Arrived in Maputo!

After two smooth flights I have arrived in Mozambique! Both flights had enough free seats which makes flying with a standby ticket a charm! πŸ˜‰ Although it upfront seemed that I could have a problem getting my luggage onboard on the the connecting flight from Nairobi to Maputo (just 1.5h transfer time and last-minute information when I left Amsterdam that I would have to check my luggage through customs and then check it in again), it all worked out just fine!

So here I am, safe and sound in Maputo, ready to change my world(-perspective)!

I already met our team leader Barbora (aka Bas, a former colleague) and two other team members, and since the Habitat program is only starting tomorrow evening with a team dinner, I have some time to myself until then; just went for a walk around the block and will see some more of the city (and beach πŸ˜‰ ) tomorrow.
First impression of Maputo: this is definitely Africa, driving around it seems quite similar to my experiences in D.R. Congo, Nigeria and Sierra Leone, although already now it feels more relaxed and safe here (that said, walking to the beach is not advised as most get mugged, hmmm, lets take a cab!). Weather is obviously sunny and warm (though not too warm), and humidity is lower than I thought it would be. From what I can tell so far, people seem very open and friendly, though sometimes hard to understand because of their portuguese’ized english (mixed with some Changana, the language spoken in the Southern part of Mozambique).
Mobile internet (3G) has found its way to Mozambique too (at least, to Maputo) so ‘everyone’ is connected…I am limiting 3G on my iPhone though as costs for mobile internet are obviously sky-high. And more, I just went to a small supermarket for some water and biscuits and noticed that the prices are almost comparable to Europe: around $2,- for a bottle of water and $1.50 for some biscuits…pretty amazing considering that the average wages in Mozambique are around $1-$2! (so I read)

My plan is to put a daily update on the blog with my experiences and building progress on the two houses (which is actually the basis for my personal diary πŸ˜‰ ). In case I ‘miss’ a day there will still be something to read (so, no worries πŸ˜‰ ) as I already set up an automated QOTD (Quote of the Day) for the coming week! And an amazing week it is going to be!! πŸ˜‰