When is a Lesson in Portuguese not a Portuguese Lesson?

Sorry we haven’t blogged for a while, the last few weeks have been a bit crazy as we've had intermittent water and lots of people have been talking to us about electricity, bombas, and things that aren't really covered in Chapters 1-3 of our exercise book. Language seems to be sinking in, but takes a lot of our time.  Whilst we are learning excellent things in lessons like how to introduce ourselves, explain directions, or order Portuguese delicacies in a café overlooking the Mediterranean,  it’s in the afternoons that the real lessons begin as we talk to the people who live and work around our apartment.  Christine may not have perfect verb endings but can discuss the day to day activities of the children’s bowel movements as required and Geoff is getting up to speed talking about water pumps and all things electrical.

 

Whilst were struggling through language and adapting to the challenges of a new culture, the children seem to have no such problem.  Isaac, when faced with a child he hasn’t met starts of by speaking in English and if there is no response reverts to the Portuguese he is picking up with ease.  Naomi (or Noémia as she is often called here) has discovered that she very much likes being in a caplana (see photo) and loves the attention she receives for saying ‘olá!’ to everyone she passes. Strangely, although she seems to have no problem understanding both languages when she is talked to about food, she ignores both when it’s about things she shouldn’t be doing...

Hopefully the bomba (pump) will be sorted soon and we’ll have a bit more free time to keep you all updated. Thanks for all the comments, emails and updates, they’re all really appreciated!

Language learning Mozambican style

Our daily routine revolves around our apartment, crèche and language school
(Satellite image ©  GoogleEarth)

Day one:

After dropping off two slightly concerned kids at their new crèche, we quickly found the concrete tower block that houses Beira’s Instituto de Línguas across town.  They said that our classroom has been upgraded especially for us, but although it had walls and several desks, there was no glass in the windows and no door in the doorframe. Not to worry though as just before the lesson started a man came to put a door in and we felt things were going to improve rapidly. 

Day two:

Day two went slightly less smoothly. After getting out late and dropping off two grumpy children, we arrived just in time for our lessons. But just as we put our bags on the table, the wind blew through the glassless window slamming the door shut.  Not a problem usually, but what we quickly noticed was that there was no door handle and we were trapped in! Our teacher tried to open the door in vain and shouted to us in Portuguese that he would get some help.  15 minutes later, with lots more shouting and far more people than seemed totally necessary, the door was opened and lessons could begin. We both decided we preferred the classroom without the door.

Day three:

The door was fixed (or more accurately, the catch was disabled) and lessons proceeded a little more smoothly. Now two weeks on, even some windows have glass in and there is only one more to fill.  As we desperately try to keep up with our teacher and Portuguese verb endings (why do they need so many!?), lessons are quickly moving forward and we are settling in to a pattern of language study and homework, punctuated of course by occasional trips to the beach or market. Both children have settled really well into their crèche; Isaac is especially fond of the big red slide in the garden. 

View from our apartment

We’re very daunted by just how much there is to learn, but we’ve been given lots of encouragement by very patient locals who have tried incredibly hard to understand our very badly constructed phrases. Fiona is already back in Angola and Lynne returns there tomorrow, so we now lose both our very handy translators. The charades of talking in the few Portuguese words we know and acting out the rest begins properly now…

Naomi’s First Birthday

Mid-winter sunset on Beira Beach

Opening presents!

Yesterday was Naomi’s first birthday, and was great to share it with Lynne and Fiona. Isaac was very keen to help Naomi open her presents and our family’s first Mozambican birthday seemed to be going surprisingly normally. That was until the workmen turned up to replace the bars across our balconies. With five or six guys traipsing through the apartment, banging and welding and shouting, we were worried that Naomi’s day was not going to be quite as we planned. However, they agreed to stop for an early lunch as we had invited Julião and Beatrix’s and their two children, Rebecca and Calebe, around for a party (pizza, jelly and cake).

All was going well, until the power went off and the water stopped. The workmen had overrun the electric circuit to the whole building and burnt out the mains. At some point the electrician would turn up to repair the mains, so we decided to go out for birthday dinner after the kids woke up from their afternoon nap.

We had the phone call to say we had light again while we were watching a red sunset over the ocean and a cool mid-winter breeze whipped over the beach. Our fantastically resourceful guard sorted the water pump after we got back. We were all relieved when we were able to flush to toilet for the first time since lunch.

Today it’s been back to our massive list of tasks we need to complete before we start language training next week.  For those that pray, please ask that our childcare arrangements would work out really well.  Tomorrow, we can begin to think more about visas and work permits (it's not all sun and sand!)

First Impressions

Our baggage at Johannesburg: eleven suitcases,
two car seats and a double pushchair

So we get off the plane in elegant style: Isaac is in his pyjama bottoms as his trousers needed to be changed halfway through the final flight and we didn’t have spares, Naomi is grumpy and tired and we are all a bit disorientated after overnight flights and a day in Johannesburg that turned out to be a lot colder than we expected.  But from there on, things have improved dramatically.

 

Arrival in Beira

We had a very warm welcome at Beira Airport from Lynne and Fiona (BMS, Angola), who are helping us to settle in for the first few weeks, and we received a bunch of flowers from Pastor Moises’ wife Selina.  Everybody helped with our baggage and soon we were off to our new home.  Expecting the worst after panicked phone calls just before we left England, we were pleasantly surprised with how spacious it was.  The décor may not be to our taste but everything more or less works and we even have hot water and a decent shower. Moreover, there are only a few cockroaches and they are very small!

Our kitchen

We have spent the first week shopping, as if we didn’t shop enough before we left the UK!  Priorities include new child friendly furniture and stocking up on basic supplies. We’ve already got acquainted with the local Shoprite supermarket which really does seem to sell everything, and the gas canister supplier. Amazingly, all our baggage has arrived, although we had some fun at customs trying to work out why we had to pay three or four different types of import duty and tax at rates that seemed to randomly change depending on who we were speaking to. 

At the First Baptist Church

To make sure we’re not too overworked Lynne and Fiona have shown us good places to eat out.  It seems a bit like we’re on holiday some of the time, especially watching Isaac play in the golden sand as we eat fresh crab and huge prawns and look out over the Indian Ocean. However, the amazing volume of ironing that needs doing to avoid getting mango fly larva in our clothing will ensure the holiday feeling soon dulls, I’m sure. 

 

There is still so much to see and do at the moment. It won’t be long before we start language training, sort childcare and, as yet, we haven’t visited any local projects run by the Baptist Church around Sofala Province. We are picking up little pieces of language, although Isaac is learning Portuguese the fastest, and we’re slowly learning our way around the area. But I guess all these things will happen in time, it’s only a week ago yesterday that we arrived!

Please keep in touch and we’ll try and keep you posted as we settle into life on the Mozambican coast!

Landed!

Landed safe and sound this afternoon to a very sunny and beautiful Mozambique. We're all fine and are beginning to get unpacked. Pictures and more to follow later!

Commissioning Service

Just a reminder about our commissioning service at Canterbury Baptist Church, this Sunday at 10.30. We'd love to see you there! It’s followed by a bring and share lunch in The Manse garden.

Baptist Assembly valediction service in Blackpool

Here’s a photo from our valediction service at the Baptist Assembly in Blackpool, the weekend before last, where we braved stag parties, dodgy hotels and ridiculously fast incoming tides for our official send-off. It was great to see everyone from IMC again, but the goodbyes were particularly significant as we’re now all going our separate ways. Besides spending time on the BMS stand and taking part in a seminar, we had plenty of time to enjoy the beach and sunshine (a foretaste of what’s to come…?)

Isaac on sunny Blackpool beach

 

Goodbye to IMC

IMC students, summer 2011

Our nativity play for the Action Teamers

We can't believe it's all over and we've said goodbye to IMC, our home for the past 8 months of our lives in Birmingham. The time has seemed so short and yet it seems that lots has happened as well. We've made wonderful friends who we've eaten with, learnt with (and from), laughed with (and at) and cried with too.

1920s party

Isaac has gone from being just a toddler into a little boy who can tell us what he wants and talk about what he has done. Naomi has changed beyond recognition and is amazingly confident around people, she even has a royal wave when she says 'hello' and 'goodbye' in her own way. Some of the highlights of the year include birthday celebrations in 1920s costume, Christmas nativity play in October (blame the Action Teamers) and very English cream teas and cricket with very American drama students.

Cricket on the lawn

Besides a little theology here and there, ethics, new worship songs, language and car maintenance, we've also been forced to learn how to be sociable with strangers at breakfast and win Settlers of Catan (a favourite board game). From an experience we were really unsure about starting, we've had a thoroughly great time.  The only disadvantage to all this is that now we have more people who it is very difficult to say goodbye to.

Who dun it? Anne Tique and Ivora Keys

Too end our time together, we held a murder mystery party. The dinning hall became Bosthorpe Evangelical Church and we were charged with discovering who had murdered the unfortunate Don Ritting?! Glamorous Charmaine became the doddery Anne Tique; Nicky, our normally on-the-ball tutor became the endlessly forgetful Al Zeihmers; the always well-turned-out Sarah arrived as Ivora Keys sporting a peach nylon number, oversize glasses and Jamaican accent. Even James and Arthur, both playing the fiery preacher Rev Al Ation, were glimpsed in dog-collars!

Ruth leading the IMC Commissioning Service band

The following day, we were commissioned at IMC in a intimate and moving service, held in the chapel. It was a really great way to finish a really special year. Now, it's all packing lists, catching up with friends and family and final tasks before leaving for Mozambique next month.

Thanks IMC and all those we've met there. It's been great and we'll miss you all!