New Insights

Hola! This week at my Portuguese class we had a special guest speaker. Jennifer Telfer is an American who at the age of twelve moved with her parents to Mozambique and stayed until she graduated from high school. She came to share some of the customs, answer our questions, and correct our speaking skills for our trip to Mozambique. Jennifer now lives in Sudan and works at a children's home - AMAZING! Click here to visit Jennie's blog and read about the work she is doing!

Here are some of the things that I learned:

• Women keep their bottom halves covered past the knee
• Meals seem to be very simple - rice, xima (a grits-like paste made from corn), sauce or soup and fruit and bread
• When swimming women need to wear capris or long shorts over the swimsuit
• When purchasing items you are expected to barter for a lower price AND that by paying a higher price for an item you can inadvertantly cause an economic crisis. Once a seller knows they can get a higher price for an item they will charge that price for the locals too. That cuases a strain on families who may only earn $100 metacais/week
• $1.00 American = $25.00 metacais
• Women are not supposed to cross their legs when sitting (on a chair or on the floor) - Crossing the legs is a show of control/responsibility/person in charge.
• When greeting women will touch cheeks much like Europeans - offer the right cheek first and "kiss" twice.

I am even MORE excited to go now! I look forward to eating new and strange foods, communing with people of a different culture and improving my language skills in Portuguese, not to mention showing love to others by offering help and training.

As of today I have raised $665.00 for my trip and I still need $2,835.00 to reach my goal. I can use all the help I can get - even just a few dollars will get me that much closer to my goal! Please help if you are able!

Obrigada,

Heather Lena