Tuesday, August 28, 2007

It’s a dinner party in the bush

I can’t tell you how much fun I had cooking for two local families. Steven and Mathew work here on the farm and speak English well so it has been easy to form a friendship over the last few months, however I was eager to connect with their wives as well. i have quickly learned that building a relationship with the locals is difficult, though not impossible, with the language barrier. To be honest with you, the effects of the inability to communicate on a level I am so accustomed to often has me feeling frustrated and empty. I realize how much I want to know about them when I can’t ask the questions that satisfy my curiosity of who they are and what they think.
Mathews youngest son, Prosper, spent most of the night moving from my arms to his moms and back again. I don’t think he stopped moving until it was time for him to eat. look at those scrumptious chubby cheeks! I was talking about Prospers cheeks but thanks anyway.
Out like a light! Must have been a good nights sleep because Prosper was in full swing the next day. And what a day it was. These three fine ladies and I enjoyed a day at the salon; Steven’s wife, Nora and Mathew’s wife, Pascoa as well as Tafadzwa, the young girl who helps Nora and Steven care for their twins. With no vehicles or strollers, it is very common for mothers with more than one child to have a girl as young as eight around for extra hands….or a extra back, since that is where they carry their babies.
The stylist working on Pascoa’s hair could not get enough of my camera. She had to take off her jacket to pose in her work uniform for this photo. Both Pascoa and Nora had to have their own hair braided flush with their scalp so the new hair could be sown in.
I am trying to decide if Nora is enjoying herself or if she is wishing could run from the ciaos of this bustling salon. Hhhmm, here is were language would come in so handy. I find it very hard to read the locals and how they feel about things. Not just because of the language but also because they are not really used to confidently speaking their minds. You are often left wondering if they just told you how they really felt or just what they thought you wanted to hear.
This is Tafadzwa, the most beautiful girl in all of Mozambique. I don’t think this picture does justice to the purity and gentleness in her eyes every time I see her.
After a few hours on her feet, my hair stylist needed to give her legs a rest. And I got to sit on the floor. Yep. Sit’n on the floor, braiding my own hair, in the high class salon of Chimoio, Mozambique. Actually I was not the only on who assisted in the production of my braids; it felt as though all the women of Chimoio had a hand in my beautification. I had everyone working on my hair; everyone from Pascoa, clients waiting for their stylist, and a few friends of salon employees who stopping by for a short visit. At Antoni’s we used to say that you were a pretty important client if you had two of us working on your hair at once. Well if that is true then I should have a red carpet rolled out when I leave because at one point I had five girls working on this project. we also used to joke that if two of us were working on one client then the client had to pay double so I better keep my mouth shut.
Well after a few hours…two for the girls….five for me, we were finally ready to head home. four hot babes ready to conquer the world......a little too tired for that...maybe tomorrow.

Saturday, August 25, 2007

who's got who?

it may appear that Mr. Snake caught himself some dinner but if you look real close you can see that the gecko has got the snake by the tale! makes me wonder who started this war. i'm think'n the snake has got the upper hand on this one. With the snake season on the horizon i have been extra cautious, scanning the ground any time I hear a noise or see a movement out the corner of my eye. I was relaxing in one of Lynn’s old recliner chairs we brought down to make the wooden hut a little more cozy, enjoying a good book, when I noticed these two battling to the death by the front entrance to the wooden hut.

aaahhhhooo! that's nasty. we enjoyed watching the snake tackle his pray over the last 20min but now it was time for Nat and I to join Lynn and Dwight for dinner. i said we should kill it before we go but Nat was sure it wouldn't be moving after a dinner that large and that we could kill it when we got back. we left. eat some delicious pizza (and Nat's famous cabbage salad!) had some good conversations and headed home.... no snake..... not good.

this little fella has been living live in peace on our screen window for the last few days. he was too grows to touch and i didn't have the heart to kill him so i just left him in peace. you don't bother me and i wont bother you. but today he decided to venture out of the confined space of our 2f by 4f widow to explore the counter top. sorry buddy but this is my turf. you gotta go. i found a long stick and set my friend free.

i've been finding more and more of these as the weather worms. i am really not looking forward to the season of bugs but i guess you have to accept the good, bad and the disgustingly ugly no matter where you live. with all the snakes i have seen, spiders i have killed, rats i have heard, seen and tried to kill (o.k so i did more screaming than swatting but at least i wasn't running for a chair) i would say that i am starting to get used to all of God's beautiful creatures. or at least learning to live with them.
Nat and Lynn don't seem to have a problem with the bug season. they seem to be enjoying scrolling through Lynn's book on sakes to see what kind of snake this one is. unlike the last snake this guy didn't escape death.

o.k, so here are a few this to look forward to this summer. i didn't take these photo's but the birds i have seen defiantly have this vibrancy of color. and there singing is the most pleasant to wake up to in the morning.