And now the post you have all be waiting for…
How to talk like a Mozambican!
1) Menigue nice.
Most Mozambicans are bilingual, speaking Portuguese as well as their local language, which varies around the country. In common speak, these language often get mixed, sometimes with a little English thrown in for good measure. Manigue means “very” in the local tongue, so when asked how you are, or how the food was, or what you think of a new song, the correct response is “Manigue nice!” (pronounced men-ing-gee) Or you can go for “é manigue nice” if you want to have three languages in the same sentence (é = is). Also popular is the saying “Mozambique é manigue fish!” Yah I don’t get it either.
2) Toh bisi
Mozambicans can be very busy, even if it seems like they are just sitting around. But when then want to tell you how busy they are they don’t say “estou occupado” (I am busy) in Portuguese, they say “toh bisi” where “toh” = estou shortened (because heaven knows they are much too busy to say both syllables) and “bisi” = a Mozambican version of busy. What, you want me to explain it better? I can’t, toh bisi!!
3) Esta lá
Want to know where something is? If you ask a local, you are almost 100% guaranteed to get the answer “esta lá” (it’s there) with a vague hand gesture in the direction of the thing you are trying to find. “So it’s down that street?” “Sim, esta lá” (yes, it’s there). And surprisingly enough, it usually is “there”!!
4) Tah nice
Similar to #1, this phrase “Tah nice” is used to mean “that’s fine”. I’ll meet you at Nautilus tomorrow at 2pm? Ok, tah nice!
5) Matabisho
When you wake up in Canada, you have breakfast. In Brazil, you have “café da amanha” (morning coffee). In Mozambique, you have “Matabisho”. You might be asked “Já matabishou?” (did you already have breakfast?)
6) Epa!
Every language has a word or sound used to express surprise or shock. In Mozambique, that word is “epa” and can be said with a lot of feeling behind it. What, you didn’t finish the work? Epa!
7) Kanimambo
Kanimambo means thank you in the local language and can be heard fairly often on the street. Plus, it sounds really cool!
8) Frigorifico
This is not a common word that you will hear often, but it is a treat when you do because it just sounds so awesome. What is it, you are wondering? The Mozambican word for a fridge! But whenever I hear it, it sounds to me like an adjective. You aced the test? That’s frigorifico!!
9) Brutal
I think this phrase is from Portugal. In English we use this word to indicate something bad. Oh you lost your wallet? That’s brutal. Here, it means the exact opposite – something really great! You got a new cell phone? Brutal! (pronounced with emphasis on the “tal” part)
10) Toh a pedir
This one is a little hard to explain without some language lingo (which I am very rusty at). I remember learning in French class that there were certain phrases and cases where we were to use “a + verb infinitive” rather than conjugating the verb when describing the act of doing something. There were only about 10 verbs that did this, but as long as we remembered which ones, it made things much simpler. So, just as the Brazilians have simplified Portuguese by removing a pronoun and rarely using the complex reflexive verb crazy stuff (Portuguese is a complicated language), the Mozambicans have taken to using the “a + verb infinitive” in the majority of cases, eliminating the need to conjugate in the case of “doing” an action. The most common case we hear is “toh a pedir” which means “I am asking for”. Can you imagine why this is the case we hear most often? “Toh a pedir 10 meticais. Só 10 meticais. Por favor”. But even Vera says this a lot. “Toh a pedir uma colher” (I am asking for a spoon). Daudo considers “toh a pedir” to already include the “please” but I remain unconvinced.
So, now that you are all experts on speaking like a Mozambican, see if you can understand the following:
- Oi tudo bem? (Hi how are you?)
- Toh maningue nice.
- Eu tambem (me too). Já matabishou?
- Nao ainda (not yet)
- Quer comer comigo? (want to eat with me?)
- Nao posso (I can’t). Toh bisi.
- Epa!
- Meu frigorifico novo vai chegar esta amanha (my new frigorifico will arrive this morning)
- Brutal! Almoco entao? (Lunch then?) No Nautilus? (At Nautilus?)
- Onde esta? (where’s that?)
- Esta lá, no Polana. (in Polana (a neighbourhood))
- Ok, tah nice.
- Oh, toh a pedir suas fotos do Xai-Xai (… your photos from Xai-Xai)
- Ok, nao tem problemas (ok, no problem)
- Kanimambo
- Até logo (see you later)
- Tchau (bye)
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Cocktails
Well it’s been quite the week so far, featuring not one but TWO cocktails that were both very interesting and very different.
The first was an event that we have been planning for an entire year. The idea was told hold a big event to march the official “launch” of AIESEC in Mozambique. The original plan was to do this in December, but it didn’t quite work out, so we waited. Of course, we have been running operations since October and have already realized 6 exchanges and several other projects and events, so it’s not really a “launch” so to speak, but an event to mark that AIESEC is here and established with a strong plan for the future. This wasn’t for the students of the universities - they already know us. This was more for the government and the business community to take us seriously and know how they can work with us.
So the date was finally set for June 30th, the last official day of our term on the national team. We invited more than 60 influential people from around the city, including government, student organizations, companies and organizations. We had three guest speakers – Joaquim Chissano, former President of Mozambique and an honorary member of AIESEC, the CEO from Ernst & Young and The Minister of Education. Lilian was our moderator and Daudo also gave a short speech. Marco was in charge of the guest list and I was the official photographer.
We started a bit late, in true Mozambican fashion, but the event went pretty smoothly and we got good feedback at the end. We had a lot of our members there as well. The two major Mozambican TV stations (TVM and STV) both came and filmed the whole event and did interviews with Daudo and the other guests. The next day, STV showed a two-minute clip about the event on the evening news! We will see in the next few months if the event achieved its objectives.
After the event the four of us all went out to a traditional Portuguese restaurant for a fancy dinner. It was really nice and the food was incredible. It was a big weight off our shoulders. As Daudo said “Next week will be the first week since we arrived that we won’t have the Official Launch as a weekly priority”.
So now AIESEC in Mozambique is officially launched! The event has garnered us 12 appearances in the media in the last two days alone.
As the Official Launch was only June 30th, you can probably guess what the second was. Yes, the day after was Canada Day and I received and invitation to go to the Canadian High Commissioner’s house for another cocktail. I wasn’t expecting a large crowd – maybe 20 or 30 people – but there were more than 100! Not all of them were Canadian, some were guests and affiliates, but there were still a lot of Canadians there. The first lady I talked to was from…. Victoria! What are the chances!
They played all Canadian music and they had a group of school kids sing O Canada and the Mozambican national anthem. Then the High Commissioner gave a speech – all in Portuguese, which was a little odd. But it was nice and I understood most of it, especially since he spoke very slowly.
There were lots of snacks as well, starting with sausages, cheese with crackers and some sushi-like things. Then came dessert, featuring brownies, chocolate cups and… wait for it… maple leaf shaped sugar cookies and plates of mini pancakes with maple syrup dip!! It was very yummy!
Then, just to make us all feel more at home, it started to pour. Because I walked to the place, I ended up staying an extra half hour waiting for the rain to stop. At least tropical rain is intense but short-lived. And until that day, it had not rained for over 2 months! Mother Nature was saving up just for us!
Now that it’s July, we are just wrapping things up and finishing our transition with the new team. I am working on my plans for what comes next. Two more weeks until we are all done! Crazy!
The first was an event that we have been planning for an entire year. The idea was told hold a big event to march the official “launch” of AIESEC in Mozambique. The original plan was to do this in December, but it didn’t quite work out, so we waited. Of course, we have been running operations since October and have already realized 6 exchanges and several other projects and events, so it’s not really a “launch” so to speak, but an event to mark that AIESEC is here and established with a strong plan for the future. This wasn’t for the students of the universities - they already know us. This was more for the government and the business community to take us seriously and know how they can work with us.
So the date was finally set for June 30th, the last official day of our term on the national team. We invited more than 60 influential people from around the city, including government, student organizations, companies and organizations. We had three guest speakers – Joaquim Chissano, former President of Mozambique and an honorary member of AIESEC, the CEO from Ernst & Young and The Minister of Education. Lilian was our moderator and Daudo also gave a short speech. Marco was in charge of the guest list and I was the official photographer.
We started a bit late, in true Mozambican fashion, but the event went pretty smoothly and we got good feedback at the end. We had a lot of our members there as well. The two major Mozambican TV stations (TVM and STV) both came and filmed the whole event and did interviews with Daudo and the other guests. The next day, STV showed a two-minute clip about the event on the evening news! We will see in the next few months if the event achieved its objectives.
After the event the four of us all went out to a traditional Portuguese restaurant for a fancy dinner. It was really nice and the food was incredible. It was a big weight off our shoulders. As Daudo said “Next week will be the first week since we arrived that we won’t have the Official Launch as a weekly priority”.
So now AIESEC in Mozambique is officially launched! The event has garnered us 12 appearances in the media in the last two days alone.
As the Official Launch was only June 30th, you can probably guess what the second was. Yes, the day after was Canada Day and I received and invitation to go to the Canadian High Commissioner’s house for another cocktail. I wasn’t expecting a large crowd – maybe 20 or 30 people – but there were more than 100! Not all of them were Canadian, some were guests and affiliates, but there were still a lot of Canadians there. The first lady I talked to was from…. Victoria! What are the chances!
They played all Canadian music and they had a group of school kids sing O Canada and the Mozambican national anthem. Then the High Commissioner gave a speech – all in Portuguese, which was a little odd. But it was nice and I understood most of it, especially since he spoke very slowly.
There were lots of snacks as well, starting with sausages, cheese with crackers and some sushi-like things. Then came dessert, featuring brownies, chocolate cups and… wait for it… maple leaf shaped sugar cookies and plates of mini pancakes with maple syrup dip!! It was very yummy!
Then, just to make us all feel more at home, it started to pour. Because I walked to the place, I ended up staying an extra half hour waiting for the rain to stop. At least tropical rain is intense but short-lived. And until that day, it had not rained for over 2 months! Mother Nature was saving up just for us!
Now that it’s July, we are just wrapping things up and finishing our transition with the new team. I am working on my plans for what comes next. Two more weeks until we are all done! Crazy!
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