New Clothes

We have been to the tailor. Actually, we have been to two tailors. The first one was on Ilha de Mocambique. We bought capolanas at the market and then had the vendor lead us to his favorite tailor. Unfortunately, call to prayer had just been made and the tailor was gone. The second one we visited was the one that had appeared in the market when we were buying the fabric. When we were in the market the vendors had told us, "oh no, you don't want this tailor, he is a drunk. We'll take you to a good one." And here we were being taken to the drunk tailor. We requested that they take us to a third tailor. We ducked down off the high road and down into the sunken Barro where the people of Ilha live. This is where the stone was quarried for the massive fort the Portuguese built on the north end of the island. Now the hole is filled with mud and brick houses, tiny alleys winding between them. This tailor was young and his tiny, dark shop seemed to be the hang-out for a bunch of other young men. (At first, we were worried that they were other customers and that we were butting in line, but they were just hanging out.) We had him make a pair of pants for Zach, expaining that if they were good, we would have him make other garments. (It is unclear how much of that he understood.) He told us it would take 20 minutes so we settled in to wait and an hour and change later, Zach had very nicely made new pants. In the end, we had this guy make a bunch of clothes, some for Peter and Sue to take back as gifts, a shirt for Dan, two skirts for me (the first was see-thru and has not proved very useful, but the second is great and I wear it every day.) Bolstered by our success on Ilha, Dan and I began to plot what other garments we wanted made. Dan decided he wanted pants and a long sleeve shirt. I wanted a shirt and another skirt (not see-thru). So when we arrived in Mzuzu and we found a great selection of Njidenjes, we picked some out and asked the vendor to take us to a tailor. I was very clear with the tailor that the skirt needed to be lined so that it would not be see thru. There was a plump Auntie there who helped relay the information as the tailor's English seemed to be limited to "yes" and "thank you." I pointed to a pattern posted on the wall of a shirt and skirt that I wanted (loose fitting shirt to provide air flow and yet one that would shield my shoulders from the sun). He seemed to understand. What we ended up with was well made, but somewhat different from what we had hoped for. The man lined everything he made for us! Instead of a shirt, Dan has a warm coat and thick pants. I have a good skirt and a VERY formal shirt. Fitted (perfectly) with HUGE shoulders. It is very African looking and I look ridiculous in it. I have only worn the shirt once, but the skirts prove to be ice breakers with local women wherever I am. They point and nod, making approving sounds. Sometimes I come across a woman in the same fabric and that usually provokes some pointing, smiling and nodding. Dan, on the other hand, just gets laughed at when he wears his pants.

We can't wait to sport our new outfits for you when we get home. If Zach can email us a picture of us in our new clothes, we will post it, but don't hold your breath. Internet is pole-pole here.