So with jumping time zones and oceans and whatnot, I've kinda lost track of time but I'm thinking about 2 months ago I was in India dodging malarial mosquitoes, amoebic dysentery, and sandstorms. So not much has changed for me. ;) Btw, I'm alive and functioning quite well. I've been in Africa about a week now, Mozambique almost 2 days. Temperature check 68 degrees Fahrenheit.
I spent the better part of last week in the Kruger game reserve which covers the expanse of the South Africa, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, and Swaziland borders. Amazing sightings. Elephant, giraffes, impalas, zebras, wildebeest, warthogs, rhinos, hippos, crocs.... so close that you could quite literally put your hands between their snappers (not highly recommended). Unfortunately, the big cats were playing hide and seek. I could only spot lions with my binoculars - which was close enough for me. Any closer and I probably would've peed my pants!
Other news... I have committed my first felony (I think). "Dog trafficking." While we (my colleague Mindy and I) were in South Africa, she bought a puppy. A weiner dog better known as a "sausage" dog in this part of the world. Apparently crossing borders with animals is a big no-no and one is forced to pay huge bribes to get the job done. So when we arrived at the Moz border, Mindy got all the crossing-the-border paperwork done while I went 'for a walk' with the pup hidden in a blanket. Mission accomplished. The smuggled puppy is safe and sound in Moz and I sleep well at night (barring jet lag interferences).
South Africa reminded me very much of the States (except their way of thinking), their cities resembled any other American or European city, while Mozambique is considerably different. Much poorer, obviously. In Maputo the capital city where I live there are about 4 roads that are decently paved, the rest are dirt, gravel, or a sketched paved job at best. Some road construction is occurring due to the impending elections. Gotta snicker when it comes to presidential election year projects. I hear Bush has plans for offshore oil drilling in the states... Grocery stores here are kinda like potluck. One day you have a surplus of mangos but a bleak supply of milk, the next day it's bread and berries, so the grocery store stock dictates the meal of the week. I brought my host family chocolate chips from the states and they thought it was Christmas in July! Apparently, chocolate chips are a rare commodity even in South Africa. For shame, my sweettooth may take a hit. Rugby is all the rage. Then again I live with a Brit. Though Maputo is a beautiful city, there's loads of rubbish about the streets. Mozambicans do not plan for the future and recycling is even more of a bizarre concept than American baseball. Our attempt at recycling is drinking filtered water from emptied liquor bottles. (Yes, it's quite comical to take a huge swig of water from a Jack Daniels bottle.) We have a maid. It's not that we need a maid but rather that it provides a job for a Mozambican. So either you donate the money to some nonprofit and the country gets half of it or you have a maid and they get it directly, 100%. We have a nice little system. I put my dirty clothes in the laundry basket (it's dusty here, white socks, what?!) and by the days end, it's clean, folded, and atop my freshly made bed. We also have a language exchange system going. I teach her English, she teaches me Portuguese. "Bon dia!" (good morning). The kids (age 7 & 9) that I live with are also aiding on the language front. They're multilingual with countless passports. Their mother is British, their father American, their stepmother Dutch, their school is French.... they speak English (Brit & American accents as needed), Dutch, French, Portuguese and have likely picked up some Afrikans (South Africa) and Swahili (Tanzania) in their travels. Needless to say, I am fascinated and jealous. And having a difficult time transcribing their speech.... ;)
Well, much exploring awaits...!
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