Lessons from Lichinga #2

Cam here…

Time for my fort-monthly (that word now exists) post… actually, maybe I’m not even that regular…

Heres some more random ramblings of lessons learned in this crazy place…

• When you go out for a late afternoon excursion and the bloke who has lived here for 8 years gets dressed up like an antarctic explorer, its probably a good idea to spend time to rug up a bit more than a t-shirt rather than make fun of his jackets and beanie.  Freezing.
• Language can get you in trouble.  Portuguese for Dog=Cão (pronounced cow), so while shopping for some cheap chicken guts for our dog a helpful shop assistant thought, this guy must speak english as his portuguese is so bad.  He was helpful and led me to the Beef freezer thinking I had asked for cow not meat for my cão.  When I rephrased the question of do you have any food suitable for a cão he just stopped and looked at me.  And I looked at him.  He informed my that they didn’t sell that here.  I realised I must have asked “where is your dog meat”.  Hmmm.
• Read the side-effects list of anti-malarials first so that in your angry/grumpy haze you can recognise those mood-swings are not solely the result of living in a different place.
• Saying no when you have enough money in your pocket to change someones year is very, very difficult.
• Just because you have no TV, doesn’t mean you will have bucket loads of free time.
• Trying to understand people and trying to be understood is really tiring… I think I have broken my record of nights in bed before 9pm from when I was 10.  Even when I went out alone for a party the other night – “Kath, I will be home late, don’t wait up” – home by 9:15.
• Trees here have an amazing capacity to photosynthesis under a layer of dust about 5mm thick!
• So much of what I think is right and wrong is cultural, and so much isn’t.
• My wife learns language like a machine.  I am jealous.
• Getting iPads fixed/replaced is impossible in a place where apples are hard to get to eat let alone plug in.

all the best!