Lunch with a crazy woman-

So after a 9 or so hour journey from Maputo back to site we stop in Maxixe to meet a friend and grab lunch. After we eat, we are sitting around commemorating and chatting, I see a woman sitting on the sidewalk nearby. I can tell from her behavior that she is not exactly ok in the head. She is carrying around a raw chicken and pulling it into pieces. At one point she gets up and runs after some dogs to throw the meat at them. Obviously the woman is thoughtful, if not scary. Eventually she walks into the area where we are enjoying the afternoon breeze. She walks right over to our table, which is normal because our bleach white skin seems to attract everyone from respectable businessmen to crazy women. She slams a raw chicken leg onto the table along with 3 coins. Then she picks up my phone and refuses to give it back as she hands it to my friend across the table. She then places the coins in a square shape using a bottle cap as the 4^th corner. She starts questioning us intensly in citswa-the local language. Then she notices my friend’s almost finished beer. She grabs it shaking her head madly, empties it out and then throws the bottle. At this point we are all a little enthralled and terrified. We know there are witch doctors around and some crazy belief systems in place here and we are not sure if we are in the process of getting cursed or blessed or just badgered. A man from another table comes over and tells us in Portuguese not to worry because the woman is not right in the head. Obviously! He then tells her in citwsa to leave us alone and she walks away carrying her coins and her raw chicken leg. Wow another normal day in Mozambique.

When it comes to thoughtfulness in this country I have seen the entire spectrum. I have seen people tripping over people to get out of a bus because no one would move.  I have seen a bus in such a hurry to make money that it drove away while an old woman was trying to get inside making her fall violently to the ground. However, I have also seen amazing things. For example one time a bus missed a stop where a man with no legs was supposed to get out. It was night time and they wanted to drop him a km or so from his stop. 2-3 women on the bus refused to let him be treated that way. They forced the bus to turn around and drop him off close to his house. This made the whole bus even more late, but it was amazing behavior to see from Mozambicans who normally ignore or belittle the disabled.  Another time I was on a bus with my friend Teagan who was visiting from America. A drunk man tried to talk to us very rudely and we ignored him so he started talking to the whole bus in citswa and calling us mulungus (foreigners- this can be said in a good or bad way.) All I had to say in Portuguese was “I have a name and it is not mulungu” and the whole bus was on our side. They started telling the guy off and apologizing. At first when they thought we didn’t understand, they let him do his thing and once they knew we understood him, they automatically wanted to stick up for us. On the same bus five minutes later, the bus driver proposed to me. Epah!!!

The sense of community is so different here. If I need a babysitter, I automatically have 5. If I need rice, I can look any direction. If I want to chat, any stoop is open. One time I borrowed two eggs from my neighbor and like a good American, I replaced them a few days later. My neighbor looked aghast. “What are you doing?!” she said. “I am returning your eggs," I said with a surprised and naive face. “Hahaha! Cheyanne, do not give me those, you silly girl! In Moz if I loan you something, I don’t want it back because I know if I ever need anything you will be there to help.” I love this philosophy, when it is not abused (which it often is with foreigners as they get asked for things a lot- mostly because they have a lot more things).  Of course not all neighbors are as wonderful. We have a devil child next door that opens our water valve to destroy our electronics, opens the window to let the cat escape, feeds the other children nail polish remover and turns on the stove when no one is home. Now don’t you dare think “oh Cheyanne she is just a child!” She knows exactly what she is doing!!!! She has no discipline and makes me crazy! Anyway…

I am constantly surprised by the behavior of Mozambicans. Lately there have been more good than bad surprises, but they all add to the character of the country and the people.

I leave this wonderful country the first week of December and although I need to go home and I am looking forward to many wonderful things in america like my cuddly cat, my mom, and chipotle. I am not ready to leave here. It feels great and horrible to be split in two wonderful ways at the same time.