African Rhythms
So here I am in Angola, quite a marked difference from Europe.
I'm not sure how to sum up the past couple of weeks here, but all I can think of is how it all seems a big contradiction.
Life here is hard in some respects. I awake at 4:30am and then drive to work, which takes at least an hour (on good days). The work is long, usually 11-12 hours, followed by a 2 hour drive home. From there, eat, relax for a little bit before getting into bed. Repeat until the weekend.
In other respects, life is somewhat easy. At my gated compound, everyone is super chill. We have a nice pool to relax by, good neighbours, and nothing to worry about. It is in a good area of the city, there are several grocery stores close enough to drive to, and a mall to go buy (very expensive) things at. A domestic life is achievable.
Obviously there are big differences. Everyday, I drive by many ghetto slums, families living in literally a one bedroom shack. On the road to work, there is a large outdoor gymnasium, located in the middle of two opposing lanes of traffic. Angolans are out here all hours of the day, running around, doing chinups, push ups, and generally socializing. The roads are full of guys walking up and down offering goods for sale. These vary between DVD's, tire pumps, and popcorn, and it might be all the same guy carrying those three. Anything you want, you can probably find it while driving home.
The people are for the most part nice, but it's hard to generalize about any group of people. I know I've seen some scary Angolan men, and some women who have looked at me with pure hate in their eyes. That being said, I've met some who just love to laugh and want to help me. What can you say?
I would say the culture is one of lifestyle, in so much as people don't enjoy working. Everywhere I go, it seems that people just look exasperated when they have to do any work. Not everybody of course, but no small number. In regards to the driving, there's a fierce individuality, a definite "Fuck all of you, I'm driving here, and driving the way I want to." It's taken me a little while to get used to.
The life is expensive, I don't know how people get by in the ghettos here. Food I took for granted in France is either ridiculously expensive or just not available here. Creme Fraiche is unheard of it, and that hurts me. Erin and I enjoyed a 15 dollar burger (each obviously), from a misnomered fast food chain. Let's just say that they do things different here. No prices were listed, and they didn't even appear on a screen, the only way us to know the total price was the lady saying it to us...in Portuguese. So, being the North American that I am, I just kept pulling out money until the cashier nodded ok. Then she gestured for us to go sit down, with just our receipt. After waiting 15 minutes, I wondered what the hell was up. Once again, being a dumb foreigner, I just went back in the restaurant waving my receipt and looking lost. After debate from the Angolan employees and yelling at each other, and they finally started to prepare our platter. Total time, around 20-25 minutes.
We did some driving around our area today, and it's damn confusing. Let's just say that it's not a good idea to use compounds as reference points, as one razor wire topped wall and gate looks exactly like all the rest. Also, there are no road names here, or they are at least not posted. To top it off, most roads are one way and you can't turn left in most places. The real kick in the junk is that if you run out of gas driving around aimlessly, is that the gas stations have at least a 45 minute wait because there are so few stations and so many cars.
There isn't too much else to say at the moment. I did get a chance to go to one of the beaches here and it was gorgeous. Being a bit of a fool, I forgot my camera. I'll remember it for next time.
We've been watching some interesting movies lately. We just finished Sunshine tonight, and if you want a good sci-fi movies, I highly recommend it. Also, Near Dark is a good vampire movie, not like anything else I've seen. It's quite...gritty, and not idealized.
I'll start thinking about my next post. Perhaps you'll get to hear about how Sonangol runs the country and more adventures of Erin and I.
I'm not sure how to sum up the past couple of weeks here, but all I can think of is how it all seems a big contradiction.
Life here is hard in some respects. I awake at 4:30am and then drive to work, which takes at least an hour (on good days). The work is long, usually 11-12 hours, followed by a 2 hour drive home. From there, eat, relax for a little bit before getting into bed. Repeat until the weekend.
In other respects, life is somewhat easy. At my gated compound, everyone is super chill. We have a nice pool to relax by, good neighbours, and nothing to worry about. It is in a good area of the city, there are several grocery stores close enough to drive to, and a mall to go buy (very expensive) things at. A domestic life is achievable.
Obviously there are big differences. Everyday, I drive by many ghetto slums, families living in literally a one bedroom shack. On the road to work, there is a large outdoor gymnasium, located in the middle of two opposing lanes of traffic. Angolans are out here all hours of the day, running around, doing chinups, push ups, and generally socializing. The roads are full of guys walking up and down offering goods for sale. These vary between DVD's, tire pumps, and popcorn, and it might be all the same guy carrying those three. Anything you want, you can probably find it while driving home.
The people are for the most part nice, but it's hard to generalize about any group of people. I know I've seen some scary Angolan men, and some women who have looked at me with pure hate in their eyes. That being said, I've met some who just love to laugh and want to help me. What can you say?
I would say the culture is one of lifestyle, in so much as people don't enjoy working. Everywhere I go, it seems that people just look exasperated when they have to do any work. Not everybody of course, but no small number. In regards to the driving, there's a fierce individuality, a definite "Fuck all of you, I'm driving here, and driving the way I want to." It's taken me a little while to get used to.
The life is expensive, I don't know how people get by in the ghettos here. Food I took for granted in France is either ridiculously expensive or just not available here. Creme Fraiche is unheard of it, and that hurts me. Erin and I enjoyed a 15 dollar burger (each obviously), from a misnomered fast food chain. Let's just say that they do things different here. No prices were listed, and they didn't even appear on a screen, the only way us to know the total price was the lady saying it to us...in Portuguese. So, being the North American that I am, I just kept pulling out money until the cashier nodded ok. Then she gestured for us to go sit down, with just our receipt. After waiting 15 minutes, I wondered what the hell was up. Once again, being a dumb foreigner, I just went back in the restaurant waving my receipt and looking lost. After debate from the Angolan employees and yelling at each other, and they finally started to prepare our platter. Total time, around 20-25 minutes.
We did some driving around our area today, and it's damn confusing. Let's just say that it's not a good idea to use compounds as reference points, as one razor wire topped wall and gate looks exactly like all the rest. Also, there are no road names here, or they are at least not posted. To top it off, most roads are one way and you can't turn left in most places. The real kick in the junk is that if you run out of gas driving around aimlessly, is that the gas stations have at least a 45 minute wait because there are so few stations and so many cars.
There isn't too much else to say at the moment. I did get a chance to go to one of the beaches here and it was gorgeous. Being a bit of a fool, I forgot my camera. I'll remember it for next time.
We've been watching some interesting movies lately. We just finished Sunshine tonight, and if you want a good sci-fi movies, I highly recommend it. Also, Near Dark is a good vampire movie, not like anything else I've seen. It's quite...gritty, and not idealized.
I'll start thinking about my next post. Perhaps you'll get to hear about how Sonangol runs the country and more adventures of Erin and I.
posted by Poshy at 2:35 AM
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