Trying to work out how things work in a foreign country is always challenging. In the last ten years, this has become much easier with Google Maps, Google translate and taking your phone with you. But think back twenty years ago. A new country was a new challenge. How do you send a post card? How can you make a phone call?
We are trying to work out how things work in Mozambique. We do have the advantages of a phone and Google, but things work a bit differently out here. And we couldn’t keep using a UK phone in Mozambique for very long without becoming bankrupt. It adds an extra level of challenge when you can’t get out and talk to people to ask them what we need to do. When we arrived we were in quarantine(since we came from the UK) for two weeks. Once that was over we then were trying to maintain social distancing. So asking people how we get a SIM card, how to get wifi and how on earth do I get a bank account? On top of all of that Portuguese is the language of Mozambique, which we are still learning.
Luckily WhatsApp and Facebook do mean you can connect to locals without going out and meeting them and so I’ve already managed to make some great friends and connections out here. I’m looking forward to meeting them in person.
My first job was to get some local SIM cards. I headed down to one of the malls and Vodacom. This was then a long painful process of going desk to desk giving lots of information handing over the passports, go to the next desk, give some more information. By the end, we didn’t quite have some SIM cards and it was time to go.
Visit number two was a little more productive and despites Harriett’s phone refusing to unlock I managed to leave with three local SIM cards and some credit.
It was then I found out about the bizarre dialling system they have out here. We’re used to checking on an app if we want to know how much data and call time we have left. Here it works rather differently. To find out how much data I have left I dial 10003# then a message appears on the screen and tells me.
That seemed a little bizarre but then I needed to re-charge the phone. My first step was to wander down the street and find someone in a Vodacom tabbard. Once I’ve found them I handed over 500 Metacals (about five pounds) and got given a little red voucher. Then it’s back home, rub off the silver coating to reveal the code, then it’s another long code dialled into the phone and I had some more data.
I’ve now found there is a whole payment system I can use on my phone using these bizarre codes. I can use it to give people money, pay for electricity to get more credit and much more. However at the moment to load money onto the system I still have to go to one of the venders on the street and buy vouchers. I now wear a face mask when I go and do this.
I do have to tell you about A Porta. This is an amazing app and service we’ve been told about. They deliver some food and booze. I can go on the app, order a bottle of gin, some tonic and a bag of ice and it arrives soon afterwards. I tried this and the gin and tonic arrived just twenty minutes later at my door. Actually, it was just gin. I found some great South African Gin for a great price, but the tonic was imported so I think the tonic was more expensive per ml than the Gin!
So we are starting to work our way around, but it would be nice to be able to go out and meet the locals, enjoy a beer, coconut milk or sugar cane juice on the beach. But for now, we’re mainly staying at home, like everyone else around the globe.
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