U.S. Foreign Service Officer headed to Wuhan, China

The mission of a U.S. diplomat in the Foreign Service is to promote peace, support prosperity, and protect American citizens while advancing the interests of the U.S. abroad. The work that diplomats do has an impact on the world as they serve at one of any of the more than 270 embassies, consulates and other diplomatic missions in The Americas, Africa, Europe and Eurasia, East Asia and Pacific, Middle East and North Africa, and South Asia.

The duties of a Consular Officer include to provide emergency and non-emergency services to American citizens and protect our borders through the proper adjudication of visas to foreign nationals and passports to American citizens. We adjudicate immigrant and non-immigrant visas, facilitate adoptions, help evacuate Americans, combat fraud, and fight human trafficking. Consular Officers touch people’s lives in important ways, often reassuring families in crisis. They face many situations which require quick thinking under stress and develop and use a wide range of skills, from managing resources and conducting public outreach to assisting Americans in distress.

Colorful Capulanas

Capulanas for sale

One of the most striking things about living in Mozambique is the fact that it's so colorful. This was initially a shock to me as I had been used to the conservative darker and neutral colors of the omnipresent formal clothes in Japan. In Mozambique, the more color and loud prints, the better and it's rare to see patterns twice. The most iconic and famous examples of the color in Mozambique are the famous textiles and fabrics that are made into capulanas.

A visit to an NGO that teaches sewing - you can see some capulanas worn here

A capulana is a rectangle of material that is worn everyday by the women in Mozambique. It's like a sarong, but in heavier and thicker fabric and is worn as a long skirt, as a baby carrier or made into shirts, dresses and skirts that are even worn by professionals in the workplace. The quality of a capulana is determined by its texture, thickness and waxiness and this determines its price. Capulanas are also worn in neighboring countries like Tanzania and Malawi and Mozambican and it's currently very trendy to be seen wearing fabric from international trade rather than the local market.

Making hammocks out of capulana - that's the ambassador trying one out

One of the best places to buy capulanas in Maputo is called "Casa Elefant" though it's a bit overwhelming to step into the shop whose walls are literally covered in hundreds of brightly-covered fabric. I've had fun choosing some capulanas to take home as gifts and also to make into some different clothes for myself. Last week I had the chance to visit a local NGO that makes bags out of the colorful fabric in the hopes of selling them to interested expats - it worked for me!

One of my tour guides wearing a shirt made from a capulana

Read More 2 comments | Posted by Sarah Sanderson

2 comments

Unknown on August 23, 2016 at 8:03 AM

Those fabrics are beautiful. That is so awesome. I love the bright colors!
Cyrano on October 16, 2018 at 9:06 AM

Hi Sarah, I liked your posting and arrived here searching for capulanas. I'm a designer working on a website (voluntarily btw) for a university project in Brazil, and this project is related to culture exchange between Brazil and fellow African countries where Portuguese is spoken. I would like to ask you if that beautiful picture of the capulanas for sale is yours, and if you would allow me to use this photo as a basis for a banner background in this website? Thanks for reading, and best regards.

Wanderlust

In Mandarin: 旅遊癮 (lǚyóu yǐn)

According to my Mandarin teacher, the term 'wanderlust' can best be translated as 'a travel addiction or craving'. In the above translation, 'yǐn' has several meanings such as 'a strong impulse', 'a longing', or 'a desire'.

U.S. Foreign Service Officer headed to Wuhan, China

Colorful Capulanas

2 comments