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.