When Nathan and I got to the Luanda airport, we found a long line of people waiting outside. Riquita and Jason from the US embassy were welcoming arrivals and making sure all our paperwork and loan applications were in order. After one more round of signing documents, we were officially confirmed as passengers.
Familiar faces
I was surprised to see a familiar face from my arrival in Angola nearly a month earlier. I greeted him with a query, “Bill?”, and he responded with a slightly shell-shocked, “Yessir!?” It was Bill from Texas, who had come to work in Angola’s oil industry. I learned that his experience in Angola had not been as satisfying as mine. Shortly after his arrival, he had been found with a low-grade fever. It had cleared up in a day, but it was too late. The authorities quickly quarantined him in Luanda. Officials threatened to send him (in Bill’s words) “to some place out in the jungle” – probably one of two quarantine sites just outside of Luanda. Bill was having none of that, so they reluctantly put him in a sick home of sorts in Luanda. The company that had sponsored his work visa left him in a terrible position. He had to fend for himself, and he didn’t speak any Portuguese. When he finally threatened to leave because nobody had brought him food in almost two days, they finally attended to his needs. After his official quarantine, he was put up in a fancy hotel, which was more bearable, but the situation was far from ideal.
An airport security officer then walked up to me, and I immediately recognized Nicolo’s face despite the mask that he was wearing. I greeted him enthusiastically. This time around, he looked sharp in his full security uniform instead of just the bright vest of our first meeting, when Nicolo had helped me navigate the domestic terminal on my way to Menongue.
The Griffin family
Once Riquita and Jason had confirmed all the US passengers, we were allowed into the airport, and Nathan and I made our way to the waiting area. A family of 5 was waiting there too, and we struck up a conversation. They were the Griffins from Canada – Joel and Kaleigh and their three girls. They were also missionaries in Angola. They lived in remote Luau in Moxico province in the east of Angola on the Congo border. Getting anywhere from Luau was difficult in the best of times, taking 4 hours over rough roads to get to the nearest grocery store. The lockdown had made it impossible for them to get to Luanda on their own, and like us, they had an interesting story to tell. They had also contacted MAF (Mission Aviation Fellowship) to arrange a flight and (like us) were told it was a long shot. But where our request failed, theirs was approved on Monday, two days after we arrived in Luanda. MAF pilot Marijn was able to fly them to the capital city, noting that there was zero radio chatter as he approached Luanda – no other planes were in the air. He posted a video of the flight online. In the video Joel Griffin, thanking God for the flight approval, noted that “similar flight plans in the week prior had not been approved.” That was Christy, Louie, Giorgi, Nathan, me, and many others. But a way was made for the five of us, and just as Christy had expressed, I was glad MAF hadn’t spent political capital on us and were able to help people like the Griffins who had no other option.
On the other side of check-in and security, Nathan, Bill, and I regrouped for a snack before boarding time. A table was set up in the waiting area with food and drinks at exorbitant prices, and I spent a few of my remaining Kwanzas. Bill told us a little about his home in Texas. It was a big property, so big that he hadn’t even seen all of it yet. He said there was a plateau on the property that he wanted to explore when he got back.
Boarding time
Over the intercom came the announcement that our flight, Ethiopia Airlines 8842 to Washington-Dulles airport, was about to board. We wished each other a safe trip and stepped into the queue to board. I got separated from Nathan and Bill as the line began to move. I would see Nathan again stateside. I would not see Bill again. I hope he made it safely back to Texas and finally explored the rest of his ranch. And I hope he never again had to worry about being sent into the jungle for quarantine. If you meet a Texan named Bill who is understandably grumpy toward Angola, tell him “happy trails” for me.
Just before midnight I shuffled wearily over the dark tarmac toward a jumbo jet and boarded the flight back to US soil. Entering the plane was like coming back to reality after a hauntingly beautiful dream. Every face was obscured by a mask, and everything was tense. There was none of the luxury of my outgoing flight to Luanda, no row of seats to myself, no laying down to sleep. My ticketed seat was taken by a woman and her baby, and I bounced from one seat to another as the flight attendants tried to fit me in. I finally landed in a middle seat between two big men, and I settled in for the 12-hour ride. The feeling of going home was both exhilarating and disappointing. I had developed an affinity for Angola, perhaps despite the challenges, but perhaps because of them. And certainly thanks to the many unique experiences and the friendliness I had found there.
Home again
After landing at Dulles and getting through customs, I briefly met back up with Nathan. His father had come from Virginia to pick him up. I got some cash from an ATM to pay him my portion of our expenses in Luanda. Wishing each other well and hoping to meet again in Angola someday, we split up from there, and I rushed to catch my connecting flight. I made it with less than 10 minutes to spare, but other than that close call, the last leg of my journey is a blur.
When I emerged from the nearly empty airport very late on 10 April 2020, my wife, Carmen, made good on her threat to spray me down with disinfectant before I got in the car, having me spin around to get good coverage. The world had apparently lost its collective mind, and two questions were uppermost in my mind.
How long would this strange new environment last, and how soon could I get back to Angola?
Welcome to Angola 