Ofélio

So there is a person here that I must tell you about for the sheer awesomeness that is this person. Adam and I became friends with this kid here named Ofélio, who also expressed interest in helping us around the house within the first hour of our meeting. We said we’d think about it, but Adam and I both agreed that we both liked him, so we said that we could do that. If that wasn’t the best decision we’ve made here in Mozambique, then I have no clue what was.

Ofélio started by helping us exterminate the millions (only slight hyperbole) of spiders living and spawning in our house. What would have taken Adam and me days to clean, Ofélio did in a matter of hours. And since, he has been a near constant presence in our house. He cooks, he cleans, he washes clothes, he shops at the market, he takes care of the house when go on trips, he watches movies (with us), he shows us the ropes in Mozambique. He technically is an employee of ours (for we do pay him), but he is also our closest friend here. I don’t know what we would do without him.

And he’s kinda like a team mom (I say this with best meanings of “team mom”). School has started, and as a result, Adam and I are home much less, which makes Ofélio all the more vital for us. We didn’t have much food in the house one day, and he went shopping for us as we prepared to go to school. Halfway through our work day (Adam and I only teach in the afternoons), Ofélio came up to the school and asked if we were hungry and wanted a snack between classes. It warms my heart to have a team mom even here in Mozambique, who happens to take the form of a 21-year-old Mozambican male.

And so I write this tribute to our multi-faceted friend from Nametil. Here’s to our spider killer, chef, washing machine, grocery delivery service, morning wakeup call, house sitter, team mom, movie watching companion, culture guide, and friend, all wrapped into one extraordinary individual.