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This is it.  Last post.

I imagine people will ask me in future interviews, “So, what is Angola like?”.  I do not yet know how best to answer that broad question.  Angola is too complicated for a two or three sentence answer.  I can tell you that it is filled with amazing people.  People who will welcome you for a drink or a conversation without knowing you, who are upbeat in the face of numerous challenges, and who are proud of their country.

Everyone knows Angola has a  plenitude for resources; oil, natural gas, diamonds, water, expanses of fertile land.  27 years of civil war are not going to take these things away, at least not permanently.  But the biggest question that still remains is how will Angola use these resources.  I cannot say with certainty that the government in Angola will not use these resources for its own, individualistic greed.  No one in Angola wants another civil war.  But many Angolans understand that the inequality gap between the rich and poor is growing.

It is clear to me that one year in Angola is not enough time for me to make judgements of the future of this amazing country.  I can only thank the people who have shown me so much kindness, hospitality, and generosity.  Not once did someone try to steal from me, attack me, or give me reason to think that they could not be trusted.  Can you say that about where you live in the U.S.?

Next week is my birthday.  I have spent one year in Angola to the day.  Looking back, I can say that my experience here was nothing what I thought it would be, but everything it needed to be.

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