Weekly Wrap Up

I went to the beach Tuesday with a friend. Her cousins were expected to join us but one slept in late and I don't really know what happened to the other. We still had a great time though. We left around 11am but didn't actually arrive at the beach until 1:00pm. With traffic, the drive to the beach is usually about an hour. Without traffic, you are there in 10 minutes. This time, though, it took 2 hours thank to the wonderful traffic Police of Luanda. We got pulled over. Actually it was my fault, but the guy wasn't very helpful by any means. The traffic cops here stand on the side of the streets and flag people down to occasionally check their papers or to pull someone over for an illegal maneuver. I was flagged down for an illegal maneuver. Apparently, I made a left hand turn when you could no longer make a left hand turn. So there was Mr. Cool Cop in his uniform and orange 'TRAFFIC' vest flagging me over to the side of the road. Getting pulled over while driving is my fear here; in addition to the crazy drivers of course. Usually cops, or a person with any kind of power are very macho. So I wasn't looking forward to this encounter at all. Thank goodness Rafaela was with me so she was able to communicate with him for me. One thing about the cops here, it is almost as if they get upset if you don't speak Portuguese. Almost a "how dare you" type of attitude. I understand it, I just can't speak it. Anyways, turns out one paper for the card was expired. According to him we would have to take the car to an office where they would hold it until we paid nearly $200 to update the information, then they would release the car to us. I was stressing out, needless to say. Luckily, Rafa's uncle is the manager for the basketball team. So we called him and he sent someone down to meet us with some money. Get this though, the money wasn't to pay to get the proper documentation-- it was to pay off the cop. That is how corrupt and backwards this country is. We've been told that some people go into the profession of being a cop just so they can earn extra money on the streets. It is incredibly common for cops to get paid off by the driver if the driver does not have current papers, or even papers at all. You'd be surprised how many people, in many professions, will turn a blind eye if you slide them a little cash. It's the unfortunate truth about the poverty in this country. I guess I do not have too much room to speak though because this tactic allowed us to continue on our way. After that we were EXTRA careful not to make and silly wrong turns.

The beach is usually really crowded during the weekend so it was nice to go during the week when only a few people are there. We enjoyed the afternoon soaking up the sun and talking-- good old girl time. We even had entertainment. Usually vendors walk along the beach trying to sell items to people on the beach. There was a lady selling roasted peanuts and bananas, a man selling African statues and jewelery, another man selling some sort of sheets or bedding, and a group of kids eating coconuts. I was able to take pictures of everyone except the lady selling peanuts and bananas- she wasn't too exciting anyways, haha. I have noticed that people here love to have their picture taken. A complete stranger will walk up to you and ask you to take their picture. This is what happened with the sheet man. He was whistling to get our attention then wanted his picture taken. Of course after the picture he gave us the universal sign of a thumbs up. Then he casually walked away and that was that. When we first saw the group of young boys, I was fascinated by what they were doing. They had walked across the beach carrying these large round, ball- like, fruit. At the time I was not sure what exactly they were holding. Once they got to the rocks nearby they started banging the fruit on the rocks to break them open. I kept watching in fascination and wondering what they were going to do next. Once they cracked the body of the fruit they would hold it above their heads and drink the juice-- talk about fresh. After, they continued to slam the fruit against the rock to break it completely open so they could eat the inside of the fruit. It turns out that they were coconuts. I thought this was so innovative and functional. I'm sure it is common practice here, but it was a first time sight for me. After we went back to our towels the second man came up with his statues and jewelry. Rafaela, my friend, had jumped in the water so I was alone to talk for myself. My usual excuse is to say, "no fala Portuguese"- I don't speak Portuguese. Unfortunately, he replied asking what language I spoke. Of course once I said English, he started speaking English; asking if I want to buy a statue or jewelry. I simply told him that I did not have any money, but asked to take a picture. That didn't really seem fair, but I really wasn't interested in buy any of his product and only really wanted a picture. Luckily, he let me take his picture then he was on his way to other potential customers after asking again if I had any money. After that we were not bothered, aside from the crabs that were crawling around near the water! Reggie and I had gone to the beach during the week once last year where I first saw all of the crabs. I did not like them at all. They obviously don't bother you because they scurry down their little hole when any activity occurs near them. But some of them are huge! And they look so funny when they 'walk' or 'crawl', which ever you would like to call it. It gives me the chills! I did face my fear and crouched near a hole to try and take a picture. Once they poked their head out and saw me they dove back in. I was lucky enough to snap a quick shot when one was half out of his hole. We left the beach around 3:00pm in order to make it back to our houses to get ready in time for the game. this time, it only took 45 minutes to get home; and no complications besides the usual traffic. :)

I have not described traffic on this blog yet. Let me give you a little insight. I like to compare it to New York with out traffic lights or rules. I'm sure there are certain driving laws here because we see cars with Driving Schools sign on them... so they must be teaching them something! However, when you drive around, it is as if no one follows or cares about rules. Everyone is in such a rush to get to their destination that is actually causes more harm than good. I do not think I have seen so many impatient and careless people ever. I keep saying that I am going to record a video of the intersection below our apartments. Words simply can not explain the craziness. Although, at a later time I will try my best to give you a very descriptive view of the traffic and driving experiences here. Since there is so much traffic people often sell stuff in the streets to people waiting in their cars. You can find ANYTHING in the streets. Water, soda, juice, mops, brooms, buckets (which I still need to buy), sunglasses, air fresheners, TV Antennas (yup, I've seen it), popcorn, butter cookies, fruit, laundry baskets, briefcases, irons, shower heads, toilet paper, wine glasses, belts, CDs, DVDs-- you name it, you can probably find it. When we were driving home though, we saw something that I had never seen before. A man was walking with two small cages. As he got closer you could see that one cage was empty but the other cage contained a mouse or a rat. It was disgusting! I don't want to know why he was selling them, who would buy them, and what they would use them for. Some things are better when they are left unknown. This was definitely a first though, and one for the memory books.

All in all, the beach was a lot of fun and I look forward to going back soon. I need to work on my tan. I took a picture yesterday for my Visa and I pretty much blended into the background. Once I got over the embarrassment, it was pretty funny. Didn't help that I was wearing a white t-shirt too. I sure didn't plan that well!

We played Agosto Tuesday night. It surely was not the game that we were expecting it to be. We ended up losing, by a lot. It was pretty bad. In my opinion, not that I'm and expect analysis or anything, people didn't show up to play. Reggie as the only player with double digits until 6 minutes left in the game. When you play a 48 minute game, that just doesn't make sense. Especially when we have so many good players. The other team had 5 players that had double digits majority of the game. It's very hard to compete with that and win. It was just an off night. We play them again tonight. If we win then there will be a tie breaker on Sunday to determine the winner of the Cup. If we lose, then we take second place. Hopefully, tonight is better, way better, than Tuesday night.

Last night we went to the airport to pick up our delayed bag. We ate popcorn and had a soda, bought off the street, as we waited in traffic on our way to the airport. The popcorn is surprisingly good. I was a little frustrated when we picked up the bag because we have special TSA approved locks that allow TSA to search your bag if needed but keeps your luggage locked so people can't get into it. Well, when the bag arrived, the lock was missing. What's the point of having a special lock it people don't put it back on? There were a few things missing from our luggage which is never fun but at that point there is nothing to do about it. Considering that the entirety of the luggage was basketball shoes to be sold to other players, a few jerseys and pancake mix were small items. One of our friends specifically asked for pancake mix... of course it was taken. I felt horrible! I knew how much we was looking forward to it! Poor guy! I could understand his longing because I often lay in bed dreaming about food that I miss from the States.

We have had the morning off before the game tonight. We watched some of the NBA playoffs last night and have been relaxing (AKA napping) all day. It's our usual pre-game ritual! haha! I will write again tonight, or tomorrow, with the outcome of the game.

Wish us luck tonight! GO LIBOLO!!! FORCA LIBOLO!!!