4th of July Weekend

Well, there were no fireworks for me this year, but I still managed to celebrate the US Independence Day.

Our weekend started early with an event at the US Amabassador's residence on Thursday. The house was very nice, but no one is living there right now because there is no US Ambassador to Mozambique right now. We joked that we would house sit until they get a new one. (I'll try anything to get out of staying at the hotel for 3 months). There were many dignitaries, Ambassadors from other countries, and apparently a drunk Chris Matthews (aka Hardball fame) in attendance. Now, I should cut Chris Matthews some slack as I didn't come across him until the end of the event, but it did look like he may have had one too many for the early afternoon hour. At one point during the event, I ended up talking to about 6 ambassadors from different African countries. I felt very low on the totem pole and wondered how I managed to get myself into this situation. They were all very nice to me, though. I also got to meet a lot of other US citizens who are working here for either the Embassy, CDC, PEPFAR, or USAID. All in all, an enjoyable afternoon. I didn't take any pictures, because I figured it was probably not appropriate.

There was also the official pomp and circumstance...but I couldn't understand most of it, as it was in Portugese. They even handed out books/pamphlets about Barack Obama. They had a book of Obama's words (someone took the last one as I was debating on whether I was allowed to take it or not) and I thought how different this is than the books on Bushisms that were published during the previous administration. Though the Bushisms always made me laugh, it is so nice to actually have a president that can speak intelligently and isn't laughed at other parts of the world.

Friday, was a day off for us. I ventured to the market in town, which was a bit overwhelming. The guidebook was not wrong when it said you can find everything there. I opted to stay with the produce and bread, but you could get hair products, toiletries, wigs, souveniers, etc. I wish I could have taken more pics, but I don't think it would have gone over well with some of the vendors. Also, my pictures do not portray the amount of vendors or the crowdiness (sp??) of the market. My pics were from the front end of the market where the vendors were more spread out.

We walked back to my hotel with a stop at a Thai restuarant. Along the way, we noticed lots of little crowds forming in various places--one on a street corner, women trying to get into stores--but we had no idea why. The city was definitely bustling since it was not a Mozambican holiday and just a normal work day for everyone but us.

Saturday (the 4th), I woke up to rain...the first time since I got here. It cleared up, though, before our cookout/picnic started. The Embassy hosted the event at a gated community, where many US employees live. There was BBQ chicken, "American" music , and games. The Marines sold drinks. There was even a hard core game of volleyball, but we decided to stick with the
croquet and ping pong.

As we were leaving and starting to walk back to my hotel, the rain came and we were kind of stuck under a tree trying (but not succeeding) to not get wet. Thank goodness a lovely CDC employee picked us up and saved us from getting completely drenched.

Today, I decided to take it easy. I tried to find the nearest Catholic Church...and not sure if I found it or not. I thought it would be interesting to see a mass over here, even though I would not understand anything. The hotel wasn't good at giving me the times for the services, so I figured I would guess and think there had to be one around 11, right? Well, I found the church and it appeared the service from 9 am (the last one of the morning) was still going on at 1045..clearly this is not the US Catholic Church. Also, I had no idea from the name on the sign if it was even a Catholic Church or not. They did appear to be singing hymns, so I will try again next weekend.

Then I ventured off to the GAME. What is GAME, you ask. No, it is not some sort of sporting complex. It is the MZ version of Wal-Mart or Target, but not as big and doesn't have as much stuff--no clothes or anything like that. I was able to stock up on Coco Cola Light, so I was happy.

After a cab ride home with my goodies, I walked to Cafe Sol and had a chicken burrito for lunch.

On the way back, I figured it was time to attempt to buy something from the street vendors that sit outside my hotel. I was trying to polish my bargaining skills in my head, but not sure how well I did..since the guy took the first counter-offer that I gave him for what I ended up buying.

I walked a ton today and now my feet are needing a little rest. So, I am stting by the hotel pool looking out at the ocean and watching a big ship sail slowly by (oddly close to the shore) as I type this. It is a bit chilly, so I am very glad I brought by zip hoodie and some comfy warm pants. I think I will rest here until the sun goes down.