Tag Archives: Angola

Pictures of Strangers

Posted by expatlingo in spotted, travel and tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Watching strangers is one of the simplest pleasures. I do it in airports, city centers, beaches, restaurants, on public transport, etc. Even at the zoo, it is often the people who are the most interesting to observe.

While watching, I am analyzing and evaluating: What are they doing? Why are they wearing that? Where are they going? What are they saying? Is that food they’re eating as delicious as it looks? Sometimes my internal dialogue is catty (“My God, those harem pants are hideous.”), sometimes relatively it’s neutral (“Oh, they’re eating candied crab apples.”), and sometimes filled it’s with admiration (“Wow, that elderly woman looks absolutely majestic in her lime green sari and dark, heavy-framed glasses.”).

I’ve had the lucky chance to meet and photograph some rather captivating strangers through my former work with an internationally oriented NGO. My job was what brought me to the Rajasthani village the woman photographed above happened to pass through. I quickly snapped her picture from the window of the massive old white Ambassador we were being driven about in.

Similarly, I took the following three photographs of strangers I met on work-related trips to far-flung corners of the globe:

These have been rather lucky photographic opportunities, as I am far too shy to take pictures of strangers on-the-sly.

Once in a while, I have had the fortunate chance to take an un-obtrusive picture of someone swiftly passing by me. This is how I caught on film this dapper Vietnamese gentleman cycling through Hanoi:

I suppose I could always ask permission to take pictures of total strangers, but it seems rather intrusive and I am not so bold.

In China, however, many people have absolutely no qualms about asking to take countless photographs of my two children. This request is always accompanied by the Chinese-language version of: “What golden-hair and such blue eyes! Like baby-dolls!”

Being watched and watching back, from the window of a Starbucks in Shanghai.

This boldness on the part of many strangers in China, has given me an idea. I will strike up a one-for-one deal: you can take a picture of my kids, if I can take a picture of you. The only downside is that rather than ending up with a diverse range of interesting pictures of Chinese from all walks of life, like this:

I will end up with many, many pictures of young, friendly Chinese woman holding up two fingers, like this:

Vanished Places: Huambo (Nova Lisboa), Angola

Posted by expatlingo in Angola, places, spotted and tagged with , , , , , , ,

Huambo, known during Portuguese colonial times as “Nova Lisboa,” is close to the dead center of Angola. During the country’s war for independence (1961-1974) and civil war (1975-2002), it was very nearly obliterated as battle lines swept back and forth. Planners dreamt it would one day become Angola’s capital and after three decades of destruction, rough outlines of wide roads, parks and modern buildings could still be seen.

For a glimpse of the city as it was, take a look at this slide show of old photographs and postcards some nostalgic soul posted on You Tube:

In 2004, the streets of Huambo were just re-awakening. A few people walked with carrier bags, a group of kids chased hoops, and a handful of shops sold steeply priced bottled water and cigarettes to the development workers making their way into town. What had once been wide-tree lined boulevards (and the route of a famous racing circuit in the 1960s) were almost impassable. Nearly every building was pock-marked with signs of war or completely obliterated.

Half moonscape, half time capsule from the mid-20th century, one felt very acutely how fragile lives, places and times can be.

See here for a speed-read of the rough details of the conflict in Angola. For a great (if dated) in-depth read, pick up Karl Maier’s 1995 book, “Angola: Promises and Lies.” Available here (UK) and here (US).

Huambo today is apparently much re-built and re-populated.

Sore thumb: other side of the lens

Posted by expatlingo in Angola, lingo and tagged with , , , ,

Sticking out like a sore thumb, somewhere near Huambo, Angola (2004).

I formerly worked for a small NGO committed to alleviating rural poverty. This photo of my earnest, young, self surrounded by folks who’ve lived through decades of civil war, frankly, makes me cringe.

The photo below is the much more “glamorous”-”noble poor” shot typically found in Nat Geo and NGO fundraising web-sites. The picture looks “romantic,” but the author, who snapped this picture, (and five or so Western colleagues) were still there collectively sticking out like sore thumbs.