The Park

The last few posts have been very much focused around work, mostly because I haven’t been doing much other than work recently. The best way to cure this? Have new interns arrive!



We went over for dinner to the guys’ (Miguel and Maico) place on Friday evening. We were a little surprised when dinner turned out to be cooked spaghetti with no sauce, boiled eggs and pieces of cheese! After dinner we went out for a bit and met up with Eduardo (the Portuguese guy). I had to be back by 4am to use the guy’s cable TV to watch the opening ceremonies… or so I thought. We returned and I tried every single channel, including at least ten different sports channels. I found cricket, golf, rugby, even sailing! But no Olympics!! L How disappointing! I should have asked my Mom to tape it at home so I can watch it when I get home. The best I could get was a sports news station which had a report about the Olympics (including news about the tragic accident… how sad) but no opening ceremonies anywhere. I hope they were good!

Today I went with the guys for a tour around baixa (downtown). We went to the river, the black wood market, the municipal market, the train station, the cathedral and the park, stopping here and there for a water and a juice. Maico has travelled a lot so he was really excited. Miguel has less international experience and only in Europe, so I think it was an eye-opener for him.



I’ve already mentioned all of these places in previous posts, but here I want to focus on one in particular – the park. It was built in colonial times, around the turn of the century. It’s right downtown and I walk through it every time I go to ISCTEM. What it is, however, is a real shame.

When it was first build it was obvious that the park was gorgeous. It’s about one block by three blocks, so it’s a good size. It has several paths and big old trees. In the centre of the park is what once could have been called the “crystal gardens” of Mozambique.



There are pools with lily pads, roman-style sculptures, stone staircases and a variety of different plans and flowers.





Now, the roof has fallen in, the walls are disintegrating, the glass is broken, the paths are overgrown and the ponds are full of garbage.







Not unlike the parks and buildings on Ilha de Mozambique, the park has been left to ruin, and it’s a real shame. Of course in a country with so many other pressing issues – hunger, poor housing, education – it would seem irresponsible for the government to spend money on rebuilding a park. Yet, it would be so nice for the city. It’s not that the park cannot be enjoyed as it is, but when it was first built it must have been a really beautiful place. In addition to the “crystal gardens” the park has a small stage, a covered walk, a big tree surrounded by benches and a nice pond.



Sometimes it’s so hard to look around and see what Mozambique could be, but isn’t. Perhaps in time, things will change, but I wonder if the park will last until that time.