Moz Moments Round 1

Today is Monday, October 5th, which marks Day 8 of me being in Namaacha and staying with my host family. This is going to be a post about some of my favorite Moz Moments so far.

1. #momchat My mae talked to my mom on the phone. I called my mom for the first time yesterday, exactly a week since I got here. It was really nice to hear her voice. My Mae was walking up from getting water and I told her that I was talking to my mom. She excitedly came over. They said hi to each other and they talked, using me as the translator. My mom was on speaker phone and my Mae was yelling loudly into the phone. Basically, they were telling each other how much they love me. 

Mom: Thank you for taking care of my daughter. I love her very much!

Mae: Your daughter is my daughter now too! I will take good care of her.

Mom: Thank you! It helps me to worry less knowing that she’s happy and healthy.

Mae: I am her second mother.

Then they said thank you and goodbye multiple times, laughing at the wonder of being able to speak to each other. Short. Sweet. Priceless. Minha tia Jaquelina (my aunt Jacqueline) was standing next to us crying happy tears. It was a moment that I wouldn’t trade for anything. (Except, maybe, air conditioning. Just kidding.) 

Also please note: after only one week I was able to translate that…definitely not perfectly, but I got the points across. #slowlywinning

2. #BoaVida. So, whether you admit it or not, I’m freaking hilarious #notsohumblebrag. And I was a tad concerned that the language barrier would prevent my host family from understanding just how funny I am. But guess what! I was concerned for nothing! I made our first ever inside joke. “Boa Vida” in Portuguese means “the good life”…

One day, when power was out (that happens multiple times each day) I came home from class to find Mae and Tia complaining. It’s so hot. We don’t have power. We never have power. The power cuts every day. I couldn’t find Mboa at the market today. It’s so hot. It’s so hot. No power. So Hot. No Power. Hot. Power Cut. Hot. Hot. Hot. Hot. No Power. Hot. They were saying other things but those were the only words I could pick up on. The tension in the room was palpable. Then it got silent. 

In the silence I said, “ehhh…Boa Vida!”. And both ladies cracked up. Laughed for 5 minutes. I laughed too even though I was mostly feeling relieved that one of them didn’t take it the wrong way and become even grumpier. Phew! Sarah’s first joke in Portuguese. And now it’s a thing: Every time something good or bad happens, they say “Boa Vida” and crack up. One example is that we had Fanta at dinner yesterday. This was special because usually we only have water or powdered orange juice—“Orange Drink", if you will. Every time Tia Jacquelina took a sip she said “Boa Vida” with silliness and the mood was just so great for the entire meal. *sip sip*...Boa Vida...hehehehe.... Another example happened the other night when we didn't have power. The candle we were burning for light tipped over and burnt out. It was pitch black. Mae yelled “SHIT!” (in English lolol)…then silence…then: “Booooooa Viiiiiiida!” and cracked up. We stumbled around trying to find a flashlight while we laughed and then life went on.

The joke is perfect for the good and the bad. The good seems even better when there’s a simple and silly way to acknowledge it. And when little daily unavoidable nuances come up, it’s a way to take a step back and be able to take that in stride without getting too upset. 

3. Do You Eat It? As I wrote about in my last post, it was not easy to communicate with my family that I don’t eat meat. Animals. I don’t eat pork, beef, chicken, fish, or whatever other living creature you want to fry up. Nope. No way. I told them that it would make my belly hurt if I ate it. I thought that would help make me seem less picky.

When I told them that, they first couldn’t comprehend that I considered chicken meat. I think that’s true for a lot of cultures but I just really don’t get it. Meat is animal flesh that a person eats. That’s literally the definition. How can one animal count but the other not. I will never understand. The hilariously awkward part is what came after they somehow finally accepted that no meat means No Meat:

My Mae went through every single type of food she had in the kitchen—one by one—and asked me if I ate it. I know it was because she wanted to make sure that she offered me things that I like and would eat, but it still seemed silly to me. Below are some of the foods she asked me about, and the broken conversation that took place during the questionnaire:

Oranges. Apples. Bananas. She points at each one as says “Come?” (do you eat it?). I said “yes, it’s fruit. I like fruit. I eat everything except for animals.” She said okay and “Ahh bem!” (ohhh good!) with excitement. 

Brown Sugar. White Sugar. Powdered Milk. Remember she’s pointing at each one separately and asking me in a complete sentence “Do you eat this?” for each one. I respond “yes because it’s not meat” each time, hoping that she will realize the pattern, but she kept asking.

Coffee. Tea. Hot Chocolate. “Yes. Yes. Yes. I like to drink coffee in the mornings”. When I told her that, she cheered. Like a full on celebration. If she would have danced it would have been a full-blown party. All because I told her I like to drink coffee in the morning. I joined in the celebration because is there an alternative choice? #besties

Leafy Greens. Cucumbers. Tomatoes. Onions. I said “yes I like all vegetables” and she said “ME TOO SARAH WE HAVE SOMETHING IN COMMON!” Yes, Mae. This is the start of a beautiful friendship. Coffee in the morning and veggies all day. #besties

Bread. Rice. [Still pointing at each one separately and asking “do you eat it”]. Yes I like both of these things. I ask if she eats rice plan and she said no. I said “ME EITHER!” and we celebrated again. About rice. And how it sucks if you have to eat it plan. #besties

Peanut Butter. This is the best one (if you don’t know how much I love peanut butter, we are probably only Facebook friends and not real ones). When she asked “do you eat it” I said—very excitedly—“Yes! it’s my favorite food!”. And you people know how excited I get about my peanut butter. This was genuine excitement—not just part of our game…

And she got quiet and said “Nao Gosta de Black Cat” (Black Cat is the brand of PB they have here). #excusemewhat. I’m living with a mom who doesn’t like peanut butter?! CAN I EVEN TRUST THIS PERSON ANYMORE?! #buzzkill. Oh well, more for me! 

Once the game ended chores started (I wrote about the chores in my previous post) and the game I like to call “celebrate every food Sarah likes” was over. It was wonderfully nonsensical while it lasted and I liked it. 

Here’s a picture of my Mae to finish off this one: