Aaaah, weekend again!

My weekends in Angola usually mean beach or parties. Because the time of the year is so called "winter" in Angola (June - Sep), this is certainly no beach time. Average temperature in Angola during winter is 19-25 oC, but with its relatively coldish breeze from Atlantic Ocean, beaches are not very popular during these three months. And I am very tropical, I'd like to avoid cold weather as much as I can. :)

Now, in my last post and some of my previous posts I made a stupid rambling about the loud speakers from my neighbour and I don't think it is fair if I don't give the true picture of how it really is. Angolans are very proud of their music and I certainly would if I were them. The music is very joyful & particular and I looovvvveee it!! 

If you are a globetrotter, I bet you must be very bored of being provided with literally the same type of Top 40 & dance music in most countries of the world. Basically the music you would hear is the same in the UK, US, Indonesia, South Africa, and maybe even Japan (although, Japan has its own distinctive J-Pop). Unfortunately pop culture and globalization has diminished most region's authenticity. But not in Angola. Their very own music is still very popular and has the highest demand in Luanda's hippest clubs and party scenes. And Angolans really know how to party. Parties for Angolans are not merely hang out, see people, stand in the bars and get crazy when you're drunk like I find in most world's clubs. Parties in Angola means dance, dance, and dance, with or without drink. I don't drink and I love to get moving so this fits me very well, haha! 

When the time comes for me to leave this lively country, the music is something I would miss the most, I can imagine. The lively weekends where you can feel the joyful atmosphere even just from your living room. Here I embed Luanda's most played music at this moment. Enjoy and have a lively weekend, my friends! :)

Some pics from my vacation in you-will-guess-where-when-you-see-the-pics.

Palm trees, a turtle in clear water... yup, Indonesia.. :)

Now that I'm back in Luanda, maybe hard for you to believe, but I don't have any objection anymore with this 257dB music (yes, that loud) from my lovely neighbour that has parties, literally every weekend nowadays, Sat night AND Sun night (it's getting worse). Now that it's Friday night, I even am dancing to it in my room, well, before this posting is made. Or maybe again after. It's good music anyway. I mean it.

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Just before I went for a vacation in China, somewhere in 2005, I was informed by a friend and actually also by a travel book not to be surprised to read some english statements in billboards or public places that is not easily understood. Aparently those are just straight literal translation of Chinese to English. And it is funny to find out that some chinese migrants have brought this to Angola, too.

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Before living in Luanda, I did not know this important fact about slavery. Apparently the first black slaves were the ones taken from Angola by the Portuguese back in the colonial days. And that is why sinceever I arrived here it has always been in my agenda to visit this compact and nicely put slavery museum about 30min at the south of Luanda. People here call it: Museu da Escravatura.

So 2 weeks ago, things were carefully planned. We got the brochure of this museum and it is explicitly said that it is open Sat and Sun until 18.00. So that Sunday I was going with my husband and our friends the lovely malaysian couple for a recreational trip to this area outside Luanda which is a very nice area with road on a cliff looking over atlantic ocean.

We did a little bit of swimming, lunch, and then finally it was about time to visit the museum. It was 2.30pm. Although with our limited Portuguese basic conversational level, four of us are pretty sure that the gate guard of the museum said that the museum was open. We even paid the parking fee for Kz350 as everyone is obliged to do so. We parked the car, climbed up to the big rock where the museum is on, and found that the museum was closed! Knock knock knock..  nobody's inside. But there were aparently some people patiently waiting for the door to be opened. And of course it was never opened. *oh how i'm so used to this! hehe.. T.I.A*

We got back home empty handed. The "museu de escravatura" in what-to-visit-in-Angola list was not then ticked. Well, next time....

But, was happy that at least I got a chance to take a photo with these lovely ladies with lovely Angolan national dress. Click click click! :)

The country is growing.

Curently it produces 2 million barrels per day, and is still expanding.
An LNG Plant is in project and to be constructed in Soyo province.

www.africanoiljournal.com

Angola may overtake Nigeria as Africa’s largest oil producer, if it surpasses the 2 million barrel per day mark in the second half of this year, according to the chairman of KPMG Angola

 

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Maybe we have discussed before that Angolans like to party. And yes they do, A LOT. And that means you will hear one of your neighbours play party music all night long 9pm to 7am and the other neighbours also play other party music all night long. You would say that it sounds fun. I would say yes you are right... unless when you are not invited.

It seems like a common practice here in Luanda to do that, and no one can do anything like reporting to police or so. There is simply not such system and looks like it is not part of the culture to report to police when your neighbours are noisy during the night. It is just a common practice and of course the only thing you can do is to accept and appreciate.

We are so blessed (or cursed, in some nights) that we are surrounded by fun-loving neighbours that have lots and lots of relatives and friends. There are always parties with DJ's and complete sound system. Again, by saying complete sound system here means festival or mini-rave party scale. Mind you, this does not happen every 6 months or so, but rather close to every 2 weeks in average. We are so used to it that everytime this particular neighbour having a party we move our bed to the living room since our bedroom is too close to their house (like 100m distance) we can even feel the vibration of the soundwave in our room as if we are sleeping in a bajaj!

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You are a fully certified expatriate here in what-so-called-hardship-location Angola if:

1. You complain about your maid and your driver whilst you never had one in your life before, especially not in your home country.

2. You are happy to see the numbers in your paycheck everymonth. Hey, this is what you are here for!

3. You join the expat runners' club.

4. You are often angry about how slow your "taxis" are to pick you up.

5. You are upset to lose your independence because you are not allowed to drive or to take a walk in the streets.

6. You are happy because you do not have to drive or to walk in the streets.

7. Your fridge is mainly filled with bottles of beer and pizzas from Intermarket or Shoprite.

8. You speak English to everyone. If they don't understand, you speak louder.

9. You spend at least 60 minutes of your day to complain. Topics can be various.

10.You make sure you never forget to take multivitamin and supplement every morning.

11.You check your Star Alliance airmiles balance once per week. 

12.You think funge^*) is made of wallpaper glue.