Culture Shock

I have always been a little confused by the idea of culture shock. I have never felt ‘shocked’ by a culture, that just makes it sound so dramatic! Learning about different ways of life is half the fun of traveling..But anyhow, here is the list of rather strange things about Africa I have experienced so far. I will just call them cultural findings instead of culture shock:

 

1) Every single morning all of my neighbors are out sweeping the dirt in front of there yard, all hunched over using shrub branches to do it. This I will never understand.

 

2) Any kid over the age of 5 can carry a giant bucket of water on their head or an infant child on their back better than I can

 

3) No one is taken off guard by a spider the size of my palm... or by a 12 year old boy driving a motorcycle down the road with his 2 yr old brother sitting in front of him

 

4) Two questions that come up within the first few minutes of meeting someone, whether in a professional work setting or just on the side of the street, are you married? why not? and do you like to drink? how much? I gave up explaining why I am not married, there is no use.

 

5) PDA is very uncommon here, although it is not at all uncommon to see two friends, both boys or both girls, whether they are 5 or 55 walking down the street holding hands. I have also had my male supervisor just hold on to my hand for several minutes at a time while talking, something that would be very awkward at home but is completely normal here

 

6) It is completely acceptable for male teachers to go to the school soccer game on a Saturday afternoon and just get completely wasted and act very inappropriately.

 

7) Teachers get away with not showing up to work all the time. In fact, it is very uncommon for the students to have a full day of school because chances are a teacher or two will not show up

 

8) I never appreciated how American culture and school systems put such an emphasis on critical thinking and problem solving skills until I got here. Discussions will go in circles with things being repeated over and over and then end before any type of conclusion is met.

 

9) People know how to work for money! It is amazing what someone will do for the equivalents of a dollar, from carrying my mattress on their head down the side of the street for the 25 min walk back to my house, to fetching water to fill a 100L tub in the dark when the water pump is also a 25 min walk away

 

10) I have never seen adults so concerned about snack times in my life! A meeting never starts until the break for snack time is determined.

 

11) I have never seen people who have so little want to give like Mozambiquans are willing to. You go in to a house where the family is struggling to feed themselves, and every time without fail you will always be offered bread or tea or papaya or crackers, every time! It amazes me.

 

12) Watch out for electric stoves, they will shock you through the pan!!! Learned that the hard way

 

13) Bucket baths really aren't that bad, especially when you get to take one under the amazing star lit sky! Id take a warm bucket bath over a cold shower any day of the week. 

 

14) If you bite into something crunchy in your bread, just swallow as quick as you can and pretend it didn't happen. This will happen with almost every piece of bread you eat... dirt, beetles, ants, you never know, just think of it as a little protein boost 😉

 

15)  The words clean and sanitary take on a whole new definition here. Ants get in your container of coffee, just pick out the ones you can see and act like it never happened. Your feet are covered in dirt and dust and grim ALL the time, get used to it! 100 ants crawling on you while you sleep, just be happy it isn't a rat! Life goes on 

 

16) Cold water, well cold anything for that matter, is a luxury so don't keep taking those things for granted!

 

17) Personal space, privacy, what’s that??

 

18) People will never stop being amazed that my hair looks different when it is wet, and apparently it isn't weird at all to come up to a complete stranger and start petting their head

 

19) There is an entire coastline filled with beautiful, remote, non-tourist invaded beaches in this country and I plan to explore as many of them as possible!

 

20)  Adding coconut milk to your cooking instantly makes any dish taste 5 times better, and Mozambiquan’s got that one down!