Happiness comes in different flavors

Bon Dia everyone! It has been over a month since my last blog post according to Google. How time flies! Lest you think otherwise, I have not been idle. One of the perks of being abroad is the ability to travel to places that you may not have considered while living in the states. We had our first R&R in Paris over the Christmas/New Year holidays. It happen to coincide with our 25th wedding anniversary. Perfect timing!

Paris is known for its breathtaking scenery and air of romance. It lived up to its reputation during our stay there. However, having lived in Soyo for 3 months, it was truly a culture shock for us upon our arrival. The very quaint vegetable and fruit stands that are normally so picturesque held special meaning for us. "What is this?? Fresh produce???" Forget the Eiffel tower, let's pose for pictures next to these beauties! Happiness! :-) OK, so after the first day, we limited our drooling over the fruits/vegetables to quick glances and sighs. What luxuries....the paved roads, the ability to drink tap water, the restaurants, the stores...So now I sound like Eva Gabor singing the Green Acres song (for those of you that don't understand the allusion, I guess it was before your time!).

Opening goodies my "workout buddies" sent to Paris from Mobile..How wonderful!

Alex and Dad at the Louvre

Jeff, Ana, Alex, Francesca, Richard, Frances and Richard at Pont des Artes

New Years' Eve at the Eiffel Tower-Richard, Alex, Frances, Richard, Francesca, Rachel, Hastings, Ana and Jeff       Welcome 2013!

Alex and Mom in front of Notre Dame

Francesca and Mom (and Arc de Triomphe)

Our son and daughter were able to meet us in Paris. Two of our daughter's girlfriends, my sister, brother-in-law and nephew also joined us. It was the BEST holiday ever...happiness! We walked, walked and walked (just ask the girls) and ate, ate and ate. At one point, we thought we could not eat another baguette or order another crème brûlée dessert...but we did! On January 2nd, we began our celebration of our 25th anniversary on the Paris Pont des Arts bridge where lovers place padlocks on the bridge and throw away the key in the Seine river below, symbolizing their undying love. Quite a way to celebrate! Of course, after the heads up from an old college friend, I got clued in that there is controversy over this ritual. Some consider it graffiti, while others state that the city cuts the locks off mysteriously after a few years. Seriously? This is a bridge that has a chain link fence linking steel columns. How beautiful is an empty chain link fence normally? Oh well, back to civilization where actions take on political overtones...I suppose that since water, electricity, paved roads, food availability and basic necessities are a given, people feel the need for creating controversy over many different things that to a resident of a third world country would seem trivial. Regardless, my husband and I enjoyed marking our special day in a "permanent" way. If our lock is taken off the bridge in a few years, I suppose we will have to go back to replace it.

Jeff and Ana "throwing away the key"

The Paris R&R seemed to go by so quickly. All too soon it was time to say goodbye to everyone and head "home" to Soyo. Yes, it was good to get back "home". Our driver, Beta, greeted us at the airport with a BIG smile and so did our housekeeper, Orlanda. They truly seemed excited to see us. It was a great feeling for us to return home and see their smiling faces...we had missed them too! We brought back some Parisian surprises for them which made their eyes sparkle. The smiles on their faces reminded us of children opening presents at Christmas...they may have been happy, but we were happier to see their excitement! To our surprise, Beta had weeded our yard. With the rainy season upon us, I had expected to find our new plants overrun by huge weeds. To clarify, we don't have grass...it is either pretty plants and dirt or pretty plants dirt and weeds. Beta did not let the latter happen!

Speaking of the rainy season, after arriving in Soyo, I asked Beta to take me on a "shopping trip" and I invited 3 other spouses who were in town. It had rained earlier that morning, but usually, after a heavy rain storm, the hot sun comes out and dries everything very quickly. Not so yesterday! As we left Kimbumba it was sprinkling again and soon there was a deluge. As we left the first small market, there was not a break in the downpour of rain. We adjusted our stops accordingly, but due to the unpaved roads and big pot holes filled with water, it was quite a treacherous trip for us. The good news is that Beta is a well trained driver. He was not flustered and he took it all in stride. We made it in and out of all the small markets safely. On one of the flooded roads we came upon children swimming in the road! Yes, you read right...they were swimming in the road. We attempted to take a picture, but it would have been dangerous for Beta to stop the SUV as other vehicles were behind us...so you can't see the bobbing head of the children, but you can get a perspective of how high the water was on the road. Obviously, this is neither hygienic, nor safe for these children, but this did not bother them nor the adults near them. They were all smiles and having the time of their lives. Happiness comes in different flavors, doesn't it?

The road "swimming pool"

Upon our return to Kimbumba, Orlanda told me that her house had ankle deep water so far that week. She said it, not complaining, but just as a matter of fact. She said that until April, the rains will not subside...then she continued to sing her song going about our house, doing her chores. She seemed content and yet I got frustrated yesterday when our door weather stripping fell off due to the heavy rains. The rain water in our house is limited to a trickle on the wall next to our downstairs bathroom. So far, there is only a slight trickle down the wall...nothing on our floor yet. With limited maintenance resources and tools, I sigh and try to follow Orlanda's lead...smile...the rains will subside in April.

Good eggs...hard to find? Upon our return to Soyo, I learned from expat friends that eggs were very scarce since Christmas. When we first moved to Soyo, I learned that "good" eggs were hard to find. I started asking our driver, Beta, to buy them for us and I was never disappointed. That week, I tested out my secret weapon once more...I asked Beta to buy some for us. He came back with a large container of eggs. It is like magic for me...I never ask him where he gets them nor why these eggs are never spoiled like so many that are purchased at the local small markets. It seems that the lack of refrigeration at the local markets affects the "shelf life" of many of the eggs. I'm not sure why the supply is also limited at times. I just know that Beta seems to beat the system and I choose to let him "work his magic". I have shared the eggs with others in Kimbumba. Beta might soon be known as the Kimbumba Egg Man! Happiness!

Well, that is all for now! Back to life in Soyo...looks like more rain today. God likes to water his plants, freshen up the birds' water source and give the Soyo youth some afternoon swimming fun often this summer. Happiness!

JANUARY 26 UPDATE @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
The posting above should have been published over a week ago. However, due to power generator failures in Kimbumba, we experienced major power black outs and water outages that persisted until 2 days ago. As I read over this post before publishing this morning, I realized that happiness had taken on yet a different definition. I will attempt to gather my thoughts and publish another blog posting today or tomorrow (power and internet permitting) to fill you in on the experience that really tested our resilience. No worries, though! We made it through that test and we are all STRONGER than ever! Happiness!
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