The ongoing adventure in Luanda now includes Jim. We were reunited in Lisbon on July 3 and enjoyed the next 10 days in Portugal. We spent time touring Lisbon and the area surrounding the city as well as a few days at the beach in the south of Portugal. Colin joined us for a few days in Lisbon as he was on his way to his summer program in Italy.
Spending time in Portugal allowed me to discover the origins of many fundamentals of architecture, food, brand names, traffic patterns etc. reproduced in Angola. History surrounds you like most other European cities as we visited churches, castles and monuments. The beaches were pleasant in the Algarve as we shared them with multiple generations of Portuguese families enjoying their summer holiday together. We lit candles at Our Lady of Fatima shrine and traced the steps of the children who reported the visits from her. We drank good but inexpensive Portuguese wine and I fed my craving almost daily for grilled salmon that I cannot enjoy in Luanda.
Jim hit the ground running in Luanda. After only a few days here, he was offered and accepted a temporary position at the Embassy as the “move coordinator”. As the apartment building behind the Embassy was finally completed, a major relocation project began moving many of us into this building. Because we were dealing with new apartments, a lot of his job was evaluating the adequacy of the construction (which was very inadequate). He had an experience in international relations, trying to communicate with people from Southeast Asia and India (the building workers) and Angolans (our guys) and a very histrionic landlady (Ethiopian American married to an Angolan). Additionally, he had to do a lot of handholding and listening as many of our colleagues dealt with the stress of moving in mid tour. Indeed, he used all the skills acquired in years as a psychologist. He made friends easily with the local staff whom he has come to enjoy and impressed the management with his organizational skills (What a surprise!).
So, we are now living on the 9th floor on a hill overlooking the city and the bay in a medium size 3 bedroom apartment. Once again it is a million dollar view with a short commute across the street. We live in somewhat of an upscale neighborhood for the city center of Luanda with other houses and a couple of small parks. I do not miss the daily crazy drive and parking challenges when I lived on the Marginal. And although there is still noise at times, it is a much quieter environment most of the time. As the Embassy occupies the top 5 floors, we have established a more cohesive community. Jim and I have hosted a few parties already where we can open our door and extend the living space to a small lobby and community porch for all to use.
With Jim here and living in a new place, life has become normalized and pleasant. Jim is enjoying the adventure and living a relative stress free life. He did not realize how much stress he experienced all these years and feels liberated from it. He sleeps well, exercises a lot, is reading books for enjoyment and discovering cooking. We have found some good restaurants we enjoy and better options for buying meat. Both of us find living in Luanda involved with the American Embassy a pleasant, alternative life.
However, Jim does want to be involved in some work. Initially, he thought he would work 2 days a week at the International School although management at the Embassy hoped he would work full time for us. However, the school only wanted to employ him initially at an “insulting salary” for a few months while another part time Dutch psychologist was on maternity leave. Given the long tedious commute and these factors, he decided to decline their offer. This last week, he was offered the job as the CLO—Community Liaison Officer, a position that entails supporting and enhancing the life of the American families at the Embassy. Because he will be involved with potential emergency situations with access to sensitive information, he will need a top secret clearance like the rest of us. The job will suit him well for the next year and will allow him to acquire some overseas embassy life experience he can use for future posts.
The mood and morale at Embassy Luanda has also changed. Most of the personnel finished their 2-3 year tour this summer and the new group continues to arrive. With this, a more positive outlook has replaced the previous negative one and morale is improving. The hope is to continue this enthusiasm and make this Embassy one that is not viewed as so difficult. We have an interim Ambassador for another week (a retired former Ambassador to Uganda and Zambia who now works at Cal Berkeley) and are just waiting for the Congress to approve the appointment of the next one.
I have continued to organize the health unit and discard the many years of accumulated and expired supplies and medications. I still do not have a regular medical administrative assistant or nurse although the process to hire one is underway—always a slow process here. I have a teen summer intern of one of the employees who has been amazing in her efficiency and speed with what I need to have done. My Portuguese slowly improves and I have now taken on another (volunteer) job as the coordinator of the post language program. So much of my work is administrative and supportive in comparison to clinical work. While I don’t mind, I do miss it. I am teaching CPR classes, overseeing the cleanliness and food handling issues of our small cafeteria and will continue to promote overall good health for everyone.
As part of my ongoing training, I will attend a Comprehensive Advanced Life Support course at the University of Minnesota. I will join other new Med personnel in this class including those from my orientation class that began one year ago this next week. Like Berlin, it is always nice to catch up and compare notes.
So, this allows me to come to the US on September 17 to attend the class the next week followed by a week of leave in Cincinnati visiting family and friends. Jim will also travel with me, will visit his family in Cleveland while I am in the course and join me in Cinti the following week. Adrian and Colin are coming to Minneapolis to meet us that first weekend. My sister and her husband who have lived in Minneapolis for a number of years are spending their last week there at that time before heading off to a new life in Portland, Oregon. We are looking forward to the trip and hope to visit with our friends in Cincinnati when we are there.
Here are some photos of our trip to Portugal
Our new apartment and neighborhood.
We are enjoying time with friends and the beach. Jim is attemptint to learn to surf with help from one of the Marines.
We went fishing and I caught some fish!!! We cooked them that night.
