A Mozambican BBQ

Yesterday I had the great pleasure of attending a "churrasco" (a BBQ) at the home of one of my Mozambican colleagues. I was very excited about the whole affair - I thought it would be a great way to get to know some of my colleagues, plus, who doesn't love a good Mozambican party (not to mention the fact that it was a BBQ)? I pitched in my USD $12 for meat and booze and was told that my colleague, Milton, would pick me up at noon and that we'd be there for the afternoon. Fantastic.

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 :)

A Perfect Sunday Afternoon

The Fish Market is one of my favorite ways to spend a Sunday afternoon in Maputo. The market is right on the water, next to a big open area full of tables and surrounded by little restaurants. You simply choose from the seafood that has been brought in by the fishermen that day, choose a restaurant, and have them cook your meal while you sit outside enjoying drinks and (usually) live music. I made plans to go with some colleagues, plus a group of Peace Corps people on my first Sunday afternoon back in Maputo.

(The fish market)

On the way to the fish market, the group decided that we should go check out one of Maputo’s newest attractions – a brand new driving range just outside the city. What better way to spend a Sunday afternoon than to hit some golf balls, drink some beers, and then have some fresh seafood....right? With the luxury of Andrew as our chauffeur, and some vague directions to the driving range, we set off down a dirt road. We drove, and drove, and drove. And drove. Eventually we came to something that, after some debate, we decided must be the driving range. At first glance it seemed just to be a continuation of the flood plane that we were driving past. But after more careful observation, we spotted some flags and banners with what appeared to be distance measurements, plus two small huts. We drove along some tire tracks through the grass until we reached the huts – one of which turned out to be a bathroom (with proper toilets and running water – imagine that!). The other contained a few tables and chairs, plus several buckets of golf balls and some rakes (but no clubs). The only person around was the guard, who informed us that the “boss” would be back in “20 minutes”.

(The driving range, and the view opposite the driving range)
i.e. I took a picture of the driving range and then did a 180 and took another....hoping it would become clear why it was difficult to find

We waited for about 40 minutes, then decided that perhaps Sunday was not a day for golfing after all, and headed to the fish market for fresh seafood.

Back in Maputo

Maputo is much as I remember it....the best place to buy things is still from the guys on the street, public transport (minibuses called chapas) is still overcrowded with people, animals, groceries, etc., people are still surprised when I speak to them in Portuguese, and the people are still warm, friendly, and almost always laughing or smiling.

I am definitely gaining a new perspective on life in Mozambique....the non Peace Corps perspective, that is. I am living in an apartment (in the small ex-pat world of Maputo I met two other ex-Peace Corps girls who are living in a three bedroom apartment and were in need of a third roommate....I moved in last week) with running water, cable tv, internet, an indoor kitchen, and in indoor bathroom with a hot shower. I’ve also been meeting lots of other foreigners who are living and working here – many of them have cars, they go out to eat and drink at all the restaurants that I couldn’t afford when I was in the Peace Corps, and they all know each other (and each other’s business). I am still trying to figure out where in this network I am going to or want to fit in and/or spend my time. More thoughts on this will definitely be coming.....