whats cool about here

I dont (sorry, portuguese keyboard, i dont know wherethe apostrophe is) think my last entry did this place justice, i am thinking about all of the things that make this place cool. and while i am patiently waiting for photos to upload for you i will write:

music everywhere, wherever you go there is music blasting, usually mozambican music but right now, for some strange reason coming from this computer, billy bragg and wilco.

walking down the street all of the kids sitting on the side of the road yell, hello, hello! when approached, like in a market or on the street, its, "hello mommy", or, "hey sister..." the moon here (almost full) fills and empties from the bottom. all of the women have amazing balancing abilities, carrying everything on their head water, wood, food, whatever (babies go on the back, though)

there are no supermarkets here and few stores- everything from food to toothpaste is sold on the street, either on the ground, in a makeshift stall, or just being carried around, this morning i saw a man with a toothbrush necklace, all in packages hanging on his chest

kids dont have toys- bottle tops and empty cans make good entertainment. theother day i saw a boy who had built himself a toy car using wood for the boys and as a stick to push it around and can bottoms for wheels. i took a picture after getting his permission, his mom saw and was MAD at me.

i am shy about taking photos of people for just this reason. i always ask but i am quite shy about asking the adults.

the water is warm. the local businesses who rent surfboards let the local kids use them and when were out in the water when i come back after catching a wave, the kids give me thumbs up and say "iz goot, sister"

Larium is a current favorite. I hate it, the way it makes me feel the day after- depressed, dizzy, and lifeless, with bad dreams, but this is malaria central. one of my favorite expressions is, "broo, i think ive got malaria..."-(kind of a joke at this point) none of the locals take prophylactics, its just not reasonable,  so almost everyone i have talked to here has had malaria. the mossies here are outrageous! (notice how covered up we are in the photos)

funny things happen here. somehow yesterday i ended up participating in a christian baptism in the indian ocean. sofie knew this guy from diving and we happened to be on the beach as he was on the way to his ceremony. i got to hear all about how he was saved and how now he was going to lose his old godless life. they offered to any of us, if we wanted to be forgiven for all of our sins, to also be dunked in the ocean. i was happy just to take my own dunk once it was all over and to know each day that i live a good life all will be ok.

and those are just a few of my favorite things... pictures are in the paradise entry.