21/03/12

Yesterday one of our neighbor kids cried/screamed bloody murder starting at about 5:15am and continuing on-and-off all day. In America this might have been annoying, but here in Mozambique it was actually kind of scary and concerning—Mozambican kids don’t really cry, it really takes a lot to make one cry like that.
So we finally got keys to the office and with our keys and logins we were happily working in the office every day. But then our IT guy for Peace Corps went on vacation until the end of the month and, as if on cue, things began to malfunction. First one computer wouldn’t turn on, then one internet cord wouldn’t work, then the phone stopped working, then another computer wouldn’t let us access the internet or the server, then the other phone stopped working (actually it still works to call the Maputo office, but they can’t hear us, we can only hear them). So we (the three of us who share the office) are really scraping with two computers with internet connections and one computer that has only Microsoft office until our IT guy comes back!
Two weekends ago I went to a bar with Anna and another PCV. “Can I please have three beers and…” I eyed the delicious looking samosas sitting in a container on the counter “do you have hot sauce?” The 20 year old boy waiting on us froze and a look of panic crossed his face. Following his train of thought I quickly explained, “for samosas, I want the hot sauce to put on samosas, not for the beer!” Looking EXTREMELY relieved, he nodded and served us our beer. Everyone who had witnessed this interaction, the two other PCVs and three bystanders, doubled over in laughter. They had all seen the panic in his eyes as he tried to decide whether to please his customer by giving the crazy white girl hot sauce to put in her beer, or to refuse to aid in this insanity.