Nuts!

In Mozambique, people walk around selling snacks in big buckets or in these woven baskets. When I say snacks, I mean like oranges, bread, peanuts, or cashews.

Peanuts are my new favorite snack. Ok so women walk around with these woven baskets full of peanuts. You can either buy an amount of peanuts worth 2, 5, or 10 Meticais. The 2 MT amount is a bottle cap. Just a few peanuts. The 5 MT amount is a really small cup and the 10 MT amount is about a handful. Emily and I have been buying peanuts by the 50's. Yes, we spend 50 MTS each time we buy peanuts. Every time we buy peanuts and say we want 50 MTS worth, the woman whose selling 'em gets really excited and looks at us like, really?! WOW! We say yeah, we're Americans and we like to buy things in bulk.

Apparently the word has gotten around Xai Xai that the 2 female mulungus REALLY like peanuts and buy a LOT when they do. I have realized this because people keep coming up to us and say, "you really like peanuts a lot, huh?" Why yesss I do I tell them. People who sell peanuts will now run up to me and Em when they see us and say, "It's here! Peanuts! I have peanuts here!" and we say oh sorry, we already bought some today. "OHHHHHH!! AMIGA, why?! I have peanuts why did you not buy from me?!" they say. We tell them "sorry, maybe next time.."

As I'm writing this blog entry I'm in an internet cafe with Em and I look up to the front desk and there's this lady with a basket full of peanuts. She didn't look like she was here to use the internet. She was selling those bad boys and when she saw me glance over she rushed over and she said, "Here it is, I have peanuts for you." We said "ohhh sorry we already bought it this morning." Then she told us we could try some of her peanuts, we declined. She asked us why did we not buy her peanuts? We said we already bought some this morning when we were hungry. "OHHHh", she said.

After that lady left the internet cafe I told Em maybe we should chill out with buying and eating so many peanuts. It's getting expensive and they're really filling. A few Mozambicans have recently been telling me that I've been gaining weight. I thank them (being far is a compliment) and tell them it's probably because I've been eating so many peanuts. They say, "Yes, it's those peanuts that are keeping you fat. You look good like this. Stay this way." I appreciate their compliments and brutal honesty, which tells me maybe I should move on to something like...apples.