On Friday I made another visit to a small business that sells a strange combination of goods.  This company sells beer and concrete.  But I guess it’s not that strange since I don’t know too many guys in construction that don’t like beer.  Fila, the consultant that I went to Soyo with, set up the business visit and asked me to come along.  After some searching, we found the business on a dirt road about 30 minutes from the office (meaning about a quarter a mile away – seriously).

The business is located on the second floor of a less than stellar looking building.  However, as with many buildings in Luanda, the inside looked much better than the outside.  As we walked in, a sweet lady named Adriana greeted us with smiles and handshakes.  She runs the business.  Her son, Jose also gave us a warm welcome.  We sat right down at a little table in the corner.  I took out my notebook and prepared to listen to Fila give his talk about CAE and what we have to offer.  Well, it didn’t exactly go down like that.  Fila calmly explained that I would be asking them questions to learn about their business and figuring out ways that we could help.  Fila stopped speaking and turned towards me.  Adriana and Jose turned towards me.  I wondered why Fila hadn’t mentioned the plan to me earlier.  I asked my first question.  Adriana looked at me funny.  So I asked it again with less of a southern accent and more of a Portuguese one.  She answered.  Then I was off to the races.  Well, it was a really slow race with many stops for directions, some side cramps, and walking breaks. But I finished, nonetheless.  On a side note, before I got here I wasn’t big on hand gestures, but I have since become a big fan.

It turned out that Adriana and Jose were huge fans of CAE.  Adriana beamed as she pulled out 5 certificates that she had received for completing CAE training courses.  It was great to get out and see how CAE is impacting local businesses.  When I’m in the office all day working on creating new processes and writing “memorandums of agreement” the end goal can become a little fuzzy.  Business visits like this one make it much clearer.  Adriana and Jose were grateful just to have Fila and I come to their office.  

In a way, days like Friday make me wonder if I’m really doing enough.  Small business people here, in Nicaragua, and Benin have taught me about persevering, maintaining a positive attitude, and being successful when faced with years of war, oppression, government corruption, and other challenges I can’t even imagine.  On the other hand, I teach them how to do a break-even calculation.  It’s not tough to see who’s getting the better deal.

Below Alex (far right), Fila (2^nd from right), and I (taking the picture) work with a small business in Soyo.

I woke up at 6am on Sunday morning to get ready for the trip to Soyo.  I packed my bags, ate some cornflakes, and showered (Pati would be so disappointed that I ate before showering).  The car arrived at 7 and me, Alex, Fila (CAE consultant), and Alvero (CAE driver) headed down the road to Soyo.  We were told that the trip would take 6-7 hours driving on good roads.  Of course, I didn’t believe that.  I no longer believe any estimates of time, distance, or quality of travel.  So I fully expected a long and arduous journey.  However, Alex was coming along for the ride so I expected large quantities of ridiculous and unpredictable entertainment.  My expectations were fully met in both regards.

            After 3 hours of traveling down the “good” road to Soyo, we came upon a blockade.  No signs ahead of time.  No warnings.  We were forced turn around and drive 2 hours back down the good road so that we could take the bad one.  After 6 hours we got hungry.  Completely lacking any skills in preparation or any ability to learn from previous mistakes, I brought no food and set out to eat roadside food from a shack.  I dined on a large, lovely, and unrecognizable piece of deer meat.  It tasted funny so, naturally, I proceeded to clean my plate.  Then I ate some peanuts.  Half were red and half were white(?) but all were delicious.

            After lunch we hopped right back on the dirt roads made of speed bumps and rock.  We apparently had no idea how to get to Soyo so we stopped at every fork or turn in the road and asked directions.   We weaved our way here and there through the Angolan countryside.  Just a hare over 14 ours after our departure from Luanda, we arrived in Soyo.  By this time we were hungry, so we ate a delicious dinner of bread rolls and canned anchovies.  

            For the next 3 days we visited businesses all day long.  We started at 8am each day and traveled from business to business until 6 or 7.  My ability to comprehend Portuguese improved more over those three days than during any time here in Angola.  By the end of the trip I found myself understanding 90% of what was said during meetings.  And these business guys didn’t talk slow.  However, the frustrating part of the trip was not being able to figure out how many of the businesses operate.  There are tons of mom and pop type sub-contractor businesses.  It remains unclear how any of them differentiate from each other.  I get an uneasy feeling like something just isn’t right when I look at many businesses in Soyo, and, for that matter, everywhere else in Angola.  I don’t see how many of them stay afloat.  Luanda and Soyo are two of the most expensive places in the world (seriously, look it up).  Businesses pay thousands of dollars a month to rent tiny offices.  And many of them look like they don’t do anything or sell much of anything.  I hate to think that its all corruption/kickbacks, but, as of now, I have no other explanation.  Of course, many of the businesses are legitimate.  I learned a ton from those businesses.   Overall, the trip was a great chance to learn how things work, “work”, and don’t work in this crazy setting.

            Oh yeah, I had a roommate in Soyo.  He was small, furry, had a long tail, lived in the wardrobe and his name rhymed with Matt.  I switched rooms shortly after he made an appearance while I was sitting on my bed.

            The ride back was punctuated by a repeat stop at the roadside store in which Fila bought two full dear hind legs.  Fur and hooves were still attached (picture below).  The lady took out a machete and cut the bones in half so it would fit in a sack to put in the back of our SUV.  It smelled terrific.  Alex provided the best moment of the trip shortly thereafter.  We were standing around drinking sodas and Alex, who doesn’t like bugs, found himself in a duel with a bee.  He began running around like a madman waving his arms.  It was awesome.  He actually ran up to me to try to transfer the bee to me, but was unsuccessful.  He finally sprinted to the car and locked himself inside.   At that point, I notice he had left his coke on the ground.  I picked it up, swatted a bee off, and handed it back to him.  He took a huge swallow and proceeded to yell/spit the contents back out, which included a little bee.  The entire trip was worth it just for that moment.

            The remainder of the trip was spent trying not to get poked in the head with a deer hoof, trying not to pass out from the fumes of the two leaking containers of gas in the back of the SUV, and trying not to get sick from the smell of the fish Fila picked up a few hours outside of Luanda.

            Another normal week in Angola comes to a close….

You gotta love the name of this resteraunt.  Ha Almoco means, "there is lunch"

            Earlier this week, I attended a meeting with Total, one of the big foreign oil companies operating in Angola.  Total partnered with Totta, an Angolan bank, to create Project Zimbo, which is basically a fund and process for providing loans to local Angolan owned small and medium sized businesses.    Representatives from Total, Totta, CAE, and a business interested in receiving a loan attended the meeting. 

            The people at this meeting were all extremely well educated.  Four different languages were spoken.  However, almost the entire meeting was completed in Portuguese.  Needless to say, after only 8 weeks, I am not exactly fluent.  The first part of the required each in attendance to take part in a role playing game to better understand Project Zimbo.  I was selected to represent the role of an NGO.   So right off the bat I had to communicate in Portuguese in a business setting with no preparation.  Experiences like that, although slightly frightening, are exactly the reason I chose to come to Angola.  I was lucky to find a position that allowed me to learn a new language while, at the same time, learning how small businesses operate successfully when facing the tremendous challenges of doing business in a developing country.  I can imagine no better preparation for the next chapter of my life than the experiences I will gain during the next 13 months in Angola.

            I will leave early tomorrow morning to travel 6-7 hours north to Soyo, a city close to the border of the Congo.  Soyo is rich in oil and rich in companies that want to supply the oil companies.  CAE has established a relationship with Bechtel, an major player in oil in Soyo.  During this trip I will be meeting with 30-40 different businesses to tell them about the consulting, networking, and training opportunities that CAE will be able to provide.  We are planning on opening an office in Soyo within the next 5 weeks.

            Hopefully I will be able to find a club in Soyo that doesn’t play the Kizomba all night.  After visiting ten companies a day over the next few days, I’m going to need to find a place to relax and let off a little steam.  Hopefully interesting stories are on their way…

Below is the place in front of my apartment where I get all of my great burgers: meat, cheese, ham, crushed potato chips, a fried egg, and hot sauce...words don't do it proper justice.