After the first full week in Namaacha I was able to go back to Maputo and buy things like a cell phone. We all met at the frontiera (boarder) around 6:30 am, only for the chapas to not pick us up until 7:15 am.  Chapas are the most common means of transportation in Mozambique.  They are usually vans but sometimes trucks, usually in the north you get to ride in the open back of flat bed trucks.  These vans are made to normally sit 12 people, but they usually fit about 18-20 people, think of it as being eco-friendly this way.  On our way to Maputo, PC has special requested chapas for us, so we weren’t sardines on the way there.  The ride back to Maputo didn’t seem that long, of course it was early and there weren’t a lot of people on the road.

We arrived in Maputo and were in our language groups with our language teachers so everything would be okay.  Soon as we leave the chapa, there is a large area were vendors are lined, selling everything from jewelry, to wood carvings and even bootlegged movies, some that aren’t even out in the states yet.  Everyone that works around the streets are hustlers and they don’t like to take no for an answer.  We were told that no matter what price they tell us barter back with half, it’s usually closer to the real price.  It was interesting seeing everything around there, I didn’t take my camera since the risk of getting it stolen is far too high.  We made our way to the more populated area where the tall buildings were.  The sidewalks were packed with vendors lining both sides.  If you were looking for it, most likely someone was selling it around there.  A lot of vendors just sell stuff out of their back packs and just follow us, trying to get us to buy anything.  They will follow us for blocks even when we tell them no.

We had something they needed to get so we were going all around the place.  People buying different electronics, all of us buying phones, I had to get a mirror so I could shave without missing large patches.  One of the first stores we went to was a capulana store.  Capulana is a fabric usually made of cotton similar in size to a table cloth, with an African design, and can be used for a million and a half things.  Women wear them almost daily, usually wrapped around the waist kind of like a skirt, covering from their stomach to their ankles.  They can be used to make clothes from, such as dresses for women or shirts for men.  People also make pant and shorts out of them.  You name it, a capulana can do it.  There were lots of great designs and the store had hundreds of patterns.  I will be getting some capulana shirts made sometime while I’m here.  Quite a few people bought capulanas so they could start building their collection.  We had to go to a few different phone stores to find one that had the right type of phones for us and had enough of them in stock for all of us.  It took about half hour to an hour for everyone to get their phones and have them working.

We were all really hungry and wanted to get some good food while in Maputo.  There is one American fast food chain in Mozambique and it is in Maputo, it’s KFC.  KFC is the only fast food chain that did not leave Mozambique during the civil war.  It is actually considered to be a nice restaurant to go to since it’s a little pricy in Mozambican terms.  I had wanted to get pizza but I was alone on that and we went to KFC, which was fine with me.  I got the Original Recipe meal with cole slaw and fries.  The guy that took my order gypped me on my fries, so I told him I wanted more.  The little bastard went and got one more fry and I’m pretty sure he didn’t give me the right change back.  Of course at this time I don’t have the ability to really speak let alone argue with the guy and he knew it.  So after devouring my meal, which taste about the same as the American KFC, they had soft serve ice cream.  This was an obvious must and it was amazing.  We all sat there, completely stuffed and not wanting to move.  By this time it was already after 1:00 pm and we needed to make our way back to Namaacha.

We started walking to where most of the chapas are so we can find one going back to Namaacha. We find a chapa that’s going the right way and start to pack in.  We have to sit and wait for the chapa to fill up before we can leave, this can sometimes take hours.  Lucky for us there are vendors all around the place selling food, drinks, movies, music, just about anything you would need.  If the vendor doesn’t have the correct change it’s okay, after you give him your money, they walk away and find the correct change from a friend and come back.  When you are crammed in a chapa and all transactions are through the window, it’s good to know the vendor is trustworthy and will give you the correct change.  After about 30-45 minutes the chapa finally filled up, there were 19 plus a baby total in there.  That’s not accounting for everything people bought while there.  The locals don’t like to open the windows on the chapa because they are worried about getting dirty.  The fact that it’s 95 degrees outside and even hotter inside doesn’t matter, they don’t care if they sweat it out.  Lucky for me there were enough PCTs on board we were able to open multiple windows to get air flow.  This was desperately needed as the locals really smell “fresh” with the heat.  I sat next to a local for the whole trip back but he clearly didn’t feel comfortable sitting next to me, making sure he wasn’t going to touch me but cramped up next to the local on the other side of him.  The trip took about 2 hours to get back to Namaacha, which is a typical ride.

On the ride back my stomach started bothering me.  I could tell the rich food from KFC was not going to settle well with me.  I figured it would be okay and it was worth it for how good the food tasted.  Soon as I got back home I had to run to the bathroom, and up came my lunch.  I told mama Celeste I wasn’t feeling well and I needed to go lay down.  After a couple hour nap I woke up and knew I was in desperate need to get to the bathroom and fast, I didn’t even have time to put on my shirt.  I ran out my door to find the front door shut, I opened it and the gate was closed to.  There wasn’t enough time for me to make it outside before I got sick.  That didn’t make me feel any better so I kept moving towards the bathroom.  Soon as I got outside I got sick again.  A neighbor was sitting on her porch and saw me get sick.  She instantly jumped up and started yelling something, but not at me.  I stumbled my way into the bathroom and waited to make sure it was over.  Next thing I know mama Celeste was back home and telling me that she was going to call the PCMO, that’s the PC doctor.  I told her not to, I knew it would all pass and I would be fine, not something to bother the PCMO with on a Saturday night.  Needless to say she called anyway and I had to talk to the doctor, only so I could apologize for bothering her.  Mama Celeste went to get my neighbor PCT so I wouldn’t be completely alone.  I had to sit outside, get some fresh air and talk until mama Celeste felt it was long enough and I could go back to sleep.  She cleaned up my mess for me and I was dead exhausted. Finally after about 30 minutes I was able to go back to my bedroom.  I was feeling better like I got everything out of my system and would be okay tomorrow.  I fell asleep soon as my head hit the pillow, which is quite unusual in this bed.  I woke up a couple hours later and knew I had to sprint to the bathroom.  Luckily I had enough time to make it there before getting sick a few more times.  Mama Celeste was already outside with some neighbors and heard me.  She checked up on me and said she was going to call the PCMO again but I was able to get her to stop her.  I was so exhausted after this I just wanted to crawl back into bed and sleep until Monday.  Mama Celeste of course made me sit outside to get some fresh air, I fell asleep for a little bit on a foot stool.  I made my way to bed and didn’t wake up until about 8:00 am Sunday, which is sleeping in for Namaacha.

After getting up I had to learn how to wash my laundry by hand, which takes a long time and mama Celeste did not seem pleased with my pace or the level at which I was cleaning things.  After that it was time for a nap and was great to get some energy back.  I woke up and mama Celeste told me I had to eat even though I wasn’t really hungry, my stomach was still a little upset.  She told me that if I didn’t eat I wouldn’t have the energy to go to school the next day and they would send me back to America.  Now that’s a mama trying anything she can to get me to do what she wants me to.  There was supposed to be a group of PCTs meeting at the market to exchange phone numbers.  I wanted some cold water so I figured why not do both at the same time.  When I got to the mercado, there was only one other PCT there.  We walked around a little bit and ran into a couple other people.  Finally I made my way home and had some soup that was just cabbage and carrots but taste like chicken noodle soup.  I told mama Celeste I wanted some fresh fruit as well, I always want fruit and even more so when I’m sick.  She yelled at the neighbor down hill from us, they got a couple papayas down from their tree and brought them over for me.  It was so good, not too sweet and really juicy.  Mama Celeste told me that I wasn’t allowed to eat in Maputo any more because it will only make me sick.  I have to stick to her food only because she will make it so I won’t ever get sick.  And then she decided to mention that I shouldn’t eat at the KFC in Maputo because it’s really dirty and the one in Swaziland is much cleaner.  Needless to say I didn’t think I would come to Mozambique and get sick from eating American fast food.