outbreaks + outbursts

I just wanted to bring everyone up to speed on Ebola.  For your own sanity, DO NOT Google what’s happening with the outbreak and if you do, DO NOT believe everything you read.  The only sites that you should go to are WHO and CDC.  The information posted on those two sites is usually a few days behind because they do not post information until cases, deaths, updates are confirmed.  There is never speculation on their sites like there is on news feeds.  Anyway, there has been a small outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) which borders Angola to the North.  Our camp is actually located in Cabinda that is separated from Angola by the DRC (see map below). 

The important thing to note about the confirmed cases in the DRC is that it is a completely different strand than the current outbreak in West Africa.  One lady was infected in Northern DRC after slaughtering bush game that her husband had brought home after hunting.  She fell ill, went to the clinic and passed away.  As a result, all the medical personnel in the clinic were infected, as well as family members involved in the burial process (24 suspected cases, and 13 deaths).  All that said, our medical staff here in camp is taking the outbreak as a whole very seriously and they are taking every precaution necessary in the event that the virus is brought into camp  – moral of the story DON’T WORRY, we are all just fine!   

It’s been a pretty tough week, and we've had to deal with some unfortunate personnel issues.  I am naturally an easy going, non-confrontational type person (although I am pretty sure I’m getting an age-onset case of ODC, but that’s another story…).  Anyways, I've received “constructive criticism” in the past that I can be too nice, borderline push over in some situations.  So when dealing with individuals who have acted inappropriately – I do one of two things:  1. Talk to them in a calmly and try to help explain why we are unhappy with the situation; which is ineffective because I just end up saying something along the lines of ‘it’s fine’ and ‘we will work together to move on’ and lose the accountability factor somewhere in there. OR 2. Freak out and say things that probably aren’t too appropriate (I try to conserve #2 to strictly family/friends and stay cool in my workplace).  Needless to say, I removed myself as much as possible from the situation this week and let my superiors take the lead. 

I'm shifting into cruise control this week, tying up loose ends, getting turnover notes done, and chasing my seat on the bus out of camp that's just on the horizon :)  Oh, and also starting the countdown to the Browning Wedding...T-minus 34 days!

33 days down, 9 to go!  Xoxo…

idioms

There is one thing that is pretty much guaranteed to happen to me at least once a day here, and that is someone looking at me in utter confusion – I’m talking deer in the headlights type of blank stare.  This is due to various reasons; I talk too fast, I tend to mumble when I get excited, and I use idioms all the time (ie:  deer in the headlights).  When you say things like ‘I got the short end of the stick’ to folks with English as their second language, more often than not you can literally see the gears turning in their brains trying to make sense of what in the world you are talking about – things that they are thinking include ‘Were we talking about sticks?’ ‘Did I ask her to get me a stick?’ ‘Did I even say the word stick???’  The answer is obviously NO, and I proceed to spill in to some kind of pathetic explanation of what I’m trying to say… 

With that said, there are also some people who are completely clued into dumb Americans, their idioms, and subtle little jokes and jabs.  It turns out that one of those people is an Angolan HES rep, Lourenco, that I have on my team.  He has mandated that we run together twice a week, and the thought has crossed my mind several times to make a self-deprecating comment about how he must think I’m fat but I've just kept it to myself because I don’t want him to feel uncomfortable.  So last Sunday we had just finished our afternoon run and we passed a bus stop where an extra-large lady had stepped off the bus.  Lourenco said ‘Amiga, do you see your future?’  I, of course, thought he was asking some deep question about my life and started stumbling over my words.  He interrupted my sputtering and said, no Alli, do you see your future and nodded to the lady who had just gotten off the bus!!  This time, I was the one who was speechless…   

    

Monday mornings in the office are always a little sleepy.  Everyone is usually coming off their half-day Sunday high, and require coffee/tea before any conversation commences.  Last Monday, however, was exceptionally lively.  Danny, our logistics coordinator and ex-military officer from England, was in the kitchen making coffee as everyone else was hulled up in their offices.  All of the sudden, Danny starts screaming REEENNNNNEEEEEEE, come to the kitchen, you’ve got to come to the kitchen!!!  (Rene is our construction coordinator, my next door neighbor in the office, and our resident Mr. Fix-It).  Again, this is about 5:30 in the morning so everyone else would be moving slowly, but Rene pops up and starts running to the kitchen.  Danny is still screaming, and finally blurts out ‘There’s a mouse in here, a mouse ran behind the refrigerator!!!!’  Needless to say, the whole office found out that Danny, big, strong, manly Danny, will scream like a girl at the sight of a teeny little mouse…

Malongo is a very unique place because you are with the same folks all day every day, so by default your co-workers are your friends, neighbors, work out partners, lunch dates, you catch my drift.  There are obviously some people that I've gotten very close with, but there are others that I've known for a year and still don’t really know that much about them aside from where they work and where they hang out after work.  One of those people is our Contractor QAQC manager.  Unfortunately, in his position he gets a lot of grief from us about how things are being executed in the field, but he really does take it like a champ and we work really well together.  I am guilty of getting pretty sassy with him, but after a discussion we always come to an agreement and get back on the same page – he’s a very patient man.  Anyways, I knew that he lived in Lebanon, but I found out this week that he is from Syria and he, his wife, and two boys have taken refuge in Lebanon.  Last year, his home and business in Homs, Syria was destroyed and he took his family to safety in Lebanon to start over.  If you read the news at all, you hear stories like this ALL the time so it’s easy to become numb to – UNTIL you see the face of one of the innocent people that has had their life turned upside-down for no reason other than being in the wrong place at the wrong time. 

On a lighter note (kind of), I got CPR and AED trained yesterday.  I am no longer scared to come across an unconscious person, theoretically.  The most interesting thing that I learned is that the AED (Automated External Defibrillation) device doesn't give a shock to beat a stopped heart; it actually stops a heart that is in ventricular fibrillation – a heart that is quivering rather than beating.  So when someone has a heart attack usually their heart doesn't stop, it just stops pumping in its normal rhythm, and the AED in conjunction with chest compressions is what you do to get the heart beating back in a normal rhythm to get blood circulating and oxygen back to the brain.  Basically, I’m pretty much a doctor now….KIDDING.

It’s pretty overcast today, but I’m crossing my fingers that the sun comes out because I have big plans today – fishing on the beach!  I will probably do more spectating/napping than actually fishing, but you catch my drift.       

26 days down, 16 to go! Xoxo…

Malongo sunset....
Photo courtesy of Rene

back to school

It’s been another overcast week here in Malongo, yuck!   I mean…how am I supposed to get tan for my sweet cousin, Laurel’s, wedding with all of these clouds??  Luckily, when I get home I will still have a little over 3 weeks to work on that before her big day :)

I went with a few nationals on my team out to the Futila School again on Tuesday.  Unfortunately, it was a pretty big bust this time.  The principal had to leave the school and forgot to leave the keys to the computer lab with the teachers, so we couldn't get into the lab to give our lessons.  The kids were still super excited to see us…probably because we were handing out juice boxes.  I probably won’t be able to go out and see them until my next trip back to work.  Their school schedule isn't set in stone (to say the least), and they will be on break until the first (or second, or third…) week of September. 

I remember first landing in Cabinda and the feeling of shock when we were driving through town seeing the living conditions for some of the residents here, but I've become pretty numb to it since then.  That feeling came right back when we were traveling back to camp from the school on Tuesday.  I could see there were cars slowing down in front of us, and I figured it was a car accident which is VERY common along the road to camp.  As we got closer, some men were carrying a body off the road and by the time we were driving through the scene, they were putting a blanket over the body of a young boy.  Needless to say, it was completely devastating and something that I had never experienced before.  The folks that I was with were speaking in Portuguese, but I could tell by their demeanor that they were very angry with what we had just seen.  They explained to me that this type of accident happens more often than it should and how angry they are that the drivers in this area aren't more careful.  They were equally upset that children are constantly running across the highway putting themselves in danger.

 

On a lighter note, my Pa turned 83 on Friday.  I was able to chat with him for a little while on his birthday, and he went on and on about how they are having the greatest time on their road trip to South Carolina.  They have been in route to Charleston since Monday to drop my ‘baby’ cousin, Austin, off at The Citadel.  I’m still in denial that Austin is actually old enough to be a freshman in college.  It feels like yesterday when my cousin Jessica and I would get into little tiffs on who could hold that precious baby.  She probably doesn't even remember, but I was always SO jealous that she lived in San Antonio and got to see my 3 little cousins all the time.  Anyways, I couldn't be happier for that not-so-little boy getting to start his college career this fall - SUCH an exciting time!    

Love this sweet man, Happy 83rd Pa! 

Chad bought another house in Bakersfield this past week, so naturally I've just been drawing floor plans and dreaming of remodels in my spare time.  He has kindly reminded me that I can help decorate IF my plans are in line with his plans.  We will see about all that ;)

19 days down, 23 to go! Xoxo…

BAU

The sun finnnnnnally came out on Monday afternoon, but it's been playing peek-a-boo ever since.  We had a celebration BBQ on Wednesday to celebrate our one-year anniversary for start of construction on the project - more specifically one-year without any lost time incidents onsite.  This is a pretty huge accomplishment because the majority of our workforce has never worked here in Malongo, therefore they are not accustomed to our safety requirements.  Most of them are used to working in the city of Cabinda where hard hats, safety glasses, gloves, and even shoes are optional on a construction site.  Needless to say, we are a little more stringent on our safety requirements here so it's been an uphill battle to keep everyone working safe on a daily basis.      

3 Italians + 1 Louisianan...you guess who's who.

Other than that, it's been a pretty quiet week...just business as usual (BAU).

12 days down, 30 to go!  xoxo...

15 flights later...

August 3rd, REALLY???? I'm pretty sure that I was just ringing in 2014 (from my bed in Malongo) yesterday.  Let's rewind to June/July, here's what's been happening...  

CABO: Brian is 3-0
So on June 13th my big bro turned 30, which is awesome because I can make snarky comments all the time about how he is 30. I just choose to ignore the fact that it also means that I am only 3 years away from the start of my 3rd decade. Anyway, the only want to properly ring in the big three-oh is to take a trip, right?? Off to Cabo San Lucas we went for a few days of all inclusive relaxation with some of the best people we know...

Hello Cabo, I love you.

pool time

girls

group dinner...Jenna was sleepy

end scene.

COS/The Springs: Colorado Springs with my lovelies

Sally, Elise, and I spent the better part of our college career sitting in our living room "studying" (watching YouTube videos of laughing babies, the Mantauge, Cheech and Chong, and whatever else Sally came across) So going nearly 2 years without the 3 of us being together is just unacceptable. Sally and her husband, Lincoln, live in Colorado Springs with their fur child, Franklin. For those of you who have never been to The Springs (that's what the locals call it), I highly recommend it. Not only is the town nestled literally at the foot of the Rockies, but it is just the most gorgeous mixture of old and new.  After spending an afternoon in Denver sampling our fair share of microbrews and checking out a Rockies game, we made our way to The Springs.  The rest of the weekend was full of girl talk, hiking, shopping, eating, and exploring COS – oh, and celebrating America’s birthday with front row seats to the fireworks show!

surprise!!!

America. Baseball.

that's about right.

LOTS of love for these two little ladies

the most gorgeous dog park ever

Happy birthday America, Wreck 'Em!

H-town: Economics and my people

After a couple getaways, I headed back to Houston for a class in Petroleum Economics.  As an official 5-year employee, I should have graduated our onboarding program by now buttttt I’m a little behind schedule, so I’m having to take a few classes during my off time this year.  Lucky for me, the econ class that I took was SUPER interesting, and bonus was that I stayed put in Houston for 9 whole days!  Naturally, I spent any minute out of class with my favorite people just eating and drinking my way through Houston.

typical selfie with the bestie

favorites.

Home, sweet, home: Lunch dates and Northpark
Anytime I have a few free days, I try to get up to Dallas to hang with mom, dad, Dust and of course, Nana and Papa.  When I went home this last time, I decided to reach out to one of my oldest friends that I haven't talked to in quite some time.  Jenn has one of the biggest hearts of anyone I know, and recently I started thinking about how sad I am that we had lost touch over the past few years.  So much has happened in her life including getting engaged and having a little girl, so obviously it was time to catch up.  It was so amazing to see the woman that Jenn has become and how her little girl, Blakely, has turned her life in such a positive direction.  Our photoshoots weren't exactly successful, but clearly she's just the most precious almost-two year old ever!

just teaching Blakely the ins and outs of Instagram

FAIL

I can't believe it took me almost two years to meet this precious thing!

Reunited!

Northpark, Le Madeline, and gooooood company

The COAST: family. bonding.

Then we were Port Aransas bound on a good, old fashioned family road trip.  Growing up, we used to meet my mom’s side of the family down at the coast every summer – our big summer vacation!  As we got busy with high school activities and then college, the trips to the coast got few and far between, so we haven’t all gotten together for a beach weekend in years.  Needless to say, we were all very excited to get back together again...   

family road trip!

1999 family photo

15 years later...

The Golden State: babes and my babe
I spent my last week off in California just asking myself why I ever left!  I got to catch up with most of my CA loves during the week, and then Chad and I set off for the central coast for a quick weekend trip.  It still blows my mind that it can be 100+ degrees in Bakersfield, and then just 2 hours West we were in the mid-60's.  The views weren't so bad either :)

EPOCH Winery

Somewhere along highway 46

gorgeous hike, fog and all

oh hey cutie.

Down in Affffffricaaaaa
So here I am, back in Africa, and very far away from all the Ebola outbreaks - no need to panic!  It's been pretty chilly (lows in the upper 70's) and overcast here since I've been back.  The cloudy days have made it hard to get out of bed in the mornings, but I did see the sun for a few minutes yesterday afternoon so hopefully she will make her way back to Angola soon!  I'll be here for 6 weeks; my longest hitch to date, so say a few prayers that I don't completely lose my mind.

5 days down, 37 to go!  xoxo....