Hit The Ground Running

I'm back from my pre assignment trip to Africa and it was unbelievable!

Flight Over:

I was nervous about the long flight over the Atlantic....especially after the Air France incident! But I made it round trip all in one piece. Craig has made friends with a nice little lady that runs the check-in counter for Houston Express (the airline we use), so that morning he called to let her know I was coming. She greeted me right away and I was thinking "How did she know it was me?". So after checking in, the passengers are invited to the British Airways lounge so I headed on over and went in. Immediately I understood how she knew me....I was the only female! The room was filled with at least a hundred men already getting their drink on....and there was me! I kept hoping that another woman would enter the room but no luck. So aside from the flight attendants...I remained the only woman on board.
Most of the men (the vast majority) are rotators coming on and off the oil rigs. They are interesting to watch and you can tell that they have made that trip many times. It was all routine: Board plane, drink, sleep the rest of the way, wake up for breakfast, land. Oh...and snore loudly :-)

My Itinerary:

As soon as I landed it was 8 in the morning (2am Houston time). I was exhausted but there was NO time to sleep or rest. I had an itinerary that had to be followed with various meetings, briefings, lunches and dinners. I met with medical personnel, security, Craig's co-workers, his bosses and not to mention the highest ranked Chevron employee in Angola...no pressure! The first meeting was lunch with his wife at their home. It was soooo nice! From then on, it was pretty repetitious. All of the meetings were basically the same conversations but just with different people. They ask a lot of questions, share their experience and offer advice on packing and so forth. After we met, they had to give an informal report on how the meeting went and if they thought we would "fit" the part. Fortunately all of the feedback was positive!! They really focus on the spouse for these expat assignments because it is a difficult transition and bluntly, you know the saying..."If mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy"! So I appreciate that :-)

My opinion of the city:

Luanda is like any other city....it is crowded, dirty, smelly and has lots of traffic. The difference in Luanda from an American city is that you see naked children running around, bare breasted women nursing their babies, men pissing on the side of the road, potholes that are 4 ft. deep, women carrying things on their heads (very large things...and heavy things...and strange things...not just fruits and veggies but pots and pans and all kinds of random things). Another difference is the traffic! I joke that I spent half my time in Luanda sitting in traffic. This actually isn't a joke! There are no stop signs or traffic lights...basically there is NO organized driving system in Luanda. The car that gets closest to the one in front of it, gets to go first. It's crazy!! I'm assuming that this is the reason we are not allowed behind the wheel! It is a huge liability! So, we have a driver and I did get to meet him. His name is Sylva and thank goodness he speaks some English.

After spending a few days in the city and going to various "grocery stores", I was feeling a bit anxious. All of the stores that Craig took me to were like convenient stores with foods that did not look familiar...with labels that I couldn't read. There was NOTHING in these stores that our family would eat. I was concerned.

Before arriving in Luanda I had already set myself straight that I was going to be happy no matter what. We made up our minds to do this and there was NO turning back. "I can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens me"! This has been my motto for the past year and quite frankly I was hoping to have a new motto now that the family is "back together". On my last night (before visiting our neighborhood in the south) I was feeling a tiny bit discouraged but there was NO WAY I was going to share my concerns with Craig. He was so excited to have me there and he wants this more than anything. I was not about to start complaining. I just kept quietly adding more and more food items to my list.

Finally...the last day and the most exciting! I went to the suburbs...away from the city. AHHHH...there is grass...and homes...and a MALL...with pizza and burgers...and a REAL grocery store with foods I recognize. I was at peace! I loved the house, I loved the school, I loved everything about the suburbs! Mama is happy!

Reflecting:

On the flight home (and this time I slept at least 10 hours) I thought about everything I saw and put it all together. This is truly something larger than I ever imagined. The people I met were so interesting to talk to. Only a small handful were American. It's pretty darn cool to take a step outside of the box. I can't wait to share our experience!