Details: The points we trip over in life’s journey.

Details: The points we trip over in life’s journey. 

I wish I read a how-to book called “Live in harmony and pay attention to the details” because if I did, these last nine months would have been a smoother ride. That’s where the value of knowing the details comes in; unfortunately they are learned at the most inopportune time.

Here are two little details In Mozambique’s cultural that I wish I was aware of:

Undergarments are to be washed by the owner after you bathe and hung where no one can see them. If they are in public view they will be removed from the clothe line to some remote location. You will go without, until you need fresh lemons and go to pick one from the tree near the clothe line. (Undergarments are private items).

You can make a schedule; just do not put a time or date- numbers don’t work here.  It will happen when it happens, just keep it on your list. The city dentist will understand why it took you six hours to come to his office since the bus took 2 ½ hours to fill on a Wednesday. (Buses do not depart until they are filled to capacity).

Details of a harmonious life…..well at least I'm dancing to an new  rhyme .

With underwear on, so what if I trip?

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What does a dollar buy you in Mozambique?

What does a dollar buy you in Mozambique?

I gasped when I read the prompt from blogging abroad challenge on the topic for this week’s post; it is money. Money is a touchy topic, isn’t it? I am going to assume that 9 out of 10 of my readers are nodding yes. We all could use a bit more money to complete something or to purchase some wanted item. Now I am one that doesn’t think the world revolves around money, I think that our cultures often distort the value of money, and mine (American) is guilty of valuing tangible materials too high. The American culture has this wacky ambition to make as much money as possible, often our lives are unbalanced and those things need to balance it out can’t be purchased – like time. 

Sorry I got off the topic.That is there.  Here in Mozambique people are rich with time but need more money just for the basics.

What can you buy here for one dollar? Nothing.  The ladies at the market don’t take dollars.  They work for meticais. Okay so I will convert the costs from meticais to dollars and you will be surprised how inexpensive items are.  Let’s do food, a simple basic necessity that everyone can relate to.

Dust off your micro-economic books and remember the simple supply and demand theory; the price of the good is balanced with how many items there are and how many people want to buy it. Now, I live in an agricultural area and homes have enough land to grow produce to sell it at the market – supply is high; costs are relatively low.

COMMMON FOOD ITEMS	US $
3 mangos	$       0.25
1/2 dz rolls	$       0.75
1/2 dozen eggs	$       1.00
can of tuna	$       1.00
box of spaghetti	$       0.50
1 lb plum tomatoes	$       0.25
1 lb onions	$       0.25
bunch of green herbs	$       0.25
2 red apples imported	$       1.00
1 avocado	$       0.10
4 romaine lettuce  heads	$       0.25
1 lb of brown sugar	$       0.85
1 lb of sweet potatoes	$       0.50

Pretty inexpensive, right? Now that you have an idea of the cost converted into dollars, but people don’t make dollars here.  Therefore, it is inequitable information, unless you were eating in Mozambique.  Let’s see how much it costs my co-worker:

·         Employee of the Federal Health Care System

·         Equivalent to having an associate’s degree in nursing (LPN)

·         His income is $1,990 per year – 3x more than the gross  national statistics ($660)

·         His weekly income is approx. $45

DIET OF ONE DAY EST.
3 fruits	$        0.25
bread roll	$        0.05
3 eggs	$        0.25
Chicken & rice dinner	$        2.00
day total	$        2.55
av. week	$      17.85
wks income	$       45.00
% of income just on food	40%

In this simple scenario comparing the cost of living with this higher-income is alarming.

It is difficult for me to fathom how the unemployed / under-educated families survive. I see the results of low-literacy and malnutrition every day. Intuition tells me with continued training, influence, and foreign investments this generation of children will yield the results that we are all striving for. 

Let's hope I'm right.  http://bloggingabroad.org/blog-challenge

Thankful for my sisters.

My sisters call me a stranger stalker.  If I remember correctly it wasn’t a complement, but a warning for me to stay on task and stop talking to innocent by-standers.  Good thing my sisters are home minding their own business, because here my task requires some social stalking or rather people-pursuing.  I am in a daily hunt to make friends, anyone is welcome into my troupe, and the only criterion is that they too have to be open to new behaviors.  

Here in Mozambique, and specifically at my site, the people are warm hearted and welcoming. So far this has shown true across sexes, social status, educational level, and ages (except from 12-24 month -olds, many start to cry when they see me followed by an apology from the mother saying the baby is not used to my color).    

My walk to and from work is a delightful “people-pursing” excursion. When I arrived In August it appeared that everyone was rubber-necking to look at me. When our eyes meet my hand would immediately go up in a wave and they would depict a real smile and a nod with a polite greeting. This continued for the first two months.  Then in October I would start to hear my name or “Bom-dia,  tia” ( Good morning, aunt) along with some advice like : “You need an umbrella”, “ You need to eat more”, “ I will find you a husband.”  In December I found myself stopping to chat often and being asked medical questions.  My answers always start with: “Humm, did you go to the hospital?  Walk with me and we will talk to the nurse”.   Sometimes I answer in a rather nagging tone when I hear that they have had a condition for months and have not look into it.

So now I am completing my sixth month residing in this small community;  I have friendly neighbors, my name rings out,  and people walk with me.  Cars stop immediately when I hitch- hike, and it seems like I’ve started a popular response to the heat – “…it’s going to kill me”,  followed by giggles.

This “people pursing” skill has dovetailed into the culture here, and the feedback is always pleasant.  I’m not a new bird anymore so now I need to meet expectations; going to funerals, teaching English, visiting on the weekends, and answering questions like “Where did you disappeared to?”  (I realized last week after going to the dentist, that I’m still a topic of conversation when someone I didn’t talk to asked me if my tooth was pulled out).

Privacy and time is the price that I have had to pay-back for wanted to assimilate as much as possible into this intriguing adventure.  It has been worth every frown from my loving sisters, Rose and Joann, who still worry about me (or perhaps the people I talk to).   

My good friends, neighbors, and landlords.

XO    

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Amazing what a piece of cloth can do.

 I never knew what an important mark capolanas are in the Mozambican cultural.  A capolana is a cotton cloth about 2 meters by 1 meter and is as common as salt in every Mozambican household today.  

Capolanas have been in Mozambique since the establishment of the Arab/Indian trade routes in the 19^th century. It was received from Indian traders as a means of trade for other goods. The cloth replaced the traditionally-used animal skins, common early designs included suns, leopards, lions, and other geometric designs. Today these designs include large printed motifs and bright bold colors, and I have seen many with the face of Mozambique’s President Nyusi. 

The brightly colored modern capolanas strike every corner of my villa. They are used in a variety of ways - they represent kinship, social class, and even a gift to name a few I have learned so far.

As a garment for woman the wardrobe from everyday casual-wear for shopping, to household cleaning wraps, or even careful tailored for special events. Many women wrap the matching fabric into a beautiful tunic on her head to complete the outfit.  Men and children are also seen wearing fabrics as shirts or dresses. They are also tailored for groups representing themselves as a unit; examples are church choirs or families at a wedding party.

Preparing to come here I was under the impression that these sarongs were just used for clothing, arriving here I have learned differently. 

It is not just clothing here, it is a practical tool used in a variety of ways with cultural tradition. Capolanas are often offered as gifts to women, it’s the design that expresses the gratitude from the giver. It has a practical function as well, old capolanas are used carrying heavy loads, or wrapping collected sticks together. They are used in initiation rituals, to carry babies; to cover the deceased, to decorate the house, and in a past generation in the North, it was used by women depending how it was laid out on the bed, as a non-verbal consult between married couples to have intercourse.

I never knew a simple rectangular piece of fabric could be so integrally worn into a cultural for over two centuries until I came to Mozambique.

The capolana is also used in different countries; Kenya, West Africa, Congo, and Senegal, as well as Brazil. 

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Minha casa e sua casa

Here is a little update on my home here in Magude, Mozambique. It’s been 5 months of setting up house and I’m content with my dwelling. Welcome:

Let me begin with the necessities:  the bathroom. I was ecstatic I had one that was an indoor, had a toilet, a bathing area, and running water.  Unfortunately the water is scarce and only flows during brief time periods (one hour lately); hence the plastic tubs – which are filled daily. The water system is a quandary for everyone that has access; it seems that aside from rain shortage, it also depends on electricity which has its own conundrum. It’s a riddle sometimes, “Where does the water go when the electricity is taking a nap? A: To the upper bunk”.

My kitchen area is a refrigerator and a table with a gas burner. That’s sufficient, except for the lack of sink which accounts for the plastic tubs. It’s a slight set-back but I manage.

My armoire took some creativity and I am happy with the results. Cement blocks and boards for shelves. The bed is covered with a mosquito net to avoid getting Malaria.

The same cinder block design is used for my pantry in my living room/kitchen. One big happy room.

One interesting thing has been using the traditional capolanas as table linen, covers, and wall decorations.  Here woman use these as part of their attire around their waste to both formal events, informal routines and as an apron home. I have still not made the grade with tying it and it will take some time before I can figure out the lovely hair wrap technique.

This is my basket holder. With the sandy roads that’s all it is used for.

This is Pluto who likes me too much.

This has been a great abode to rest while I’m on this adventure.  xo

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Why am I doing this?

Here I sit eight months after I have arrived here in Mozambique and I’m asked by Blogging Abroad Boot Camp Challenge the heavy “Why are you doing this?” topic to write about.  Just thinking about answering I am reminded of raising two inquisitive children and answering “Because I said so”.

But who was that “I” that told me to do this venture? Was it the destiny of fate? My résumé? My stance on contributing to bettering lives? Is it my passion to travel and view different cultures? Or is it inner voice pushing me as I get older to complete the “To Do List”? 

Those are all part of the answer and I’m glad I listened to all those reasons. Working abroad as a Peace Corps volunteer was the fit for that itch I was carrying my whole life. 

"The toughest job you'll ever love." has held the truth so far.

To be fair to ying and yang the feeling of yearning makes us all question why we chose to be away from our homes. I must admit it has been difficult not to be closer to 

my children and family. It gives me some comfort knowing that Christian and Alycia are doing well in college pursuing that voice within them as well. This is part of Parent Leadership with a few pangs in the heart.

So in summary “why am I here?” My answer is - there is more gratification in the present term of “why” than the past term of “why didn’t you?”   xo

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