a p a s

What do my toilet and arteries have in common? They both risk clogging because of a little thing called apa. ba-boom-ching! There is much to be explored in the world of Angochean cuisine which boasts a fine array of fresh delicious seafood; yummy healthy traditional dishes made with coconut milk, casava leaves, and peanuts; spicy Indian curries over rice; wonderful tropical fruit; and more...
...and then there's street food. Street food is down right bad for your constitution and--lets face it--doesn't even taste very good; but everyone has their street food vice anyway (if they're honest). Amongst all street food varieties, apa is king, and quite possibly the only food in Angoche that can truly be considered fast food.
So what exactly is an apa?

1 folded up tortilla ish thing + 1 greasy fried egg + ketchup + unrefrigerated mayo = apa

Why does a smart person eat this?
In America, you lucky ducks eat a lot of Taco Bell after a night of drinking, or you say "let's just order pizza" when lacking culinary creativity, or you carry out Chinese when you don't have the energy to fire up the kitchen at home, or when electricity in the city disappears...nevermind, that doesn't happen there. Here, in situations such as these we turn to the apa. The apa stand is actually located conveniently (or inconveniently when it comes to my health) near our apartment. When I first arrived and was introduced to the apa, I was horrified that people eat it. Now, I confess I don't just eat them out of a survival instinct, I like them. Maybe they make you dummer. I'm sure they at least take years off one's life, which is actually ok for me. I took a life expectancy test in Developmental Psyc my last year of college and was horrified to find out that I'm supposed to live to be 102. I'm happy to say that I've reduced that to at least 98. Jesus here I come! Thanks apas.

Apa fun facts:
1. Each apa costs 13 mets or roughly $0.40
2. Each apa comes in a tiny plastic sack (so much for the environment!)
3. This student, Mecussete, is the best at getting the egg/tortilla/sauces proportions correct

4. 2 is the magic number for anyone who goes for a complete meal (average female PCV serving size...guys usually down more...maybe that dumb factor?)
5. The record number of apas eaten in one setting is 10. Gross. (We got bored and had another eating contest) Congrats Andrew, honorable mention: Margaret with 9

6. The apa stand has a complete menu, but they only serve apas, sweet bread, and a weird drink called maheio (sp?)

7. It is nearly unpredictable when the apa stand will be open.

8. To make a date out of an apa-run, you can sit down in apa alley, a nice shady nook right off to the side of the apa stand. Seats 4 on the bench.

This post is lovingly dedicated to Mana Alexi, who has eaten more apas with me than anyone on earth. Does Chicago have Moz town?

Science Fair 2010

Just last Saturday Angoche enjoyed her second annual science fair. I've been meeting with 17 science fair students for two months now learning the scientific method and organizing projects. Step aside silly American projects like vinegar and baking soda volcanos and weird planet orbit models! Angoche is going to show how to do a science fair Moz-style! Setting up our new facility this year, I was nervous that our turn out would be weak like it was last year.

But then after the weirdly formal opening speeches by our school director and myself, traffic started flowing.

What else do Angocheans have to do on a Saturday morning? I think we were the most exciting thing going on. Just look at that crowd!

After the grand opening, our judges started circulating. We had Teacher Alexi, Professor Mucaibo (my go-to science colleague at the school), and Cremildo, a biologist from Primeiras e Segundas the WWF/CARE project in Angoche. What a juri forte! The students were judged based on their grasp and application of the scientific method, content of their project, application of their project to both scientific concepts and every-day life, and oral/written defense.

Who takes the cake??? Would it be Luis with his yogert production project? Yussufo with his sugar extraction demonstration? Felismina with her charcoal substitution? Muchangame with his home-made papaya leaf/soap pesticide? Belito, my lil bootlegger with his production of wine from banana leaves? Faruk with his coconut oil extraction process? Separation of a mixture with Carlos? Homemade cast-plaster making with Fina? Or one of the suprise projects presented instead of the projects submittend and explained ahead of time to Professora Xirene (me)??? Stay tuned!!!

Let the explanations and demonstrations begin!

Bottoms up! This kid really trusts Luis and took a big swig of his yogert.

Iahaia carefully calculates heights of different objects using a mirror and mathematical equation.

Carlos, our winner from last year, expertly explains his separation process.

I think some of the members of the juri will probably want some of your wine, Belito, after this is all over.

And how could I forget to mention our special guests from the community??? We invited Primeiras and Segundas to set up a display about conservation of natural resources in the area. A number of their technitions showed up with mangrove trees and photos to explain their projects to the community.

We also invited the Associacao de Solidariedade e Aconselhamento em Saude (what a mouthful!), a health organization in Angoche that works primarily in HIV/AIDS counseling and support. Margarida, my lovely site-mate is partnered with this organization and brought some of her most entertaining colleagues to talk to everyone about HIV prevention!

They brought along Joao and Maria, 2 dolls that are anatomically...er...um...accurate and obvious. Many health workers are finding that people will ask more specific questions about HIV, relationships, sex, etc if they can talk about the doll. "If Maria does ______, is she at risk?"

Andre, me, Bento. Bento helped me a ton with science fair preparations. Thanks bud.

More colleagues dripping with enthusiasm for science.

Everyone anxiously awaiting the judges decision. It has been a long morning.

Who will it be???

Drum roll please....

In 3rd place we have Iahaia with his height calculating math equation utilizing just a mirror and pencil!
Takin 2nd and representin all the ladies out there we have Felismina with her charcoal substitution project!

And Muchangame takes 1st place with his beautifully organized project testing the effectiveness of his home-made pesticide concoction of papaya leaves and soap!

Congrats everyone on their hard work! Until next year, science nerds!

Mama Maria Invades Mozambique!

When I picked my mom up at the airport in Nampula at 1AM, after a long stretch of flights, she was clearly tired but had a big smile and hug waiting. What a tough lady. She would soon be riding chapas, avoiding panty-selling street venders, running from rats, charming babies, and swatting mosquitos with the best of them. I let her get a good night's sleep and then we started out the next morning for Mozambique Island to do some touristy stuff. It was actually pretty cold and rainy when we were on the island, but after we crossed over to Chokas Mar and waited a day, Mozambique finally showed her it's beautiful face.
Since we were there in the middle of the week, we had miles and miles of beach to ourselves and the beach vendors had no one else to sell their trinkets to. We were like sitting ducks...until...

...Humper came to the recue. Mozambicans are very afraid of dogs, so after Humper started hanging out, we got a little more peace and quiet. Humper was left behind by some PCVs in a nearby village, so he is rather attracted to Americans...a little too attracted at times. We liked having him around until he started living up to his name... ewwww.

Awwww. My mom, me, and........Humper who came out of no where and went straight for my leg.

After our little vacation excursion, it was time to see my site, Angoche. My mom finally got a taste of the Angoche chapas, I'm sure one of her best memories. not. Here we have one of the more popular stops along the way where venders love to shove assorted fruit and goat heads in your face out of either sheer excitement, wanteing to get a reaction, or thinking the pushiest person will make the most sales.
So first things first. Parade around town and visit everyone who will be pissed at you for not introducing your mother when she comes to visit. Stop #1 is always Fabiao, our lovable adopted papa at the post office who so diligently sees to it that the professoras brancas recieve packages from you all in America. What a guy! When he saw my mom he asked me why I didn't have pretty eyes and hair like my mom. lol Thanks Fabiao. Oh the honesty.

Mom also got a nice taste of the local cuisine. She had Alexi and Xirene's special spicy coconut pumpkin beans and rice, matapa, squid, shrimp, lobster, and tons of street peanut sweets.
We also took her across the swamp to our nice lil beach to get a feel for the boat chapa and also relax a bit.

What better way to spend your 25th birthday than with your Ma in Mozambique? I was lucky enough to have her around for a great birthday party!

And then, the grand finale...Mama Maria came to school with me. If there had been a contest for show and tell, I would have won easily. When I was preparing my students and colleagues for her arrival, I told them that she doesn't speak Portuguese. One of my colleagues suggested that I just get her a bunch of capulana clothes made. As if that would help the language barrier. At first, I thought this suggestion was another dose of silly logic. Language barrier-->solution-->capulana clothes. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that sometimes capulana clothes do communicate more than whatever language. Anyway...I digress, we did make capulana clothes for her and they were a big hit.

She helped me teach that day. We talked about our family in English and the kids got to interview her about her life and American culture. They also prepared gifts for her as well as songs and dances.

Wheres Whitegirl?
Mussa is one of my lovable indisciplinados (trouble makers). The lovable ones are the worst, the kind that make you laugh while your yelling at them. He put the moves on my mom right away.
Alright, this is getting to be a really long post. Thanks so much Mom for coming. Everyone who met you and spent time with you says I get my best qualities from you. Angoche loves you. I love you. And I miss you all!

Mama Maria Invades Mozambique! pt2

A person can't get the full Angoche experience until she explores the Angoche islands, so I asked Mussa, one of our good friends to give my mom a tour of Metubane, one of the islands closest to the city. Mussa is my age, super smart, continually happy, in love with his culture, and has a huge wealth of knowledge about the history of Mozambique and Angoche. He always talkes about how incredible the island populations used to be. Mussa was born on one of the islands, but came to Angoche to study in a better school.



We set out in a sail boat early in the morning to arrive before the heat. We were joined by my lovely site-mate, Margarida (aka Margaret) and some other PCVs, Greg and Stew, who were visiting our oh-so-irresistable site.



This is senhor Mecussete, our captain navigating through the mangrove. Yes, that's a red pajama outfit and pink stocking hat. And he's not even joking around folks. He couldn't figure out why my mom was giggling and wanting pictures of him.



Arriving on the islands is like stepping into magical place stuck somewhere back in time. The islands are super primitive, incredibly quiet (except for when the kids go nuts because white people showed up), and even slower-paced than Angoche (if that's possible).

We were definitely the most interesting thing going on, so we collected quite a following. Since it was Sunday, no one was studying. These kids are lucky enough to have a nice primary school. My roomie Alex was involved in the rehabilitation process after Cyclone Chokwe flattened the islands.


One of the many things I love and appreciate about Margarida, she also cannot resist a good climbing tree.



And there's Mama Maria having a lil chat (or more realistically awkward stare-down) with some local women. She was, after all, the guest of honor which makes her ambassador for the visit.



Mussa and the shehe (i think i spelled that correctly), or the religious/traditional leader of Metubane.

And back to the boat. This time, since the tide was out, we did a little more walking than sailing.

See ya later aligator.