Lipelile!! (good evening in Changane)
What’s up? I hear the weather is getting better and better over there! It was about time huh? ;)
Here I can finally wear the bunch of long sleeves I brought with me, supposedly “to protect myself from mosquitoes in the evening”; but the truth is that it’s getting a bit more chilly at night!
Ok, here goes another one of those updates I know you have been craving for…right!? ;) This time I promise I am going to keep it nice and concise, although, as you may know already, it is not one of my strongest points…not even while interviewing…(sigh). But at least I can partly blame that on the whole interpreting process…:-)
So, I just came back from my fourth trip to Chibuto and I can proudly say that I’m starting to get a good feel of what life’s like there. Not only am I getting used to my daily outside-bucket-of-water-showers, latrine-toilet, cockroach pets (one even managed to get trapped in my mosquito net and crawled over me, ieuuuh) and regular electricity cuts, but I’m also accepting (there is no other option than to do so) people’s slow pace and way of life.
Some Chibuto rituals are that, in the mornings, I usually wake up at around 06.00/06.30 a.m. with my “natural alarm clock” …a true orchestra of roosters! After these lovely natural sounds, I start hearing loud hip hop/R&B and rap songs coming out of my neighbours houses....so I could actually be dancing in the shower if I felt like it! A pretty nasty habit though, is that we burn our trash! Since the waste collection services of the Municipality do not reach our neighbourhood (which is actually 25 de Junho, the one I am studying)...we have to dig a hole, dump our trash in it and light the whole thing on fire...sorry mother nature, forgive us!
Anyway, research-wise, I really enjoy talking to the locals…it’s a really interesting experience and I’m learning a lot from it! I’ve continued doing some one-on-one interviews at the household level, but also some more focus group discussions (which are sooooo time consuming to transcribe!). Some women even said that they were happy to have had the group conversation, because they had actually learnt something out of it (have I unconsciously done some “action research”?). For example, some didn’t know that they too have the right to register their land in their names. It’s also striking that, whenever I ask about what they see as their rights, they all (both men and women) start to talk about having a job and good working conditions (especially with respect to their “machambas” or farms). This is of course an important right, but they can’t really think of other basic human rights, such as the right to education, the right to participate as a citizen, etc. Only when I suggest these options, they say “yesss…that is also our right”!
Another thing that struck me is that so many people just die in families. Whenever I ask about the household structure, it is really normal that one or two sons or daughters of the head of household have already passed away and that they themselves are raising the little children of their passed away sons or daughters. Apart from that, apparently one in four people is infected with HIV/AIDS….and I heard that Chibuto (District) has been seeing some cases of cholera. Oh oh! This makes me extra careful with water, washing hands, etc! Also, so many people are living without real jobs…they just live off of their subsistence agriculture and are happy if they can get money to buy water. Whenever the women get water, they often go to the “fontenárias” or wells at 02.00 a.m. in the morning, to wait in line and to come back at around 06.00 a.m. Sometimes they don’t even manage to get water. Apparently the Municipality is trying to fix the problem of water, but the population doesn’t even want to know anything about it anymore…they are sick and tired of complaining and not seeing any progress. This is also why they sometimes say that it is not worth participating actively in the popular neighbourhood meetings…because speaking out loud or keeping your mouth shut doesn’t matter; the result is the same. Another reason for not participating actively, is that the citizens are afraid to be seen in a negative light…they don’t want to be put on a “black list” and risk not getting anything done anymore by the Municipality. Next to the living off of subsistence culture, a lot of male citizens from Chibuto go to South Africa to work in the mines…as such, I always see a lot of South African number plates in Chibuto.
Anyway, during my stay in Chibuto I spent a day at the beach of Xai Xai (with Gracey and Abby,) which is the capital of Gaza province. This has actually been my first beach trip in Mozambique and it was very nice indeed! The chapa ride to Xai Xai was not so nice though...it even crossed my mind that this could have been my “last chapa ride ever”! The chapa driver was racing like crazy, overtaking another chapa on places where you should not overtake...but I guess they were racing for passengers along the road or something. Well, I did collect some nice shells on the beach and I bought a cute shell necklace from this little kid! But maybe I’ll make another beach trip soon, to the town of Vilankulos…the only thing is that it takes almost a day to get there from Chibuto…and obviously another day to come back. But apparently there are lovely, turquoise-ocean-beaches over there…which makes it very attractive to go. My American roommates are going for some Peace Corps event, and they invited me to come along….shall I, shall I not…shall I, shall I not…?! What do you say?
Uhmmm, I also spent the national holiday “Dia da Mulher” in Chibuto (on the 7th of April), organized by the OMM (Organização da Mulher Moçambicana). This date is the day on which Josina Machel died. She is a real national heroine, because she was a prominent freedom fighter. She was the wife of Samora Machel (the first president of independent Mozambique). It was really nice to accompany these festivities. At first the Governor put some flowers in Chibuto’s park, named after Josina Machel. Then there was a march up to the Bairro 3 of the city and some new classrooms were inaugurated. Then a lot of groups held speeches, danced/played music and did some acts on domestic violence, etc. (see facebook pictures).
Ok, I know, limited space is left….When I returned to Maputo on Friday, I went straight to the Moçambique Jazz Festival. Unfortunately the show only started at 10.00 p.m., while I was already there at 07.00 p.m. with Anna. Apparently there was some technical problem. Next to that, it took the organization / artists about an hour between each performance, to change instruments, etc.! Typical…hehehe The next day (last Saturday) I first went crazy on the crafts market (bought a capulana dress, bag, some bracelets and earrings, eheheheh) and also bought some Mozambican cds (Shopaholic? Me? Naaaahhh) and then later on we went again to the Jazz Festival. We saw a couple of Mozambican bands, playing some Marrabenta (national music style) and jazzy sounds…but also some American bands and a South African guy called Hugh Masekela…the crowd really went crazy during his performance! I must say that he did steal the show…he had some funny dance moves (reminded me a bit of Bill Cosby…the dancing part I mean). On Easter Sunday I had lunch with the family I stayed with the two first weeks. It was really good…some nice Portuguese dishes and even some Indian (Goan) food. In the evening I went to Núcleo de Arte with a group of people to hear the usual live music…that was a lot of live music for one weekend…lots of trumpets and saxophones!
This week I’m staying the whole week in Maputo, because I am elaborating another question list and also doing some interviews here. I must admit that coming back to Maputo is kinda nice! :-)
Ok, have a good evening everyone and I’ll get back to you soon. Check out my pics:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=113352&id=566821030&l=c1519ea4c9
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=113366&id=566821030&l=5765faeeb3
Beijinhos!
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Sunday, March 29, 2009
"Mulongo & Mulandi"
Hi Guys!! Tudo bem?
So far, so maningue nice up here…;) Or should I say down here?
Anyway, time has been flying! I’ve been in Mozambique for almost 6 weeks now! Still two more months of research to go!
So here goes a little (or maybe big, can’t predict it yet) update on my past few days in Chibuto. I also just came back from a safari trip to Swaziland!!
So, on Wednesday the 18th, I was off to Chibuto again for a third visit! I got up very early in the morning to be at the chapa “terminal” at 06:00 a.m. After finally having found the right chapa going to Chibuto, I waited….and waited….and waited…for the bloody vehicle to depart!! Let’s say that I have waited for more than 3 hours before we left Maputo! I could have been in Chibuto by that time! The thing is, the chapas do not leave until they are filled up with people. And since it had been raining that night…I guess people were a bit hesitant to be travelling. My patience is really being tested out here heheh.
Anyway, the rain also interrupted some of my activities in Chibuto, because on Wednesday afternoon I had agreed to “be introduced” to Bairro 3 da cidade, by the local leaders…but because of the rain, only a few people showed up. Well, I did get my message across (i.e. the objective of my research and how I was going to organize it) and I even made an appointment with the “secretário do bairro”, Mr. Mawai, to organize a focus group discussion with some women of the bairro. He would arrange the women…it was no problem! If only I would buy him a bottle of “Amarula”…hmmmm! By the way, don’t ask me about the representativeness of the women’s group or about any possible biased outcomes….practice proves it difficult to organize things entirely by yourself so any help is very welcome! :D
The next couple of days I mostly did some in depth interviews in Bairro 3, to get a bit of a feeling of what is going on in the lives of the locals….are they actively participating in the local neighborhood reunions? How do they evaluate local service provision? How did they acquire their lands and are they registered? Etc. I also managed to interview some municipal staff again and some people from NGOs/local institutions, but my visit to Chibuto coincided with a visit of the Governor of Gaza Province…so everybody was quite busy with that!
At some point, I suddenly bumped into another “white”girl….yeah, a real other white girl in Chibuto! It was not a misleading albino African (of which I have been seeing quite a lot!), but an American girl, Gracey, working for the Peace Corps! That was quite a shocking surprise! We exchanged numbers and met up later that day, when I also met her housemate, Abbey, also a Peace Corps volunteer! They have been in Chibuto since December and are staying for a total period of 2 years!!! Respect! Anyway, they live in a really cute house near the secondary school and they’ve put quite a lot of effort into making it a nice, cozy and homely place. They even have a cool cat, called Chispa! One of the most “laid back” cats I have ever seen…must be Mozambican style! So it was really nice meeting them…AND….they even offered me to stay with them at their place! And that’s exactly what I’m going to do, because I wasn’t really liking the place where I had moved to…Fatima’s place. She seemed nice at first, but I have the impression that she was kind of exploiting me (asking for more and more money every time)! And I couldn’t really get used to her and her daughter’s life style…it was even irritating at times. I didn’t really mind living with a lack of water, taking showers with buckets and the few power cuts now and then…but they have an “empregada” that was like eating and sleeping on the ground…a bit slave like to me! I thought that period was over? Anyway, sooo, next week I’ll move in with the American girls and Chispa! It’s gonna be fun!
Hmmm, what else is there to tell? So I had my very first focus group discussion with about 10 women! I didn’t think I could pull it off…but I just gave it a shot. Salmina and I had brought drinks and a home-made cake with us…and chatted for about two hours with the women, sitting on some capulanas on the central square. Unfortunately the group dynamic was not fantastic…one woman mostly initiated the talking and the rest seemed to agree. Next to that, there was quite a lot of background noise, i.e. babies, children, music, some irritating construction works, etc. I have some pictures of the whole thing, see facebook! I still have to transcribe most of the focus group discussion though…and since it’s in Changane (and with the background noise), it’s going to be a real long and painfully process, I guess, to transcribe. Luckily Salmina already translated some parts during the conversation! I’m planning on doing 3 more focus groups…so a total of 2 groups in each neighborhood: both a women and a men group!
Another nice research related activity is that I could assist this year’s first Municipal Assembly meeting, where the new Government’s 5 year plan was going to be presented and approved (or not). The Assembly is supposed to represent the interests of the local population, so I was really curious what that would all be about. The president of the Municipal Council practically read the whole document out loud and it seems quite ambitious to me! Some objectives do need some clarification though; I wonder how they are going to tackle some of the issues! It was also good to “observe” that about 40% of the members were women. Too bad some only speak Changane…so I couldn’t understand what one lady was saying and Salmina was not with me!
Then, on one of the last days of my stay in Chibuto, I was finally introduced to the bairro “25 de Junho”. This “official” introduction was postponed because of the Governor’s visit. I was actually expecting to be welcomed by 15 people or so (the most important local leaders), but when I arrived there…more and more people seemed to be coming. And especially women!!! At one point I roughly counted 100 people, all gathered under the big, central, shady tree. The women even started to sing and dance for me! I felt very welcome! Then, I said what I had to say, and of course Salmina translated for me. They were very happy with my arrival and even sang a song about that, I believe…and here and there the women shouted “Partido FRELIMO…aiii aiiiii!!!!!” and then “OMM….aiiii aiiiii!!!” (FRELIMO, the Liberation Front of Mozambique, being the leading political party of Mozambique and OMM being the Mozambican Organization for Women, set up by FRELIMO).
On Friday the 27th I took an early chapa back to Maputo. It was again not my lucky chapa day, because the chapa I had arranged to go with, was being blocked by some driver’s association people. Since this chapa had “fixed” clients and didn’t operate according to the principle of waiting in line at the market to fill up the chapa with people, these “blockers” argued that my chapa was stealing clients. So in the end I managed to sneak my way into another chapa, that nicely cruised over the EN1 to Maputo.
I must say that my research is slowly progressing, which feels good! But on the other hand, I sometimes have no clue if I’m really doing the right thing…asking the right questions, etc. I feel like I need a bit more focus in the next couple of weeks. And I have to figure out how the hell I am going to get my sample from the two neighborhoods, since a decent, detailed map of the neighborhoods does not seem to exist. Hopefully UN-HABITAT can help me out on that one! And I might need to find myself more assistants!
Also nice to know, is that my Changane vocabulary is slowly expanding. For example, “mulongo” means white and “mulandi” means black, hehehehe. How basic and cliché! Apparently lots of people have been calling me mulongo, without me noticing it! Or they say: “Look! A mulungo and a mulandi!”, when Salmina and I are walking by! Hehe I’m gonna pay more attention next time! ;)
OK, I’ll try to keep my Swazi adventure short! Yesterday morning I departed with Anna to Hlane Royal National Park. The trip to Swaziland was quite quick…some 3.5 hours, crossing the border at Namaacha (Mozambique)/Lomahasha (Swaziland). The area around the boarder is really pretty and mountainous. In fact, Namaacha is a region where some of Mozambique’s mineral water comes from. Upon arrival, we had some coffee, settled into our cottage, had lunch and then went on a mountain biking tour around the bush….in the boiling sun! Our guide on the tour was called “Africa”…isn’t that the best name for a safari tour guide?!? Heheh I love it! But the bike trip was more exhausting than we had thought! And don’t laugh at the pics…I look ridiculous with that helmet on! Heheh We mostly saw some impalas and a couple of nyalas while biking. The scenery was pretty amazing though! Lots of trees are dead, because the elephants eat the trunk…which causes the tree to die! Then later on, at 04.00 p.m., we did a sunset safari tour….really exciting!! My first safari ever! And we saw quite some animals: white rhinos, a lion, some elephants, giraffes, impalas, wildhogs, etc. And the sunset was amazing. I really enjoyed the whole experience. Later on we had dinner at the park and at 08.00 p.m. we assisted a traditional Swazi dance show! Then we took our bottle of South African wine back to our cottage, to finish it under the amazing sky full of stars…we seriously sat there for about 1.5 hours…hypnotized by the beautiful and almost surreal milky way. We also saw quite a few shooting stars! The next morning we got up early to go on the 06.00 a.m. safari walking tour! Africa told us about all the important rules and guidelines…in case of danger etc. It was, again, pretty exciting. At first, we mostly walked on the paths, but at some point we also went straight into the bush. We learned about the trees, birds, animal trails, animal dung (hehe), etc. We saw again some white rhinos, giraffes, hippos, impalas, wildhogs, and some birds and insects and even a turtle! At one point, while observing the turtle, we heard some sudden movements in the bushes and Africa had this shocked expression on his face, wanting to run for his life. It could very well have been an elephant about to attack us…..but no, luckily only some wildhogs were passing by. During the walking tour we also heard the lions growling. I don’t mind that we didn’t see them this time ;).
After the tour we had breakfast, checked out and embarked upon our trip back to Maputo.
So now you are updated again on how I have spent my past two weeks. I hope you’ve had the patience to read the story...and otherwise, tough luck ;) I can’t put it in any other way than my way…which is the loooong way ;)
Oh and thanx for the messages you guys have been sending me! Really nice!
Next time: more news on my research progress in Chibuto. I’m planning on leaving again next Wednesday.
Beijinhos!
PICTURES ON FACEBOOK:
Chibuto: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=109370&id=566821030&l=1883da3be3
Swaziland: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=109383&id=566821030&l=b14f3d78bd
AND: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=109418&id=566821030&l=637576e882
So far, so maningue nice up here…;) Or should I say down here?
Anyway, time has been flying! I’ve been in Mozambique for almost 6 weeks now! Still two more months of research to go!
So here goes a little (or maybe big, can’t predict it yet) update on my past few days in Chibuto. I also just came back from a safari trip to Swaziland!!
So, on Wednesday the 18th, I was off to Chibuto again for a third visit! I got up very early in the morning to be at the chapa “terminal” at 06:00 a.m. After finally having found the right chapa going to Chibuto, I waited….and waited….and waited…for the bloody vehicle to depart!! Let’s say that I have waited for more than 3 hours before we left Maputo! I could have been in Chibuto by that time! The thing is, the chapas do not leave until they are filled up with people. And since it had been raining that night…I guess people were a bit hesitant to be travelling. My patience is really being tested out here heheh.
Anyway, the rain also interrupted some of my activities in Chibuto, because on Wednesday afternoon I had agreed to “be introduced” to Bairro 3 da cidade, by the local leaders…but because of the rain, only a few people showed up. Well, I did get my message across (i.e. the objective of my research and how I was going to organize it) and I even made an appointment with the “secretário do bairro”, Mr. Mawai, to organize a focus group discussion with some women of the bairro. He would arrange the women…it was no problem! If only I would buy him a bottle of “Amarula”…hmmmm! By the way, don’t ask me about the representativeness of the women’s group or about any possible biased outcomes….practice proves it difficult to organize things entirely by yourself so any help is very welcome! :D
The next couple of days I mostly did some in depth interviews in Bairro 3, to get a bit of a feeling of what is going on in the lives of the locals….are they actively participating in the local neighborhood reunions? How do they evaluate local service provision? How did they acquire their lands and are they registered? Etc. I also managed to interview some municipal staff again and some people from NGOs/local institutions, but my visit to Chibuto coincided with a visit of the Governor of Gaza Province…so everybody was quite busy with that!
At some point, I suddenly bumped into another “white”girl….yeah, a real other white girl in Chibuto! It was not a misleading albino African (of which I have been seeing quite a lot!), but an American girl, Gracey, working for the Peace Corps! That was quite a shocking surprise! We exchanged numbers and met up later that day, when I also met her housemate, Abbey, also a Peace Corps volunteer! They have been in Chibuto since December and are staying for a total period of 2 years!!! Respect! Anyway, they live in a really cute house near the secondary school and they’ve put quite a lot of effort into making it a nice, cozy and homely place. They even have a cool cat, called Chispa! One of the most “laid back” cats I have ever seen…must be Mozambican style! So it was really nice meeting them…AND….they even offered me to stay with them at their place! And that’s exactly what I’m going to do, because I wasn’t really liking the place where I had moved to…Fatima’s place. She seemed nice at first, but I have the impression that she was kind of exploiting me (asking for more and more money every time)! And I couldn’t really get used to her and her daughter’s life style…it was even irritating at times. I didn’t really mind living with a lack of water, taking showers with buckets and the few power cuts now and then…but they have an “empregada” that was like eating and sleeping on the ground…a bit slave like to me! I thought that period was over? Anyway, sooo, next week I’ll move in with the American girls and Chispa! It’s gonna be fun!
Hmmm, what else is there to tell? So I had my very first focus group discussion with about 10 women! I didn’t think I could pull it off…but I just gave it a shot. Salmina and I had brought drinks and a home-made cake with us…and chatted for about two hours with the women, sitting on some capulanas on the central square. Unfortunately the group dynamic was not fantastic…one woman mostly initiated the talking and the rest seemed to agree. Next to that, there was quite a lot of background noise, i.e. babies, children, music, some irritating construction works, etc. I have some pictures of the whole thing, see facebook! I still have to transcribe most of the focus group discussion though…and since it’s in Changane (and with the background noise), it’s going to be a real long and painfully process, I guess, to transcribe. Luckily Salmina already translated some parts during the conversation! I’m planning on doing 3 more focus groups…so a total of 2 groups in each neighborhood: both a women and a men group!
Another nice research related activity is that I could assist this year’s first Municipal Assembly meeting, where the new Government’s 5 year plan was going to be presented and approved (or not). The Assembly is supposed to represent the interests of the local population, so I was really curious what that would all be about. The president of the Municipal Council practically read the whole document out loud and it seems quite ambitious to me! Some objectives do need some clarification though; I wonder how they are going to tackle some of the issues! It was also good to “observe” that about 40% of the members were women. Too bad some only speak Changane…so I couldn’t understand what one lady was saying and Salmina was not with me!
Then, on one of the last days of my stay in Chibuto, I was finally introduced to the bairro “25 de Junho”. This “official” introduction was postponed because of the Governor’s visit. I was actually expecting to be welcomed by 15 people or so (the most important local leaders), but when I arrived there…more and more people seemed to be coming. And especially women!!! At one point I roughly counted 100 people, all gathered under the big, central, shady tree. The women even started to sing and dance for me! I felt very welcome! Then, I said what I had to say, and of course Salmina translated for me. They were very happy with my arrival and even sang a song about that, I believe…and here and there the women shouted “Partido FRELIMO…aiii aiiiii!!!!!” and then “OMM….aiiii aiiiii!!!” (FRELIMO, the Liberation Front of Mozambique, being the leading political party of Mozambique and OMM being the Mozambican Organization for Women, set up by FRELIMO).
On Friday the 27th I took an early chapa back to Maputo. It was again not my lucky chapa day, because the chapa I had arranged to go with, was being blocked by some driver’s association people. Since this chapa had “fixed” clients and didn’t operate according to the principle of waiting in line at the market to fill up the chapa with people, these “blockers” argued that my chapa was stealing clients. So in the end I managed to sneak my way into another chapa, that nicely cruised over the EN1 to Maputo.
I must say that my research is slowly progressing, which feels good! But on the other hand, I sometimes have no clue if I’m really doing the right thing…asking the right questions, etc. I feel like I need a bit more focus in the next couple of weeks. And I have to figure out how the hell I am going to get my sample from the two neighborhoods, since a decent, detailed map of the neighborhoods does not seem to exist. Hopefully UN-HABITAT can help me out on that one! And I might need to find myself more assistants!
Also nice to know, is that my Changane vocabulary is slowly expanding. For example, “mulongo” means white and “mulandi” means black, hehehehe. How basic and cliché! Apparently lots of people have been calling me mulongo, without me noticing it! Or they say: “Look! A mulungo and a mulandi!”, when Salmina and I are walking by! Hehe I’m gonna pay more attention next time! ;)
OK, I’ll try to keep my Swazi adventure short! Yesterday morning I departed with Anna to Hlane Royal National Park. The trip to Swaziland was quite quick…some 3.5 hours, crossing the border at Namaacha (Mozambique)/Lomahasha (Swaziland). The area around the boarder is really pretty and mountainous. In fact, Namaacha is a region where some of Mozambique’s mineral water comes from. Upon arrival, we had some coffee, settled into our cottage, had lunch and then went on a mountain biking tour around the bush….in the boiling sun! Our guide on the tour was called “Africa”…isn’t that the best name for a safari tour guide?!? Heheh I love it! But the bike trip was more exhausting than we had thought! And don’t laugh at the pics…I look ridiculous with that helmet on! Heheh We mostly saw some impalas and a couple of nyalas while biking. The scenery was pretty amazing though! Lots of trees are dead, because the elephants eat the trunk…which causes the tree to die! Then later on, at 04.00 p.m., we did a sunset safari tour….really exciting!! My first safari ever! And we saw quite some animals: white rhinos, a lion, some elephants, giraffes, impalas, wildhogs, etc. And the sunset was amazing. I really enjoyed the whole experience. Later on we had dinner at the park and at 08.00 p.m. we assisted a traditional Swazi dance show! Then we took our bottle of South African wine back to our cottage, to finish it under the amazing sky full of stars…we seriously sat there for about 1.5 hours…hypnotized by the beautiful and almost surreal milky way. We also saw quite a few shooting stars! The next morning we got up early to go on the 06.00 a.m. safari walking tour! Africa told us about all the important rules and guidelines…in case of danger etc. It was, again, pretty exciting. At first, we mostly walked on the paths, but at some point we also went straight into the bush. We learned about the trees, birds, animal trails, animal dung (hehe), etc. We saw again some white rhinos, giraffes, hippos, impalas, wildhogs, and some birds and insects and even a turtle! At one point, while observing the turtle, we heard some sudden movements in the bushes and Africa had this shocked expression on his face, wanting to run for his life. It could very well have been an elephant about to attack us…..but no, luckily only some wildhogs were passing by. During the walking tour we also heard the lions growling. I don’t mind that we didn’t see them this time ;).
After the tour we had breakfast, checked out and embarked upon our trip back to Maputo.
So now you are updated again on how I have spent my past two weeks. I hope you’ve had the patience to read the story...and otherwise, tough luck ;) I can’t put it in any other way than my way…which is the loooong way ;)
Oh and thanx for the messages you guys have been sending me! Really nice!
Next time: more news on my research progress in Chibuto. I’m planning on leaving again next Wednesday.
Beijinhos!
PICTURES ON FACEBOOK:
Chibuto: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=109370&id=566821030&l=1883da3be3
Swaziland: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=109383&id=566821030&l=b14f3d78bd
AND: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=109418&id=566821030&l=637576e882
Monday, March 16, 2009
Chibuto part 2
Oiiiee, tudo bem?
Time for more news from Southern Africa! I have been here for exactly a month now…and it’s been two weeks since my last blog post…so here goes…
Last time I wrote, I was feeling somewhat ill…luckily I was all better within a week time and before going back on my second fieldtrip to Chibuto! In that week I had planned a couple of interviews with two Mozambican associations, i.e. AMOPROC (Associação Moçambicana para a Promoção da Cidadania) and Fórum Mulher. Fortunately I didn’t have to cancel them or anything! I got to talk to the executive directors of the associations, which was really nice! In that week (so I am referring to the week of 2-8 March), I also had quite a few social engagements. I met up with a new German girl, Suzanne…I was introduced to her by Lena, an IDS buddy that is currently in Peru (gracias Lena!!!). They already know each other from an earlier travel/internship period in Latin America…Together we went to the “Maputo Young Professionals” drink. Really nice, because there were not only foreigners, but also some Mozambicans. Most young professionals are actually working for embassies, UN agencies or other NGOs..quite nice to hear about everyone’s story!
In that weekend I also went to a “mostra de filmes de lingua Portuguesa” (a small film festival with Portuguese spoken films) in the Theatre Scala. I went with the Brazilian girl, Sofia, and Dorien (Dutch friend from Leiden). But before arriving at the theatre, we (Dorien and I) had our first encounter with corruption! We got a ticket for taking a wrong turn…it was dark, so we couldn’t see very well. So suddenly, a police car came out of the blue, without its lights on and made us stop. Dorien showed her driver’s license, etc. and, at first, the police officer seemed very friendly and relaxed…as if he was going to give us a warning or so. But then he demanded money (more than you would normally have to pay as a fine)…and Dorien remained very calm and actually wanted to call someone to check upon the amount…but suddenly the officer became all nervous and very unprofessional…he claimed that if we didn’t pay now, he would take in Dorien’s driver’s license and even the car…so he was saying like, “pay now, just pay now, or otherwise…just give me what you have, and don’t show the money…hide it!! Hide it!!”…so some dodgy business was going on if you ask me. In the end we gave 1500 Meticais, which is like 45 Euros. Not too much, but it was quite funny to see the officer turn into a nervous man that didn’t really know how to handle his business well hehehe.
After the film festival I met up with Mareike and some friends of her to go to Rua d’Arte, which is a small street in the Baixa area that is closed down at night in the weekends, and turns into an “open air bar”, with live music and dance shows. Really nice! That night, a group from Inhambane was performing…playing music, dancing and singing. Afterwards, the place turned into an open air little dance club…some cool old skool music was played…some reggae, then suddenly some Michael Jackson and then rock ‘n roll…let’s say…very mixed! But fun!
On Sunday I had quite a relaxing day, studied a bit and washed some clothes by hand (we have no washing machine unfortunately!). In the evening I met up with Anna and Mareike and some others to go to the Núcleo de Arte…the artsy place where I had been the week before with Anna. Apparently on Sunday they always have live music from 07.00 p.m. onwards…so we went…listening to some sweet reggae, appreciating the art of the Mozambican artists…observing all the rastafari’s, integrating with the Mozambicans! Nice way to end the weekend!
In the week of 9-15 March (last week) I prepared my second fieldtrip to Chibuto and on Tuesday, off I went at 06.00 a.m.. It took me quite long to get there, since I first took a big comfortable bus and then got off at a certain point to carry on by chapa…only, it took almost an hour to fill up the chapa! Upon my arrival, I settled into my room, then had a “prego” and went to the Municipality to present myself to the President of the Municipal Council. I also spoke with the Councillor of Social Action, Mr. Carlos Ofisso. When returning to my accommodation facility, I ran into another guest, Albertina. She is working for “Save the Children” and has recently been transferred to Chibuto. Hooray for making new friends in Chibuto! That day I went to bed with a terrible headache though…must have been an exciting day!
The next day I spoke again with some municipal staff members and with some local institutions that deal with women’s and gender issues. I also found myself an assistant to translate from Changane (the local language) to Portuguese, and vice versa…the local population really speaks a lot of Changane between them (I can only say “Kanimambo”, which is “Thank you”). Anyway, my assistant is called Salmina Jeremias, she’s 27 years old and is finishing high school in the evenings. So during the day she is available to work with me! She’s really friendly, so I am happy to have found her…the Councillor of Social Action recommended her…it’s his sister ;).
The next day (Thursday), I spoke with the Councillor of Urbanization and Construction and next with the only female Councillor in the Municipality (of Culture, Youth and Sports). I also interviewed two neighbourhood secretaries (of the bairro “25 de Junho” and “bairro 3”). In IDS terms, we would call them the “gatekeepers”, I guess...without contacting them, it is difficult to be able to enter a neighbourhood and to contact the local population. It was really nice to hear their stories about the neighbourhoods...in fact, one secretary, Mr. Luis Numaio, is at the same time the “líder comunitário” of the neighbourhood (or the ancient leader)...nice to hear stories from back in the days...and him calling me “minha irmã” (my sister), hehehe.
Unfortunately these secretaries were too busy to introduce me into their neighbourhoods (to the local structure of chiefs etc. and to the locals), so I am meeting up with them this week (I will return to Chibuto on Wednesday). Later that day I bumped into another guest at my accommodation facility: Gerúsio, a student from Maputo that went to check out a neighbourhood in Chibuto, “Samora Machel”, which is a Millennium Village. He is studying human and social studies, taking a specialization in community development, so he wants to gain some working experience in the field. Really nice to meet him, although I think he has already fallen in love with me after a day...oops! Didn’t see that coming!
Anyway, on Friday, the last day of my fieldtrip , I decided that I couldn’t leave the place without having spoken to some local people...so I contacted Salmina (I am so glad everyone has mobile phones here!), and chartered her to go to the market with me, to informally chat with some women. So there we went, and had a chat with 6 different women, from different neighbourhoods...most of them spoke Portuguese, but Salmina had to translate for two women (out of six). It was a nice first encounter with the locals!
During my fieldtrip I also walked through the centre of town a bit, to get to know the place and ask around for other, cheaper accommodation possibilities. I managed to find something for 1000 Meticais a month instead of 500 Meticais a night (1000 Meticais being around 30 euros). I will be living with Fatima, a 49 year old lady belonging to Chibuto’s Muslim community. Her daughter also lives there and has a baby boy of two months. Sweet (but I hope not too loud, heheh)! But it was really nice to enter all the little local shops, talk with the locals, etc...they were all wondering what I was doing there, immediately wanting to be my friend, asking for my number. I am probably a walking dollar bill for them...hmmm, anyway. And the kids are soooooo cute...they all nicely say “boa tarde” or even in English “good afternoon”, walking around in their cute little school uniforms and carrying blue Unicef school bags. Then they suddenly start following me...smiling at me...asking me for a banana (when I just finished buying bananas)...or some sweets.
Anyway, Chibuto life is very calm and relaxed...I think I’ll have a nice time there!
Ok, I know that I am writing way to much again....but for those that are interested, here are some important first findings of my fieldtrip:
-the main form of participation of the local population in local decision making processes is through “reuniões populares” (popular meetings), which occur in the different neighbourhoods of the city, approximately once a month. Everybody can participate and local problems/preoccupations/priorities are transmitted/communicated by the neighbourhood secretaries to the Municipality. However, the municipal staff also attends these meetings. The Municipality even plans to hold separate meetings for women only. This has not been done yet though, since the Municipality has a new government, since a month. I don’t know whether these “reuniões populares” are entirely a new thing, or if only the separate women groups are new. Next to that, the councillor talked about the Municipal Assembly, as being a platform where the interests of the local population can be defended.
-the Organização da Mulher Moçambicana (OMM) appears to be represented in the local structure and deals with women’s problems/issues.
-one of the biggest problems of Chibuto is the water delivery service. It does not reach the whole population.
-there seems to be a culture of “non formalization of land” in Chibuto, since the land law does not oblige citizens to legalize their lands and thus to pay taxes. On the other hand, a lot of land plots seem to have been registered already. The neighbourhood secretaries of bairro 25 de Junho and bairro 3 said that they tried to mobilize the local population to register their lands.
-a couple of associations/institutions seem to deal with gender issues, such as the “Associação Ntwanano” (groups of women that talk about HIV/AIDS), the “INAS” (employment creation / income generation programmes for women), the DDSMAS, etc. However, I have the impression that the proper Municipality of Chibuto doesn’t implement gender focussed policies/programmes.
And well, so on Friday I returned to Maputo....3,5 hours in a hot chapa! Later that night I met up with Dorien and we went clubbing to “Clube Naval” and “Luksos”, with some Mozambican friends of hers. On Saturday I went to the crafts market with Anna, and then to the Maputo shopping and the Botanical Garden. On Sunday I went swimming with Dorien at the Swimming Pool of Maxiquexique. Very nice and refreshing! And on Sunday evening I went to Núcleo de Arte again, to hear some live music (this time more jazzy like) and catch up with some friends...
And now.....I have to prepare for my third mission to Chibuto...so I guess...this is....to be continued....
See this link for pictures:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=106261&id=566821030&l=cfb9cac086
Beijinhos!!!!
Time for more news from Southern Africa! I have been here for exactly a month now…and it’s been two weeks since my last blog post…so here goes…
Last time I wrote, I was feeling somewhat ill…luckily I was all better within a week time and before going back on my second fieldtrip to Chibuto! In that week I had planned a couple of interviews with two Mozambican associations, i.e. AMOPROC (Associação Moçambicana para a Promoção da Cidadania) and Fórum Mulher. Fortunately I didn’t have to cancel them or anything! I got to talk to the executive directors of the associations, which was really nice! In that week (so I am referring to the week of 2-8 March), I also had quite a few social engagements. I met up with a new German girl, Suzanne…I was introduced to her by Lena, an IDS buddy that is currently in Peru (gracias Lena!!!). They already know each other from an earlier travel/internship period in Latin America…Together we went to the “Maputo Young Professionals” drink. Really nice, because there were not only foreigners, but also some Mozambicans. Most young professionals are actually working for embassies, UN agencies or other NGOs..quite nice to hear about everyone’s story!
In that weekend I also went to a “mostra de filmes de lingua Portuguesa” (a small film festival with Portuguese spoken films) in the Theatre Scala. I went with the Brazilian girl, Sofia, and Dorien (Dutch friend from Leiden). But before arriving at the theatre, we (Dorien and I) had our first encounter with corruption! We got a ticket for taking a wrong turn…it was dark, so we couldn’t see very well. So suddenly, a police car came out of the blue, without its lights on and made us stop. Dorien showed her driver’s license, etc. and, at first, the police officer seemed very friendly and relaxed…as if he was going to give us a warning or so. But then he demanded money (more than you would normally have to pay as a fine)…and Dorien remained very calm and actually wanted to call someone to check upon the amount…but suddenly the officer became all nervous and very unprofessional…he claimed that if we didn’t pay now, he would take in Dorien’s driver’s license and even the car…so he was saying like, “pay now, just pay now, or otherwise…just give me what you have, and don’t show the money…hide it!! Hide it!!”…so some dodgy business was going on if you ask me. In the end we gave 1500 Meticais, which is like 45 Euros. Not too much, but it was quite funny to see the officer turn into a nervous man that didn’t really know how to handle his business well hehehe.
After the film festival I met up with Mareike and some friends of her to go to Rua d’Arte, which is a small street in the Baixa area that is closed down at night in the weekends, and turns into an “open air bar”, with live music and dance shows. Really nice! That night, a group from Inhambane was performing…playing music, dancing and singing. Afterwards, the place turned into an open air little dance club…some cool old skool music was played…some reggae, then suddenly some Michael Jackson and then rock ‘n roll…let’s say…very mixed! But fun!
On Sunday I had quite a relaxing day, studied a bit and washed some clothes by hand (we have no washing machine unfortunately!). In the evening I met up with Anna and Mareike and some others to go to the Núcleo de Arte…the artsy place where I had been the week before with Anna. Apparently on Sunday they always have live music from 07.00 p.m. onwards…so we went…listening to some sweet reggae, appreciating the art of the Mozambican artists…observing all the rastafari’s, integrating with the Mozambicans! Nice way to end the weekend!
In the week of 9-15 March (last week) I prepared my second fieldtrip to Chibuto and on Tuesday, off I went at 06.00 a.m.. It took me quite long to get there, since I first took a big comfortable bus and then got off at a certain point to carry on by chapa…only, it took almost an hour to fill up the chapa! Upon my arrival, I settled into my room, then had a “prego” and went to the Municipality to present myself to the President of the Municipal Council. I also spoke with the Councillor of Social Action, Mr. Carlos Ofisso. When returning to my accommodation facility, I ran into another guest, Albertina. She is working for “Save the Children” and has recently been transferred to Chibuto. Hooray for making new friends in Chibuto! That day I went to bed with a terrible headache though…must have been an exciting day!
The next day I spoke again with some municipal staff members and with some local institutions that deal with women’s and gender issues. I also found myself an assistant to translate from Changane (the local language) to Portuguese, and vice versa…the local population really speaks a lot of Changane between them (I can only say “Kanimambo”, which is “Thank you”). Anyway, my assistant is called Salmina Jeremias, she’s 27 years old and is finishing high school in the evenings. So during the day she is available to work with me! She’s really friendly, so I am happy to have found her…the Councillor of Social Action recommended her…it’s his sister ;).
The next day (Thursday), I spoke with the Councillor of Urbanization and Construction and next with the only female Councillor in the Municipality (of Culture, Youth and Sports). I also interviewed two neighbourhood secretaries (of the bairro “25 de Junho” and “bairro 3”). In IDS terms, we would call them the “gatekeepers”, I guess...without contacting them, it is difficult to be able to enter a neighbourhood and to contact the local population. It was really nice to hear their stories about the neighbourhoods...in fact, one secretary, Mr. Luis Numaio, is at the same time the “líder comunitário” of the neighbourhood (or the ancient leader)...nice to hear stories from back in the days...and him calling me “minha irmã” (my sister), hehehe.
Unfortunately these secretaries were too busy to introduce me into their neighbourhoods (to the local structure of chiefs etc. and to the locals), so I am meeting up with them this week (I will return to Chibuto on Wednesday). Later that day I bumped into another guest at my accommodation facility: Gerúsio, a student from Maputo that went to check out a neighbourhood in Chibuto, “Samora Machel”, which is a Millennium Village. He is studying human and social studies, taking a specialization in community development, so he wants to gain some working experience in the field. Really nice to meet him, although I think he has already fallen in love with me after a day...oops! Didn’t see that coming!
Anyway, on Friday, the last day of my fieldtrip , I decided that I couldn’t leave the place without having spoken to some local people...so I contacted Salmina (I am so glad everyone has mobile phones here!), and chartered her to go to the market with me, to informally chat with some women. So there we went, and had a chat with 6 different women, from different neighbourhoods...most of them spoke Portuguese, but Salmina had to translate for two women (out of six). It was a nice first encounter with the locals!
During my fieldtrip I also walked through the centre of town a bit, to get to know the place and ask around for other, cheaper accommodation possibilities. I managed to find something for 1000 Meticais a month instead of 500 Meticais a night (1000 Meticais being around 30 euros). I will be living with Fatima, a 49 year old lady belonging to Chibuto’s Muslim community. Her daughter also lives there and has a baby boy of two months. Sweet (but I hope not too loud, heheh)! But it was really nice to enter all the little local shops, talk with the locals, etc...they were all wondering what I was doing there, immediately wanting to be my friend, asking for my number. I am probably a walking dollar bill for them...hmmm, anyway. And the kids are soooooo cute...they all nicely say “boa tarde” or even in English “good afternoon”, walking around in their cute little school uniforms and carrying blue Unicef school bags. Then they suddenly start following me...smiling at me...asking me for a banana (when I just finished buying bananas)...or some sweets.
Anyway, Chibuto life is very calm and relaxed...I think I’ll have a nice time there!
Ok, I know that I am writing way to much again....but for those that are interested, here are some important first findings of my fieldtrip:
-the main form of participation of the local population in local decision making processes is through “reuniões populares” (popular meetings), which occur in the different neighbourhoods of the city, approximately once a month. Everybody can participate and local problems/preoccupations/priorities are transmitted/communicated by the neighbourhood secretaries to the Municipality. However, the municipal staff also attends these meetings. The Municipality even plans to hold separate meetings for women only. This has not been done yet though, since the Municipality has a new government, since a month. I don’t know whether these “reuniões populares” are entirely a new thing, or if only the separate women groups are new. Next to that, the councillor talked about the Municipal Assembly, as being a platform where the interests of the local population can be defended.
-the Organização da Mulher Moçambicana (OMM) appears to be represented in the local structure and deals with women’s problems/issues.
-one of the biggest problems of Chibuto is the water delivery service. It does not reach the whole population.
-there seems to be a culture of “non formalization of land” in Chibuto, since the land law does not oblige citizens to legalize their lands and thus to pay taxes. On the other hand, a lot of land plots seem to have been registered already. The neighbourhood secretaries of bairro 25 de Junho and bairro 3 said that they tried to mobilize the local population to register their lands.
-a couple of associations/institutions seem to deal with gender issues, such as the “Associação Ntwanano” (groups of women that talk about HIV/AIDS), the “INAS” (employment creation / income generation programmes for women), the DDSMAS, etc. However, I have the impression that the proper Municipality of Chibuto doesn’t implement gender focussed policies/programmes.
And well, so on Friday I returned to Maputo....3,5 hours in a hot chapa! Later that night I met up with Dorien and we went clubbing to “Clube Naval” and “Luksos”, with some Mozambican friends of hers. On Saturday I went to the crafts market with Anna, and then to the Maputo shopping and the Botanical Garden. On Sunday I went swimming with Dorien at the Swimming Pool of Maxiquexique. Very nice and refreshing! And on Sunday evening I went to Núcleo de Arte again, to hear some live music (this time more jazzy like) and catch up with some friends...
And now.....I have to prepare for my third mission to Chibuto...so I guess...this is....to be continued....
See this link for pictures:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=106261&id=566821030&l=cfb9cac086
Beijinhos!!!!
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
“Aqui é sua casa”
Hi guys! Tudo bem? Here goes another update!
I am actually not feeling that well right now and staying home from work…I have that messed up belly problem that most travellers in tropical countries have to cope with. I didn’t sleep all night (my first night in my new room!!), because, well….I’ll spare you the details! ;) I have some fever too. Hope it’ll pass soon, because tomorrow morning I have my first interview planned, with the executive director of AMOPROC (Associação Moçambicana para a Promoção da Cidadania). Pretty exciting!
I also went by the “Fórum Mulher” yesterday, to see if I can make an appointment for an interview. But I’m still waiting for an answer. I did buy a very practical book, called “Manual on Gender Mainstreaming”.
Since my last blog, I had to present my research to UN-HABITAT during my first staff meeting with them (and before going on the fieldtrip to Chibuto). Their comments were positive, although they thought the research might be too ambitious (and even worthy for a PhD heehhe)...I initially wanted to study participation and gender issues in relation to water delivery, but the staff at UN-HABITAT is working on setting up a simplified land registration system and would like me to focus on that service too. I don’t disagree, but since this service is less physical, I can’t really see the participation part...Anyway, I’ll see how that works out. Then, we discussed a working plan for the fieldtrip, i.e. who was going to do what. Apparently this is only the second time for them to visit Chibuto Municipality, so I haven’t missed out on that much! Next to that, there have been municipal elections recently, so all of the Municipal staff is new (since their last visit)...so we all sort of had to be reintroduced to each other.
So, on Thursday I got picked up by UNDP’s 4x4 (UN-HABITAT doesn’t have its own vehicle yet) at around 06.00 a.m. in the morning by driver Abu. Our team consisted of Camilla, Anselmo, Sérgio and I. Some Danish anthropologist also joined us, because he had written his PhD on urban housing and land tenure. At around 09.30 a.m. we arrived at our destination and I must say, Mozambique has a stunning landscape...so green! Endlessly green! We couldn’t immediately get started though, because upon our arrival there was a party going on in town! The “primeira dama” (Mrs. Guebuza) was visiting! Unfortunately we didn’t meet her, but this caused a delay of about 2 hours, before we could introduce ourselves to the Municipal staff and the President of the Municipal Council. No worries though, because this made us want to “matabichar”, which literally means “to kill the beast”....or in other words...TO EAT! In the local café we had some sandwiches and “pregos” (beef on your bread).
After presenting ourselves, we were welcomed in the best way you could imagine. The President of the Municipal Council even finished off by saying “Aqui é sua casa!” (this is your home). On the one hand, this is of course a good thing. But on the other, we think we might have created very high expectations. After the introduction, we talked more in depth with some of the municipal councillors and technicians about the land registration process. We also went to a neighbourhood (“25 de Junho”) to collect GPS coordinates, so that the land plots can be better identified in the future. A clear geographical map of the city, with its neighbourhoods and streets does not seem to be available. The Municipality only showed us a large areal picture of Chibuto Municipality. This mission was my first acquaintance with Chibuto and the impression I got is that the Municipality is more rural than urban. Next to that, the Municipality seems to be dealing with quite some problems. The Municipal staff members expressed a great need for the organisation and restructuring of Chibuto’s neighbourhoods. Other problems include the water delivery system, which does not cover even half of the population. Furthermore, the Municipality is experiencing difficulties in the collection of taxes.
Anyway, we finished the day off with a meal together with some municipal staff members and had chicken and “xima” (some corn substance that actually doesn’t taste of anything, but seems to be the main source of alimentation for a lot of Mozambicans). At around 08.00 p.m., when it was already dark, we went to our accommodation facilities (little huts, but made out of cement) and I couldn’t stop staring at the sky! I have never seen such a beautiful sky full of stars in my life....soooo many stars! Almost hypnotizing! We had some drinks (I tried “Amarula” for the first time, from South Africa...very Bailey’s like!) and called it an early night.
The next day we drove a bit around Chibuto and passed by “Rosita’s house”. This is a girl (by now 9 years old) that during the floods of 2000 was born in a tree! Afterwards, luckily she and her mother got saved by a helicopter. After this amazing event, the Mozambican state offered them a house with all the luxury you could imagine (in that area). I have some pics of the house, but unfortunately Rosita was not at home. We also entered the bairro 25 de Junho again and then had lunch at the house of Sérgio’s parents. He is originally from Chibuto. Again, we had chicken and xima! Hhehehe And I tasted some “Kanyu”, an alcoholic beverage made of the Kanyu fruit. Didn’t taste that nice. On our way back to Maputo, Sérgio took a plastic bottle of Kanyu with him in the car, but when he wanted to drink it, the whole bottle almost exploded in the car (very champagne like)...too bad the smell was not that nice.
On our way back we also bought some fruit from people that were selling it on the side of the road. I also bought my first cashew nuts! Maningue nice!
On Friday evening we went to the birthday party of a Chilean colleague, Fernando. It was nice to meet new people, including a Brazilian girl, Sofia, from Recife. I might meet up with her sometime this week. On Saturday I went to the crafts markets and bought a very nice bag, made out of “capulana”. This is a material that almost all Mozambican women use as a skirt, on their heads, to carry their babies in, etc. I also bought some capulana earrings. And then I went to check out a big shopping mall....they even have the shop “ZARA”, but it’s called ZON...I don’t know why exactly; probably so that they don’t have to pay that much for having that shop there. In the evening I met up with Anna, a German girl that I met for the first time. She is also doing an internship, at the German Development Agency. We had dinner at Mundo’s (coconut fish), then had some caipirinhas at Café Camisa...a place where some very artistic people hang out. We immediately integrated with some Mozambicans who insisted on sitting at our table. Afterwards we were introduced to the whole group of friends and even got to see their pieces of art (?). We finished the night off at the bar of CFM (the old train station)...quite weird to be dancing on the train platforms! And of course, we took a taxi back home.
Sunday was actually a rainy day...I transcribed my comments from the fieldtrip to Chibuto into a word document and did some internet research on NGOs / institutions that I could get into contact with. On Monday morning (yesterday) I moved into my new house and so far it’s been all good...expect for my belly :(. I took some nice shots of my new crib for you to see. I might have to start using those little chapa busses though...because on Monday I have been walking for two hours to get around in town. Not something you would do every day in this heat!
Well this is it for now....I am typing this with a slight fever....pfff, sweaty behind the comp! Heheh I hope I get better soon, because next week I was planning on going to Chibuto again for 4/5 days. I hope all is well over there?
Beijinhos!!!
PS: For pictures, see the following link (or copy paste it into a new window):
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=103602&id=566821030&l=05bde
I am actually not feeling that well right now and staying home from work…I have that messed up belly problem that most travellers in tropical countries have to cope with. I didn’t sleep all night (my first night in my new room!!), because, well….I’ll spare you the details! ;) I have some fever too. Hope it’ll pass soon, because tomorrow morning I have my first interview planned, with the executive director of AMOPROC (Associação Moçambicana para a Promoção da Cidadania). Pretty exciting!
I also went by the “Fórum Mulher” yesterday, to see if I can make an appointment for an interview. But I’m still waiting for an answer. I did buy a very practical book, called “Manual on Gender Mainstreaming”.
Since my last blog, I had to present my research to UN-HABITAT during my first staff meeting with them (and before going on the fieldtrip to Chibuto). Their comments were positive, although they thought the research might be too ambitious (and even worthy for a PhD heehhe)...I initially wanted to study participation and gender issues in relation to water delivery, but the staff at UN-HABITAT is working on setting up a simplified land registration system and would like me to focus on that service too. I don’t disagree, but since this service is less physical, I can’t really see the participation part...Anyway, I’ll see how that works out. Then, we discussed a working plan for the fieldtrip, i.e. who was going to do what. Apparently this is only the second time for them to visit Chibuto Municipality, so I haven’t missed out on that much! Next to that, there have been municipal elections recently, so all of the Municipal staff is new (since their last visit)...so we all sort of had to be reintroduced to each other.
So, on Thursday I got picked up by UNDP’s 4x4 (UN-HABITAT doesn’t have its own vehicle yet) at around 06.00 a.m. in the morning by driver Abu. Our team consisted of Camilla, Anselmo, Sérgio and I. Some Danish anthropologist also joined us, because he had written his PhD on urban housing and land tenure. At around 09.30 a.m. we arrived at our destination and I must say, Mozambique has a stunning landscape...so green! Endlessly green! We couldn’t immediately get started though, because upon our arrival there was a party going on in town! The “primeira dama” (Mrs. Guebuza) was visiting! Unfortunately we didn’t meet her, but this caused a delay of about 2 hours, before we could introduce ourselves to the Municipal staff and the President of the Municipal Council. No worries though, because this made us want to “matabichar”, which literally means “to kill the beast”....or in other words...TO EAT! In the local café we had some sandwiches and “pregos” (beef on your bread).
After presenting ourselves, we were welcomed in the best way you could imagine. The President of the Municipal Council even finished off by saying “Aqui é sua casa!” (this is your home). On the one hand, this is of course a good thing. But on the other, we think we might have created very high expectations. After the introduction, we talked more in depth with some of the municipal councillors and technicians about the land registration process. We also went to a neighbourhood (“25 de Junho”) to collect GPS coordinates, so that the land plots can be better identified in the future. A clear geographical map of the city, with its neighbourhoods and streets does not seem to be available. The Municipality only showed us a large areal picture of Chibuto Municipality. This mission was my first acquaintance with Chibuto and the impression I got is that the Municipality is more rural than urban. Next to that, the Municipality seems to be dealing with quite some problems. The Municipal staff members expressed a great need for the organisation and restructuring of Chibuto’s neighbourhoods. Other problems include the water delivery system, which does not cover even half of the population. Furthermore, the Municipality is experiencing difficulties in the collection of taxes.
Anyway, we finished the day off with a meal together with some municipal staff members and had chicken and “xima” (some corn substance that actually doesn’t taste of anything, but seems to be the main source of alimentation for a lot of Mozambicans). At around 08.00 p.m., when it was already dark, we went to our accommodation facilities (little huts, but made out of cement) and I couldn’t stop staring at the sky! I have never seen such a beautiful sky full of stars in my life....soooo many stars! Almost hypnotizing! We had some drinks (I tried “Amarula” for the first time, from South Africa...very Bailey’s like!) and called it an early night.
The next day we drove a bit around Chibuto and passed by “Rosita’s house”. This is a girl (by now 9 years old) that during the floods of 2000 was born in a tree! Afterwards, luckily she and her mother got saved by a helicopter. After this amazing event, the Mozambican state offered them a house with all the luxury you could imagine (in that area). I have some pics of the house, but unfortunately Rosita was not at home. We also entered the bairro 25 de Junho again and then had lunch at the house of Sérgio’s parents. He is originally from Chibuto. Again, we had chicken and xima! Hhehehe And I tasted some “Kanyu”, an alcoholic beverage made of the Kanyu fruit. Didn’t taste that nice. On our way back to Maputo, Sérgio took a plastic bottle of Kanyu with him in the car, but when he wanted to drink it, the whole bottle almost exploded in the car (very champagne like)...too bad the smell was not that nice.
On our way back we also bought some fruit from people that were selling it on the side of the road. I also bought my first cashew nuts! Maningue nice!
On Friday evening we went to the birthday party of a Chilean colleague, Fernando. It was nice to meet new people, including a Brazilian girl, Sofia, from Recife. I might meet up with her sometime this week. On Saturday I went to the crafts markets and bought a very nice bag, made out of “capulana”. This is a material that almost all Mozambican women use as a skirt, on their heads, to carry their babies in, etc. I also bought some capulana earrings. And then I went to check out a big shopping mall....they even have the shop “ZARA”, but it’s called ZON...I don’t know why exactly; probably so that they don’t have to pay that much for having that shop there. In the evening I met up with Anna, a German girl that I met for the first time. She is also doing an internship, at the German Development Agency. We had dinner at Mundo’s (coconut fish), then had some caipirinhas at Café Camisa...a place where some very artistic people hang out. We immediately integrated with some Mozambicans who insisted on sitting at our table. Afterwards we were introduced to the whole group of friends and even got to see their pieces of art (?). We finished the night off at the bar of CFM (the old train station)...quite weird to be dancing on the train platforms! And of course, we took a taxi back home.
Sunday was actually a rainy day...I transcribed my comments from the fieldtrip to Chibuto into a word document and did some internet research on NGOs / institutions that I could get into contact with. On Monday morning (yesterday) I moved into my new house and so far it’s been all good...expect for my belly :(. I took some nice shots of my new crib for you to see. I might have to start using those little chapa busses though...because on Monday I have been walking for two hours to get around in town. Not something you would do every day in this heat!
Well this is it for now....I am typing this with a slight fever....pfff, sweaty behind the comp! Heheh I hope I get better soon, because next week I was planning on going to Chibuto again for 4/5 days. I hope all is well over there?
Beijinhos!!!
PS: For pictures, see the following link (or copy paste it into a new window):
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=103602&id=566821030&l=05bde
Monday, February 23, 2009
Maningue nice!
Hi guys! Finally some more news from Mozambique...it has been exactly a week since my arrival and I am slowly starting to integrate into Mozambican society...sort of ;)
Well, where to start? I started my journey from Brussels with far too much hand luggage! I was carrying a small suitcase of about 12 kilos (next to my laptop and rug sack) , while I was only allowed to take 8 kilos with me...so, what I did, was take out a huge piece of cheese that I was going to give as a gift to the family I am currently staying with. Then, I gave the sad “I-am-going-away-for-four-months-and-I-can-only-take-20-kilos-with-me-etc.-etc.”-look to the check-in guy and I got my way with 9 kilos or so...what the guy didn’t know, is that I put the cheese right back in my suitcase when we passed the corner of the check-in counter hehehe!
Anyway, after a long, tiring journey, with stops at Frankfurt and Johannesburg airport, I finally made it safely to Maputo airport, with my cheese! When I walked out of the plane, a man with a sign with my name on it was waiting for me and guided me to the executive lounge, where Bela welcomed me. She is the wife of the president of the Instituto Nacional de Estatística (INE), Mozambique’s National Statistics Institute! How lucky can you be...I got into contact with them thanks to my family in Portugal! Anyway, next, my visa was approved and I went to pick up my luggage...everything within half an hour...quite quick for African standards I guess! Then we went home, I took a shower and went out with Ana Raquel, their 18 year old daughter, to buy a mobile phone card and to have some snack. My number here is 00258 825151835!!
The following day I slept long and in the afternoon I met Dorien, a Dutch friend from Leiden who is also doing her research in Mozambique, here in Maputo. She already knows Mozambique well, since she has lived here for 5 years when she was younger! It has been really great hanging out with her (and her Mozambican boyfriend Pedro)...we have been out to “lanchar” (this is not having lunch, but having a snack at about 5 p.m.) and also had dinner a couple of times.
On Wednesday I had my first meeting with UN-HABITAT! The office is located in a house, together with a couple of other UN agencies, such as UNV and UNIDO. The staff consists of about 10 people and is very friendly. It seems that everybody is pretty busy with their own work though. Besides an Italian and a Chilean guy I think most of the staff is actually Mozambican. And one of the guys has family in Chibuto, which might turn out really handy for me! Anyhow, they welcomed me, gave me some information about their project in Chibuto and I immediately started reading some documents, including legislation on local governments. This is actually what I have been doing on Thursday and Friday as well, because I need to know what is written in the law, to be able to compare it with what is happening in real life. We also agreed that it is better for me to stay in Maputo and to make regular fieldtrips to Chibuto, since Chibuto is really....well....it doesn’t have that much. And it’s a 3-hour drive up North...so still doable I guess. I would have to arrange my own transport though! I guess I’ll have to take a “chapa”, a small buss that drives around like crazy (very unsafe) with too many people in them...but out of town they are supposed to be safer...well I sure hope so! But if it turns out not to work this way, I can always change and move to Chibuto.
This weekend I have been walking around town, getting to know the city a bit. I was also looking for a simple map of the city, but it is not that straightforward to find city maps here! Why? Because there were no more funds to print them; they are too big; they are plasticised and unpractical to carry with you, etc. I guess the Lonely Planet will have to do then. I have mostly been walking around the richer uptown (where I am living right now) and the somewhat more degraded “baixa” area (downtown) . In fact, I have been there today, which was probably not such a good idea...it was almost deserted and I was totally the only white person walking around. I felt like I could be assaulted at any moment and I was suspicious of every person that I saw...hmmm..But I did see the Cathedral, the town hall, a big mosque, a fortress and some museums that were closed. I will definitely go back there, since there is also a huge “feira de artesanato” (crafts market) on Saturday mornings and the Mercado Municipal, with lots of food etc! Lots of things still to see! Afterwards, I went to the swimming pool of Hotel Cardoso, which has a beautiful view over the sea and a beach called Catembe. At 5 p.m. this afternoon I met up with Irmi and Ulli, an Austrian and German girl, at Mundo’s, a bar / restaurant, where a lot of foreigners hang out. I got into contact with them over the internet. Irmi is doing a fellowship with the German Development Agency and Ulli is doing her PhD, for which she has to travel all over Southern Africa. It was really nice talking to them, exchanging research knowledge and experiences, etc.! Tomorrow I will meet up with them again, including Mareike, a Dutch/German girl who is doing research at the Ministry of Education and Culture.
Here at home I mostly hang out with Dinho, a nephew of the INE’s president. He is originally from a place called Pemba (in the Northern province of Cabo Delgado). He is really nice to hang out with! I also hang out with Ana, Tiago and another guy (forgot his name, Kinito or something), but they are out most of the time. Dinho hangs out at home more often. It’s actually pretty weird, everyone really has their own rhythms at home here...we barely eat together etc. The table is always set by the “empregadas”, so whenever you want, you can have breakfast, lunch or dinner. I guess it’s practical for them, but not that “gezellig”. ;)
I will move out pretty soon though, because I have found a new room a couple of blocks away from here (through someone at UN-HABITAT). It’s in the “Grail House” (or “Casa do Graal”), the Grail being an international women’s movement that has been initiated in 1921 in the Netherlands (nowadays located in Utrecht!!!). The house is a Centre for girls and youth in general to come by, talk and debate about certain topics, literature, etc. The movement aims to raise the awareness of girls; that they too can contribute to making society a better place, etc. I will be living there with Zaida, a 32-year-old Mozambican lady and a Mozambican girl called Neyma. I am really excited about it! Also because this Grail movement might come in handy for my research (when studying gender issues)!!
Well, this leaves me to talk about my first impressions here!!!!! I will make a little list:
-At first, it felt so weird walking around, and having everyone stare at you! You do see some “white” people walking around or the mixed, more “mulato” kind..but still, it remains weird. It do get used to it quickly though. I wonder what Chibuto is going to be like...not as cosmopolitan I guess ;)
- Maputo is quite a green city, with beautiful acacia and palm trees all over town. This is not only pretty, but also very handy, because it creates SHADE!! Nice shade in the boiling sun! (This week I have experienced 40 degrees!!)
- Traffic is in one word CHAOTIC! Especially with all the chapas cruising around, like I mentioned earlier on. But the thing is that these chapas are almost the only form of public transport...regular buses are very scarce. So I guess I will have to use them one day...but I have been walking to places most of the time (this is my work-out!) and Bela has been taking me to the office. At night it is also not recommended to walk alone in the dark. I might have to use taxis then! But until now, Dorien has been driving me home, whenever I was with her...she has a car! Nice! MANINGUE NICE! (That’s what they say here...everything is “nice”. “Está nice!” (and maningue = very)
- During the day, there are lots of people on the street! Lots of schoolchildren in uniform are walking around and people are waiting along the sidewalk for chapas or to cross the streets (which is an art by itself...crossing the streets in Maputo! Especially with the traffic coming from the other side). Next to that, there are a lot of street vendors selling fruit, veggies, phone cards, crafts, sunglasses, the newest DVDs, pillows, you name it! What you also see are a lot of guards, sitting on chairs, standing in front of buildings and houses etc.
- The roads and sidewalks are actually a bit of a mess...so many holes! You really have to watch where you are walking / driving...Obstacles are: holes, chapas, people...hehhehe.
- Life here is not that cheap. Eating out is of course cheaper than back home, but getting groceries at the supermarket it quite expensive! This is due to the fact that most of the articles are imported!
-Differences between rich and poor are quite obvious in Maputo. I am currently living in quite a good neighbourhood, with lots of nice houses. But coming from the airport, I saw a lot more shanty town type of housing! And downtown, lots of buildings are rundown, needing a coat of paint or even deserted (some houses are also deserted in my neighbourhood).
Well I guess that’s about it for now.....I have written way too much, I know...I should have posted a message earlier on this week! I hope you got an idea of what it has been like for me over the past week. I am really enjoying myself, having a maningue nice time, slowly getting settled here etc...and I can’t wait for my research to really start! Although I find it pretty scary too!! But I guess getting started is the most difficult part. This coming Thursday I will make my first fieldtrip to Chibuto, together with 3 other staff members of UN-HABITAT (Oh and Chibuto was on the news yesterday, hooray! I got a first glimpse hehehe). They will introduce me to the Municipal staff there and hopefully I will be able to get some first interviews done!
By the way, I have posted some pictures on facebook for you guys to see! This is the link: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=101759&id=566821030&l=36a46
Tchau tchauuuuu! Until next blog message...
Well, where to start? I started my journey from Brussels with far too much hand luggage! I was carrying a small suitcase of about 12 kilos (next to my laptop and rug sack) , while I was only allowed to take 8 kilos with me...so, what I did, was take out a huge piece of cheese that I was going to give as a gift to the family I am currently staying with. Then, I gave the sad “I-am-going-away-for-four-months-and-I-can-only-take-20-kilos-with-me-etc.-etc.”-look to the check-in guy and I got my way with 9 kilos or so...what the guy didn’t know, is that I put the cheese right back in my suitcase when we passed the corner of the check-in counter hehehe!
Anyway, after a long, tiring journey, with stops at Frankfurt and Johannesburg airport, I finally made it safely to Maputo airport, with my cheese! When I walked out of the plane, a man with a sign with my name on it was waiting for me and guided me to the executive lounge, where Bela welcomed me. She is the wife of the president of the Instituto Nacional de Estatística (INE), Mozambique’s National Statistics Institute! How lucky can you be...I got into contact with them thanks to my family in Portugal! Anyway, next, my visa was approved and I went to pick up my luggage...everything within half an hour...quite quick for African standards I guess! Then we went home, I took a shower and went out with Ana Raquel, their 18 year old daughter, to buy a mobile phone card and to have some snack. My number here is 00258 825151835!!
The following day I slept long and in the afternoon I met Dorien, a Dutch friend from Leiden who is also doing her research in Mozambique, here in Maputo. She already knows Mozambique well, since she has lived here for 5 years when she was younger! It has been really great hanging out with her (and her Mozambican boyfriend Pedro)...we have been out to “lanchar” (this is not having lunch, but having a snack at about 5 p.m.) and also had dinner a couple of times.
On Wednesday I had my first meeting with UN-HABITAT! The office is located in a house, together with a couple of other UN agencies, such as UNV and UNIDO. The staff consists of about 10 people and is very friendly. It seems that everybody is pretty busy with their own work though. Besides an Italian and a Chilean guy I think most of the staff is actually Mozambican. And one of the guys has family in Chibuto, which might turn out really handy for me! Anyhow, they welcomed me, gave me some information about their project in Chibuto and I immediately started reading some documents, including legislation on local governments. This is actually what I have been doing on Thursday and Friday as well, because I need to know what is written in the law, to be able to compare it with what is happening in real life. We also agreed that it is better for me to stay in Maputo and to make regular fieldtrips to Chibuto, since Chibuto is really....well....it doesn’t have that much. And it’s a 3-hour drive up North...so still doable I guess. I would have to arrange my own transport though! I guess I’ll have to take a “chapa”, a small buss that drives around like crazy (very unsafe) with too many people in them...but out of town they are supposed to be safer...well I sure hope so! But if it turns out not to work this way, I can always change and move to Chibuto.
This weekend I have been walking around town, getting to know the city a bit. I was also looking for a simple map of the city, but it is not that straightforward to find city maps here! Why? Because there were no more funds to print them; they are too big; they are plasticised and unpractical to carry with you, etc. I guess the Lonely Planet will have to do then. I have mostly been walking around the richer uptown (where I am living right now) and the somewhat more degraded “baixa” area (downtown) . In fact, I have been there today, which was probably not such a good idea...it was almost deserted and I was totally the only white person walking around. I felt like I could be assaulted at any moment and I was suspicious of every person that I saw...hmmm..But I did see the Cathedral, the town hall, a big mosque, a fortress and some museums that were closed. I will definitely go back there, since there is also a huge “feira de artesanato” (crafts market) on Saturday mornings and the Mercado Municipal, with lots of food etc! Lots of things still to see! Afterwards, I went to the swimming pool of Hotel Cardoso, which has a beautiful view over the sea and a beach called Catembe. At 5 p.m. this afternoon I met up with Irmi and Ulli, an Austrian and German girl, at Mundo’s, a bar / restaurant, where a lot of foreigners hang out. I got into contact with them over the internet. Irmi is doing a fellowship with the German Development Agency and Ulli is doing her PhD, for which she has to travel all over Southern Africa. It was really nice talking to them, exchanging research knowledge and experiences, etc.! Tomorrow I will meet up with them again, including Mareike, a Dutch/German girl who is doing research at the Ministry of Education and Culture.
Here at home I mostly hang out with Dinho, a nephew of the INE’s president. He is originally from a place called Pemba (in the Northern province of Cabo Delgado). He is really nice to hang out with! I also hang out with Ana, Tiago and another guy (forgot his name, Kinito or something), but they are out most of the time. Dinho hangs out at home more often. It’s actually pretty weird, everyone really has their own rhythms at home here...we barely eat together etc. The table is always set by the “empregadas”, so whenever you want, you can have breakfast, lunch or dinner. I guess it’s practical for them, but not that “gezellig”. ;)
I will move out pretty soon though, because I have found a new room a couple of blocks away from here (through someone at UN-HABITAT). It’s in the “Grail House” (or “Casa do Graal”), the Grail being an international women’s movement that has been initiated in 1921 in the Netherlands (nowadays located in Utrecht!!!). The house is a Centre for girls and youth in general to come by, talk and debate about certain topics, literature, etc. The movement aims to raise the awareness of girls; that they too can contribute to making society a better place, etc. I will be living there with Zaida, a 32-year-old Mozambican lady and a Mozambican girl called Neyma. I am really excited about it! Also because this Grail movement might come in handy for my research (when studying gender issues)!!
Well, this leaves me to talk about my first impressions here!!!!! I will make a little list:
-At first, it felt so weird walking around, and having everyone stare at you! You do see some “white” people walking around or the mixed, more “mulato” kind..but still, it remains weird. It do get used to it quickly though. I wonder what Chibuto is going to be like...not as cosmopolitan I guess ;)
- Maputo is quite a green city, with beautiful acacia and palm trees all over town. This is not only pretty, but also very handy, because it creates SHADE!! Nice shade in the boiling sun! (This week I have experienced 40 degrees!!)
- Traffic is in one word CHAOTIC! Especially with all the chapas cruising around, like I mentioned earlier on. But the thing is that these chapas are almost the only form of public transport...regular buses are very scarce. So I guess I will have to use them one day...but I have been walking to places most of the time (this is my work-out!) and Bela has been taking me to the office. At night it is also not recommended to walk alone in the dark. I might have to use taxis then! But until now, Dorien has been driving me home, whenever I was with her...she has a car! Nice! MANINGUE NICE! (That’s what they say here...everything is “nice”. “Está nice!” (and maningue = very)
- During the day, there are lots of people on the street! Lots of schoolchildren in uniform are walking around and people are waiting along the sidewalk for chapas or to cross the streets (which is an art by itself...crossing the streets in Maputo! Especially with the traffic coming from the other side). Next to that, there are a lot of street vendors selling fruit, veggies, phone cards, crafts, sunglasses, the newest DVDs, pillows, you name it! What you also see are a lot of guards, sitting on chairs, standing in front of buildings and houses etc.
- The roads and sidewalks are actually a bit of a mess...so many holes! You really have to watch where you are walking / driving...Obstacles are: holes, chapas, people...hehhehe.
- Life here is not that cheap. Eating out is of course cheaper than back home, but getting groceries at the supermarket it quite expensive! This is due to the fact that most of the articles are imported!
-Differences between rich and poor are quite obvious in Maputo. I am currently living in quite a good neighbourhood, with lots of nice houses. But coming from the airport, I saw a lot more shanty town type of housing! And downtown, lots of buildings are rundown, needing a coat of paint or even deserted (some houses are also deserted in my neighbourhood).
Well I guess that’s about it for now.....I have written way too much, I know...I should have posted a message earlier on this week! I hope you got an idea of what it has been like for me over the past week. I am really enjoying myself, having a maningue nice time, slowly getting settled here etc...and I can’t wait for my research to really start! Although I find it pretty scary too!! But I guess getting started is the most difficult part. This coming Thursday I will make my first fieldtrip to Chibuto, together with 3 other staff members of UN-HABITAT (Oh and Chibuto was on the news yesterday, hooray! I got a first glimpse hehehe). They will introduce me to the Municipal staff there and hopefully I will be able to get some first interviews done!
By the way, I have posted some pictures on facebook for you guys to see! This is the link: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=101759&id=566821030&l=36a46
Tchau tchauuuuu! Until next blog message...
Monday, February 9, 2009
One more week...
Hey there!!!!!!!! How's it going???
As you all may probably know by now, I am leaving for Mozambique very soon...in a week time to be exact! I'll be departing on yet another adventure abroad...this time to do a research internship for a period of 4 months, which includes some traveling of course ;-). I am going to research "local urban governance and service provision" in a small municipality called Chibuto (3 hours drive up North from Maputo, the capital), and I will especially focus on participation and gender issues. The research will be hosted by UN-HABITAT, which is the United Nations agency for human settlements (and focuses especially on urban development). Really exciting!!!!!!
Sooo, I've created this blog in order for you to stay updated on all of my adventures and basically so you won't have to miss me that much...I know, it's gonna be tough without me ;-). I'll try to post as many pictures of beautiful Mozambique as possible...and I'll try NOT to make my stories endlessly long...'cause I'm a star at that...can't promise anything though. Sorry.
If you want to get a notice whenever I post a new message, just register somewhere on this site...otherwise you'll have to check this site regularly I guess.
To finish this message off...I'll be having some goodbye drinks at Einstein's on wednesday the 11th, so meet me there for some good old emotional saying goodbyes...:-) Would be nice! And otherwise...see you back in June!
As you all may probably know by now, I am leaving for Mozambique very soon...in a week time to be exact! I'll be departing on yet another adventure abroad...this time to do a research internship for a period of 4 months, which includes some traveling of course ;-). I am going to research "local urban governance and service provision" in a small municipality called Chibuto (3 hours drive up North from Maputo, the capital), and I will especially focus on participation and gender issues. The research will be hosted by UN-HABITAT, which is the United Nations agency for human settlements (and focuses especially on urban development). Really exciting!!!!!!
Sooo, I've created this blog in order for you to stay updated on all of my adventures and basically so you won't have to miss me that much...I know, it's gonna be tough without me ;-). I'll try to post as many pictures of beautiful Mozambique as possible...and I'll try NOT to make my stories endlessly long...'cause I'm a star at that...can't promise anything though. Sorry.
If you want to get a notice whenever I post a new message, just register somewhere on this site...otherwise you'll have to check this site regularly I guess.
To finish this message off...I'll be having some goodbye drinks at Einstein's on wednesday the 11th, so meet me there for some good old emotional saying goodbyes...:-) Would be nice! And otherwise...see you back in June!
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