Whew...

I was riding into the city on a chapa the other day. It was beginning to reach overflow capacity, so I gave up my seat to an elderly woman so she wouldn't have to stand the whole way. She and I started making jokes with each other (her asking me to pay for her ride and I telling her that she must have been drinking too much Canhu). Before long we had the whole bus laughing with us and being entertained by our banter. After a few people got out, I had the chance to sit down in front of the woman while we continued our conversation. All of a sudden, the woman reaches her arm around my neck, pulls me in and kisses me on the cheek.

I didn't know how to react. Thank God I had on my sunglasses, because I just started to cry. It was the first real affection I've experienced since moving here. It was genuine, like a grandmother hugging her grandchild. Without sounding overly dramatic, it made me feel like a person again, and really brought a bit of humanity back into perspective. Mozambicans are so reserved when it comes to public affection that it caught me off guard. Of course I paid the 15 Mets for the woman's ride. It just seemed appropriate. What she gave me far exceeded what I paid.