Some thoughts…

In the movie, My Fair Lady, Eliza Doolittle has to repeat over and over, “The rain in Spain falls mainly on the plains”. Here in Mozambique the following is true for this year: “The rain in Moz pours on most days”. It’s raining again. We had almost 48 hours of clear skies. Friday, Saturday and Sunday it poured for long periods of time. Very few people came to church because of the heavy rains. Someone mentioned it is like the rains of 2000 when there were big floods. Gondola will not flood because it is very hilly; but other parts of the country can, including the Zambezi River for the second year in a row.

Things I appreciate
There are things that I didn’t know I appreciated but am learning that they merit being appreciated since being here in Mozambique:
- Sewage systems/storm drains/culverts
- Matching outfits on other people
- Sidewalks
- One person to a seat on public transportation
- Green lawns
- Trash cans in public areas (they are everywhere in the States)
- Free public restrooms (at least they have some public restrooms here, just gotta pay and if you want toilet paper, sometimes that’s extra)

Things I appreciate about Mozambique
- Availability of fresh fruit year round
- Children making sand castles in the sandy dirt by the side of the road
- Fresh baked bread
- Shoulders on the sides of road for pedestrians and bicyclists
- Our neighbors who live beside us and below us
- The land is absolutely beautiful. When I am on a chapa, I try to sit next to a window so that I can watch it as we go past. Right now it’s really lush and green.
- Palm trees
- Little traffic
- Big umbrellas for shade and rain protection (also known as “sombrinas” – little shade)
- The country is really developing quickly. We talked with a missionary the other day who said when she arrived here 5 years ago, there wasn’t toilet paper. Now you can get several different brands and yesterday I saw a Mozambican talking with an employee at Shoprite about why his favorite brand wasn’t on the shelf.
- The little lizards that crawl on the walls and eat the bugs
- How frequently people smile and laugh – a lot!

Road rules
There seem to be very few rules of the road here. Who ever you are and whatever your transportation is, is the most important being on the road. So, if you are pedestrian, bicyclist, driver of a car, mac truck driver, chapa, you can go wherever you want (though they do generally drive on the left side of the road). If someone is there, beep your horn or cling your bell to get them to move. There’s no such thing as giving pedestrians the right of way or slowing down much through a village where there are people, goats, bicycles, chickens, or children on the sides of the road. Drivers just beep for people to get over. Conversely, there seems to be little awareness about the dangers of the road with pedestrians. People leisurely walk across the road in front of on-coming cars (though here in Gondola and other towns with more through traffic, I do see people looking both ways, but not all the time). The other day, I saw three little boys (like 3 years old) walking beside the busy road in Chimoio. One of them darted across the road without looking, urging the other two to follow. Fortunately an adult nearby took both remaining boys by the hand and cross the street when it was safe. I was too paralyzed by what I saw to take any action and am very thankful for the adult’s intervention.

English on the street
Strangers like to practice their English with me. They come up to me and ask, “Do you speak English?” Sometimes I will answer “Sim” (yes, in Portuguese), sometimes, “Não” (no, in Portuguese). The other day some guy as I was waiting to get on a chapa in Chimoio said, “Good Afternoon! How are you?” So I responded, “Zdvrastvyute, kak dela?” (Russian for “hi, how are you?”). I don’t really feel like entering into conversations with random guys who want to practice their English. I know from your perspective it sounds rude or unfriendly but this happens several times a week. Random people (men) come up and try to speak English. It’s one thing when it’s kids as I am walking down the street; but another thing when it’s men on the chapa. And it doesn’t happen to me as much when I am with Joél, mostly when I am alone.