Bairro novo

I checked out my new hood (which may become my permanent hood depending on how apartment searching goes). On the left is the Greek Orthodox Church and on the right half of the picture a bit of the Palácio dos Casamentos (Palace of Marriages). I didn't have time to frame it perfectly as I was standing in the road and in Maputo there are some unpredictable drivers.

A day with a good few hours spent grappling with technology in order to get my life and work organised. None of it went particularly smoothly and I found myself more confused by the end of the afternoon about syncing OneNote, merging Google Drive accounts and uploading photo files when all obvious solutions fail. I'm fairly disinterested in technology so it was a surefire route to irritate me.

I should have just done what most Mozambicans would be recommending in this situation, and gone and drank beer on the beach. I did sink a few gins later at Nucleo de Arte, the fun bar attached to a gallery that I visited on my earlier trip in June. Fantastic atmosphere, fun dancing, enjoyable music. Yes, I think I'll definitely become a regular on their Sunday nights, as I can't currently think of a more enjoyable way of seeing in the start of the working week.*

*as long as I don't overdo it on the booze and have to drag my carcass to my desk for the 8am start that my new contract has lumped me with. Standard Mozambican working hours are 8am-5pm which is starting an hour earlier than in the UK, finishing 30 minutes earlier, but working 2.5 hours extra per week overall. Not that official hours hold much sway in the NGO world. I don't imagine there will be many prompt 5pm finishes, even with the greatest will in the world.