crab sandwich

Things in Angola came to an end rather abruptly.

After a month in the States over the holidays, we had been prepared to go back to Cabinda for about eight weeks, giving Kelli enough time to train local doctors and any new Baylor / Global Health Corps recruits that would arrive.

The folks in Texas had other plans.

Just a week before we were set to go back to Angola, Kelli realized we had no confirmation on our return flights. After a bit of the runaround, she talked to her boss’s boss, who informed her that they would indeed fly us back to Angola, but that a position would not be waiting for her. They would give her four weeks of “severance” pay, but she was free to leave as soon as she finished a run-of-the-mill corporate checklist. We were rather taken aback, to say the least.

Was she being fired? Laid off? Let go?

Whatever. We were getting out of the long mess of a situation … Not so much with the country or the people of Angola, but with the program that we had expected to support us.

Até logo, Olympic Village!

After 10 days of twiddling our thumbs and fulfilling mundane obligations and saying our goodbyes, we left Cabinda and Angola.¹

We are now decompressing in Cape Town, and after just a week, I’m happy to say that we are both refreshed and have already settled into a new routine. We found a relaxing Airbnb in the Gardens, where we will stay another week before visiting Kigali, Rwanda—a chance to exchange stories with a fellow former GHC doc, and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to explore a city with a close friend who escaped the Rwandan genocide.

Then back to Cape Town for a week and next London, Morocco, Spain, Portugal …

After a year and a half² of frustrations with Kelli’s employer and work situation, we’re enjoying the escape and the prospect of a few months on the road.

So if you’re in the neighborhood, let us know.

First cheesy selfie, Table Moutain and all … Welcome to Cape Town!