Waking up to a rooster call at 5:30 in the morning may not seem like a big deal to you ranch folk or those of you who summered on family farms in rural New England, but for someone whose closest experience was growing up with a bright green rooster-shaped alarm clock that crowed '꼬끼오' before squawking in rapid-fire Korean, waking up to the
cocorococo of a Portuguese-speaking rooster was an unambiguous reminder that I am at least two layovers away from the nearest [insert almost anything here].
Reminder number two was stumbling out into the courtyard and watching Senhor Cipriano build a wood fire to heat up water for my bath. He asked what we were doing in Ribáuè, and I told him a bit about our interest in social enterprise and the Millennium Maize Mills project.
Angela, Diandra and I spent the morning exploring the village and reached a few conclusions:
- The village, situated along a single main road at the base of Ribáuè Mountain, is clean and well-maintained.
- We already like Ribáuè more than the cities (Maputo, Nampula)—less running water but also less pollution and fewer corrupt cops. Plus the landscape is beautiful.
- Everything is much cheaper here than in Maputo. Think one bunch of bananas vs. a single banana for the same price.
- The locals, from Senhor Cipriano to the woman who sold me oranges, generally seem much friendlier.
- Caveat: We are even more conspicuously out of place here, and the village children remind us by chanting "Macunha! Macunha!" whenever we walk by.*
*I'll write a full post about this term and racial identity soon.
But first, some photos:
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| Main Street |
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| Ribáuè Mountain |
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| Traditional homes |
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| Colonial-era building |
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| Seat of the FRELIMO Party District Committee |
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| The dream team |
