Hello. I'm still blogging.......all be it irregularly.

Two hitches have passed since my last blog update. Rubbish I know. I always intend to do regular blogs but at home I just never seem to have the time and out here at work the internet is too bloody unreliable and it takes forever to upload anything.  Crap excuses, sorry.

Anyway………..

A friend of mine out here sent me a couple of interesting rituals/events which I thought I would share on here:

CASA DA TINTA

Locally Known as “ Tchicumbi”. It is a traditional ceremony in Cabinda Province designed to allow a girl in her teens to start dating.

This usually takes place in winter and all the arrangements are made without letting the girl know about them. She is normally taken out for a trip or walk along with a few family members, friends or fellows to a place far away for a couple of days, sometimes longer. On her way back home, typically on a Saturday, she is caught by the escort and a powder made of a tree called tukula is thrown onto the girl`s face. At the same time she is taken to an accommodation specially arranged for her.

The powder is so burning that the girl starts crying soon after it touches her face. Once in the accommodation, women begin to sing traditional songs while at the yard family members and guests can enjoy songs and watch mayeye dancers ( mayeye is a traditional group of players, singers and dancers ).

The party usually takes place all night long: attendants have plenty of food and beverages and can dance to traditional and modern music.

Originally the girl must have her hair entirely cut and spend one month in the accommodation where she is provided with everything she needs like food, drinks, outfits, etc. During this period she receives counselling and instructions about marriage, the wedding, how to be a good housewife, etc.

After spending one month in the accommodation she becomes much more beautiful and people really get impressed with her beauty.

Now she is no longer a girl; she has become a woman.

LUANDA ISLAND PARTY

This is a traditional party that is usually held in summer on Luanda Island. It is designed to pay a tribute to the spirits of the sea (mermaids),  in order for the sea to be tide in and to prevent the Island from becoming flooded, and on the other hand to increase the capture of fish by fishermen.

During the ceremony, several things are thrown into the sea such as bottles of beers, wine and certain amounts of money.

Local authorities, Islanders and guests attend a huge party where local food, foreign dishes and drinks are enjoyed as well as traditional and modern music.

In some littoral Provinces of Angola similar ceremonies take place with the same purpose.

Missing my little buddy..........

Me and H at Brecon Mountain Railway (Good pic Mummy well done).

Sigh. The start of another hitch. As exciting as this was at the start, the journey out here and the inevitable 'gloom' of Malongo camp is finally starting to get to me. But that is nothing compared to the pain of having to leave Harry and Luce.


I used to dread having a family in my Navy days for this very reason. I should count myself lucky that its only for 6 weeks at a time but the comfort of knowing that does not make it any easier.


It was different leaving Harry this time at the train station as, at almost one year old, he is definitely taking more of an interest in my comings and goings now and the confused and perturbed look on his face on this occasion was heart breaking.


Still, the disappointment of leaving my little buddy is completely overridden by the excitement of seeing him again on 13th October. I cannot wait!

More randoms, some from main road to Malongo from Cabinda.

Some Random Iphone Pics taken not long after arriving in Malongo

Welcome to Angola

Getting into Angola is not easy. The visa process was a mess (and still is) and I waited almost 6 months from the time I accepted the job offer to actually set foot in Luanda. I spent those months twiddling my thumbs and waited for news on the application. However it was other news, of monumental proportions, which came first. At precisely 03:58 on New Years eve morning 2009 Lucy woke me up and informed me that she was pregnant! Gulp!


Not long after New Year news finally came on my visa and I set off in early February, leaving my now pregnant wife (minimal bump) alone in our house in Harpenden. We had a tough couple of months ahead of us as I was to do 10 weeks in Angola for my first hitch, and Luce was still teaching in North London and living alone in our house in Hertfordshire. Not an ideal situation I know, but between Luce's family and our cat 'Cupcake', she was being well looked after.


The day finally came for me to leave and Luce drove me to Heathrow where we said our goodbyes. Since leaving the Navy in 2007 I hadnt been away from Luce and I knew it was going to suck. And it did. I felt really bad leaving her, pregnant, alone and miles from all her friends and family. The only consolation was that we knew it was only going to be for a few months. 


I left London on a cold February evening and arrived in Luanda in the early hours of morning. The flight itself was uneventful, the passengers were in the main made up of Scottish off shore workers, a few yanks and a splattering of Angolan Nationals. It was good to see so many Brits on board, and it was amusing to see that most were well 'lubricated' before they boarded, using the bar at Heathrow to make light of their next eight and a half hours in the air. The Off Shore guys can't drink out on their platforms so they do their best to make up for this on the flights into and out of Luanda. On that first flight I didn't drink, preferring to watch a couple of films or read, mainly to stop myself thinking about being away from home again. I was pretty miserable and didn't want to compound my misery by drinking alone. (That has now changed and I could easily pass for a Scottish off-shore worker these days!).


Upon landing we collected our baggage and I saw for the first time the mentality of Angolan people. Before I continue it is worth noting that I don't have the same opinion of all Angolan people, I have met some very fine and respectable individuals, however the majority of those I have met are, how shall I word this........opportunists? I suppose I could just call them robbing little bastards but I don't want to offend! If they see something that can be of benefit to them, be it food, money or something they can sell, they will take it. 


Anyway,  they obviously saw an opportunity with my baggage as it had been ripped open at one end and all my 10 week supply of toiletries had been stolen. Terrific. Welcome to Angola! 


Feeling very annoyed, tired and dirty I made my way past the suspiciously nice smelling, minty breathed attendants and security personnel and went to meet my lift to head office.........

Introduction

Hello.


My darling wife suggested I start a Blog so that she and anyone who may be interested can keep tabs on my comings and goings out here in Angola. At the time of writing this I hardly know what a blog is let alone how to run one of my own. However, I consider myself a bit of a closet geek so this really is something I should know how to do. Lets see how it goes.................