The Lives of Others

Despite living in Belgium for a few years, I am not accustomed to the expat lifestyle. Mind you, the expat lifestyle in Belgium is somewhat different to that in Angola. Apart from one rather adventurous explorer type working in the diamond industry, the expats I know here rarely leave their 4x4s when they venture out into the streets. Indeed it would be foolish to do so at night or in certain areas. Muggings are an every day occurrence. Even a very relaxed Angolan friend advised against walking alone in many areas. A keen walker and explorer, I have found this very difficult to cope with.

Nevertheless I have now a better sense of where is off limits and have realized that I can get about on foot in the day in most areas. A friend is keen to make me more Angolan streetwise and offers useful advice- ‘hold your bag like this… cross the street after withdrawing cash… watch out for those potholes… look like you know where you are going even if you don’t…’ These snippets are useful, and although no-one can guarantee you will never get robbed, it is extremely rare you will come to any harm, especially during the day. In fact I have had only positive reports from fellow expats. I even heard of one mugging where the robber took the phone, but was ‘decent’ enough to give the victim the SIM card so he would at least not loose his contacts.

Most expats also have drivers too. I initially felt very embarrassed to have to cruise around Paris Hilton style and it felt just plain wrong that our driver escorted me around the supermarket. I wrestled to get the trolley off him, and only later realized he was just trying to help. Our driver is not only courteous, but essential- I am not a confident driver at the best of times and navigating extreme traffic, potholes, wandering pedestrians all to the tune of incessant car horns is currently beyond my reach.

People are incredibly polite here- bread, beer and salutations are the life essentials here. Nevertheless, the driver of a friend considered it comical that I thanked him as much as I did. Or maybe it was just my accent… An Angolan friend was impressed that my boyfriend and I went to a local church and that I was on first name terms with the ladies who sell fruit outside my house, arguing it was not the norm for expats.

Perhaps it is an affected false attempt on my behalf to act humbly, whilst I will obviously never fit in with the very poorest locals here. However for the time being I will push my own shopping trolley.