7 Ways It’s A Small World After All in Mozambique

This post is part of Blogging Abroad’s 2017 New Years Blog Challenge, week one: Global Citizenship.

Exactly a year ago, when I got my invitation to serve in the Peace Corps, the thought of moving to Mozambique for 27 months was mind-boggling. Now, I have 23 months left, and it might be even more so overwhelming. But already, I’ve come to appreciate a new culture. One full of capulanas, matapa, local languages, and the most hospitable people I’ve been lucky enough to know. And while every day I am completely immersed in this culture, it’s hard not to come by little familiarities. They’ve made me think a lot about globalization (wow, it’s like I was an International Studies major or something :P), but more simply, I think they’ve made the transition to life in Moz less shocking. They reminded me that the world’s not that, that big after all. So, here they are: seven ways I’m consistently reminded of home – of the USA – despite being thousands of miles away.

1. Coca Cola – After arriving at the Maputo airport back in August, we took a quick 20 minute ride to our hotel. While I was mostly focused on watching our bus come within inches of pedestrians, I kept seeing red buildings out of the corner of my eye. Half plastered with the Vodacom (cell service and Internet provider) logo and half with that of Coca Cola. With the cost of a glass bottle rivaling that of bottled water (20MT, about a quarter), it’s often the beverage of choice, among adults and children alike. And if it’s not Coke, it’s one of the company’s other sodas, like Sparletta or Fanta. Of course, that’s no accident. Apparently, the company decided to make a big push into the African markets this decade. 
   

   Three barracas (shacks/bars) all painted with the Coca Cola logo. The company must have paid people to use their walls as advertising?

2. Music – Mozambicans love their music! A lot of people have big stereos that they pride themselves in owning and want the whole town to know about, blasting the same seven songs or so on repeat into the wee hours of the night. A lot of times there’s an American song in the mix. When I first arrived to Mozambique, it was “Sorry” by Justin Bieber. Then, for a couple months, it was “Work” by Rihanna. But now that’s starting to fade out too. What song will sweep the country next? Hard to say…Lately I’ve been seeing some Chris Brown music videos on some friends’ computers. But as for my colleagues, they seem okay with listening (and listening and listening and listening again) to less recent stuff: Beyonce’s 2008 “Disappear” and the even older “Carry You Home” by James Blunt.  
3. Chain messages – You know those silly emails or texts that used to get passed around that would say “pass this on if you smiled at least once” or “if you don’t send this to at least seven people, you’ll have bad luck this year”? Yeah, I thought that was just a silly fad from early-2000s America, but no, they’re still alive and well here in Moz. I get several images or videos sent to me every day (and ignore a lot of them because I don’t want to waste my precious data). But while I think they’re super cheesy, Mozambicans use them quite seriously. It’s pretty great!
   

   At least this one’s actually nice. It says, “This is the real Christmas tree we should all set up,” and then lists values like happiness, friendship, and respect.

4. KFC – I was super surprised to learn that while McDonalds only has franchises in three African countries, KFC is available in 16, including Mozambique! While they don’t have my favorites from an American KFC (extra crispy chicken, biscuits, and mac-n-cheese), it’s a great place to get ice cream with crushed OREOS!
5. Language – The other day I was walking around town with my host sister, Mana Yara, and our host sister-in-law who is visiting from South Africa, Mana Anabela. I thought it was so cool that within our small group, each pair used a different language to communicate. Yara and Anabela would use the local language, Xitswa; Yara and I would speak in Portuguese; and Anabela and I would rely on English. Although I seldom get to use full-fledged English here in Sitila besides when a South African passes through, I still hear a phrase or two most days. In particular, the words “nice” and “sorry” seem to have replaced their Portuguese equivalents. And even when I hear Xitswa, I pick up on English cognates. Many items had been introduced to their culture many years after developing their language, so they just borrowed from English. Bhuku, for example, bears much more resemblance to its English translation, book, than its Portuguese one, livro. 
6. Recognition of Chicago – Mozambicans have this obsession with the notion of a city. All cities are beautiful to them! So once I reveal I’m from America, they immediately assume I’m from the city and want to know more. At first I told people I was from Phoenix, Arizona, but nobody knew about it and the conversation would end there. So now, to make it a little more exciting, I tell people I’m from Chicago, where I went to school. Almost everyone lights up at recognizing the name and my answer will prompt one of two reactions: 1) Ahh, Chicago. A cidade com muitos bandidos. (Ahh, Chicago. The city with many bandits.) Or 2) Ahh, Chicago. Chicago Bulls. I doubt they know anything about the basketball team. There are just so many people wearing jerseys or championship shirts from 1996, that they recognize it. Which brings me to my final way it’s a small world here in Moz…
7. Calamidades – Literally translates to “calamities”. But here in Mozambique, the word is used to refer to secondhand clothing. Yes, an unfortunate name. I’m very curious as to how it came about. Anyway, most Mozambicans rely on donated clothes from the USA as their wardrobe. I see a lot of people wearing shirts with slogans in English and they have no idea what they mean. The other day my host niece was wearing a shirt that said “HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY YAY!” I translated it for her: “FELIZ FELIZ FELIZ…” Is there a Portuguese equivalent of “yay”? She didn’t seem to get it, even when I said it excitedly and added a little fist pump. So I described it just by clapping. So now every time she wears that shirt, she walks around saying “FELIZ FELIZ FELIZ” followed by some clapping, all day. It’s adorable! I’ll definitely have to do a whole separate post on calamidades one day. There are just too many good examples. 
   

   Before my host sister in Namaacha sported this beanie, it must’ve been years since I thought about “The Wiggles”. She’s also wearing a jacket from Stratford Jr. High Track & Field. Who knows? Maybe one day I’ll find someone wearing a shirt from my junior high or high school!

   

   My host niece wearing a nightgown (to her, a dress) with several Disney princesses. She didn’t know any of them. We’ll have to watch “Cinderella” on my hard drive one day!

   

Thanks to Blogging Abroad for hosting this New Years Challenge and making me reflect on global citizenship! Until next week, tchau!