Category Archives: Africa
Funeral in Angola
We passed a funeral today. Unlike in the US, an Angola funeral procession includes standing in the road with knives, sticks and axes and asking every passing car for money. I didn’t know this and got a little worried about … Continue reading
Training Africans
Part of my job duties include training locals to do my job. The problem is, I’m training idiots. We have formulas we use for the job. A common need is changing the hydrostatic. Hydrostatic is the weight of a column … Continue reading
Laundry in the Thunderdome
I’m not sure how they wash clothes, but it seems like I give them two bits of laundry, I get one back. Or there is a guy in town that is my size.
Job thoughts
They are losing a explosives guy here. It has been mentioned that I could apply for it. Again. I’ve been down that road and they don’t want to pay. One thing that is different is that they are contractually obligated … Continue reading
Pig
IMG_0095 (Large) Originally uploaded by Fronzel This is a pig. They pump it through pipelines for cleaning and diagnostics. It is solid rubber, weighs about 40 pounds, it is about the size of a basketball and doesn’t bounce. We’ve been … Continue reading
Breaking my mind
IMG_0074 (Large) Originally uploaded by Fronzel I used to bump it all the time without manner. Now I know better. I wrote “Stop” and “And Listen” on it because I think I am funny.
Bars
These are all along the road. Somebody sets out an ice chest and some bottles and sell beer to people walking by or driving. Which is an amazing amount of initiative on the part of an African.
Angolan Security
My key to enter the room I’ve been assigned at the Staffhouse. Since I’m staying at the staffhouse off of the facility, I need to go through security every morning to enter the facility. This involves them looking through my … Continue reading
Travel Stories
I had a layover in Dakar, Senegal. This is the first time I’ve done that. Before they would let us off the plane, Senegal Police stormed the plane and took apart the seats and examined all the bags. I guess … Continue reading
Coke as an Index of Happiness
This is interesting. I know they normally use rice for this, but I think as our world becomes smaller, they need to reexamine what they use to indicate and measure things like this. I’d like to see some numbers on … Continue reading