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...