Spotlight: Meet Mussa

Name: Mussa

Role in my life: 

Colleague. 

Best friend in Mozambique. 

Cultural-difference-question-answerer.

What do you do in Nauela?

I am teaching English, grades 8 and 10. I have been here since June 2011.

How did you get here?

I did first grade in one school, then second through fifth in another, sixth and seventh in another, eighth through tenth in another, and eleventh and twelfth in another. After grade 12, I applied to go to the Universidade Pedagogica to do a one year teacher-training course. We were 200 candidates for only 27 spaces, but I got lucky and I got in. I was there from February 2010 to December 2010. After that, I applied to be a teacher, but there were no openings for jobs until June 2011. That’s when I arrived here.

What is something you like about Mozambique, and what is something you would like to change?

This is my home. The country has riches and resources, and good, interesting people. And, it’s my reality, I have to like it.

I would like to see an end to poverty. I would like social equality. Many people here are worse than poor. They are poor at the superlative level. People shouldn’t have to live like that.

Which languages do you speak?

My mother tongue is Chuabo, our local language. I learned Portuguese when I was five or six. I also speak English, actually I’m still learning. And here in Nauela I learned Lomwe, and I can speak a little bit of Arabic.

What do you do in your free time?

I read, read, read! I like all different types of books. I like to listen to music and watch football [soccer for us American folk].  If we had electricity here, you wouldn’t be able to pull me away from the television when a football game was on!

What is your dream in life?

I would like to get a degree in English, a bachelor’s or doctorate. Also, I would like to be self-employed one day, and not have to depend on a government salary.

Would you rather have antlers or tusks?

What is the point of this question? I don’t want either antlers or tusks.

What is your religion?

I was born into a religious family; we are all Muslim. For me, religion is everything. I think if more people followed religious laws, we wouldn’t have wars.

What is one of your happiest memories?

When my dad died, I was taken care of by my family. I wasn’t abandoned, which happens a lot here.

If you could be an animal, what animal would you be?

This is like that other question, isn’t it? I would be a camel, because there’s an interesting story about it in the Koran. For Muslims, it’s a sacred animal.

What would you like to know about the United States?

Well, I’d like to go there, not ask a question about it.

What is something you’d like people in the United States to know about Mozambique?

Mozambique is a tranquil country. We have problems, like any other country, but we have a lot of natural resources. If you’d like to, come and live here!

What is your favorite thing to eat?

I like rice of course, our traditional food! I also like fresh fish, crab, and beans.

What is your family like?

I lost my dad when I was about three years old, and I didn’t grow up with my mother. I grew up with my aunts and uncles – the family of my dad – and my grandfather is like a father for me. I didn’t see my mother from grade 5 until I came to Nauela in 2011. I’ve studied the most out of all my siblings.

If you were stranded on a desert island and could have three things with you, what would they be?

First, I would like to have something to pray with, like the Koran.

Second, I would want to have food.

Third, I would want to have happiness with the little that I have.

Into the Mountains of Mozambique

School break brought me to the bottoms and sides of various mountains around northern and central Mozambique (see map in previous post if you don't know yet where Mozambique is in the universe). Unfortunately, I didn't actually make it to the top of any.

First, I found myself in Ile, where I prove I know the letter X by forming it with my body:

I also shot my first photo shoot of my friend who needs an album cover for the CD he's recording. For some reason, he wants a picture of himself striking a sexy pose on the cover:

Then, I discovered a plant that I had learned about in Biology eight years ago, but had never actually seen. Luckily, the friend I was with - the musician pictured above - sunlights as a biology teacher, and...oh wait, no, he didn't share my excitement:

plant minding its own business

plant one second after I touched it

I know, I know, I am [sitting on] a star!

Mozambique has some picturesque scenery:

And awesome people:

During my vacation, when I wasn't climbing halfway up mountains, I went to a youth conference:

After Ile, I went to Tete (on the map in the previous post, it's the province that looks like a thumb sticking out on the left) to visit one of my favorite couples, Lisa and Dan...and Dylan, the Third Wheel:

We attempted to climb a mountain:

And valiantly struggled through thornbushes (Mouse Soup: The Thorn Bush) to get to the top:

But only made it halfway.

Luckily we had Buino the rock-climbing dog with us.

Back at the concrete-and-tin-roof ranch, we met lots of Lisa and Dan's miniature-sized porch visitors:

And learned a bit from Teacher Lisa's class:

And had a picnic at sunset on yet another side of yet another mountain:

Next vacation, I'll start off halfway up the mountain, and make it all the way up.

Where in the World is Steph?

I am slightly ashamed to admit that before I knew I was coming to Mozambique, if I were to go on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire and asked to locate Mozambique on a map, I would have gone home with empty pockets. So to make sure you don’t suffer from the same fate, or in case you ever want to show up at my house as a surprise, let me help you out.

Here is where I am in the galaxy:

I am in the Milky Way, on Planet Earth.

I am on the continent of Africa.

I am in sub-Saharan Africa, in the country of Mozambique.

Mozambique is divided into 10 provinces, and I am in
the province of Zambezia, in a small town called Nauela.

The center of Nauela is one street about 3km long, with everything I need - my job, food, and friends.

Chickens and Spiders and Goats, Oh My!

You may be wondering what type of animals we run into in our daily lives here in Nauela. Don't worry, this is a perfectly normal question. People who live in Nauela are wondering the same thing about your daily life. Scroll down the page for a virtual safari - real photos of exotic animals you may have never seen before!

Chickens - Technically birds, but fly very awkwardly and only when they're trying to run away from someone trying to eat them. They really do cross the road, but probably wouldn't know why if you asked one - their brains are not very big. Photo credit to Steph Hay.

Goats - When you're taking your goats for a walk, you need to put only the mother on a leash, and all her kids will follow. They're stubborn when they find a nice juicy patch of grass, and, as Dan demonstrates below, don't particularly like when you take a ride on their backs.

Pigs - Black, not pink. Tails are wavy, not quite curly. They wander into everyone's yards and make grunting noises while eating the garbage.

Lizards - If you see something scurrying up the wall of your room and leaving small black droppings everywhere, just leave it alone and be glad that it's eating your mosquitoes.

Canines -  Usually the dogs are not this cute, but they are numerous and wandering around all of Mozambique, like squirrels but bigger and scarier when they get into fights. This mini one that I'm holding below is the puppy of Sam's dog. When it was born, he didn't even know she had been pregnant. 

Spiders - Sometimes there are small spiders. Sometimes there are giant spiders. Please let me know if you can identify the one below, and if I have to worry about my state of health when I'm around it.

Creepy Crawlies - I actually find bugs interesting from a scientific standpoint, but I don't like when they're inside my mosquito net. Luckily, I have only seen ones like the creature below outside my mosquito net.

Scorpions - Actually not very common, I just wanted to include this one because I have a picture of it. I've only seen 4 in the past year and a half. Two of them I found when I was in an outdoor shower, on separate occasions, as they walked across my feet, looking sudsy and miserable.