Burning sand under my feet

It is a tuesday afternoon in Choupal. Im walking to the internet café and the sand is burning my feet dispite the leather sandals I got from Isabel, my husbands sister. Im walking alone in one of the ”bairro” s of Maputo, local neighbourhood where I seem to be only white. After two weeks staying in Choupal I feel that people are not staring me so much anymore or maybe I just have been already used to that. I try to smile and greet atleast the older people on the street while I walk. 

 Trip to sister Isabels house in Zimpeto.

 Nelo taking bath at home.

My voluntary work hasn´t started yet and I´m happy about it because the heat is time to time overwhealming and makes me very tired. What helps, under the beating sun of Mozambique is right attitude, fan next to bed, two showers per day and memories about cold Finland. What comes to my becoming work in another ”bairro” Chamanculo, I´ve been told by locals that there I will see the most poorest people. Unfortunately it will not be the first time for me. The half year in the slum of the Swaziland´s capital showed me already quite a lot. I guess this time the slum will be just much bigger and more packed. As a person who likes to work and is very active, I´m already missing work, but same time I understand that I need time for settling down and get used to all new things that Mozambique is offering to me.

More about the place we live at the moment. We live in small plot in Choupal which has two rooms and toilet. The size of the whole plot is approximately 8x10 meters. Right now we are here six persons and two are sleaping outside in the tent! There you can count how many m² everybody has. As a only child of my family I have to admit that sometimes I would enjoy a moment without all this relatives. If I stay in my room alone after couple minutes they will come to ask am I fine etc. In Finland I am not definately the most silent person but here, due the language also, I am. Finnish silence and peace seeking is not understood here. Anyway I don´t mind the lack of ”own time” because I like the way how mozambicans enjoy they life inspite of many difficulties.

Our home in Choupal is same as last year when I visited. The improvements, I was happy to see, was cat in the house! White, dirty and very thin, but I haven´t seen a single rat since I came! And what made me even more happy I saw the cat eating a cockroach also! My shiny bug friends which I don´t care so much. Sisters of my husband are just laughing to me when I shout to my husband to save me from ”baratos”. They make me also laugh to myself and my stupidity.

I had plans to start composting since the area doesn´t have proper waste collection and most waste we produce here is biodegradable. ”Africa time” and everything moves slowly the plan hasn´t become in reality yet, but every day I get more frustrated to rottening vegetable peelings in the plastic bags next to our gate so I guess the compost will stand quite soon in our yard. And what comes to plastic bags, I find my self repeating the sentence ”Nao quero plastico, obrigada” I don´t wan´t plastic bag thankyou.

It is time for mangos right now and wow they are so goooood!!!! My friends, you can´t imagine how I enjoy these fresh fruits. I also planted couple of the seeds of fruit trees to test if they start to grow in this sandy soil. Locals say that the sand of Mozambique is very good gor cultivating and I have seen gardens on the pure sand. So now I´m just waiting my very first fruit trees to show up from the cutted mineral water bottles.

I hope everything is fine, up there far away. I enjoy my staying here but missing you guys.

 Crowded "chapas", the public transport. You can call it also "sauna" in this weather...