Day four...

I have now been here for four days...

I arrived at my host mum's on Thursday and for most of the afternoon she thought that I was German. She was very pleased to find out I was English in the end, and not a vegetarian. I then spent about a day trying to hang a mosquito net that was far too small for the bed, mumbling through a mix of Portuguese and English instructions. My house is really nice and we have a shower (with cold water) but it beats a bucket! Claudina, my host mum is lovely and frequently asks "you understand?"

I had my first lunch on Thursday of bacalhau (salted cod), potatoes, egg and greens. It was swiftly followed by a second lunch! My host mum wants me to try all the Mozambican food and I was so full but didn't want to offend her. I also had cake for breakfast yesterday as she was offended when I only ate bread the day before. At this point I will come home the size of a house!

Luckily I live with Nastasia, a German volunteer who has already been here for six months. She has been a lifesaver. The organisation were going to pick me up on Friday and take me to my project but then told me that it would actually be Monday. Without Nastasia I would have had no money, no idea of how to get to the city and would not have met the other volunteers.

The majority of the other volunteers are German. As I would in a large group of English people, they slip into German all the time. I don't mind at all until it comes to making plans...there is a lot of conversation, a decision gets made and they start walking...I am left wondering who/what/where and when which is why I'm wondering...which to learn first, Portuguese or German?

To get to the city and to work, I have to take a chappa. Imagine a small minibus that seats 15...now add 15 more people, some children, some bags, some boxes, a door made of sellotape and little to no floor and you have a chappa! I complained about the commute in London this summer at rush hour...how little I knew! My first chappa was fairly empty and I was eased in gently. My second chappa, yesterday, was a different matter...it pulled up and Natasia said "Get on". There was no way we would fit...how wrong I was. I was pushed headfirst onto someone's lap and the door was wedged shut behind me. At the next stop, I was shoved out backwards so people could get off and then the battle began...getting back on first  to secure a good spot. I failed miserably and ended up wedged against the ceiling at an odd angle, bum in some poor Mozambican's face...a comfortable hour! I'll get the hang of it though.

One of the first things Nastasia told me was "everyone is always late". Not just 15 minutes late...3 hours late. I am never late, in fact, I am always early. I have been told this will change while I'm here. Another thing, apparently I walk at 'English speed' and I need to slow it down to Mozambican speed. Again, I do nothing slowly so that will have to change.

Yesterday we went to the Art market and Catembe. We took a ferry to Catembe and sat on the beach which was a little cold. I keep forgetting that it is still winter here and at night it gets so cold, England cold. We stopped at a little hut/bar and I am happy to say that they sell cider! The Mozambicans call it sweet beer and refuse to believe that it comes from apples!

I came to a brilliant party last night. It was to celebrate Nina's birthday and raise money for an orphanage in Maputo. Her brother Nick is going to train to become a chef and the food was amazing! I also discovered a talent for beer pong...Nick and I won 3/4 games. I'd been so tired the first two nights so I had stayed at home. My host mum was so happy that I was leaving the house! I think she thought she may be stuck with a social recluse!

Tomorrow night some of us are going to an African dance class in the city. I can't dance and struggle with Zumba so it may be short-lived but I'll give it a go. There is a running club called the Maputo Hash House Harriers and I think I'm going to go on Saturday as it will be a good way to see Maputo and meet lots of people.

I've left it until last but the Portuguese is coming along slowly. The accent can be quite hard to understand and everyone speaks really quickly but I'm making sure I try to speak a lot. When all else fails..."nao falou muito Portugues!" I also slip into Spanish a lot, but with a Portuguese accent. My language teachers are going to have a field day next year.

I'm slowly finding my feet and I'm really enjoying it so far. Everyone is so friendly and Maputo seems like a great city. Everyone I've met raves about it! I'm starting to plan my weekend trips out of the city and waiting for it to get hot so we can go to the beaches. I miss everything at home but I plan to be too busy to miss it all too much.