In honor of a Mozambican national holiday

Today is a national holiday in Mozambique, celebrating the signing of a peace agreement. We have a planned day off work.

Thankfully, the streets have been peaceful since last week.

Enjoy the video...remembering (and dreaming of) better days.



Waka Waka Africa!

Sheri

an unwelcome new experience

Last week, while there were happy posts about birthday parties and shopping for African batiks we were living a difficult experience. What happened? Riots broke out in our city due to the rapidly rising cost of living, especially in Maputo.

It started with an announcement on Tuesday that the cost of food, water and power would be going up. In the few months we've lived here costs have been increasing consistently. Folks weren't happy. I understand their frustrations.

To some extent, I feel their pain. Maputo is the most expensive place I have ever lived. The rising costs have been difficult for us to absorb. Mozambique has a high percentage of unemployment. Even for those with jobs, the wages are often low. The decision makers seem unsympathetic. Our personal struggle with the cost of living has only increased my compassion for those with less resources.

By Tuesday evening friends started to send each other text messages, intiving one another to participate in demonstrations around town. Wednesday went from normal to chaotic very quickly as the demonstrations turned violent. The reports vary on the number dead, but everyone agrees that hundreds were injured. We heard gunfire regularly for two days. Rioting was an unwelcome new experience for me, it is one I would prefer to never experience again.

The weekend has been peaceful and even more quiet than usual. I am incredibly thankful that everyone we know is safe and unharmed. I pray the peace remains. There are rumors of more demonstrations in the coming days. I hope not. I pray for Mozambique. I pray the decision makers can come to a solution in the best interest of the people. Please join me in these prayers.

Sheri

making an interns day...

This is Olivia. She is interning with us for five months
and her birthday happened to fall in the time that she is away from family and friends.
It is on those special occassions that the distance seems the greatest.

So, we hosted a party in her honor at our apartment. (notice the bare walls I mentioned yesterday, lots of chairs, but bare walls)

 We served pizza (I mentioned earlier this week that pizza is available to us). We had three types: vegetarian, meat lovers and pepperoni.

 In lieu of cake (as this was a working day and none of us had time to bake one from scratch), we had birthday biscuits (known to American's as cookies) courtesy of a Dutch visitor.

 Does it really matter what the treat is as long as it is sweet, there are candles to blow out, and every one sings happy birthday? I don't think so. We did all of this with with enthusiasm. Kenyon even whooped and hollered at the end.

We wrapped up the night with a game of speed charades. Have you ever played? I just learned and LOVE it. This is Judith. She decided later that it was easier to stand than sit and charade.

Alexis already knew this trick. She's played before. Notice my one wall hanging in the background. I just had to point that out for the faithful readers.

At the beginning of the evening we asked Olivia what her most memorable birthday had been. She said a surprise party. I hope the next time she is asked that question she talks about the birthday she celebrated in Mozambique. Thanks to all of our new friends who helped to make this a wonderful celebration in honor of Olivia, you are welcome back any time if you just want to hang out.

Sheri

setting up house in Maputo

While we were visiting the US the wonderful Whitlock family moved back to the States for good. It is sad for us socially, but we did inherit some of their furnishings. Now that the place didn't feel quite so sterile and like we are just passing through I decided I needed to find something to hang on my bare walls. So, our first weekend back in Maputo I went with a girlfriend to the weekend market.

There are many goods to purchase - shirts and shoes, knickknacks and handbags, but I was looking for something particular. I was shopping for an African Batik. What's that?

A batik is a decorated fabric. The market has hundreds of them and lots of sellers willing to give a "special price." It was hard to choose and my special price wasn't so special so my budget could only allow for the purchase of one on this particular shopping trip.

This is the batik I selected. Why? How did I choose it? Well, it was very simple really. First, I like the colors. Second, elephants are the star of one of our fondest memories so far in Africa...remember our safari trip with the momma elephant? So, if I have to look at this everyday I wanted it to be something that made me smile. Also, when we leave here I wanted it connected with a memory of our time in Africa as I assume we will take it with us back to America.

Generally, these batik's are mounted on a wooden frame then hung on the wall like a painting. That's all well and good and can look rather nice. However, I don't have the resources (nor the connections) to get the wooden frame made and our walls are concrete so I don't have the tools to hang it. Thus, I used a very useful tool I learned in college...sticky tack. It isn't the prettiest solution, but I now have one wall in our living room that is no longer bare, though I do feel like I've regressed a good ten years.

When was the last time you hung something on the wall using sticky-tack?
 
Sheri

FAQ: deodorant - public health risk?

There is one blog post everyone back home was talking about. What was the hottest topic of all? The topic of body odor and the use (or lack of) deodorant where we live. The original post was about the expense of the product we use everyday.

Talking about this topic so much got me to thinking about why we use deodorant everyday. Do we do it for a public health reason or it purely vanity?

I did a google search on the public health benefits of deodorant. True to it's name it only serves one purpose - to cover or eliminate body odor. There were lots of articles about the toxic effects of using deodorant...just another way Americans unknowingly poison themselves. There are herbal varieties available to reduce the risks. Then I found this article that talks about the health benefits of body odor - that it is our bodies way of telling us whether we are eating things that are good for our bodies or bad for them.

Since I have no plans to give up animal products in the near future (I love cheese too much), I will continue my vanity routine of using deodorant. But, I have found this whole discussion interesting. Just another way living overseas has changed my perspective about things I used to consider "normal."

Sheri