From Luanda, Angola

Just a few weeks ago I was looking at the Pacific Ocean through the window of Pablo Neruda's house near Valparaiso, Chile. Then I was at Buenos Aires looking east at the Atlantic. With a quick break on the hills of Austin, Texas and watching Cherry Blossom at New York City botanical garden, I am now looking at the Atlantic again facing west from Luanda, Angola in the African continent. Yes, the modern miracles of technology take a modern Bedouin like me from coast to coast, continent to continent, from one hemisphere to another in a hurry.

After years of civil war, after countless were maimed by land mines, Angola is struggling to get out of a curse. Luanda has 8 million people. With filthy streets, stinking seashore, crawling traffic, mosquitoes & flies the city is far from heaven in spite of shiny high rises in the midst of all this. A few multinational companies are trying to help rebuild (obviously for a profit) the country by harnessing its tremendous resources. Along the way some of these foreigners face unsafe situation. And the local rich show off their wealth, their cars, and their status treating the local poor as rubbish on the road side.

As I take on an assignment at this late phase of my life for a project offshore Angola, please standby for more to come. It is bed time (6 hours ahead of Houston) in Luanda.

It's Bihu Time

HAPPY BIHU TO ALL

Back from South America

We (my wife and I and another couple) had a hectic trip to Chile and Buenos Aires, Argentina. Leaving Houston on March 21, we arrived at Santiago, Chile in the morning of 22^nd. Our friend (the couple were marvelous as hosts) from the Indian Diplomatic mission in Santiago picked us up from the airport. We had a tour of the city, visited some winery (and obviously tasted wine), went to a wine festival (where in a competition some young girls stomped on fresh grapes to make grape juice reminding me of the musical Fantasia), took a boat rode on the sea at Valparaiso, visited Vina del Mar, and went to see Pablo Neruda’s house overlooking the ocean. In between for a short 2-day trip we went to the city of “beautiful air” (Buenos Aires). I had been there before and I love that city. Anyway, there we had a sumptuous dinner and a Tango show (they even made me and my wife to get up and take a few steps with those amazing Tango dancers), took a city tour (w/ guide Gustavo) and went to Recoleta where we saw the mausoleum of Evita Peron for whom the Argentineans still bring flowers.

We arrived back on March 30. Tigger welcomed us. The next morning it was back to reality. More than one hundred emails were staring at me at work. There is certainly a balance in life. There is a price for everything. But I did not mind. The trip was worth it. I started going through the emails as I reminisced the sceneries from the trip. I think my wife had a wonderful time and so did the other couple.