Senhora do Monte Procession

August is an exciting month in Huíla, full of a religious procession, trade show, farm animal auction, car races, and more. Here is the catholic procession (apparently not only for Catholics nowadays. I was impressed with how organized it was.

My Favorite Pictures until now

Dirty bus window--Namibe, Angola

Cátia, me, and Hernania at Mundo's Restaurant--Maputo, Mozambique 

(I taught these smart ladies their first and second year at the tourism college in Inhambane.  They have now finished their first professional internship and hope to intern at Kruger park in South Africa at the end of the year--they are the bomb!)

Sunset at Opuwo Country Lodge--Opuwo, Namibia

Scissor practice--Otuzemba Kindergarden, Opuwo, Namibia

Cristo--Lubango, Angola

Little Himba Boy---Village outside Opuwo, Namibia

Sunset--Humpata, Angola

Road--Outside Opuwo, Namibia

Surprise--Otuzemba Kindergarden, Opuwo, Namibia

Petrol Tube--Namibe, Angola

One of "the Chinese" fishing on Sunday--Namibe, Angola (there has been a recent influx of Chinese, Cambodian, and Vietnamese to Angola for work)

Yara enjoying Gianni gelato--Maputo, Mozambique (Yara was a great student and friend from when I worked in Inhambane starting almost three years ago)

Beauty in Every Situation

So, I must begin this by talking about how frustrating it is to have a blog sometimes.  If you haven't heard from the grapevine, I am very lonely in Angola.  I am LOVIN' the professional experiences I am having.  I get to do cool things with teachers and students of English, get to travel a bit, and I think these experiences will only help me in the future.  Perhaps one day I can use the skills to work with the State department managing their english programs around the globe, who knows?  Being lonely, coupled with the fact that my internet connection is not fast enough to Skype call people for longer than a minute before it cuts off, make the need to connect to something when good and bad things happen, so imperative.  However, this means of communication, my blog, can't be a substitute for a dinner chat with my family, a coffee or drink with an old friend, or a barstool bitching session with a group of old traveling buddies.  Lots of different parties have this blog address--my bosses, my current and former students, so I constantly censor or edit what I am writing about.  I have to be very careful about how I say things as well as to not piss somebody off.  This is not so great for my spirit so I do pray a lot to have some form of release, but I am frustrated nonetheless.  I was talking to my little sister during my last visit and she made a comment about how me and my mom and her were pretty strong women.  I think lots of people see me as strong because I am able to live so far away and have been living by myself for so long.  I reminded her that those who appear strong, in my experience, are the ones who are the most hurt inside.  In all my travels I have always had some option for communication--other American Peace Corps Volunteers, a kind friend from a foreign land (not the country I was living in) for nice talks, or just a DSL internet connection and a Skype-In number.  This is my first experience with none of these things and God is the only thing left.  Think he's trying to tell me something??  :)

These photos were taken by me from the Dean of ISCED Benguela's vehicle on our trip back down country to take me back to Lubango.  Long story short, my school's transport (that they were required to provide)  fell through, but since I had done a short workshop for ISCED Benguela that morning, and had had lunch with their Vice Dean and Head of Modern Language Dept, they kindly offered the Dean's car and personal driver to take me back home.  We didn't leave on our 5.5 hour journey until 2pm so we had to drive on some pretty bad roads right before dark and after dark--not something I plan on doing the the future.  The beauty that did result was that I got some great stories from my driver, Félix, that connected the scenery we were passing with the past war, and I also got some nice photos from the car.  The last two are doctored up with a "fisheye" transformation I can do on the camera after a take a picture.

The Benguela "drive by" 3 Hour Workshop

I spent the night in Benguela on my way down to Lubango and had to do a workshop the next morning from 8-12 before leaving to drive home.  Here's the highlight:

Mombaka

Pics from the all too expensive and overly gaudy Hotel Mombaka, in Benguela (my overnight stop between Luanda and my home in Lubango).  It was so ridiculous in there that I must, repeat, must go back.  :)

I don't think they were real leather, but everything was so shiny

Presidential Hallway

The bed was big but not as big as my giant size one at home in Lubango.

Can anyone tell me what to cal that weird thing on the ceiling?  Note the green velour headboard

View from bathroom window

I was running a warm bath

Back in Luanda

Back in the country after a great trip outside and I am still two days from home!

Houses

Maybe this is a market or something.  Lots of people and Candongeiros (mini bus taxis)

Luanda was under this cloud.  Its still great for me to think about how all my friends all over the world live under this same sky.

Visit with Anacleto's Family !!!!!!!!!

The Machava crew, as I call them, are led by the patriarch, Anacleto.  Anacleto works in Public affairs and I got to work with him (from far mostly) during my two years as a fellow in Mozambique.  He invited me to Marracuene, 45 minutes outside of Maputo, where he is building a really nice house for his wife, Versinha, and two girls, Verana and Lulú.  He says he only wants to build once in life so he and his wife have put a lot of thought into it.  It is coming along and they hope to be finished in the next two years.  It was a great honor to get out there with everyone.  We just hung out and had a nice lunch and dinner together.  A typical Sunday in Mozambique.  Thanks again Machavas for inviting me.  I will be back.

Family & Friends at sunset on the porch

The front porch

Versinha & Bea, her niece, preparing the grill

Little Lulú wanted to feed the chickens, but when the guard brought her in and the hungry little suckers attacked her, she ran for her life!

The table--pork, salad, rice and the best Matapa I have had in a while

They will have a great sunset view every day.  Lulú was a ham and a half.  Work it girl!

Looking and laughing at old photos with Versinha.  I saw pics of a vacation she took to Inhaca Island way back when and thought the young and skinny guy was an ex boyfriend.  Nope, it was Anacleto!  We had a big laugh.

Anacleto descending from the roof, where his future office and rooftop party area will be.

Twas a nice Sunday.  The ladies were pooped. 

Access / YES Camp

I got to go back to Mozambique for 10 days or so to help out with a kids' English camp.  It was for Access and YES participants.  Access is the State Department's microscholarship program for English and leadership lessons for kids in particular countries.  And YES--Youth Exchange and Study is a program that sends young people to live in the USA for a year, share about their own countries, live with a family, go to high school, and learn more about American culture.  The kids were fabulous and I was very impressed.

Himba sounds & moving pictures

A scene from the Village

Audio only of the kids singing and dancing (I was recording paparazzi style so they wouldn't stop singing)

Jimmy, one of Diane's good friends back in Opuwo and tour guide, dancing with the kids

Some more cute singing

Back in Maputo

Arrived after an early start in Windhoek (Marita & Zimmy& Marguerite got up 5am to take me to the airport).  These were the best photos I took from the plane.  After I took, like 50 shots, I heard other people taking out their cameras and joining in the fun.

Me & Diane & the Himba tribe near Opuwo, Namibia

I had a great visit with Diane, an old friend from when I lived in Mozambique.  She is not old, just a friend from the past :)

We went to visit the Himba tribe and it was awesome.  All these years in Africa and I have never had that stereotypical experience...i guess that is good so that is shows people that all of africa is not like this, but wow!  what a great experience it was.  Photos below, stories to follow.

Otuzemba Kinder

My friend, Diane, does teacher training at this Kindergarden, trying to get more student centered teaching and trying to integrate play into learning.  The kids were cute.  I thank them for letting me come visit with my camera.

Animal Lesson

Oh be careful little eyes what you see

Animal Lesson Quiz

I love Jesus, he's my friend

Kumbaya my Lord

There's no other way...only Jesus

Otuzemba Kinder Slideshow Extravaganza!

I didn't have time to edit them so it might be long, but it's cute. 

My friend, Diane, has been doing some teacher training at the Otuzemba Kindergarden, started by her Missionary friends near her house in Opuwo, Namibia.  The director allowed me into their school, class, & playground with my big camera and allowed me to capture their learning for a bit.  It was funny to see how quickly the camera became more interesting than the lesson.  I had to keep hiding it or pretending that it wasn't on to get the most natural images I could.  The kids seemed to like the visit, though.

Visit to Ondjiva, Southern Angola--very close to Namibia

Squawky Bird?

Ondjiva, Angola I was trying to capture the peacock with my camera and hear this noise. It didn't end up being of the bird species at all. Some drunk guys were just trying to make a funny. They sounded like monkeys or something else.

Renting a Car in Angola: An Oddity

Here is a photo of the car itself.  It was a Kia Sportage, I think.  Diesel engine.  Great Gas Milage.  Automatic.  No cd player.  Only radio.  Drove nicely.

I hadn't planned on renting a car or driving in Angola but the circumstances of this weekend persuaded me to go ahead and take the chance.  Délcio, my co-worker at ISCED (pictured above on the left), couldn't take the bus and leave with me the day before my workshop because he had classes.  Instead, I decided to rent a car for the day.  We would leave early morning to arrive there by 830.  The workshop began at 9.  We would workshop till 12, have lunch, drive back, and be home before dark.  Namibe, the workshop location, is about 2.5 hours from Lubango.

So, I go to a travel agent near my house to ask about a rental car but, as this is Angola, you can't assume a travel agent will actually help you with all your travel arrangements.  The bald guy wearing a black turtle neck, looking way too sharp to be helpful, sitting behind the substantial, distinguished, desk, informs me that they only sell air tickets but he knows a "company" that rents cars.  He calls a friend, named Miranda, who confirms that the Serra da Chela Hotel rents cars for 150 dollars a day.  They are the same cars that function as taxis in town:  White Kias.  He asks me if this price is ok and since I was going for work I don't mind the price so I tell him the price is fine.  I must add that during this exchange he keeps unprofessionally turning around to watch the World Cup game being shown on the large plasma behind him.  Very unprofessional.  Clue number one that since this is Angola you can't assume anything will be as you think it will be.

I call Miranda and he says that I can get the car at 5pm on Friday no problem.  He says I just call him a bit before and he will pick me up at my place and we can make all the arrangements.  I assume that this means there will be paperwork and signatures.  Assuming makes an A....

Friday 5pm comes and I call Miranda.  He comes at 520.  When I walk downstairs and approach the car, I see an old guy sitting in the front passenger seat with dark sunglasses, and some random man in the back.  No need to panic.  This is Angola.  I open the driver side door, get in, and look at him, expecting the car rental guy to tell me what I need to do to rent the car.  He says he is Miranda and the only other thing he says is "drive that way," and points towards downtown.  Unprofessional clue #2.  I drive maybe 3 blocks from my place and he tells me to stop at the corner.  At this point, random guy says "thanks for the ride," and gets out.  Aw man. WTF?  Then Miranda tells me to get out the car to have a look.  He shows me that the car has no damage and reveals the spare tire in the back.  Might I add that he is just saying all of this.  There is no paperwork.  I tell him I need a receipt and he says that it will be possible.  (I don't know why it wouldn't be possible unless....)  Then we get back into the car and he writes down my American drivers license number (pretty much useless here) and has me sign.  The paper I am signing is a simple table printed in b&w on paper.  There are other names and info, but it doesn't look very official.  At this point I am uncomfortable in the sense that I just don't know what to say to this guy and I can't believe that he is being so unscrupulous.  There is a weird pause, and I finally say, "so...do I pay you now?"  He says yes, 250 dollars.  I say I don't have dollars, just kwanza, so he says 25,000 kwanza.  I take it out, hand it over.  He says thanks, and opens the door to leave.  WTF x 2?  I think it is only right to ask him how I return the car and where I return it.  He says just call when you come back and he will let me know where to go.

And...scene.

So fast forward 24 hours to 530 pm on Saturday.  After returning from the workshop in Namibe,  I call Miranda and he says I should meet him at the Serra da Chela Hotel.  I drive there and he is there at the bar with another professionally dressed old guy.  I listen to them and it seems like the guy is also renting a car.  I see that paper with the b&w table I signed on the coffee table in front of them.  Miranda has to give me a ride home so I just sit there near them for 10 minutes until they finish their business.  Oh, and I forgot to mention that they both were finishing off large glasses of beer.  They finish, stand up, and I am told to give the guy the key to my rental car.  I give it, but then remember that I left bags in the back so I get it back.  As I am taking my stuff out of the car, the old guy is putting his in.  I guess he was waiting for me to arrive in order for the transfer of the vehicle to happen.  

Then I get into Miranda's truck and we head down the mountain to my house.  After a minute a realize I still have no receipt.  I guess in all the paperwork and renting of the car to the old guy, Miranda forgot about it.  I tell him I need it today, but instead of turning around to get the receipt from where I thought the "office" was, he continues to drive and calls somebody and says, "yeah, so can you make me one of those receipts we did last time?  If she accepts it, ok.  If not, we have to do something else."  The Sketchy Fest continues in full force.  To make a long story short we drive around Lubango, stopping sometimes to call people, looking for a "receipt".  Finally we end up at the Millennium Shopping Center parking lot where he asks a taxi cab to give him a sheet from his receipt book.  He commences to make up the registration number, millage, and whatever else was on the paper, and hands it to me.  I look at him like he is crazy and ask for the stamp.  The stamp is always put on official receipts and includes the word PAGO, meaning the person paid.  He rather stupidly, says "oh, yea?  You need a stamp?  Can I get it to you tomorrow?"  In true Akisha style I tell him no, I told you yesterday I needed a receipt and you gotta give it to me.  He then calls another friend and asks him to use his PAGO stamp.  Oh yes, and I forgot to say that during our driving Miranda is listening to Kuduro music.  If you don't know, it is booty shaking stuff.  He was also shaking his booty the best he could while driving, singing along, and gyrating to the beat.  Maybe he was trying to impress me, maybe it was just the beer he had before getting behind the wheel.  At this point I am not angry or scared.  Just tired and laughing on the inside at how ridiculous the situation is and amazed at how normal it seems to Miranda.  I am very proud of him because he asks me if it is ok if we drive to San Antonio (a neighborhood near the train station 20 minutes away) to get the stamp.  I agree because, although I am exhausted, I want this thing over with so I don't have to deal with him again tomorrow. 

When we get to San Antonio we pull up to a house party.  Guys drinking outside the house.  Little kids arriving with their moms.  Music blasting.  Miranda uses his phone, in pimp style, to summon the guy with the stamp.  A big, effeminate, guy with a pregnant belly who was in the house, comes out with a PAGO stamp, says hello--his name is Mario, stamps my "receipt" and then Miranda and I head back to my house.  Two hours of driving around for a "recipt" from a car rental "company" is pretty easy, huh?

On the ride back Miranda asks if he can call me sometime.  Oh maan.  I just can't get away from it.  Again, maybe it was the beer, or maybe he was just an a#$.

So, will I rent a car again?  Maybe...apparently 250 a day for a car is quite cheap in Angola.  Now that I know that the "system" isn't really a system and the "company" is probably just the taxi company's cars being pimped out by Miranda to folks who know him, I know how to deal with all of it.  You see, you learn so much when you come to Africa.  I laughed to myself while waiting for the power and water to come back on after I arrived home (2 hours after I actually returned from my trip).  I laughed because I would have freaked the *@%# out years ago if this had happened to me.  What actually scares me is that I wasn't that scared at all.  Deep thoughts...

2nd Namibe Workshop

Click on the image to zoom in

2nd EFP Workshop

Click on the image to zoom in

ISCED Game Afternoon!!!!!

My 4th year student Nhenze working it playing 30 seconds. She was really good. I think she got people to guess 7 words one time.

OMG Student gem of the week

"What is your optimal sexy position?"--this was a question asked during our daily 5 minute "hotseat" Q&A in my third year class. One student stands in front and must answer all questions that are not deemed too personal. After this doosy was asked, it was dead silent, everyone thinking, "I know this chick did not just ask THAT." Someone asked for further clarification and she said the meaning of the question was correct. Then we all erupted in hysterical laughter. My eyes are dry I cried so much.