‘… And we also have a visitor here from the United States named Victor. He is new to the Church and to Maxixe and will be with us for the next two years… is he here today? I didn’t see him.’
*Oh crap. Should I pretend I didn’t understand? Wait, what are you saying?! Get up there… if this were the States you’d already be up there addressing the crowd.*
‘Oh there he is. Would you like to say something?’ He motions for me to come forward.
I stand up and walk to the front of the Church. I can feel everyone’s glare on the back of my neck and I’m a bit uneasy as I get ready to introduce myself before a large crowd of people in a language that I just started learning in August.
I reach the podium and the announcer repeats his invitation for me to speak. ‘Just a few words about you and what you’re doing here would be nice.’
*Ok. I can do this.*
‘Good… Good morning. My name is Victor Perez and I work for the Peace Corps. Yes… I am from the United States and I’m glad to be living here in Maxixe for the next few years. Thank you so much for your welcome and…well… I’m very happy to be here. Thank you.’
*Wow, Vic. Nice. Way to explain your job. ‘I work for the Peace Corps.’ Brilliant… because I’m sure they all know what that is… sigh… ok, ok just go sit down…*
‘Thank you very much, Victor. Now for our next…’
That was the scene in my new Church, Sagrada Familia, a few Sundays ago when I went to the earlier Mass for the first time. Funnily enough, that was actually my third time introducing myself before a congregation here, the first being back in October when I arrived in Namaacha for training… so I had some practice. What was the big deal then? For one, thanks to my nerves, my Portuguese vocab just went out the door the minute I stepped up to address the congregation. A crowd isn’t a big deal, but a crowd that may not understand what you are saying and/or may look down on you slightly for your limited language ability is something to worry about.
It’s such a frustrating thing when a person opens her mouth to speak and she knows that no matter what she says, the other person is not going to be able to fully understand and appreciate her thoughts or feelings. Maybe just as wearisome is when she cannot completely understand what the other person is trying to communicate.
Portuguese for me has been an adventure. It and this experience in general have already challenged me in ways I didn’t even know I could be challenged in. Some days I feel like I’m getting it after having a conversation about… say… the US electoral system with a Mozambican. Meanwhile there are the other days as well when I say something simple, think the other person understands, and then pause as I notice their blank stare. That’s life though. . . Take it for the good and take it for the bad. Live and learn from your mistakes.
On a side note, while I’m thinking about it, I can honestly say that I feel a lot closer to my father even with us being so far apart. Granted I’ve only been here for four-ish months, but I can at least picture what it must have been like for him to move to a country and attend school where he didn’t understand a vast majority of what people were saying. What he did and I guess ultimately what I have to do in this situation then is to just give it time.
Yes I started learning Portuguese a few months ago and yes I have been living in it for almost as long, but I am getting a little better everyday with each new word, phrase, or pronunciation I learn. With any luck, the next time I have to introduce myself in front of a group of people or even have a basic conversation I can feel a bit more comfortable knowing that in the end things will get better in the span of two years... they have to right? :)
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Potent Potables
Coming to Mozambique I had no idea what to expect about… well… a lot things I’d say. I imagined everything from architecture to landscape based on educated guesses and whatever I could research before I left the states. At least one thing was for sure though: there would be no Dom’s, John’s, Presto’s, or Pino’s; no Mighty Taco; no La Nova… jeez… would they at least have cream soda in Mozambique?! Doubtful.
When I got here in October what I found was lots of rice, beans, bread, various veggies, xima (pronounced chima), and exotic fruit. Most people here fall below the line of poverty (80% as of 2003 based on a document I recently read for work) and so the most popular foods are that which people can get for the cheapest.
Xima is especially common as this cornmeal based food is both inexpensive and filling. By mixing the cornmeal powder with water and bringing it to a boil, the mixture hardens into a substance almost like potatoes. This is taken and topped with any kind of sauce for a little bit of flavor. (It’s actually pretty good too depending on the sauce).
As for what xima or rice can be topped with, there are many difference recipes of course. If I’m talking about Mozambican food, however, I have to talk about Matapa (Mah-tah-pa). Matapa is made with crushed cassava leaves, nuts, coconut water, and shrimp all cooked together in what turns out to be… well… a blend of delicious-ness. You can’t come to Mozambique without trying it, but if you’re on your own you might hesitate to make it yourself: properly prepared matapa can take 1 1/2-4 hours depending on the circumstances. Crushing everything is one challenge as you need lots of patience and muscle strength. Imagine a wooden chalice, times 15-20 in size (knee length), with most of a massive wooden pole sticking out of it. That’s what you crush things with when you’re making food for more than a few people. Yeah… I’ve only made it once. Lol.
Samousas are another tasty, inexpensive treat that can be found in an outdoor market for 1 Mt apiece, or 5cents in the US. Samousas are the same shape and size as a Dorito, but much thicker as it is basically fried dough filled with a mixture of veggies and maybe some fish. (Fish is also common being that we are so close to the water). This may or may not be one of my favorite snacks to grab on my way home from work.
As for what I’ve been doing about food, I’ve found that I like to cook… very, VERY much. That’s right, maybe some classic rock or better yet… blues music and smell of whatever I purchased that day simmering on the stovetop… what a perfect way to start the evening. So far I have been experimenting a lot with the PC volunteer’s cookbook and have made everything from bruschetta to spaghetti with homemade mango sauce to homemade baked beans to mashed potatoes and stuffing and so on. As I wrote Leah in a letter a few weeks ago (which she’ll probably get a year from now thanks to somewhat slow postal service lol) it’s like I’m going from Chef Boyardee to Chef Emeril faster than you can say BAM! Cheesy I know… sorry, couldn’t help it.
Seriously though, I work with what I have… which thankfully is quite a bit: tomatoes, green peppers, garlic, onions, cucumber, pineapple, mangos, apples, bananas, and dried shrimp are commonly sold in most neighborhood outdoor markets, among the other cheaper foods already mentioned. That’s not even mentioning some of the things I can find if I scour some of the bigger markets inside the city.
All in all, I would say that I have been blessed with a decent amount of resources. I can find a lot of good food for relatively low cost and I can sample local plates at whichever outdoor stand or small restaurant I stumble upon. There’s no McDonald’s here, but there is a small place hidden away from the street in the marketplace where I can get a good meal and a fanta for 40 Mts. There are no La Nova’s BBQ wings, but there are fresh pineapples in season now which serve as a delicious way to start the day. Yeah, I think it’s safe to say that Maxixe is starting to feel like home…
When I got here in October what I found was lots of rice, beans, bread, various veggies, xima (pronounced chima), and exotic fruit. Most people here fall below the line of poverty (80% as of 2003 based on a document I recently read for work) and so the most popular foods are that which people can get for the cheapest.
Xima is especially common as this cornmeal based food is both inexpensive and filling. By mixing the cornmeal powder with water and bringing it to a boil, the mixture hardens into a substance almost like potatoes. This is taken and topped with any kind of sauce for a little bit of flavor. (It’s actually pretty good too depending on the sauce).
As for what xima or rice can be topped with, there are many difference recipes of course. If I’m talking about Mozambican food, however, I have to talk about Matapa (Mah-tah-pa). Matapa is made with crushed cassava leaves, nuts, coconut water, and shrimp all cooked together in what turns out to be… well… a blend of delicious-ness. You can’t come to Mozambique without trying it, but if you’re on your own you might hesitate to make it yourself: properly prepared matapa can take 1 1/2-4 hours depending on the circumstances. Crushing everything is one challenge as you need lots of patience and muscle strength. Imagine a wooden chalice, times 15-20 in size (knee length), with most of a massive wooden pole sticking out of it. That’s what you crush things with when you’re making food for more than a few people. Yeah… I’ve only made it once. Lol.
Samousas are another tasty, inexpensive treat that can be found in an outdoor market for 1 Mt apiece, or 5cents in the US. Samousas are the same shape and size as a Dorito, but much thicker as it is basically fried dough filled with a mixture of veggies and maybe some fish. (Fish is also common being that we are so close to the water). This may or may not be one of my favorite snacks to grab on my way home from work.
As for what I’ve been doing about food, I’ve found that I like to cook… very, VERY much. That’s right, maybe some classic rock or better yet… blues music and smell of whatever I purchased that day simmering on the stovetop… what a perfect way to start the evening. So far I have been experimenting a lot with the PC volunteer’s cookbook and have made everything from bruschetta to spaghetti with homemade mango sauce to homemade baked beans to mashed potatoes and stuffing and so on. As I wrote Leah in a letter a few weeks ago (which she’ll probably get a year from now thanks to somewhat slow postal service lol) it’s like I’m going from Chef Boyardee to Chef Emeril faster than you can say BAM! Cheesy I know… sorry, couldn’t help it.
Seriously though, I work with what I have… which thankfully is quite a bit: tomatoes, green peppers, garlic, onions, cucumber, pineapple, mangos, apples, bananas, and dried shrimp are commonly sold in most neighborhood outdoor markets, among the other cheaper foods already mentioned. That’s not even mentioning some of the things I can find if I scour some of the bigger markets inside the city.
All in all, I would say that I have been blessed with a decent amount of resources. I can find a lot of good food for relatively low cost and I can sample local plates at whichever outdoor stand or small restaurant I stumble upon. There’s no McDonald’s here, but there is a small place hidden away from the street in the marketplace where I can get a good meal and a fanta for 40 Mts. There are no La Nova’s BBQ wings, but there are fresh pineapples in season now which serve as a delicious way to start the day. Yeah, I think it’s safe to say that Maxixe is starting to feel like home…
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