Tip, tap, ratta, rappa: it is the sound of rain on our window panes and on our ceramic tile roof. Splish, splosh, splash: it is the sound of rain adding to the already huge puddles on the ground and competing with the sound of the fountain outside...
It is another rainy summer day in Soyo. The rain hits the house, the thunder reminds me that I have no control of nature, and the rising water level in the yard warns me to rethink any outdoor activities today...again, I am not in control. It is all very humbling. This summer season has consisted of very heavy rains and thunderstorms almost every day since November. One would think that this would help the Angolan nationals with their farming efforts. Instead, the heavy deluges have caused mudslides, damaged the few roads in town and left some of the makeshift homes in shambles. Gardens don't seem to thrive because the heavy rain washes the soil away and beats down any plants that are trying to grow. The good news is that when we have one day of sunshine, we really cherish it! Also, as Beta and Orlanda keep reminding me, May is just around the corner...and it doesn't rain after May 15th. This is an inside joke. I hosted an outdoor birthday party for my husband in mid July last year, looking forward to an evening of admiring the African sky and stars. It rained mid party! That may have been one of the only nights it rained here last winter. Luckily, I had put up a couple of canopies thinking they would provide a bit of ambiance. The ambiance became a great shelter from the rain. I should add that we had a delightful time, despite the showers. Since then, I tell Beta and Orlanda that it never rains in Soyo during the winter, unless I schedule an outdoor party...then all bets are off!
The road to Kinwica on a rainy day
Our drivers have to judge water depth and navigate cautiously...thank goodness for 4 wheel drive vehicles!
Peanuts and the casaba plants (an Angolan staple) seem to be the only plants that survive and thrive during the torrential rains of the Angolan summer. On the occasional sunny day, you will see locals scattering and arranging peanuts to catch the warmth of the sun, allowing them to dry. While at Mpinda Mission School this week, we saw one of the orphans rearranging peanuts on a tarp, hoping to dry them. It seemed like a massive quantity of peanuts. A lot of work is involved not just in planting and growing them, but in harvesting them as well. My neighbor, Lynn, successfully planted and harvested peanuts from her small garden. She and her driver dug up the peanuts a couple of weeks ago and managed to take advantage of the sun in the one or 2 days that we were blessed with a bit of sunshine. Once they were dried out, she roasted them in the oven with seasonings. I sampled her finished product...VERY delicious!! It was amazing to think about how much effort went into the whole process. I now have a new appreciation for the cans of peanuts sitting on store shelves!
Lynn's Peanuts
From peanuts to another nut...our beloved "El Pensador". OK, before I get bombarded with hate mail, one of Merriam-Webster dictionary's legitimate definitions of nut is "crazy person" and that is what the locals call him in Portuguese, "maluco". It also makes for a great segway! This man the locals call "maluco", walks all around town. We have seen this guy in many different places across the town of Soyo. We have spotted him on the beach, in front of our neighborhood and near the river. It is like playing a game of "Where is Waldo?" when we ride around town. We each report when we have seen him and where. He is now an expat legend in Soyo and we call him "El Pensador" (Portuguese for "The Thinker"), Augustine Rodin's famous bronze sculpture. Anytime he is spotted, he has his hand on his chin, just like "El Pensador", hence the nickname. Our neighbor, Melania, took a picture of him sitting by the river (see below). We can't seem to catch him in his "thinking" pose because as soon as he sees us, he smiles and waves (that is his gift to us!). However, we will keep trying to catch an authentic "El Pensador" stance for you.
El Pensador
I continue to walk in the early morning hours with the other expat ladies in the neighborhood. Friday morning was a special day for us and for a 4 legged friend. On our walk, we encountered a very small puppy following a local lady who was carrying a large container of food items on her head. She was ready to go to the market to sell her items. When she noticed the puppy following her, she kicked him away. As expats, we get very upset whenever we see this cruel treatment of dogs or any other animals. However, I have to keep reminding myself that I am applying my western filters to the situation. In the US, although there are people who abuse animals, there are organizations and dedicated people whose sole purpose is to try to eliminate such abuse. That would be considered an exotic luxury here. In Soyo, shelter, water, food and electricity are luxuries. It is understandable that if human needs cannot be met, animals' needs are certainly considered competition for scarce resources. All this reasoning aside, when we saw this abuse taking place, we went to the puppy's rescue. I asked the local lady if the puppy was hers and she responded: no. At that point, Melody, one of our expat ladies (and dog lover!), grabbed him and put him in a towel she had been carrying. We asked the guards further down the street if they knew where he belonged and they replied that he had been walking the neighborhood by himself since the day before. That was all the information that was needed, the puppy was going home with Melody. Soyo is a pretty tough environment for dogs...there are quite a few dogs that roam around, skinny, ill, starving and dodging abuse. This little puppy had fought his way through the tough environment and found himself in the right place at the right time. Melody and her husband named him Shaggy. He is their gift...or are they his gift? If you are feeling a little "kicked around" by life today, just remember, Shaggy didn't give up and he's in a better place today!
Meet Melody's Shaggy...Isn't he adorable?????
Melody & Shaggy
Our work at Mpinda Mission School continues every week. In the past 2 weeks, we have met the 3 new classes of 1st graders and started our sessions with the second graders. It is always such fun to work with these children and in some cases, introduce them to scissors and crayons for the first time. Their excitement upon completing their projects is contagious. At the end of our sessions, they usually treat us to a few songs. This year, we are also treating them to our singing and silliness. We've been doing the Hokey Pokey and the "If You are Happy and You Know It" song. The children join right in with us and in one case, the teacher was videoing us with her cellphone. Hopefully, that video won't see its way to the internet! Nothing like expat ladies' Hokey Pokey video going viral!
Mpinda First Grade Angel
Mpinda second graders
While we were at the Mpinda Mission School this week, we took the opportunity to look at their new pig pens. We were met by several pigs and, to our surprise, quite a few piglets. The nuns raise the pigs for food...shhh, please don't let the piglets in on that secret! We took pictures of the piglets and of one of the large male pigs peeking (OK, maybe snorting) at us through the gate from his pen.
These pigs actually have longer snouts than what we are used to seeing
in the US. The larger pigs are a bit scary looking while the piglets are
just darn cute! I googled the topic a bit and found out that there are
currently 17 species of wild pigs in Asia and Africa. This particular
species of African wild pig is called a bushpig(the more scientific name: P. l. koiropotamus Desmoulins)They make good use of their very long snouts by rooting to find larvae, worms, tubers, bulbs and plant roots. For this reason, they are a menace to farms. There...and you thought this was just recreational reading for you today!
Mpinda piglets
Mpinda "daddy" Bushpig...take a look at that snout!
From peanuts to Pensadores and puppies to piglets, the experiences here continue to educate and intrigue me. Just like furthering your education, when you live in an environment stripped of luxuries, you also realize how much you really "don't" know. That must mean I'm not taking my time here for granted. I know that I'm much closer to experiencing the "realities" of life while in Soyo. In fact, some of us believe that US reality TV producers should come to Soyo if they want an authentic reality show. This environment strips the unessential from our lives and allows us to (although sometimes I can be hard headed) better understand the "real" gifts that God has bestowed opon all of us. Amen!
I close this post with thoughts of a very big gift that has been bestowed upon all of us living the Soyo experience: long lasting friendships. Here is a picture of the special time we had on Friday night while celebrating expat March Birthdays. It is a picture of some members of our "Soyo Family". I'm also including pictures of a ladies' Game Day and pictures of some recently departed expats. We have had many couples come and go since our arrival to Soyo in September of 2012. Therefore, we have many Soyo family members who are now living in other parts of the world...but we keep all of them in our hearts. We have benefited from their guidance, knowledge, experience, and more importantly, their sense of humor. Sharing the unique Soyo experience forms a strong bond. So even if some members are not physically here today...they will always be a part of our Soyo family. A big shout out to our Soyo family members around the world!!
