Reflections on Maputo

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Boy oh boy is the story different in Maputo than it is in DC. The policies that I have been forming opinions on just ain't the same once you get outside of the beltway, let along the continent.
We spent ages in Maputo. A month to be exact. That makes two months and just over three hundred miles. We are not exactly zipping along. But it was worth it to sit in Maputo for a bit and soak up all that we didn't know. Turns our the Millennium Challenge Account has "been an embarrassment" and the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief has been a "grand success." Who would have thought it? Certainly not me, sitting in DC. Sure, there were indications one way or another, but it really clarifies matters to talk to the folks who have to live under and implement every policy whim that comes out of DC.

The wonderful thing about settling into a place for a bit is getting to know it, and it getting to know you. Aside from the terrific people we met in the places we stayed, and those we interviewed, our most entertaining relationships were with the ladies at the markets. Especially the ones we visited regularly, the ones that got to laugh at our Portuguese many days in a row, not just once.

Some we visited only once or twice, but it was enough to playfully practice the names for all the vegetables from their hand-lettered sign, take a few smiling pictures, and take them copies the next day. Some, at Janet Market around the corner from our hostel, we got to know rather well. Our banana lady knew just what kind and how ripe we like our bananas. And our couve lady (collard greens) became our couve lady because she always had the freshest, cheapest selection. We made a bit of a scene by eating lunch in the market, huge plates of rice with bean stew or chicken -- enough to fill us for the rest of the day -- for $0.75.

Somehow feeling at home in this market was enough to make us feel at home in Maputo and a little sad to leave it. See Maputo photos

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Photos

Mateus and Jorge
Our pals from Fatima's backpackers, where we stayed for much too long!

Santos and Rui
These guys taught us Portuguese and we may have taught them a bit of English.

Comments

[Ella]

saudades d maputo and our random market encounters
hi you two! remember me? wow, a long way from maputo. am writing you a little note from manila where i am working till end of january. i miss maputo. your entry made it feel more alive in my head again. thanks. hope you two are doing fine! um beijo enorme, ps. will never forget that nice dinner you hosted :) yum yum Ella