Where We Live

New York, New York, USA to Zobue, Tete, Mozambique

Dan and I live in Zobue, Mozambique.  Located in the south-eastern of edge of the continent of Africa, Zobue is some 8,000 miles away from New York City, 1,000 miles from the country capital of Maputo, and 80 miles from the provincial capital of Tete.

  

We are on the border of Mozambique and Malawi.  

Zobue, Tete Province, Mozambique

Our town is small and peaceful.  The people who live there are generally of Chewa descent (from Malawi) or Nyungue (from inner Tete).  While the official language of Mozambique is Portuguese, most of the population speaks Xi-Chewa, Xi-Nyungue or both.  Because our town is on the border, and a large number of people also speak a reasonable amount of English.  Both French and English are taught in secondary school, in addition to Portuguese.  With our friends, neighbors, and colleagues, Dan and I communicate almost entirely in Portuguese.

Dan and me in front of our house.  With Seni (left) and Zumbo the Dog (right)

Our house is small and yellow.  We live in a densely packed bairro and spend most of our time with our neighbors.  In addition to our own puppy, Bwino, we seem to have adopted four other dogs and a motley collection of neighborhood children.

The inside of our house (Peace Corps Zobue)

Our house has four rooms and one closet, for a total of some 400 square feet.  On the left, you can see our bedroom (which is also our kitchen).  To the right is the front door and two "spare" rooms.  

Doing chores on the veranda

We have no running water, but it's really not a problem.  We can do our dishes and our laundry in buckets on the front porch.  Between the dogs and the neighbors, we rarely get lonely. 

Mount Zobue (left) and Thambani Mountain (right).  On the outskirts of Zobue. 

While the town itself is home to some 8,000 - 10,000 people living in tight and clustered bairros, the landscape that surrounds Zobue is green and spacious.  The region is mountainous and much of the land is involved in cultivation.  Despite being rather distant, Zobue has both phone service and electricity.  

Hooray!  

We are incredibly lucky and grateful to have this opportunity to live, travel, and teach in this corner of Africa.  Zobue is a wonderful, wonderful town.

Learn more about Zobue from the previous volunteers!