Drive Throughs

Last week after going to 5 different stores and still not finding everything I need I was telling Batista that they needed a Wal-Mart and I was explaining what it was. He said yes that would be nice. Kero is a lot like a Wal-Mart but it still doesn't have everything you need. I was also telling him about drive through windows and he could not believe you could just drive up to a window and get your food. He said that would be nice. I told him how at McDonalds you can get a burger for $1.00. He thought that was pretty nice. I said that is why so many Americans are fat and he said, "Oh yeah" and just laughed. I told him the pizza places bring your pizza to your house and he couldn't believe that. I told him what I missed the most was stopping to get a coke and he said you can get one on the road here too. :-) I think I will pass here. It's the little things like this that I miss.

Little stuff

Maid: I went to pay the maid today and she took me to my driver and told him to tell me that she wanted me to keep all her money for her until Christmas and then I could pay her all of it at one time in December. She said she has a plan. I am not sure what that plan is but I guess I will find out in December. I hope she doesn't plan leave. :-) She said she will continue in January so we will see.

Jared: He started going all day to school yesterday and he really liked it. He wasn't at the Junga for me to pick up after school so I had to go to his classroom and put him on the bus list. It didn't seem to bother him much. Last night they had an open house for the 3 and 4 year olds at 7 and by 7:15 he was asleep. I think the long day wore him out. He said he got to play outside twice when he stays all day. Today after school when they got off the bus he came running in the house crying and I asked him what was wrong and he said that he had left his lunch box on the bus. I told him I would call Junior and he would bring it back. He also had PE today for the first time he said it was a lot of fun but the exercise were hard work. :-) Him and Jacob were showing each other the different exercises they do.

Jacob: Tonight is Jacob's open house were they give a talk on the school and then you go to their classrooms and the teacher talks to you about their room and what they do. Jacob loves his teacher and his class. He is making so many friends and doesn't hesitate to get on the bus without me anymore. Tomorrow he starts his after school activities soccer and Thursday he has swimming. Saturday boy scouts in the compound start and next Monday soccer in the compound starts. Looks like we are going to get busy.

Bible Study: I was a little late today because the maid and driver showed up late but I made about half of it. The lady's there are all really nice and another lady named JoAnn invited me to go with them Friday downtown to buy some fabric. They said it is about $10 for 6 yards.

Bike Ride

This morning I decided I would try and ride my bike outside for 5 miles. Well I made it about 2.8 miles. One side of the compound is all down hill and the other side is all up hill. This picture doesn't really do it justice (you can click on it to enlarge the picture). My speed going downhill is about 22 mph with using a brake, going up the other side my speed is about 5mph. I went around twice today...tomorrow I will try for 3 times around. 

Joker

We had this box from our shipment that needed to be put upstairs so I could unpack it. Jacob said he wanted to help Kenny carry it up the stairs. They made it up the first flight of stairs and put it down and Kenny said, "That joker is heavy" and Jared came down stairs and said, "What joker". Kenny and I both started laughing because Jared was looking for a joker and Jacob said, "What are you guys laughing about". We didn't even try to explain what Kenny meant.

No maid Monday & Our driver

What will I do....no kids all day and no maid. Maybe a nap. :-) I wasn't feeling good today and the boys were tired so we decided not to go to church. Kenny still had to go into town to get his new computer and so he went ahead and got us pizza for dinner. Why did Kenny get a new computer? Friday at work he spilled his coffee on his computer while answering his phone. Anyway, when Kenny and Batista got back to the house Batista said that Fatima wanted to come in early on Monday. I said ok what time and he said like 6 or 7am because she needs to go to the hospital. I asked him if something was wrong with her and he said, "I am not sure maybe she is sick or something." Kenny and I told him if she is sick tell her not to come here we will be fine. She seemed fine when she left on Friday but Kenny said they go to the clinics all the time here. Guess we will see if she comes in Tuesday or not. I just hope everything is ok.

Also, the story I told the other day about exchanging money and the lady's seios hanging out. Kenny asked him about it today and he said that when the lady came to the car he told her we would like to exchange some money but don't need to see your seios. I am glad I didn't know what he was saying because I barely kept from laughing as it was. I told Kenny that must have been when I looked over there and she put it up. :-) Good grief this place!!!! There is never a dull moment that is for sure. I am just glad all my boys have seen is guys peeing on the side of the road. I am sure one of these days they will see something and the questions will start.

Shipment

It has never felt so good to unpack your old stuff until today. They emailed Kenny Thursday night asking when we wanted our shipment delivered and he told them Friday at noon. We never heard back from them so we assumed it would be delivered, but it wasn't. The boys were disappointed that they didn't have their bikes after school yesterday. This morning when Kenny checked his email and it said our shipment would be delivered at 10am. About 9:45 Kenny got a phone call and they said they were at the gate but couldn't get in. Kenny went to the gate and the guard told him not on Saturdays. Kenny begged and begged the guy until he went to the administration guys house to see if it was ok. When he came back he said it was fine but they better hurry. Kenny and I both said no one in this compound would care if someone got their shipment on a Saturday or Sunday because they would also want theirs. Plus, us unloading a shipment is a lot less noise than their parties they have at 3am in the morning.

They can not stand it they want to get their stuff out so bad.

Do they look excited to have their bikes?

Shipment

Last night Kenny asked me what time I would be home today because they wanted to deliver our shipment today. I was ecstatic and excited to get to unpack. :-) The boys were excited because they would have their bikes to ride. It is now 1:30pm and we still have not seen or heard from the people that were supposed to deliver it. I am not sure why I get my hopes up here because I should know by now that when they say they will come today they will not be here until next week. I am still keeping my fingers crossed that it will show up today.

Cocos

Yesterday, our gardener cut us down some coconuts. They start off in a big green shell and they cut it off and then pill all the hair stuff off and you end up with the coconut. Fatima put a hole and straw in one for Jared to taste and he didn't like the juice, neither did Jacob. So she cut it open and took out the inside and they both loved eating that. Then she took another one and made a candy out of it. 

 I think it was supposed to get like peanut brittle but she couldn't get it to set so she just put it in a bowl. It was very very very very good. When Jared got home from school today and gave her another coconut and asked her to cook some more. She just laughed and said ok.

Here is Jared trying out the juice.

Money, Beer & Dirt

MONEY: Of course I needed to exchange some money before I went shopping today. This never turns out good either. :-) My driver pulls up to the curb and says, "No police we are good." The lady runs back to our car and I noticed when she was running to our car that one of her mountains(to put it nicely) looked a little weird. When she got to my window I was looking at Batista telling him how much money I wanted to exchange and wasn't really paying attention and his eyes got really big and so I turned around to see what he was looking at and the lady's mountain was hanging out of her shirt....all the way. I am sure my jaw fell to my lap and I couldn't say anything. She went to get some more money out and fixed it without an oh my or anything. I wanted to ask Batista if he noticed but I couldn't say a word without laughing and I knew that he had.

BEER: On the way to the grocery store we seen a guy in front of us running along side a car trying to give him a coke and get his money and I started laughing at him. My driver said they really like it when there is traffic so they don't have to run so much. He said on Saturday and Sunday there are more guys selling drinks and beer for people to party. I said they sale beer to the people driving and he said sure. I asked him if you could drink beer and drive here and he said if you don't let the police see it. I asked him what would happen if you did get pulled over and he said most of the time they just make you go to sleep until you wake up and can drive and then they let you leave. He said sometimes if you are really being bad they might put you in jail for a few days or week.

DIRT: I always wondered what they did with all the little blue bags of dirt that the women sweep up off the roads. Today I seen a dump truck with the back full of the little blue bags so I asked Batista what they do with all the dirt, he said they just take it to trash. Why didn't I think about that. I am not sure where all the dirt comes from because the wind doesn't really blow at all here, but there are always new mounds of dirt every where on the sides of the road and people are always sweeping it up off the roads.

Coffee pots & Dishwashers

In the back room there were several things left from previous owners that were broke or missing parts and last weekend Kenny and I decided to clean the room out. There was 2 broke coffee pots and an old dishwasher, some old phones, and a couple skate boards without wheels on them. We put everything out by the road for the trash people to pick up and just put the dishwasher on the back patio until the trash people came to get it. Monday morning the maid was asking me where everything went and I told her we cleaned it all up. She asked me where the coffee pots where and I told her they were broke and we threw them out and she gave me an ear full that I should have saved them for her. Then today Nelson, the gardener, asked what he is supposed to do with the dishwasher and I told him to put it by the road and he asked if he could have it instead and I told him I didn't care. I wrote him a note that said I gave it to him so he could get it out of the compound. I am not sure how he is going to get it home but I am sure he will find a way.

Some good finds....and I didn't say on the price

So I made a menu out for the next 9 days and got everything I need except 3 more things that I will hopefully get tomorrow. I have been shopping for 3 days after tomorrow and have went to 5 stores and have spent a total of $342.00. I think that is crazy ridiculous but other women say for a family of 4 that is really good because they spend about $400 per week on groceries and I am going almost a week and a half. I did also find some yeast today at Shoprite, the same place I found it before but they wouldn't sell it to me, it was a different brand but it only cost me $2.79. For Christmas presents I will accept Wal-Mart gift cards to buy some food to bring back...or cash to pay my over baggage fee. :-) I am having mom send me some seeds in my shipment so I can start a garden here and we are going to become vegetarian. :-)

Croissants($9.98), Pepperoni and salami pizza($9.50)(it's as close to pepperoni as I could find...we can pick off the salami)

BBQ sauce($4.76) and speg sauce($4.36)

Maple syrup($4.53)...bought all 3 they had, cheerios($6.29), pops($5.30), juice boxes(.78¢), and Kenny's shampoo($7.05)

Some flavored tomato sauce and whole tomatoes. These were about $2.15/can.

Sliced cheddar cheese...this one you get 12 but still cost $7.00

Shredded cheese...cost $8.85

Jared's Newsletter for school.

You can see Jared in the bottom row, middle picture.

Bible Study & Jared

Today I went to Bible study with my neighbor and her friend. The friend actually just got here last Thursday but this is not her first international assignment. Both of the ladies are very nice. Before it started I was talking to some of the other ladies and one of them was asking if anyone needed a maid because they were going to be moving in a month and she was trying to find a job for hers. It just so happens that mine is going to get another job cooking for a local that is with my husbands company so I told her I was interested. She said she has worked for her for about 3 years and she really likes her a lot. I am going to go over and meet her sometime this month and then hopefully she will start at the first of October. The one thing I forgot to ask was how much she gets paid. Another good thing is that she speaks or understands a little English....YEAH!! Bible study was really nice. About half of the ladies were new and so we all kind of related to each other. I like it here and am starting to find stuff to do....but it is so hard being in a place like this and not knowing anyone. I am really happy I got to know the neighbor and she is supper sweet and has really helped me out a lot. I feel a lot like the boys with so much new at one time it can be a little overwhelming at times. One lady today said that in the beginning she always felt bad for herself and wished she was somewhere else and didn't ever do anything and then one day she decided she was going to make this fun and since then she has had the best time here. She helps at an orphanage and at a compound that a nun has started for infants and young women. She said there are so many things that you can do it is unbelievable. Me looking in from the outside I do not see all these opportunities yet but I pray the doors start to open. I would love to be part of something great here in Luanda and make a difference, even if it is a small difference. I think this group of ladies are going to go on a tour of the compound that this nun runs sometime soon.

On a different note, when Jared got home from school he was singing Bom Dia....Bom Dia...Bom Dia(which is good morning or Hello in Portuguese) and then he would sing Hello....Hello...Hello. I asked him what he was singing and he said the Hello song we sing at school but I only remember the Marlow and Portuguese part of it and not the French and other towns.

Homemade Applesauce

Ingredients

• 8 cups chopped peeled tart apples (about 3-1/2 pounds)
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions

• In a sauce pan, combine apples, brown sugar and cinnamon. Cover and cook over medium-low heat for 30-40 minutes or until apples are tender, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat; stir in vanilla. Mash apples slightly if desired. Serve warm or cold. Yield: about 3-1/2 cups.

Sloppy Joes

SLOPPY JOES
1 tablespoon olive oil 1 tablespoon butter 1 lb ground beef 2 cloves garlic, minced 2/3 cup chopped onions 1 green bell pepper, chopped (optional) 1 teaspoon salt 1/8 teaspoon pepper 1 tablespoon flour 1 cup water or beef broth 2 teaspoons Worcestershire 3/4 cup ketchup

A good find/cost of groceries, dinner & swimming

Kenny stopped at the store on his way home to get a few thing for me and he found chicken breast, we haven't been able to get this for a month, and some syrup. The syrup says liquid caramel but it taste just like maple syrup and it only cost $3.81. That is really kind of high since the bottle is so little but maybe with the homemade I have left it will last until the shipment my mom is sending us gets here.

Just to show you how much groceries cost here this is what Kenny got today and the cost:

4 hamburger buns=$7.23

Dozen eggs=$4.84

Loaf of bread(half the size as in the states)=$12.90

Butter(probably about 2 sticks worth)=$8.08

9 chicken breast=$5.51

4lbs ground beef=$19.32(much cheaper this time...usually about $10/lb)

Small bottle of ketchup=$2.40

Grand Total=$64.11

For dinner tonight I made sloppy joes and everyone loved them. I will have to post the recipe for you. I also made homemade apple sauce last night because Jared has been wanting some and it was really good too.

Tonight at dinner Jacob was telling us about swimming class today at school. He said when he got to swim class they told them to go change into their swim suits and so they did and then they came out and did a bunch of exercises. He said he thought they were getting warmed up to swim and when they were done the coach said it's to cold to swim today so you can go change back into your school clothes. He said he was so mad because he was so ready to go swimming especially after getting all hot from doing exercises. 

This school is very into healthy living(eating and activities) and arts(music, dance, art, language). I am glad but I haven't seen much school work come home yet. They have a Unit of Inquiry that they study per month and this month it is "What Grows?". They have planted gardens and talk about their roll in our planet. Their math and language also comes from the What Grows unit by reading about plants and the processes of planting them and helping them grow and at the end of September they will have created a presentation that they will present at their garden site for parents. Their math says they will be discussing linear measurements as they watch the growth cycle of their plants and they will introduce the concept of symmetry particularly as it relates to nature. I guess this all makes learning fun but I will have to get used to this type of learning. I still make him do reading and soft seven at home after school every night just to make sure he doesn't fall behind. I know it is only the 2nd week of school and so they are still just getting into their school work but it still seems a little relaxed to me.

Going to school by themselves

This morning the bus schedule for the moms started and I wasn't on it this morning or this afternoon. Last night the boys and I talked about it and everyone was ok with it until they woke up this morning. Jacob has been the one having the biggest problem adjusting to being here and the new school and everything. He has done good so far but every morning at school we still have a few tears. When he woke up this morning and realized I wasn't riding the bus he started crying and said he wasn't going to school. He didn't eat any breakfast and couldn't hardly take his medicine. I ended up giving him a US cell phone that we have here and put it in his bag and told him he could only use it when he got to school to let me know he made it and when he gets back on the bus to come home. He has always wanted a cell phone so I could see the little smile on his face when I gave him the phone. He called me as soon as he got to school and he wasn't crying so maybe it helped a little. It also made mom feel good being in Africa and all and Jared's first time to school. I told Kenny on his way home he needs to stop and get a card to make our other phone work and get some minutes for it so that it won't cost so much him calling from a US number. Kenny said he didn't think he needs a cell phone and I said well it is just as much for me as him so he needs one. :-) I told Jacob that he could not take it out of his bag except those two times or he would get in trouble at school and get it taken away. It will be nice when he starts his after school clubs too. In the States I would have never let him have a cell phone this young. Being in Africa and me not being able to drive myself and take him where he needs to go it is nice to know he made it. He even walked Jared to the junga this morning and sat with him until his teacher came and got him and then he went to his class when the bell rang.

This afternoon Jacob called and said he got on the bus and I told him I would be waiting in the driveway for him and he told me that I didn't have to. I said then I will just watch out the door and he told me I could just be on my computer and see him when he comes in the house. He sure grew up a bunch today, but I love it. Maybe tomorrow morning we will have no crying. :-)

Neighbor & Things to do...

Last night we were headed to the park and meet our neighbors and this morning as I was headed out to walk she was taking her dog for a walk so we walked together. Their family has been here for almost 3 years now and this is their last year and they will go back to the states. They have been in London and Moscow and now Luanda.  She told me how they get all of their meat here and some items at the grocery store that I have missed. She said you can buy the dough raw and make pizza crust out of it that way.  She also told me about some good vacation spots in Africa to take the boys. She told me about how to get our dog here and what I need to get and about the vet here. Tomorrow she is going to a bible study and invited me to go with her. She is taking the other person to the grocery store after the bible study to show her around. I really wish I could go with them but since Jared is still only going half days this week I am going to have my driver follow us there and then he can take me to get Jared. She also told me that in the compound they have water aerobic classes and weight training classes and tennis lessons for the kids. They are also about to start up soccer practice and mini games in the compound for the kids. She told me that they have different school clubs at the school that you can sign up for and you stay after school to participate in them and then the bus brings the kids home after their clubs. She is also the PTA president this year so I told her I would help whenever she needed it to try and get involved in it. She said Friday some of the women were going to the school to help move books from the old library to the new one so I volunteered for that.

I am so glad I got to meet her and start doing some things. I was starting to get a little bored sitting here all day everyday.

Birthday Weekend-The Market & Esplanada

This weekend the boys were celebrating my birthday a little early since we can not really do anything during the week at night. On a side note...I never in my life thought I would ever spend a birthday in Africa....but I have to say it was probably one of the best birthday's I have ever had.

It started last night when the boys made me my favorite birthday cake, with one substitute ingredient chocolate glaze instead of chocolate pudding. When I was about 10 years old probably I spent the night at my cousin Abby's house and me and her made a vanilla cake and poked holes in it and then made chocolate pudding and poured over the cake. Ever since then it is one of my favorites...Thanks Abby!! A couple of weeks ago Kenny sent a picture of chocolate pudding to a friend of his in Germany that was coming to Angola and asked him if they had that and he said yes. Come to find out they didn't but he brought some chocolate glaze and it turned out wonderful.

This morning they took me to the market that I have been wanting to go to. It took about an hour to get there and of course we seen lots of interesting things. 

This was a ladies stand and she was selling sugar pecans...

We seen these kids play on this old car.

 I am not sure what these ladies were doing or what was in the big sacks...our driver said maybe trash but it looked like clothes or something. I took the picture because at the very top in the middle is a big beach that you can ride a boat across and go to.

See this guys pet. He walked by our car and scared me to death. It was a rat on his shoulder and he was feeding it cheese. :-)

This was a stand on the side of the road...it was very nice and big. Yes the big green melons are watermelon so if anyone talks to Paul tell him they have watermelon in Africa but nothing like his black diamonds. 

Under the red and blue umbrella that is dry fish that they sell and people eat...almost like it is dehydrated. YUKK!!

They also sell whole fish. Kenny asked Batista if people still buy it after it sets out all day and he said yes...yes. Double YUKK!!

I have mentioned in the past that we see this ever where we go and so I had to show you I was serious. There were actually two guys and two boys....women do it too. It is a very long line of cars going to Benefita(The Market) and so they get out of the taxi's and go to the side of the road if they need a bathroom break. The only difference in the states is we open all the doors to hide a little. 

This is just a construction sign but I had to take a picture because the first time Kenny and I seen it we thought it was a real guy. 

Here is The Market. Under the metal roof is tons of people that want to be your friend. As you walk through everyone says Amigo...Amigo. They were calling Kenny "Big Chefe" which means Big Boss. I am pretty sure we were the only white people in there so it wasn't hard to pick us out of the crowd. I was nervous to go but Batista insured me it was safe and everyone was very friendly and nice. If they wanted to give you a price of something they pulled out their cell phones and put a dollar amount on it.

They had tons and tons of pictures. Some were very good. I will get more pictures next time. We will go again because there are lots of stuff I want. :-) Batista said next time I need to bring more money and a trailer. :-)

I took this picture just because I couldn't believe that lady could carry that much on her head.

Chicken you see these everywhere except in the meat market. :-)

Here is some wicker furniture for sale. It was very very pretty and I would love to have some of it but I am sure it is very very expensive too. We didn't stop and get a price.

This is a tree that grows in Africa and is called a Baobab. They get very very big. They sold carved ones at the market and they were very beautiful. Next time I will get one of them.

This is an elephants tail that you can buy. The guy said they use the hair to make bracelets and necklaces.

Barbara these pictures are for you. The giraffes range from $300 to $3,000. If you want a bigger one you have to wait 2 years until our shipment is sent back home because I think I might have to buy an extra airplane seat for the big one. :-)

The tables in the picture to the right were very cool. The tops come off and the bottom part folds up into like one big stick. Everything here is hand carved and you can see the guys behind the tables and they are carving some guys that hang on the wall.

Here are some turtle shells...not sure what you do with those and some ladies weaving baskets.

O Pensadora "The Thinker" 

It is the most famous piece of Angolan art. It represents a strong sense of wisdom and knowledge and is looked at with great respect by all here.

Once we got home we had lunch and skipped with the Finley's and my parents in Dallas for Maddie's Birthday. We sang Happy Birthday to her and then they surprised me by singing Happy Birthday. Batista was here waiting on us to go to dinner and setting up his TV, table and chairs and refrigerator we got him out back and so I got him on Skype and let him meet our family and friends. He just smiled big and said Hi. He is very nice and we are lucky to have him.

Around 4:30 we headed to the ilha, island, to go eat dinner at Esplanada. We tried to get Batista to go and eat with us but he wouldn't so we just gave him some money and he went and ate at a fish place while we ate. He said next time he will go with us. I pulled the for my birthday please and he still wouldn't. :-) Esplanada is a steak house and it was very good. They have a buffet that you can get sides off of....not to many good ones...and then they bring around different types of steak on a big metal stick. You have a card on your table that one side says sim (yes) and the other side says nao (no) and if it is on yes then they keep bringing steak. 

Here is the beach across from Esplanada's.

Esplanada's

Chicken and Steak wrapped in Bacon. Yumm!!

Chocolate Cake

Desserts...both were very good.

Cooked Pineapple rolled in cinnamon.