Usually consists of waking at 7. If lucky will eat a piece of bread, and if very lucky will have chai as well! Usually can get chai once I reach the office. The 20 minute walk to work is very pleasant. The road doubles up as a sidewalk as the cars are very few in this part of town. Most belong to AKF so sometimes I hitch a ride. The others typically belong to Helvetas or an NGO. The bay is very calm. A few fishing boats can be seen. I can see the Indian Ocean at the other end of town as Pemba has a perfect tilt to it. It’s usually about 26 degrees by this time (pre-summer). Birds are chirping and locals carry small pieces of firewood and go about their daily chores, usually with baby attached via an additional capulana (sarong).
I see white people. Or a white person; a big white person – in Millenium/BIM Bank. He was a full head above the 100 plus locals that filled the branch. I couldn’t imagine how out of place he must’ve felt. He literally looked like an ex-NFL’er – or convict for that matter. I couldn’t help it – I had to stare at him. He had a massive orange jumpsuit on –no doubt custom made – and the label read Haliburton. Oh - and on Sunday Oct 3rd, I was bored and walked over 2 hours to Pemba Beach Hotel (hoping to play tennis, but by that time I was famished) where I saw him again. He seemed a little more normal in this environment. I think he was a Texan.
I also met a South African naval worker last week (with a ship searching for oil off Mozambique) who had docked for a day and was trying to send USD home. Sadly, none of the banks had USD. I also was on my search to find a bank machine to provide Meticais – 4 banks later, I finally got some.
Monday I wandered to Baixa (lowland near the port) to see a place. Wasn't able to see it, so hung out with Musaji AbdulGani instead- a wonderful old guy who has a nice shop and comes from the tiny unheard of village in Gujarat India right next to my Great grandfathers tiny unheard of village! After, I dropped by the net cafe next to M-Cell and met a great British couple who have travelled overland with stops in syria, egypt, ethiopia, and now 2mths in Mozambique with the childrens charity Arco Iris, before moving on and settling in South Africa. They too gave up their jobs and came from good backgrounds and were questioned why they wanted to go to africa. I hope to meet them again as they are great inspiration for me. Inspired by Gandhi, and God, their goal is to slowly give things up and become more content with the simple things in life and really immerse themselves in the lives of african children. Cheezy and crazy to some, but to me, they are brilliant (said with a british accent!). Downward mobility, as an American friend in Dar explained to me. The best part of travelling is definitely the people you meet. Whether it be like-minded travelers, or deep-hearted locals, you can always find people who inspire.
In terms of the rest of the L.W., I watched hindi films and shows like mad as my roommate was away in Maputo. Striker, Annadata, aur pyar ho gaya, yuuvraj, dil kabaddi, jhoom jiya re, dhoom, etc. Bati, the servant enjoys them too. But today (Tuesday) the boss was back and the work piled on quickly.
Pemba is amazing although sometimes I just don't know what to do with myself. I enjoy just wandering, visiting with Indian friends, taking pics occassionally, and just chatting, drinking, and eating with locals.
Coming up next...A 'Top Ten' list...
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