Expat Mommy In Angola

Its christmas decoration time! Its summer here in Angola and the closest thing we have to cold and wintery snowy ambiance is through our crafts! Watch this video for the easiest and custest snowman that even your youngest toddler can create. What yo u will need . White socks . Cotton or rice for filling . A smaller sock for the hat . Buttons . Glue We filled ours with rice. So they were pretty heavy and made really cute door stoppers!

Over the past 5 years, since i had my first child, my surroundings have been a bit skeptical about having to continue living in Angola. I always tell them that i would never put my kids safety at risk and that its a livable country once you know how to make it your own home.  This is why i have no problem raising my kids in expat and most  specifically Africa  1-  My other choice at the moment is Lebanon and personally I don't see it as a healthy environment for my kids with all the sectarianism embedded in the roots of the country , not to mention the garbage problem that i've had friends in Angola asking me about it here!  2-  My kids have friends from Lebanon, Angola , France , Portugal and so on , and never once has my almost 6 year old asked me or even distinguished that they are somehow different. 3-  A lot of outdoor play of exploring, not playgrounds and parks, but inventing games and getting dirty with anythin...

Facebook just reminded me that 8 years ago I was in Atlanta , Georgia on a fellowship program at CNN for a month.  I was sent by the local tv station I used to work for in Lebanon as the editor and anchor of the english news bulletin. I was lucky enough to witness first hand the election of Barack Obama. Yes i was a journalist. Fast forward 8 years later . I am in Luanda, Angola , the second most expensive city in the world that is currently immersed in an unprecedented economic crisis making everyday life run oh not so very smoothly , with even more rise on prices of basics. Married with two children and a kind of a stay at home mom. Regrets in these 8 years? Not at all . Being a journalist makes you excited about problematic events and issues, and we have had our share of those in Beirut. From covering the 2006 war between Lebanon and Israel , the different explosions and car bombs that rocked Lebanon , to the time we were forced to stay in our news station all nig...