The Results Are In!

Yes, August 31st is now behind us and that means that the Maputo Memoirs Quiz is now closed. No more entries are accepted... unless accompanied by a 'refresco' which translates to refreshment, and is local police language for what is known in Brazil as a 'jeitinho'. It usually consists of a friendly handshake where some content is transferred over (from you to them of course). This content not being a refreshment...

I started writing down all answers to the question and elaborated a bit too much on these. As I do not want to let all this typing go to waste, I decided to keep the suspense as high as possible and cut the article in two. You will therefore have to wait another few days for part II of the answers and the announcement of the winner. I hope your heart can handle the suspense!

(And as I'm very busy at work, since I'll be out of the office during my home leave these coming weeks. It is therefore quite convenient to have the next blog entry already prepared...)

So, let me not keep you waiting much longer. Grab your answer sheets and keep score!

1. How many countries share a land border with Mozambique?
Probably the easiest one out there. Just look at any map. Well, at least one with the African continent on it.... and with land borders... and not older than 15 years as country names do have a tendency to change on this continent. You will see that this country borders (from north to south) the following six countries: United Republic of Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, South-Africa and Swaziland (and then South Africa again). On the east side after a long swim you will arrive on the beaches of Madagascar, but as it technically does not border Mozambique, it is excluded.

In November James and I intend to visit Swaziland and South Africa during a short holiday to conclude my assignment here. If I don't return, I've probably been eaten by a lion, shot by James (who is from Brooklyn, so you never know) or run over by a hippo. Despite its popularity in zoos and cuddly portrayal in cartoons, the hippopotamus is among the most dangerous and aggressive of all mammals (didn't expect that, did you?).

2. How do you say 'shrimp' in Portuguese
That would be camarão and is the first and only thing you should look for when visiting a Mozambican sea food restaurant for the first time. I've said it before and I'll say it again, shrimp is the thing to eat here. I've eaten I don't know how many shrimp since I got here and it is soooooo good. Even the vegetarians love it. A vegetarian friend of mine here decided to quit her belief for one night to enjoy the local delicacy. Actually come to think of it, she's been sick ever since! (but I don't think from the shrimp).

The shrimp is the most important catch for the country’s fisheries sector. But shrimp, just like everything else actually, have been overfished. In the 1980s they would catch about 80 kilos an hour. Now they catch 26 kilos an hour. To try to conserve the little buggers the government is no longer issuing new licences to fish for them... at least in theory, since a nice 'refreshment' can get you everything here.

3. Which football legend was born in Mozambique?
...but actually never played for this country. He was born and raised here in Lourenço Marques (former Portuguese name of Maputo), but his talent got noticed by the Portuguese, who at that time still occupied Moçambique, resulting in his move to the Iberian peninsula in his late teens. There, 'the Black Pearl' played at the club Benfica for 15 years, and is the team's all-time top scorer. He got international recognition in the 1962 European Cup final 5-3 win over the then dominant Real Madrid and was elected European footballer of the year in 1965.

During the World Cup 1966 in England, he helped Portugal reach third place, being the top goalscorer of the tournament. Remember? The one world cup were, for a change, the Germans got robbed in a final (do I hear a cheer coming from Hungary, Holland and Argentina? and a big boohoo from England?). Of course I am talking about Eusébio Ferreira da Silva, better known as simply Eusébio!

4. What is the name of the local currency?
The Metical Nova, the new Metical (plural: Meticais). Not so long ago they had only one Metical (now known as the old one) which replaced the Portuguese Escudo in 1980 and everyone was a millionaire! Beverly Hills was nothing compared to Maputo. People earned and spent millions! The average monthly salary was 1,500,000 Meticais! And that was just for a job as a doorman! Obviously this meant that you needed a wallet the size of a backpack in case you wanted to buy a suit and pay cash (since paying in stores with a bank card was not common).

The Metical underwent severe inflation. After the revaluation of Romanian Leu (yes, Cosmin was once a millionaire too), the Metical briefly became the least valued currency in the world, at a value of about 24,500 Meticais per USD, until the Zimbabwean Dollar took this prestigious title in August 2005.

In July 2006 they switched to the new Metical by basically crossing out the 3 trailing zeroes. One of the funny consequences of this is that now most locals totally mix the words Thousand and Million. Even in their own Portuguese language. Basically when counting hundred Metical notes they say: "seven hundred... eight hundred... nine hundred... one million". I guess it is tough not to be a millionaire any more.

5. What is the most spoken first language in this country?
Once again the CIA comes to the rescue. Where would the world be without them...? But, back to the question. This was a slightly tricky one, as first instinct would be to answer Portuguese, which is the most spoken language here. However, it is not the first/native language for most people. On the subject of first languages, the factbook states (in order): Emakhuwa 26.1%, Xichangana 11.3% and Portuguese 8.8%, followed by over 10 (!) local tribal languages.

Xichangana (pronounce: Shjangana) is the language of the South and therefore most heard in Maputo. All Mozambican languages are all so-called Bantu-languages and these were introduced through migrations by tribes from Central Africa.

Why so many languages in one country? The creation of Mozambique – just as the creation of other African states, like for example Nigeria where you could actually split it up in 3 different countries, which would probably be best for them anyway – was done without regard to the local conditions, tribes, culture, language etc. This took place in Berlin around 1885, where the European countries sat down to share Africa. A bit like playing Monopoly. Can I get this street and then I'll give you that other one in return? The idea was to give the land to the power who had that particular area under control. Funny enough, Portugal did not have control over Mozambique, but still it got the right to have this as a colony. Strange huh? Maybe a refresco?

6. (Tough one) How do you say 'Thank You' in this language?
Once you had the answer to the previous question, finding the answer to this one would be a question of proper googling. Entering +emakhuwa +"thank you" in the Google search box would give you some 56 results from which a few contain simple dictionary. There you will find that the proper way to say 'thank you' in that language is Asantte.

Of course, if your answer to question 5 was Portuguese, you would've answered obrigado and/or obrigada to this question, depending on whether you are a boy or girl (to find the answer to that dilemma please measure the amount of time you need to get ready for an evening out. If it is over 30 minutes there's a 90+ percent chance you're a girl and therefore should say 'obrigada' to your impatiently waiting boyfriend for putting up with your dressing ritual...).

If you answered Xichangana (and I have no clue why, unless you're British... Hi Chris! Now you know which questions you answered incorrectly) on the previous question, your answer here would be Kanimambo.

That was it! The answers to the first 6 question. Keep an eye on this blog for the next few days (and the other on your boss in case he walks by, so you can quickly minimize this screen and pretend you were working) for the following six anwers and..... the Winner!!!