Information > Initial Impressions
A few weeks in to our stay we received an Initial Impressions form to fill out. Here's what I wrote...

Your feelings on arrival in the country:
On arrival in Jo’burg I had my first moment of “What the hell am I doing here?” about 500m in the air before the plane landed. In Mozambique I had the same feeling when crossing the border and looking around, thinking that I could see “miles and miles of nothing but miles and miles!”

Transport:
Only public transport we have used has been a double decker air-conditioned bus from Jo’burg to Maputo. Am looking forward to getting on a chapa soon though!

The weather/climate:
Hot, but not as hot as I had expected, mainly because it’s winter. Not seen a drop of rain in four weeks.

Smells:
People tend to freely use trees as public toilets and so the smell of urine is distinct when walking down the street. Also the kind of dry smell of dust and sand that is present the whole time. Not unpleasant but noticeable.

Arrival at your project:
Not quite as big as I had expected it to be but I was glad of that. Visiting the Centre helped to fix in my mind a bit more the work I would be doing and cleared some of the shroud in my mind, making me a bit more confident.

Your accommodation:
Much bigger then I had expected – 3 bedrooms and 4 beds for the two of us. Basic but comfortable, although the lack of hot running water was what originally hit me as important.

Food:
Food is good, very good! Pasta, rice, beef, chicken, spaghetti, nothing to complain about. Xima, the interestingly spelt maize-based staple food is easy to make but although it has the look and consistency of mashed potato, it doesn’t taste that good! Fish served literally as a fish – with head, tail and bones included – was a bit off putting but proved OK to eat.

Shopping/markets:
The market is literally across the road from out front door, and we have found it quite easy to buy what we need – “quanto?” asks how much and then a number tells them how many you want. Mix this in with a healthy dose of pointing and you’re away! The meat section is something we have yet to attempt!

First day at work:
I was expecting 13 students when I started teaching at 2:00. I still only had 3 at 2:10 so I though I should start anyway! My two-hour lesson plan went down the drain and I got though it in 10 minutes – that’s when I panicked. For a long time I couldn’t think what to do but I managed to make the lesson up eventually, and it wasn’t too bad!

Any cultural misunderstandings/embarrassments you might like to share!
The only problems have been with language, and as people are very patient with us even this hasn’t been much of a problem. Fortunately!