Entertainment Angolan style

Voilà, some of the highlights of the past few days in Luanda.

On Sunday night we went to Njinga Mbandi theatre downtown to watch a comedy “Quanto pior melhor” (The worse the better). Márcio faithfully served as my simultaneous interpreter when I couldn't understand what was going on. The story revolved around a married couple living in one of Luanda’s slums, struggling to make ends meet as the husband squanders the little money they have on drinks. The experience was very different from watching a drama comedy in Europe or in the States. There was a lot more improvisation and spontaneity on stage- a freedom that automatically transferred itself from the actors to the audience. The spectators interacted by making loud funny comments here and there, laughing, and having small conversations among themselves all throughout the play. It created a chilled atmosphere that left me feeling more relaxed and amused than when I am usually leaving a drama theater back home. There the code of conduct is to mostly stay the quiet observer, apart from an occasional laughter or interaction at the actors' invitation. Watching Angolan drama was a welcomed refreshment to the more uptight European tradition I've grew up with.

I made a similar observation in the movie theater last night. Compared to going to watch a movie in Slovakia, the Angolans are much more free to voice their opinion there and then about whatever is happening on the screen. It was the same last year in Zambia when we went to watch Think Like a Man. While Slovaks would find it disturbing when people are talking loud during a movie, here it’s an almost obligatory behavior. I personally appreciate the African “interactive” style better. After all, we shouldn’t be passive, silent consumers of the entertainment we chose to watch.

And talking about entertainment... Who says you can't get entertained in a cab? 

This is something I've only seen in one cab so far, but I can say that the TV won't make me look for it again. Although I did get to watch an authentic Angolan freelance army movie while driving through the jammed roads of afternoon Luanda, it left me feeling super dizzy and hence unimpressed. But the times are hard for cab drivers and you gotta go out of your way to please the customer. Even if that means cramming a 35-inch into your vehicle.

Gildo's love therapy

To change the environment a little bit, I spent the weekend at our friend Rebecca’s house in downtown Luanda. She works at an orphanage called Lar Kuzola, which is a safe haven for over 200 children of all ages. Rebecca specializes on work with traumatized children, particularly babies, through what is called "the play therapy". Many of the children at Lar have mental problems, physical handicaps, or both, which unfortunately makes them much less likely to ever get adopted. Lar Kuzola therefore becomes their home until they grow up and are transferred into an adult institution. I spent a few hours on Friday and Saturday with Gildo and Assis, two boys with severe muscular tension and a mental handicap. They have most likely gone through a cerebral palsy as babies, which left them lying almost motionless on the bed. Rebecca started working with them two years ago, and through as little as being held by volunteers for a few minutes a day, being talked or sang to, they started making eye contact, smiling, stretching their crooked up legs and arms, and jolting happily when being picked up. The biggest joy for me was when I took Gildo outside to the playground. He saw the kids running around, and although he couldn’t join them because of his handicap, he started smiling and chuckling until it became a proper, laud laughter. That was what was needed to make him happy- being held and talked to while observing the life outside of his cot. I was amazed when I realized that even a few minutes of loving attention can make a difference in the lives of these children. I grew up with a mentally handicapped stepsister who has always been attended to very poorly, psychologically speaking, and she has made only little progress throughout her childhood. From this experience I learned to think that without specialized treatment from a very young age, handicapped children cannot change much later on in life. But seeing Rebecca’s testimony with the Lar Kuzola kids, I was humbled and reminded that love is the key treatment for any handicap at any age. "God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong" (1 Cor 1:27).

Luanda impressions

It's been over a week since I've arrived in Angola, so it's the highest time to check in for a small update.

If you’ve ever been away from your boyfriend/girlfriend for longer than a year, you probably understand quite exactly the heavenly feeling we’re experiencing of finally being together. Suddenly, such mundane activities as catching cabs, brushing teeth or heating up dinner in the microwave become coated in a glittery layer of daydream when you do them together again after 15 months. That is not to say that Márcio doesn’t get a quasi-heart attack when I run out on a highway crossing and almost get pancaked by a car, or that I don’t get annoyed when I have to wake up at 5am every morning during what’s supposed to be a vacation so we get to Márcio’s work on time. But in all this, little annoyances seem trivial compared to the realization of how blessed I am to be finally in my baby’s home country, seeing the places he grew up in, visiting the people he loves, AND eating Angolan food (while getting stomach ache only occasionally).

Here are some small observations from the last few days:

- Angolans dress well (and expensive). You’d think it’s a tendency among the richer layers, but I noticed that looking neat seems to be independent of the salary. I'd call it more of a general cultural trait. Obviously, you do find copycat versions of clothes and accessories from street vendors, but owning an original brand is common across all ages and classes. The other day, a conductor in a cab that looked more like a can opener than a vehicle was wearing a Calvin Klein watch. In the afternoon, a driver of a similar cab was wearing a Lacoste shirt. I can imagine that owning these brands consumes a good portion of an Angolan’s paycheck. But the way you present yourself to others is valued higher than the money you spend on your look; most Angolans therefore find getting authentic brands and looking put together a worthy investment of time and money.

- Talking about  money... I was always a bit skeptical about the rumor that Luanda is one of the most expensive cities in the world. But I've learned the bitter truth shortly after arrival. It is very pricey and truly more expensive than what I've seen visiting London and DC or living in Paris. A basic lunch portion of traditional feijoada or funge costs not less than 15 dollars, the trip to and from work adds up to 10-12 dollars a day per person. Even the gas is expensive, despite the fact that Angola is the second largest importer of oil in Sub-Saharan Africa.This article by Economist describes the exorbitant prices quite engagingly. Mail&Guardian also helps to explain things for those interested.

- Another thing you can't overlook is Luanda's bad congestion issue. The roads are full most of the week except for Sundays, with peak hours between 7-9 am and 4-6 pm. Márcio's work is only 15 miles away, but we need to leave home at 6 am to get to the city center around 8 am. It's a tiring trip both ways, and I feel like I couldn't sustain a similar schedule for too long. Working close to home definitely becomes an advantage in Luanda.

I stole this picture from Dyllen Cafferty's blog since both my camera and the phone decided to resign right after my arrival.

- Catching one of those blue cabs to work is always an exciting experience. They are 9-people’s vans, usually stuffed to the brim (12 people plus occasional babies or children sitting on the lap), playing all sorts of local music at all sound and bass levels, with conversations of random strangers spanning from child rearing to AIDS to complaining about anything that's relevant. Although I don’t understand all that’s being said, the atmosphere inside the cab always lets me feel like I’m part of the conversation. 

- My Portuguese is progressing slowly but surely. I catch a few new words every day but I'm still shy to speak by myself in public. It's different with Márcio's family since I feel much freerer around them. But I still use the creolized Portuguese-Spanish version. I hope it will lose its Spanish influence by the time I leave... 

I shall be adding more news soon. Stay tuned :)

Safe and sound at 8 degrees south, 13 degrees east

After a seven-hour flight from Lisbon, I've happily arrived at Luanda's Quatro de Fevreiro airport. Getting through the passport control, a vaccination controller and the customs within 20 minutes was a much welcomed surprise. Last year in Lusaka, I ended up standing in the immigration line for 2 hours before getting to baggage pick-up tired and dehydrated, only to find out that my bags had never arrived (they were eventually found in Mexico City after a slight confusion by the Ethiopian Airlines, but that's a different story). Thankfully, this time in Luanda everything went very smoothly. The uncontainable wave of expectation to see all things new really hit me only when I saw Márcio waiting near the exit. It also brought an amazing sense of gratefulness to my heavenly Daddy for letting me come on a trip like this; all the money spent on the flight ticket, visas and pocket money came from my scholarship that I haven't used up in Paris. I can't see this as anything else but a huge, huge blessing.

Other than catching up on random dates, during the next two weeks we will be going to Maju's workplace, an international NGO called the Development Workshop. The remaining two weeks will be filled with further discovering Luanda, meeting friends and family, and hopefully traveling to Benguela province and possibly Huambo to get a peak on the Angola beyond Luanda. 

I'm also hoping to soak in as much Portuguese as possible to be able to communicate more independently and make friends more easily. As we say back home, "As many languages you know, as many times you are a human being". Whether it's on the linguistic, cultural or spiritual level, knowing the people's "heart language" enables us to understand them better, and equally be better understood ourselves. I believe the same goes for Portuguese and Márcio's family.

With this exciting schedule ahead, I pray my time in Angola with Maju is used to build us up as a couple, as individuals, and hopefully to inspire and build up those we cross paths with.

Vamos ver!

Heading out!

So here I go... A lonely traveler soon to be reunited with her babe after more than a year.
Waiting for my transfer flight in Lisbon, I am seeing lots of Angolan families looking forward to getting home to their relatives.
It gets me wondering how often I'll be making similar trips in the future.

Packing up again.

It seems like my bags have stayed idle for too long and they are calling me out to explore again. I've spent the longest time in Slovakia in the past two years- two whole months! It's been a blessing mainly as a time of rest and rediscovering what I love so much about being back home. Food, public transport arriving uncompromisingly on time, speaking Slovak properly again, walking around in the tiny historical downtown in Bratislava with an ice cream cone, the spring scent of blooming front gardens in our tiny streets. 

This week I am wrapping up my internship at the Slovak Atlantic Commission, giving last pre-travel hugs to friends and family, and receiving all sorts of advice on how to survive "in the mysterious African lands". I wish sub-Saharan Africa was more known to Slovaks (and to the world in general) so that going there wouldn't seem any more dangerous (and, if we are to talk honestly, savage) than going to Brazil or "the Holy Land". But I interpret the travel warnings from my loved ones as signs of care rather than as a sense of discrimination against any particular world region. I believe a piece of the anxiety about the unknown always chips off of them when I get home safe and sound, with a pocketful of great memories, pictures and souvenirs (oh their joy over every new fridge magnet!).

So for those ever more curious among my readers, I made a little flight snap for Thursday:

Vienna -> Lisbon with a few hour overlay to explore the city -> Luanda on Friday morning = around 10 hours of flight time and a time change of only 1 hour :)

And my baby on the other end of the red line.