Well, I'm well into my second week here. It feels like I've been here longer, but not in a bad way. The time has been full, but full in an African way, not an American way. If you've lived in Africa, you know the difference I mean. It hasn't been a booked scheduled of running here and there, but it has been busy nonetheless. Portuguese lessons haven't gone as I planned. Mom and Dad have been faithful, but I've already missed two lessons.
I arrived in Mozambique pretty tired, and when jet lag, incredibly high pollen and dust counts, migraines, and two mosquito bites in an uncommon time for mosquitoes, are all added in, I feel pretty drained. I'm not quite sure what is wrong with me, but it's not awful and Mom is a great nurse. I'll be fine in no time.
I still managed to get to quite a few things with Mom and Dad. I've been on fruit market expeditions, sewing classes, lectures, spare tire hunting, grocery shopping, and by now...I still feel lost in this city. It is rather confusing. I'm impressed that my parents have learned their way around without knowing most street names! I had to laugh when they were speaking with another American here, asking Melanie where Mom could buy cloth for her sewing class. The directions were entirely landmark based, including a "blue shop," Melanie's office, and the grocery store. The funniest part was when they realized that there was more than one "blue shop" in the city! Most buildings here are painted a faded yellow, so a blue shopfront does stand out.
Everyone has been really sweet. Many people I have met have spoken a bit of English and most are keen to learn more. A conversation doesn't get very far, and I often find myself wishing I could learn Portuguese more quickly. I have found that I can follow a slow conversation in Portuguese and get the gist of it, thanks to the Spanish I know. However, Portuguese pronunciation is very different. I struggle with the sounds of the words more than remembering the vocabulary. My parents have taken to introducing me in Portuguese. I rather like being called Esperança. Most faces light up when they hear me being introduced with a Portuguese name.
There are so many lovely people here. I've had fun seeing the little kids, mesmerized by these strange looking people, sneak up to Mom and I. Mom said she had one little girl try to rub her skin to see if the paleness was real. The women have been very friendly as well. We've made conversation as best we can, between various bits of English and Portuguese.
It is winter now. The temperatures have been in the 60s and 70s. The hot water in our shower has to be used with caution, because it boils in the water tank during the day. With a winter this mild, this is a growing season. Mango trees, among others, are in blossom. Fresh fruit is easy to come by. Mom and I were at the market the other day and we saw pawpaws the size of my head. We've had pineapple, watermelon, and avocado aplenty.
And it's Ramadan now. There are about four mosques in this city, one not too far away. If the windows are open, we can hear the call to prayer.
I love how life goes on around everyone's personal lives. Last week, Dad needed to get a spare tire for their vehicle. The other tire had been punctured a while back on a trip in the bush. We went to several different places before finding a place with better quality for at least the same price as the poor quality ones. Dad needed to bring the vehicle in before lunch because in the afternoon, the manager would be at the mosque. And Dad needed to bring the vehicle in before or after our language lesson. And so, a time was worked out that would accommodate both schedules. No appointment formally scheduled, no contact details exchanged, nothing written down.
We have several pets at the moment. Truvia is a tiny little gecko who is migrating through the house. He earned his name because he is smaller than a packet of truvia sweetener. He does have a much larger brother (as yet unnamed) who lives in the ceiling and sometimes creeps down through the tiles to say hello. There are a few stray cats who wander through the yard and enjoy taking a nap on the chairs on the patio. And of course, we have at least one big, flat spider. I don't know what they are called (I attempted to ask Mr. Google for their name, but a search resulted with WAY too many pictures of spiders for me to sort through), but they live on the walls for the most part and eat mosquitoes. Mom always refused to remove them from my bedroom as a child, reminding me that they would eat the mosquitoes and for that reason, they should be considered friends.
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