trip to the farm

Yesterday the boys and I drove about a half hour outside of Nampula to the farm of some friends from Zimbabwe. We met up with friends (also with toddlers and pre-schoolers) for a "sports day." The boys had fun throwing balls around, jumping on a trampoline, and figuring out the obstacle course. Cohen, however, was most interested in the horses. He is typically a cautious boy and judging by the way he was initially hesitant to join in the fun with the other sports, I was so surprised by his enthusiasm for the horses. But he absolutely loved it!

It was so fun to be out of the city for a few hours--and to be in the "country" (or Africa's version of it) and to be near animals again. And it was especially fun to watch Cohen enjoy horses the way he did.

Neighbor's yard: As seen from our Veranda

One of the neat things about our apartment is that it has breezy veranda that extends out from our living room. The boys love it out there and Christian is particularly entertained with the view we have of our neighbors and their yard.



And when I say "entertained," I mean he literally pulls up a chair and sits there watching all that is happening in their yard! Because our neighbor's yard is filled with:

Ducks and chickens and roosters and Guinea hens and...

turkeys! I think they fascinate him so much because at night he is so freaked out by them. They all make such a ruccous at night (especially when they get in fights with dogs) and since Cohen's and Christian's bedroom window opens up right into the neighbor's yard, they get an earful. Usually the first thing Christian does when we walk into his room in the morning is point toward the window animatedly trying to sound out "turkey" and "duck" and "chick chick" and "doggy."

So naturally he finds it interesting to actually watch these animals who make all the noise outside his window all day and night.

peanut butter

Since arriving in Nampula, Jose (the "empregado"--house help--of the family who previously lived in our house) has been helping us out as we look for an "empregada"(female house help). It seems to be pretty difficult to find a female empregada up here for various cultural reasons and the norm is definitely for men to be in these positions--they do everything from washing laundry to running errands to serving as a sort of security guard. Although it has definitely been a cultural adjustment for me (Sharon) to get used to having him around the house throughout these past weeks, we have been thankful for his help.

The other day, I asked him to show me how to make peanut butter in the traditional Mozambican way. Cohen was in dreamland that afternoon but Christian got in on the fun.

After roasting 2 kg of peanuts, Jose rubbed the peanuts together to get the peels loose.

Christian also helped.

Then, using a "peneira" (a woven reed basket/sifter), Jose repeatedly tossed the peanuts into the air and the wind blew away the peels.

Next, he emptied the peanuts into the "pilao" (large wooden mortar).

It took about 15 minutes of strenuous pounding to grind the peanuts, occasionally separating the fine grounds from the large pieces with the "peneira" again.

Finally, the peanuts were ground into small pieces and the natural oils began to make them creamy. Later I added a sprinkle of sugar and pinch of salt and we now have 2 kg of crunchy peanut butter!

Christian, what are you doing with the peneira?

And hey! That's peanut butter in your hair!

Our yard

Here are a few pictures of our yard where the boys and I spend a good deal of time every morning. Our house is the top floor of this structure (another home has the bottom floor) and our yard begins at the road and extends down the side of this house to the back.


Here is the opposite view where you can see our gate.

We planted some tomatoes, mint, citronella grass, pineapple and a pepper plant in a space right beside the driveway. It is really fun to have this little space to get our hands in the earth even living right here in the middle of the city.

Toward the back of our yard, there is a cement overhang and a small little room called a "dependencia" where our security guards hang out at night as they are watching our house. To the right of the little grassy space there are several fruit trees including papaya, avocado, lemon, and here you can see the guava tree.

These are the stairs that lead up to our floor.

View of the yard from the stairs.