I am so looking forward to my hot shower at home, my own bed, a cold gin and tonic with ice and no smells or noises. Of course I feel bad that this is my sentiment but it is clear that Luanda is a tough place to be or to live.
I admire the Unicef staff who live here. That is the big difference between people on the periphery of humanitarian efforts like myself and people who are on the ground making that difference each day. They do so at great personal expense and live in conditions most of us would refuse to live in. Graham, head of education (married to girl from Kerry) told me his predecessor, a lady, arrived here sat through the UN security briefing and left the country two days later. We had the same briefing on Monday ourselves and now that the week is over (and I cannot worry you Mom) it scared the be-jaysus out of me. It basically said this is the most violent underprivileged city in the world, you should expect to be held up at gunpoint, mugged or car jacked and under no circumstances should you resist, just hand over what you have, your life is much more valuable. It would not give you the warm and fuzzies. We were in Unicef trucks all week and yesterday had police with us in the slums so I did not feel threatened, but it is just an unsettling feeling that everyone out there wants what you have, your camera, phone etc. They only want it because they have no other means of making money and they can see the injustice that visitors seem to be wealthy and they live in the dirty streets of Luanda.
Anyway, off to airport at 10am flying back to South Africa and from there 17.5 hours to New York. Looking forward to getting home. Lots more to share on this trip so continue to watch the blog and the photos are really amazing, so should be able to get them up by Sunday.
Last breakfast awaits - I stick to coffee and pastries as they are fully cooked, but the range on offer includes meatballs, eggs, fish, cold meats and fruits of unknown variety and other such lovelies.
More anon and thanks to all who tuned in this week, this kept me connected when other devices did not and I hope you enjoyed my ramblings. ciao
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