There is always a feeling of joy when visiting a country for the first time. It’s as if we are great explorers ourselves. While approaching Maputo by air, a rooftop sign read “welcome to the country of Coca Cola”. Luckily for us and the cookbook, Mozambique turns out to be way more than that. After a brief acquaintance with Lilita and her sisterhood of cooks, we taste some traditional ingredients and a peep into their kitchen.
We have Lilita to accompany us on the 3 hour drive to Xai Xai.
She met her Dutch husband here and now lives in Holland. She tells us that the difference between Mozambicans and the Hollanders is that the Dutch ask so many questions. And indeed we did. We not only discovered her full life story but found out everything about life in this fascinating country. Mozambique is a mix of Catholic and Muslim faith, of colonial past and recent civil war. Yet despite all this, it’s a warm and kind hearted people who live in this land.
She met her Dutch husband here and now lives in Holland. She tells us that the difference between Mozambicans and the Hollanders is that the Dutch ask so many questions. And indeed we did. We not only discovered her full life story but found out everything about life in this fascinating country. Mozambique is a mix of Catholic and Muslim faith, of colonial past and recent civil war. Yet despite all this, it’s a warm and kind hearted people who live in this land.
As we drove to our cabin on the beach, we see more stars than sky. Lilita tells the story about her first visit to Holland. Her mother in law enthusiastically calls her outside to look up at the Dutch night sky then points at a few twinkling stars. But Lilita can’t see what’s so special up there! We turned the lights of as we drove along the sand road and looked up at the Milky Way in awe.
No comments:
Post a Comment