The rest of the afternoon went as follows.....
12:15. Milton arrives (I was impressed by his punctuality - although I found out later that the BBQ had been scheduled to start at 11:30. Please bear this in mind as you continue to read). I hop in his car, and we head off across town. I actually had no idea where we were going...but I was not surprised that we had a few stops to make along the way. First, we stopped on some side street so that Milton can make a quick purchase (a bottle of gin and a bunch of tonics - which I think he polished off by himself). Then, we stopped at his house, so we could pick up his twin boys (this churrasco was a family affair, and he has the most adorable 3 year olds I've ever seen).
1:00 ish. We are finally on our way to the afternoon's event. We start driving, and I quickly realize that we are leaving the city. It turns out that this bbq is about 25 km outside Maputo, along the road that leads to the border with S. Africa (along which several clusters of 'condominiums' i.e. Mozambique's version of tract housing, are being constructed). It turns out that my colleague has recently purchased one such condo (in the middle of nowhere), and that is where we are headed. As we drive along, my colleague is nice enough to stop and point out a few interesting sites, and we also stop at a newly constructed Shoprite (a grocery store that could rival a Vons or Safeway in the states) to pick up beers and a few snacks for the boys.
1:45 ish. We arrive at the condo in the middle of nowhere. And lo and behold, we are the only people there. Let me repeat....the ONLY people there. People were told to arrive at 11:30, and two hours later we are the only people there. And (again to repeat), this place is in the middle of nowhere. The only other things around are the 9 other houses in the compound that look exactly like the one we've pulled up to. Luckily, we can get into the backyard (which has a table and chairs)...so we have a seat, crack open a couple of beers, and hang out.
(The view from the yard.....looking out into the middle of nowhere)
3:00 ish. Someone else arrives. If you did the quick math, we sat there for about an hour....me, Milton, and his two boys (who were happy as can be playing in the dirt). But then a steady stream of people started trickling in, eventually the owners of the house appeared, and all of a sudden, the table was full of food (I'm not sure where it came from, as there hadn't been anyone home to cook all afternoon....I think they brought it from somewhere...???). Two large speakers and a stereo system also appeared, so we sat and ate salad, feijoada, clams, rice, and curry, listening to a mixture of mozambican and american tunes, drinking caipirinhas (a Brazilian doctor was kind enough to keep my glass full) while the bbq got hot. An interesting side note....all of the men hung out on one side of the yard, and all of the women hung out in a different part of the yard. And it was like this for the entire afternoon/evening!!
(The guys hung out by my colleague's flash car all evening. Note the fancy stereo system setup.)
(A look at the whole backyard)
7:00 ish. The dancing started, all sorts of meat was coming off of the bbq, glasses were still being continually refilled....so much for an afternoon affair!!! I had made plans with my roommate and was supposed to be back at 6....but I was trapped 25 km outside the city, with no way to get back until someone (with a car) was ready to leave. Since there wasn't much I could do about it, I made the most of the afternoon....eating, drinking, dancing, chatting, and generally having a fantastic time.
(The BBQ)
10:00. Someone was finally ready to leave. I got a ride home, and managed to catch up with my roommate for the late night portion of our plans :)
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