefully selecting each one based on its “packability.” We wanted to take as many wedding gifts as possible to help turn our place in Luanda into a home. Adam took one look at our guestroom that was filled with the items I wanted to take and said, “You think you are taking all of that with us?” I was confident that my type A personality, Adam’s Gold Star status, large suitcases, and plenty of vacuum seal bags would help me get everything to Luanda. And they did just that. I was able to pack the pillows, curtains, rugs, frames, vases, a comforter, and towels into four oversized suitcases weighing about 75kg a piece. Thank goodness for the invention of roller suitcases. Adam flies so frequently that his miles have earned him a Gold Star status with the airline. The best part about his status, we were able to travel with all four bags FOR FREE!

            With our bags packed, we were ready to make the long trip back to Luanda. I was originally dreading the flight seeing as the trip home was a complete disaster, but the dread quickly changed to excitement when I learned that we would be changing up our flight pattern. We decided to take a direct flight from Houston to Luanda on a chartered flight through the oil companies. No foreign airports, no long layovers, I was elated!

            Fourteen hours and fourteen minutes later, we landed in Luanda. The dirt and shacks that had been so shocking to me before were now welcoming. I knew that we were home.