It’s Sunday afternoon. Last night I went clubbing! Didn’t expect to do be doing that in my first couple of weeks in Mozambique but it was amazing fun and an interesting introduction to certain sectors of Maputo.
Tara and I went out with Katerina, our well-established, savvy Dutch flatmate. First we went to ‘Club Naval’ – the sailing club down by the port. It’s a rather swanky place with a pool and contained some of those people previously thought to be in marble compounds. There were Mozambicans too though – it was actually a rather more mixed bag than I’d anticipated from the exterior. They played Mylo and some other western stuff on a loud, crackly sound system with African music videos projected onto a wall. People gathered round the pool tables, where we sat and drank bottles of 2M beer (not the norm for me but it’s cheap and quite nice here) talking to Katerina’s kiting crew – they all kite-board at the weekend (all feeling quite Australian?!). They’re largely South-African, few Portuguese and couple Dutch. The South Africans were rocking the early 90s look which, back home, the Shoreditch fringe seemed to be reclaiming from the depths of uncool. I amused myself with the idea they’d been lapped and were now bizarrely hot to trot.
We then got picked up by her Mozambican friends and went on to Coconuts, Maputo’s one super-club. It’s one of those places with trees inside. We drank ciporhinis (sp??) and I attempted pidgin Portuguese – basically utterances made up of ‘I, you, we, go, here, there, good, dancing, bye’. One of them spoke good English though and was the total man about town – he got us access all areas and weaved through the bumping and grinding crowds hi-5ing and hugging people. It was literally Jonny in Dirty Dancing! (coconuts are nearly watermelons – haha, one for the girls)
There was a catwalk during the evening, which was kind of good and kind of strange! It started off with all these guys strutting up and down and whipping off Mr Mozambique shirts. They were exuding so much machismo it neared farce! I was thinking ohgod, wait for the women!! Then they came and were beautiful model-types in fabulous African-esque high fashion, which was a pleasant surprise! This live act then played ‘afro-funk’ music – bongos over big baselines and rapping on a reverberating mic. It was cool, very tribal.
Then, there was a power failure! The music stopped and the whole club plunged into darkness. After a collective ‘ooh!’ people got their mobiles out as lights, the bongo men struck up, someone started juggling on stage with luminous balls, and with much whooping everyone partied in the dark for a while. After about 15 minutes everything came on again in a fitting crescendo!
We alternated between the main club and the ‘Lounge’, this other bit that played poppy dance music, hip hop and Mozambican music (which I like, very ‘feel good!’) through the night. ‘Jonny’ gave us a lift home around 5.30 along the coast in bright sunshine with Rod Stewart blaring. People were washing cars etc – everyone gets up ridiculously early here. Don’t blame them though, it’s bright light at 4.30 and cockerels crow all over the city from about 3 onwards.
It’s been altogether a pretty Western weekend really. The weather’s been cooler and overcast with sporadic rain. Yesterday’s planned outdoor activities, which had included markets, a fish lunch and going to a hotel pool, turned into a trip to South African department store, Game. Even after just a week and a half in Maputo it was quite exciting to be surrounded by so many consumer goods! Imagine what I’ll be like after a year spent in the province…
Game is quite expensive really, which was reflected in the clientele. Like in club Naval, there were Portuguese ex-pats, South Africans, Indian-origin Mozambicans (been here since before the Portuguese apparently – spice routes from Asia) and some black elite types (many linked to politics). Amongst other things, like Cadbury’s fruit and nut, I got some killer insect repellent that’s banned in Europe. I’m going to fumigate the flat of mosquitoes and whatever else after waking up with several new bites yesterday morning. Also got some normal soap for washing clothes (in bucket) as the local brand Omo is rather industrial - full of bleach and reduces your garments to limp wisps of thread.
So I’m deeming this 5 weeks of training my ‘transitional’ period. Maputo is Africa meets the West so it’s a good introduction to the country. It’s very different and exciting, but you can still get and do a lot of the basic things you’re used to. Tonight I’ll be washing clothes, internet-café-ing and revising some Portuguese ready for the oncoming week of lessons. Just off to meet a Kenyan volunteer called Bernard now. He’s doing research for VETAID, the organisation I’ll be working with, so I’m going to ask him a bit about them. More soon.
Tara and I went out with Katerina, our well-established, savvy Dutch flatmate. First we went to ‘Club Naval’ – the sailing club down by the port. It’s a rather swanky place with a pool and contained some of those people previously thought to be in marble compounds. There were Mozambicans too though – it was actually a rather more mixed bag than I’d anticipated from the exterior. They played Mylo and some other western stuff on a loud, crackly sound system with African music videos projected onto a wall. People gathered round the pool tables, where we sat and drank bottles of 2M beer (not the norm for me but it’s cheap and quite nice here) talking to Katerina’s kiting crew – they all kite-board at the weekend (all feeling quite Australian?!). They’re largely South-African, few Portuguese and couple Dutch. The South Africans were rocking the early 90s look which, back home, the Shoreditch fringe seemed to be reclaiming from the depths of uncool. I amused myself with the idea they’d been lapped and were now bizarrely hot to trot.
We then got picked up by her Mozambican friends and went on to Coconuts, Maputo’s one super-club. It’s one of those places with trees inside. We drank ciporhinis (sp??) and I attempted pidgin Portuguese – basically utterances made up of ‘I, you, we, go, here, there, good, dancing, bye’. One of them spoke good English though and was the total man about town – he got us access all areas and weaved through the bumping and grinding crowds hi-5ing and hugging people. It was literally Jonny in Dirty Dancing! (coconuts are nearly watermelons – haha, one for the girls)
There was a catwalk during the evening, which was kind of good and kind of strange! It started off with all these guys strutting up and down and whipping off Mr Mozambique shirts. They were exuding so much machismo it neared farce! I was thinking ohgod, wait for the women!! Then they came and were beautiful model-types in fabulous African-esque high fashion, which was a pleasant surprise! This live act then played ‘afro-funk’ music – bongos over big baselines and rapping on a reverberating mic. It was cool, very tribal.
Then, there was a power failure! The music stopped and the whole club plunged into darkness. After a collective ‘ooh!’ people got their mobiles out as lights, the bongo men struck up, someone started juggling on stage with luminous balls, and with much whooping everyone partied in the dark for a while. After about 15 minutes everything came on again in a fitting crescendo!
We alternated between the main club and the ‘Lounge’, this other bit that played poppy dance music, hip hop and Mozambican music (which I like, very ‘feel good!’) through the night. ‘Jonny’ gave us a lift home around 5.30 along the coast in bright sunshine with Rod Stewart blaring. People were washing cars etc – everyone gets up ridiculously early here. Don’t blame them though, it’s bright light at 4.30 and cockerels crow all over the city from about 3 onwards.
It’s been altogether a pretty Western weekend really. The weather’s been cooler and overcast with sporadic rain. Yesterday’s planned outdoor activities, which had included markets, a fish lunch and going to a hotel pool, turned into a trip to South African department store, Game. Even after just a week and a half in Maputo it was quite exciting to be surrounded by so many consumer goods! Imagine what I’ll be like after a year spent in the province…
Game is quite expensive really, which was reflected in the clientele. Like in club Naval, there were Portuguese ex-pats, South Africans, Indian-origin Mozambicans (been here since before the Portuguese apparently – spice routes from Asia) and some black elite types (many linked to politics). Amongst other things, like Cadbury’s fruit and nut, I got some killer insect repellent that’s banned in Europe. I’m going to fumigate the flat of mosquitoes and whatever else after waking up with several new bites yesterday morning. Also got some normal soap for washing clothes (in bucket) as the local brand Omo is rather industrial - full of bleach and reduces your garments to limp wisps of thread.
So I’m deeming this 5 weeks of training my ‘transitional’ period. Maputo is Africa meets the West so it’s a good introduction to the country. It’s very different and exciting, but you can still get and do a lot of the basic things you’re used to. Tonight I’ll be washing clothes, internet-café-ing and revising some Portuguese ready for the oncoming week of lessons. Just off to meet a Kenyan volunteer called Bernard now. He’s doing research for VETAID, the organisation I’ll be working with, so I’m going to ask him a bit about them. More soon.
posted by Elizabeth Drew at 4:47 pm
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