my digits...

Hello!

I also have a phone number in Mozambique: 258-84-580-3834.

Getting ready to watch the USA match and then go to the fish market for dinner with a gang of 15. Should have stories and pictures...

Atye logo. ciao!

Multos de suma de orjo

And, I can pretty much guarantee that it's not spelled correctly. The multos de suma de orjo are a crew of cats in Maputo who like to watch the Mambas, the Mozambique national team, and football at all times. Tom has been inducted into the crew - which probably means that I will see very little of him during the World Cup. It is what it is. The ceremony involved a lot of palm pressing and a trip to "En Contendor" a bar fashioned from an old railway container in an area of town near the barackas, fruit/veggie stands, an all types of other shops that get broken down and emptied each night.

We've been watching the games at different places in town; and since the cup is in S. Africa, the goal is to keep the title in Africa. Whenever an African team plays, you can hear the vuvuzellas (duck-sounding plastic horns) all over town. Hawkers try to sell pirated jerseys, scarves, flags, and anything else that relates to the cup. Bars are full. People are drinking 2Ms, Laurentina Prietas and Laurentina Claras. Spirits are high, and it's impossible not to get caught up in the magic.

Mozambique is socialist, so the local pub of preference is subsidized for members of the teaching profession who live near by. This means that the building next to the bar is reserved for teachers, at a lower rent, because it's quite expensive to live in the capital. Although the bar is next to the professor-apartments, and frequented by teachers, it is not reserved for them alone; all members of society can benefit from the subsidies. There are no taxes on the drinks and they are, in fact, much cheaper. What teacher hasn't wanted to open a nice cold beer after a long day? Now, you can go to Mundos Dois and have several, and be rewarded by the government for your service to the youth of the nation. That sounds about right to me. On Saturday Brad and Tom walked into Mundos Dois and people thought they were Bulgarian. Here's a picture of Bradski (different bar, same shirt) watching the USA-England match.

Incidentally, the only non-socialist developing country I've ever visited is Thailand. As such, my view of development is probably skewed. One day...

The incident...

Sunday morning, a little hazy from Saturday, we went for a walk with Hannah, another volunteer consultant on Tom's project. While walking past this crumbling colonial building in the older part of the city we got stopped by a few police officers asking to see our papers. It is illegal to walk around town without a certified copy of your passport and visa. Well, I arrived on Friday afternoon and the U.S. Embassy was closed until Monday. I did not have my papers nor do I like to walk around with my passport. I had my Louisiana driver's license.

Hannah continued with her walk and Tom and I tried to talk to the officer, whose knowledge of English was fluent compared to our knowledge of Portugese. He told me I would need to spend 24-hours at the police station, and my voice cracked and tears welled up as I pleaded with him to just take us to the hotel where I could show him my passport and visa. He then tried to extort an unreasonable sum of money from us when a Mozambiquian journalist walked by and asked if everything was OK in perfect English. We were obviously distressed, and he really saved the day.

Because Tom and I are married, and he had working papers, I did not have to go to the police station nor did we have to pay any money. My LA license came in handy as it proved that Tom and I are married, with the same last name. Phew!~ The incident ended with the officer asking us to "Go in peace." We did, happily, and I promised that first thing Monday morning I would go get my papers.

At this point, I never leave home without them.

After a few hours I was calm and very happy not to be in jail. We went for a walk in the French part of the city, as the train station, located near the Franco-Mozambiquan cultural center, was designed by Monsieur Eiffel. Yes, THE Monsieur Eiffel. I am off to explore the cultural center today, after a long walk in the city this morning.

Tom's work is going quite well, despite initial confusion regarding the direction of the project. Turns out it's much more ambitious than originally planned, and a great experience for him. He's going to spend about 10 days in the field, and because the cost of the apartment is much lower than the hotel - it is not a problem for us to keep the apartment and I can even go into the field as well. This is good news, as you have to see the provincial cities and villages to really understand the entire country.

We move into the apt. on June 20. We head to the World Cup from the 23-26 June. We go to the field on the 28th, I think. Details yet to come...

Internet at the hotel is not ideal, but we'll have a connection and greater access to skype from the apartment. ~xo~

Journalista e Italiano

Tom planned a great first weekend in Africa for me. I arrived on Friday about 15h30. After we returned to the hotel we set out to get a feel for our immediate neighborhood.

The hotel is a few blocks from Brad and Tina's apartment and is in a bustling, residential part of the city. Brad met us after work for a few beers and then Tom and I went to dinner ourselves at a small outdoor cafe frequented by local print journalists, called "The Journalista." Grilled chicken is a speciality in Mozambique, and one of the most delicious things I've eaten yet. We split a grilled bird served with chips (fries) and piri (chile sauce). Piri is available at EVERY restaurant in the city and The Journalista has, without a doubt, the spiciest piri I've tasted. After spending so much time in Thailand and Laos I thought I could handle some spicy food - but I was wrong. This piri was so intense I could barely touch a piece of chicken in it and my lips were burning. The bird itself was juicy and charred in all the right places. This country really knows how to prepare a good bird.

The next morning we went for a walk along the Indian Ocean and wandered our way thorough streets named after socialist or revolutionary leaders in Africa and throughout the world. Lenin, Mao, Ho Chi Minh, Patrice Lumumba, Kenneth Kaunda, among many others, are scattered in with streets and avenues named after important dates in Mozambiquian history like 24 Julio and 25 de Setembro. This initial walk proved that I know very little about Mozambique. After our two months here, I hope that changes!

The evening was great. Tom planned a surprise sunset cocktail at a hotel overlooking the bay and then dinner at a delicious Italian restaurant. The picture you see is of Saturday night, at about 17h30. Because it is winter, the sky is nearly black at six. Another advantage of the season and our tolerance of "cool" weather is that we were the only people sitting outside at the restaurant. We had a private veranda, with nearly the same view, for several hours. Incidentally, the food was amazing. We cannot find an Italian restaurant like this in New Orleans, as those tend to have a Creole-Southern Italian flair. In other words, we will definitely go back there before we head home!

Hotel Terminus..

is where we'll be until June 20 when we move into the apartment. Room 207.

http://www.terminus.co.mz/

Could definitely get used to this! Here's a picture of the mural just outside of the lobby on the way to the pool, one of my favorite things about the hotel.

Maputo

Tom arrived in Maputo today and sounds great.

As for me - I don't remember the last time I woke up this excited on a Monday. I leave on Wednesday; Friday I'll land in a new city, on a new continent, and get to see Tom! It will be a Happy Friday indeed!

If you need to talk to him, you can always skype his cell: 258842725544.

Gearing up...

OK - as I procrastinate my last day of grading exams until August I am starting to get very excited about the upcoming trip to Maputo. And, in honor of Jen and her request for me to keep up this blog as we travel this summer, I just decided to gear it up early. (Just one of many things I've done today to avoid sitting at the table and grading papers.)

After a great weekend in Austin for John and Johanna's wedding on May 15, Tom spent a night in NYC and headed to Nairobi for a "Lighting Africa" conference. This was a very fruitful trip for him and we are hopeful that it will result in funding for his own dissertation research. He's now in Kampala and I am kicking myself for not forcing him to take the camera. He has provided good descriptions, but I would like to see the mosque at sunset from the balcony of his hotel room. It is what it is - or as Charles would say, "It isn't what it isn't." And there isn't a photo!

Tom's turned into a global traveler after he finished his comprehensive exams in February, spending a month in Karachi before setting off on his African adventure. Incidentally, after a month in Karachi and being confined to his hotel, he is very excited to take long walks in the city and even drink a few beers - two things that were impossible in Pakistan. He sounds good - and I'm very glad. Tomorrow marks the first day of meetings in Kampala and he'll schedule when he will travel to the villages to formalize the research study. Good stuff, indeed.

I've got just over a week left to pack and get the house ready for Eddie. Travel innoculations in check, new glasses to be picked up this week, clean bill of health from my doctor... and all is well. I just have to sit through a week of professional development meetings at the end of the school year. There is something seriously wrong with PD at the end of the year, but that's a subject for a whole different blog.

More soon...