Saturday, May 7, 2011

Day One.

After plane delay after plane delay we finally got to Maputo 3 days after we were originally supposed to arrive. That doesn't matter though. We got here safely and smoothly and thats what matters, right?

Wow... That is what I have to say for my first impression of Maputo. I mean I have seen hundreds of pictures from Alex of what it is like. But you don't know what its really like until you witness it first hand. It is shocking. Hundreds of kids running in the streets footless playing, women desperate to sell nuts so they can eat, houses made of scraps of metal and dirt.

Our first day was interesting. We called an employee of the man who gave us this internship to see if he would pick us up at the airport when we arrived. He told us that a man named Fernando would be there to pick us up. We were excited to get our car so we could get all settled in. Sure enough, when we walked out of the Maputo airport there was a man holding a sign saying "Alexsander Spencer". He helped us with our 8 bags and off we went towards the parking lot.  Alex asked him where our truck was, and he said he didn't have it. He led us to a taxi man. We could've made our way without Fernando picking us up.  Alex says this is how everything is in Mozambique, the delayed way is the Mozambican way I guess.

As we were driving to our new home, the taxi man was quiet the whole time. I was mezmerized looking out the window witnessing this whole new world, I didn't know what was going on. As I look ahead I see a group of Policias waving us to the side of the road. My first thought was that they were waving us down because they saw white people in the back seat and they want money. I was scared. I didn't understand what was being said. As it turns out the taxi man got pulled over for speeding. How would it be if in America the Police waved you down to pull over? I'm pretty sure no one would stop.

We got to the house. We are really lucky to be able to stay in the home we have here in Maputo. It is a really nice house. It is probably nicer and bigger than my house in America. At the same time it is really scary to be staying in this nice of a house. We live in a really nice area, we are surrounded by big houses. Everyone knows where the "wealthy" people live. We have a front gate. We have a security guard 24/7. We have locks and gates on all the doors. We have a gate on the stairs. (we sleep upstairs). I still don't feel safe! Good thing I'm a light sleeper huh? Everyone says I'll get used to it.

We went to the grocery store and we got a little bit of food. Everything is so expensive here! I was expecting everything to be on the cheaper side considering were in Africa. For example, we bought two towels and 2 hand towels= 1,167 mets = ~$40 USD. They are the crappiest towels I've ever used too, and my mom didn't buy the nice, thick, and fluffy towels growing up :)

We started our malaria pills- Doxycycline, bought in the grocery store. We set up our mosquito net. We have mosquito repellent. I do not want malaria.


View out our bedroom window (right)
Note: it is 6:00 am, there is no one out.
View out our bedroom window (Left)

Our Bed
Malaria Pills


Better pictures to come. We are waiting for the guy to bring us our truck. He said he'd be here about 1:00  pm, that means he will be here tomorrow or the next day probably. :) We are going to walk to the beach now. Bom dia!

Much love.

2 comments:

  1. Wow Chels! Glad you guys made it. It's insane that you guys are out there but soo awesome too! I don't think I would be able to handle all that. What an awesome experience. Keep posting!

    ReplyDelete
  2. This is both exciting and scary! Hopefully the gate will keep you safe. My mother in law spent part of her childhood in Africa because her dad was military and they had a gate too...and luckily it kept them safe!

    ReplyDelete