As I was walking back from the bakery today, I saw the woman who manages the bank. She was driving her 2002 VW Jetta, signaling her left turn while talking on her cellphone. No less than 10 feet away, a barefoot woman was cooking the last of her corn meal in a reed-walled kitchen over a charcoal fire. What shocks me about living here is not the high amount of poverty but these rare cases of opulence. There's this part of me that wants to find some way to even everything out in my city. Then in my province, then country...but I know it's the wrong way to think about things. Just like HIV/AIDS education, you have to start with behavior. And not necessarily behavior of people here, who are in many cases dependent on handouts because so much is given, and not earned by the community.
Often, small children will be begging you for money on city streets. In this culture, when you are asked for something, and you have it, it's expected that you will part with it. It's survival. But it's only survival when you're a part of the society. So normally a stranger wouldn't be asked for handouts, but is has become easy money.
However, the thought process isn't the same as begging in the States. In the US, a beggar looks at themselves as a victim of a very loosely-knit society and preys upon guilt. Here, a beggar opens up their definition of a member of their society to be defined as all foreigners. And since they need food and money, they'll go ahead and ask. But this goes both ways. If you want, you can go ahead and ask them for something instead, which they feel obliged (and in many cases, more than happy) to give.
Other people told me about this happening, but I didn't believe it. So on the streets of Maputo, I asked a young boy who was asking for money to give ME some money. He did. And I had a very hard time giving it back, as he was happy to leave the money with me.
It's like walking into an elevator where everyone is turned to face the back. The natural inclination is to face the back as well because the people around you are doing it (and are in some way succeeding at a given task). But when someone tells everyone to turn around, you might be the only one who has no reason NOT to. Your only motivation was conformity, but the result looked like you were motivated the same way as everyone else. They don't know why they beg, but they know it works.
For my extra English classes, I may end up teaching at the nearby primary school. They would be free of charge, at least 2 if not 4 times a week, and a refreshing change from Biology. I would look to teach them in a combination of Portuguese and Changana.
This first day back teaching was a good day, because my Portuguese was feeling great. However, very few students were around today, so I couldn't do as much as I wanted. They all have to wear uniforms now, so some of the students went back home to try and scare up the money.
Peace
John
