Golfing in Malongo on a Sunday Afternoon

So... I have a new assignment, and I feel it's necessary to dig in and chat with my stakeholders... Many of them are in Malongo, where we operate, and they are on a 28/28 on/off schedule. So to chat with as many as possible before an important meeting that is this Wednesday, I went to Malongo for the second weekend in a row. This time, on the half-day off on Sunday afternoons that these folks relish, I was invited to play 9 on our golf course. Here are the major rules:

1. A cart with two 9-volt batteries attached to a "boom box" playing anything from Bon Jovi to Jewel to Lenny Kravitz to the Eagles is welcome... And loud.... And mine for 9 holes! With an awesome caddy!

2. 10 people per hole... At the same time.

3. If you can't find your cart amongst the 10 at the tee box, just follow the music.

4. Shirts are optional, and become more optional as the day goes by.

5. Don't swear in front of the lady. I didn't make that rule up... But the guys tried really hard to be extra PC. 

6. If you hit your ball too far left on the 9th, then it's absolutely out of bounds... That's the Heli runway.

7. Tee up every ball; you'll be a hero in Malongo, and you'll likely top everything you hit back home for two weeks. 

8. Be grateful for the comradery - it's hard to find 10 people in the same round who don't take the game too seriously.. Let alone on the same hole!

9. Be very grateful that someone wanted some exercise and pushed the 75lb boom box cart around for you (me). Excellent caddy!

10. Nothing new on this last one - enjoy the walk and the company.

All and all a fun afternoon. Below are a few pics. Hope you all get a chuckle! With the crowd I had as company, we had many. What a fun group of guys!

First tee... All in the same 10-some

My partner Scott - AKA Maui, teeing off..

Scenic view... Rivals Semiahmoo's views of Baker and the coast!

My team and caddy, Chien... Yep... I know what you're all thinking.. Why does KC only have one pair of shorts for golf; they're pretty ug. ;-) and her shirt has no collar.

BTW, "Cowboy" Dave (guess which one) was bummed to find out I was NOT a Texas native... Because he could have sworn I was. Well, I AM a resident.

Happy golfing!

KC

What a Difference a Year of Garden Growing Makes!

Happy spring to all my northern hemisphere friends!

So... tomorrow will be the one year anniversary for me as a resident of Luanda, Angola. (Lord knows where my visa is for this next year, but I'm still here!)

I am still loving being here, love the friends we've made, the lessons we've learned, and the work that we're doing. Sometimes, I forget, however, to take a step back and look around.

Today, as Pablo has gone back to the States (second year in a row that we aren't celebrating his birthday together - much to my chagrin and his indifference), I sat outside and truly enjoyed listening to kids playing down at the rec center/park, and staring at the garden. (I haven't done much today but eat spaghetti, nap, sip on a glass of white wine, and do this, BTW).

But I also realized that I committed at some point to some BEFORE and AFTER pictures from the Garden from last year... (go on, take a look at the "before") and what it looks like now. Below you will see what a difference a year makes.

As of this moment, the skies here have opened up with huge amounts of rain, thunder and lightning as a sendoff for the rainy season as we slip into "winter." I go to Malongo again tomorrow to meet a few more folks, and as part of the 1/2 day off on Sunday, I'll be able to play Easter golf with some coworkers at the "course" up there. (will be sure to post something about that).

Life is good, we are happy, and the world keeps on turning. XO!

K.C.

A little more lush, and more fun! Can't wait to have a One Year party!

I'm pretty happy that I made sure we had good outdoor furniture for the home. It's been really nice having a seating area.

Wow. way more green and full!

We are considering being more effective in our gardening... maybe make the hedge out of basil or something. Pesto anyone?

If I were to add banana, sugar cane, and papaya together, I'm thinking I might have a pretty good mix. If only the fruit would grow!

Banana tree and hibiscus! My mom has a hibiscus this size in Vancouver... it's 35 years old or so...

Check out that papaya tree! I'm deciding now that we may never actually get to eat fruit from it, as the maintenance guys are famous for lifting fruit from the residents' gardens, but it's cool nonetheless.

We now have something like 10 papaya trees in the yard. We're not sure if we like papaya (see caption above about maintenance staff lifting them...) but it's pretty cool to be from Canada and have papaya as a common fruit!

Our pepper garden - Scotch bonnets on the left, green and red bell peppers on the right, and bunch of pain in the @$$ pink weed flowers that get in the way of everything.

Hello! Passion fruit all over the place on both fences to the back yard. Delish!