We didn't go to Masana this morning so Christina and I could explore the Baixa (pron. "by-sha". The downtown, or old, part of Maputo.). Our first stop was at a fort that had at one time defended the city. It was originally built in the 18th-century and then rebuilt in the 1800s ( :) ). There was an assortment of cannons and other fixed guns around the parapets of the fort. There was also a pile of old artillery shells. I wondered aloud if they had been diffused or not. Christina thought they probably had been. The rusting casings revealed that they had not been. We hurried past the shells.
From the fort, we walked towards the circle where the Centro Cultural Franco-Moçambicano is located. We stopped by a park on the way there. It was flooded in many areas and the grounds crew was cutting the grass. We had to jump over a few puddles of nasty, algae-water. At one of them, I slipped, but was able to catch myself before falling in the puddle (I think Christina's gracefulness was starting to wear off on me :) ).
We climbed some steps and the park was much nicer (by that I mean drier, the entire park was nice). We exited the park and went back inside the Centre to finish the architectural exhibit.
Christina wanted to take me to the Caminhos de Ferra de Moçambique (CFM, the train station) so she asked someone for directions. On our way to the CFM, we came to a corner where we noticed everyone had stopped around us. There was a man beside the building with a pistol outstretched pointing at the crowd. Another man with a shotgun stood by a van. Christina explained that we were fine; they were just transporting money to or from a bank.
Next, we walked through a sketchier part of the baixa on the way to the station. There was a noticeable difference as we walked through this part of the city. We got looks from almost everyone on the streets. I could tell this was a section of town white people normally didn't walk through. It was a bit uncomfortable being in this position, but it gave me a small glimpse of what Christina goes through when she walks around Maputo.
At one point we decided to jaywalk across the street. The road was only big enough for one car, and there was a car with its turn signal on. In the middle of the street, the driver (with the turn signal still on) sped towards us. We could hear him laughing as we narrowly dodged being hit.
We finally arrived at the train station. If you've ever seen the movie Blood Diamond, then you may remember it as the hotel where Solomon Vandy worked after being released from prison. The CFM has a really cool architectural style (It's sometimes mistakenly believed to have been designed by Gustave Eiffel, who designed the Eiffel Tower and the Statue of Liberty.).
After touring the CFM, we took a txopela to meet Katie and her mom at a restaurant. Christina and I arrived first so we ordered something to drink while we waited. Katie and her mom arrived no long after that and we ordered. Christina recommended I try the Galinha a Zambeziana (Chicken Zambezia), which was essentially chicken coated with a BBQ-esque sauce. It was delicious!
As we ate, we listened to stories from Katie's mom (She was kind and only told a few embarrassing ones.). Mary (Katie's mom's name) has a very similar personality to Christina's mom, Betty, so Christina really appreciated having a motherly figure around.
After lunch, we said our goodbyes and headed to the artisan park so I could get souvenirs for the rest of my family. As we entered the park, Christina got a message that she had to run home quick. Meanwhile, I was on my own to walk through the park looking through all the stands.
As I walked, I was constantly bombarded by the sellers trying to show me their pieces. I thought I handled the situations fairly well with a standard, "Boa tarde. [Seller would show me something.] Ah, muito bonita." (bonita = pretty). Once Christina came back she helped me buy the last few souvenirs (quite literally because I needed to borrow some meticais.).
It was getting close to the time we needed to leave to make it to the airport. We headed back to the house and I packed my suitcases up while Christina penned a guest entry in my journal (coming soon!). We also shared the last two mango pops which I savored to the last bite. She didn't finished hers and gave what was left to me (As far as I'm concerned, giving up your mango pop is a true sign of friendship. Probably right below giving your life to save your friend's. Well, at least with Christina's mango pops :) ).
Once my bags were packed, we waited for Stam (Max's roommate) to come pick us up. I could feel the pit in my stomach beginning to form. My time in Maputo (and Africa) had ended too soon.
At the airport, a baggage man put my luggage on a cart and pushed it through the airport. Christina came inside with me to say goodbye. There was a security checkpoint about 20 feet inside the door and Christina wasn't allowed to go past the gate. So we had to say our goodbyes right there in front of the baggage man and two security guards, making it a bit awkward (Mozambican men don't know how to respond to other people crying so they often do so by laughing at them.).
We said our goodbyes. I could see that she was fighting back tears, so I did my best to help keep her from crying to avoid a laughing trio behind us. After one final hug, we parted ways and I headed to the check-in counter.
As I waited at the gate, more and more people began to show up. As 4:50 pm approached, everyone stood up and formed a queue in anticipation of boarding. We ended up standing for half an hour before boarding actually began.
On the plane, many of the passengers were concerned about making their connecting flight to London from Johannesburg. The flight attendant wasn't being very helpful so I helped to explain the layout of Tambo International Airport for one Brit who was really concerned about not having a boarding pass for his next flight. I explained that he would have to get one in Johannesburg.
When we arrived in Johannesburg half an hour late, it was chilly and pouring rain. I just missed the first shuttle from the plane so I had to wait for a second one to come. The second shuttle came and I made sure to get a spot near the door for an easy exit. The shuttle took 5 long minutes to get to the door of the airport.
As soon as the doors opened, I took off through the doors to beat the crowd. I helped direct a few of the Brits in the right direction through the airport. I was the first person to get to the immigrations queue and quickly proceeded to the SAA check-in counter.
When the lady saw which flight I was on, she frantically called the representatives at the gate to let them know I was on my way. Boarding had started 5 minutes ago! She told me boarding was closed and that I had better hurry. I hustled through the security checkpoint and ran through the airport to gate A9. As I ran down the ramp and my gate came into view, I slowed to a walk.
With the Boston Marathon bombing, every passenger was being patted down and had their carry-ons searched. The delay had backed up all the passengers so that they filled the entire seating area. While I was waiting, I saw John and JoLene arrive.
When I was finally on the plane, I collapsed in my seat from the exhaustion of the prior hours. God must have known that I needed some space because the person in the seat beside me never showed up and the flight wasn't very crowded. John and JoLene's seats were in the same section as me, only a few rows in front of mine.
As I relaxed, I overheard some of the other passengers talking about the suspects in the bombings. One of the brothers had been killed, but the other one was on the loose and the city of Boston was on lockdown during the manhunt.
Shortly after takeoff, we were served a meal. I ended up having the same thing as my first meal flying to Africa. I watched an episode of Modern Family while I ate. I remember it was funny, but that's all. Then I read Christina's guest post (she made me promise not to read it until I was in the air). I was really tired at this point and slept for about 2 hours.
When I woke up, I watched Silver Linings Playbook. I really enjoyed it and thought the story was well done. Next I watched a film on the unique wildlife of Madagascar which was narrated by David Attenborough. I tried to sleep some more, but failed so I read continued The Fellowship of the Ring until the stewardesses served some chicken wraps. Then I watched Trouble with the Curve with Clint Eastwood, Amy Adams, and Justin Timberlake. It was okay. Then I rewatched Skyfall because none of the other movies looked good (I almost chose The Hangover Pt. II, but passed on it at the last second.).
After Skyfall was over, there was an announcement that breakfast would soon be served. I took a short nap until the lights came on and breakfast was served. I chose the French toast option, but soon regretted it as the "French toast" was horrendous and I had to force myself to eat it.
I tried to fall asleep again, but couldn't with the taste in my mouth. I ended up reading more of The Fellowship of the Ring until it was announced that we would be making the descent into JFK. As we descended, many different emotions flowed through me. Excitement to see everyone in the States again. Sadness that Christina and Africa were a whole world away. I've heard it said that once you get the African dirt in your shoes, it's impossible to get it out. This is definitely a true statement. It felt like I had left a piece of my heart in Africa.
We touched down and taxied to the arrival gate. I patiently waited my turn and finally was able to exit the plane. Once in the airport, I hustled to catch up to John and JoLene. We got to immigrations and stood in a long queue. We exchanged stories about our experiences in the weeks we were separated. They had spent a week with Steve and Chris in Beira and had gotten to experience a rural church service in the bush. The last week they spent visiting a family friend in South Africa.
As we got closer to the immigrations desk, we noticed two televisions showing CNN. We learned that the second bombing suspect had been apprehended alive.
Eventually we made it to the front of the queue and through immigrations. It was almost foreign for me to be greeted in English and to carry on a conversation with a stranger. The official stamped my passport and I moved on to the baggage claim.
At the conveyor, I stood and searched for my bags, but didn't see them. John and JoLene came and found theirs, but mine still hadn't shown up. I searched some more, including some bags on the ground around the conveyor, but I still didn't see them.
When I got back to where I started, John was talking with an airport official about my situation. She directed me to a desk to file a claim. The man at the desk was very courteous (this should be a requirement for anyone in this type of position) who was able to confirm that my bags were still in Johannesburg. He filed my claim and explained that once my bags arrived in New York, they would be shipped to my house. He also gave me a notice to take through customs.
The customs man saw that I had lost my bags and let me through no questions asked. It didn't look like they were checking very many people's luggage which was surprising considering the hassle in Johannesburg.
I found John and JoLene waiting for me and explained the situation. We then proceeded to the AirTran. We boarded and road it to where the rental cars were. We caught a shuttle to Enterprise. Our car only had 7 miles on it to begin with, so it was safe to say we would put many multiples of that original mileage on the car before we arrived back in Central Pennsylvania.
Though the drive home took around 4 hours, it seemed to fly by after being on the plane for 16 ½ hours. I passed the time by reading and viewing the familiar Pennsylvania scenery which almost seemed new to me. John and JoLene dropped me off at my house a little after 1:00 pm. I was back.
My African adventure was over.
From the fort, we walked towards the circle where the Centro Cultural Franco-Moçambicano is located. We stopped by a park on the way there. It was flooded in many areas and the grounds crew was cutting the grass. We had to jump over a few puddles of nasty, algae-water. At one of them, I slipped, but was able to catch myself before falling in the puddle (I think Christina's gracefulness was starting to wear off on me :) ).
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| Just a small sampling of the 50+ bats we saw in one of the trees. |
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| We saw this guy taking advantage of the wetness of the park. |
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| Art made from former weapons of the civil war. |
Next, we walked through a sketchier part of the baixa on the way to the station. There was a noticeable difference as we walked through this part of the city. We got looks from almost everyone on the streets. I could tell this was a section of town white people normally didn't walk through. It was a bit uncomfortable being in this position, but it gave me a small glimpse of what Christina goes through when she walks around Maputo.
At one point we decided to jaywalk across the street. The road was only big enough for one car, and there was a car with its turn signal on. In the middle of the street, the driver (with the turn signal still on) sped towards us. We could hear him laughing as we narrowly dodged being hit.
We finally arrived at the train station. If you've ever seen the movie Blood Diamond, then you may remember it as the hotel where Solomon Vandy worked after being released from prison. The CFM has a really cool architectural style (It's sometimes mistakenly believed to have been designed by Gustave Eiffel, who designed the Eiffel Tower and the Statue of Liberty.).
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| Unfortunately, we didn't see Leo. |
As we ate, we listened to stories from Katie's mom (She was kind and only told a few embarrassing ones.). Mary (Katie's mom's name) has a very similar personality to Christina's mom, Betty, so Christina really appreciated having a motherly figure around.
After lunch, we said our goodbyes and headed to the artisan park so I could get souvenirs for the rest of my family. As we entered the park, Christina got a message that she had to run home quick. Meanwhile, I was on my own to walk through the park looking through all the stands.
As I walked, I was constantly bombarded by the sellers trying to show me their pieces. I thought I handled the situations fairly well with a standard, "Boa tarde. [Seller would show me something.] Ah, muito bonita." (bonita = pretty). Once Christina came back she helped me buy the last few souvenirs (quite literally because I needed to borrow some meticais.).
It was getting close to the time we needed to leave to make it to the airport. We headed back to the house and I packed my suitcases up while Christina penned a guest entry in my journal (coming soon!). We also shared the last two mango pops which I savored to the last bite. She didn't finished hers and gave what was left to me (As far as I'm concerned, giving up your mango pop is a true sign of friendship. Probably right below giving your life to save your friend's. Well, at least with Christina's mango pops :) ).
Once my bags were packed, we waited for Stam (Max's roommate) to come pick us up. I could feel the pit in my stomach beginning to form. My time in Maputo (and Africa) had ended too soon.
At the airport, a baggage man put my luggage on a cart and pushed it through the airport. Christina came inside with me to say goodbye. There was a security checkpoint about 20 feet inside the door and Christina wasn't allowed to go past the gate. So we had to say our goodbyes right there in front of the baggage man and two security guards, making it a bit awkward (Mozambican men don't know how to respond to other people crying so they often do so by laughing at them.).
We said our goodbyes. I could see that she was fighting back tears, so I did my best to help keep her from crying to avoid a laughing trio behind us. After one final hug, we parted ways and I headed to the check-in counter.
As I waited at the gate, more and more people began to show up. As 4:50 pm approached, everyone stood up and formed a queue in anticipation of boarding. We ended up standing for half an hour before boarding actually began.
On the plane, many of the passengers were concerned about making their connecting flight to London from Johannesburg. The flight attendant wasn't being very helpful so I helped to explain the layout of Tambo International Airport for one Brit who was really concerned about not having a boarding pass for his next flight. I explained that he would have to get one in Johannesburg.
When we arrived in Johannesburg half an hour late, it was chilly and pouring rain. I just missed the first shuttle from the plane so I had to wait for a second one to come. The second shuttle came and I made sure to get a spot near the door for an easy exit. The shuttle took 5 long minutes to get to the door of the airport.
As soon as the doors opened, I took off through the doors to beat the crowd. I helped direct a few of the Brits in the right direction through the airport. I was the first person to get to the immigrations queue and quickly proceeded to the SAA check-in counter.
When the lady saw which flight I was on, she frantically called the representatives at the gate to let them know I was on my way. Boarding had started 5 minutes ago! She told me boarding was closed and that I had better hurry. I hustled through the security checkpoint and ran through the airport to gate A9. As I ran down the ramp and my gate came into view, I slowed to a walk.
With the Boston Marathon bombing, every passenger was being patted down and had their carry-ons searched. The delay had backed up all the passengers so that they filled the entire seating area. While I was waiting, I saw John and JoLene arrive.
When I was finally on the plane, I collapsed in my seat from the exhaustion of the prior hours. God must have known that I needed some space because the person in the seat beside me never showed up and the flight wasn't very crowded. John and JoLene's seats were in the same section as me, only a few rows in front of mine.
As I relaxed, I overheard some of the other passengers talking about the suspects in the bombings. One of the brothers had been killed, but the other one was on the loose and the city of Boston was on lockdown during the manhunt.
Shortly after takeoff, we were served a meal. I ended up having the same thing as my first meal flying to Africa. I watched an episode of Modern Family while I ate. I remember it was funny, but that's all. Then I read Christina's guest post (she made me promise not to read it until I was in the air). I was really tired at this point and slept for about 2 hours.
When I woke up, I watched Silver Linings Playbook. I really enjoyed it and thought the story was well done. Next I watched a film on the unique wildlife of Madagascar which was narrated by David Attenborough. I tried to sleep some more, but failed so I read continued The Fellowship of the Ring until the stewardesses served some chicken wraps. Then I watched Trouble with the Curve with Clint Eastwood, Amy Adams, and Justin Timberlake. It was okay. Then I rewatched Skyfall because none of the other movies looked good (I almost chose The Hangover Pt. II, but passed on it at the last second.).
After Skyfall was over, there was an announcement that breakfast would soon be served. I took a short nap until the lights came on and breakfast was served. I chose the French toast option, but soon regretted it as the "French toast" was horrendous and I had to force myself to eat it.
I tried to fall asleep again, but couldn't with the taste in my mouth. I ended up reading more of The Fellowship of the Ring until it was announced that we would be making the descent into JFK. As we descended, many different emotions flowed through me. Excitement to see everyone in the States again. Sadness that Christina and Africa were a whole world away. I've heard it said that once you get the African dirt in your shoes, it's impossible to get it out. This is definitely a true statement. It felt like I had left a piece of my heart in Africa.
We touched down and taxied to the arrival gate. I patiently waited my turn and finally was able to exit the plane. Once in the airport, I hustled to catch up to John and JoLene. We got to immigrations and stood in a long queue. We exchanged stories about our experiences in the weeks we were separated. They had spent a week with Steve and Chris in Beira and had gotten to experience a rural church service in the bush. The last week they spent visiting a family friend in South Africa.
As we got closer to the immigrations desk, we noticed two televisions showing CNN. We learned that the second bombing suspect had been apprehended alive.
Eventually we made it to the front of the queue and through immigrations. It was almost foreign for me to be greeted in English and to carry on a conversation with a stranger. The official stamped my passport and I moved on to the baggage claim.
At the conveyor, I stood and searched for my bags, but didn't see them. John and JoLene came and found theirs, but mine still hadn't shown up. I searched some more, including some bags on the ground around the conveyor, but I still didn't see them.
When I got back to where I started, John was talking with an airport official about my situation. She directed me to a desk to file a claim. The man at the desk was very courteous (this should be a requirement for anyone in this type of position) who was able to confirm that my bags were still in Johannesburg. He filed my claim and explained that once my bags arrived in New York, they would be shipped to my house. He also gave me a notice to take through customs.
The customs man saw that I had lost my bags and let me through no questions asked. It didn't look like they were checking very many people's luggage which was surprising considering the hassle in Johannesburg.
I found John and JoLene waiting for me and explained the situation. We then proceeded to the AirTran. We boarded and road it to where the rental cars were. We caught a shuttle to Enterprise. Our car only had 7 miles on it to begin with, so it was safe to say we would put many multiples of that original mileage on the car before we arrived back in Central Pennsylvania.
Though the drive home took around 4 hours, it seemed to fly by after being on the plane for 16 ½ hours. I passed the time by reading and viewing the familiar Pennsylvania scenery which almost seemed new to me. John and JoLene dropped me off at my house a little after 1:00 pm. I was back.
My African adventure was over.
Great job with your blog. Looking forward to see how God will use this time of learning in your future.
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