Back in Luanda again

After a hectic trip for two weeks in the US I am back in Luanda. Oh, what a trip it was! First we went to Washington D.C. to see our daughters and their husband/boy friend, walked around the mall, and ate red-white-and-blue ice cream on a stick (like we did during summer vacations with our daughters when they were a lot younger). Then I surprised our younger daughter in Cleveland, Ohio by visiting her to attend her white-coat ceremony at the Case Western School of Medicine (Yes, she is going to be a doctor). She wasn’t expecting me as I was supposed to return to Luanda just two days prior to the ceremony, but I was able to change my return flight.

I returned to Houston from Cleveland on July 13, Sunday evening and then on the following morning I got on that Houston Express. Quintas greeted us at Luanda airport. Soon after arriving in Luanda on Tuesday morning, I went to the office. Like a miracle, the scenery changed, the people changed. Other than that nothing had really changed in two weeks. I found my room as I had left, office was the same, roads were crowded as usual, and poor people were still trying to sell stuff on the streets to make a living. I too am here to make a living, putting in long days while reminiscing the past two weeks – the greens on my back yard, wife’s cooking, smile on the faces of our daughters, the Reflection Pool in Washington, D.C. mall, and the awesome dinner at Lola’s in Cleveland’s 4th Street with the Shermans.

One week has almost past. I went for the Hash run yesterday "experiencing the sights and smell of Luanda" (as the organizers put it). The run was hard, but I managed. Then at night I Skyped with my wife and daughter at Cleveland last night. Now I am listening to the CDs of my favourite songs that my daughter gave me on my last trip as Father’s Day gift and posting this. For three weeks I am responsible for our Angola operation as the Country Manager just left today. Once he returns, it will be almost my time to return home. I think I am slowly getting used to this routine. I belong to two places - Houston and Luanda - at the same time.