July 15, 2013

Roberto is a twelfth grade student in Mariri. He lives about 3 Kilometers away from the school in Campine. His family gave us a giant bag of raw unshelled peanuts after visiting the other day. Apparently there is a technique to shelling peanuts (You push on the little button at the top. Who knew?). Do you remember the three lakes that we have in Mariri? Well, Roberto now has a plot of land next to one of the lakes to farm. He came by a few months ago and we showed him the seeds we were sent in care packages (thanks again everyone!). We gave him a few, including sunflowers, vegetables, and a few herbs. He has planted these seeds from America and is planning on selling the products to make a profit to help pay for his education. No one else in Mariri will have his produce! 

Roberto and part of his garden. You can see corn, tomatoes, lettuce, and couve (don’t know what this is called in English but it is similar to collard greens). 

A turnip! Nope, this does not exist in Mozambique :)

Lettuce! The American lettuce is on the left and the Mozambican is on the right.

It is only within the past few weeks that we’ve had fresh produce here in Mariri besides cassava and pumpkin leaves (did you know you can eat pumpkin leaves? It actually tastes pretty good!). The agriculture school we live next to has these giant farms and sells fresh produce! I was so excited when my student showed me around. We’ve been buying couve (yup. That collard green thing again), lettuce, and green tomatoes. We have to wait until after the break for the rest of the vegetables but Liz and I have just been excited we can buy green things here at our home! Things are looking up!

Roberto came by the other day with some other students to help us string our rope bed. I asked a Mozambican what its name is and he just said it’s a traditional Mozambican bed. They’re really comfortable and because there are so many gaps it’s a lot cooler than a bed in the heat. Liz and I have been using it to sit on while we watch media at night. 

Making the rope bed outside our home.

 Using our bed while eating Liz’s pad thai and watching the Lion King! :)