Everybody Knows Everything!

11 Feb. 2011
It could be that this just a small community and everybody knows everything that happens, that each of us do. But I have this feeling that because I stick out SO much, that it's more so me. But then again, the world and life here does not center around me. I think it's just the natural feeling one gets when they stick out... Does that make sense? I hope so because if you interpret it wrongly, I might sound but arrogant or self-centered when thats the last thing I want to portray myself as. But I am quite sure a lot of this knowing everything has to do a lot with the small community and living in the bush, not really because I'm a mulungu.

I think I really got myself distracted with my random trains of thought when I write my blogs now! Muito desculpa (very sorry) for that.

Okay, so, to the point. Everybody seems to know everything about everybody or at least about me. A big example of this is last Friday... So, last weekend I went on a small vacation from school... As soon as I finished classes for the day, I grabbed my things and headed to the road to hopefully catch a boleia (a hitch) into the vila. To my luck, it started pouring down rain just at that time. Go figure. Remember how I told you it's a sand/dirt road? Well, it's hard to drive on in the rain... and there's already only a few cars that drive on the road. My hopes were still there .. . but the rain wasn't helping...

The rain did finally let up. The time was around 1 pm. If started walking, it would probably take me 3 hours to walk there. That should still hopefully get me to the vila in time to 'maybe' catch a boleia out of Mabote to the next town of Mapanhane. Fingers crossed. With my bag on my back, I started the trek. And yes, with every step I sank into the road. So, perhaps it would take me more than 3 hours. I took my flip flops off and carried them and let my feet feel the smooth, silkiness of the mud seep through my toes. It felt great actually.

There are only 2 directions you can go out of my school. To the right, which heads into the vila, into Mabote, the direction I was heading. Or to the left, where a majority of the community members live. I guess you could call it the Makwakwa town center. Well, there's only a few house shacks here and there on my way to the vila, so I only ran into a few ladies/people who live in that direction. I will have to say, they may have been a little surprised that I was heading into the vila by pe (by foot) and that I was barefoot. That's not normal for white people, right? But they do it often...

I actually didn't walk that far, maybe for 30-40 minutes, before a car came by and I got a ride. Good luck was coming my way! I got to the vila and took a right at the "intersection" (that's what I call the only intersection we have in Mabote for the most part). I right heads you out of Mabote and to Mapanhane and Vilanculos, places with vegetables and fruits, etc. I walk out to the hospital and wait. There aren't too many cars that head on that road either, but perhaps my luck would be good. And it was! I eventually got a ride with a guy who maybe could have passed for a dark white person, but he is Mozambican. (I almost just spoke English to him is why I pointed that out) The ride was good and fun. It was like mudding on the way out. His car was caked in mud! And we stopped and found a chamelean he put on the dashboard of the car, which ws fun to watch.

Anyways, somehow my plan ended up working and I made it to Mapanhane and stayed the night with some friends there. Alice admitted she didn't think she would see me that night...Who knows if I will be able to that again.

Now that you know that whole story I can relate it back to the "everybody know everything!" thing. After a long weekend away, I returned on Monday evening (that's a whole other story). I visited my friend, Sarah, in the community on Tuesday who lives to the left of the school and is a teacher at the primary school. She commented to me how I walked to the vila on Friday barefoot.

It's funny sometimes how things you think other people don't know what you have done or what you do of you or you think nobody is really paying attention to you, but really they all know, they all talk, and they are paying attention. And just like anything else, this can be good and this can be bad. I think it's to show them that foreigners can walk around barefoot and can try to balance things on their head and they can try to speak Shitzswa. But it is different and I'm definitely learning a lot from them, too.