DASNR
International
Student of the Week
Home Country: Mozambique
Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest. It was explored by Vasco da Gama in 1498 and colonized by Portugal in 1505. The country was named Moçambique by the Portuguese after Msumbiji, the Swahili name of an island and port-town. At 309, 475 square miles (801,590 km²), Mozambique is the world's 35th-largest country (after Pakistan) and comparable in size to Turkey. Its capital is Maputo.
Mozambique has had a colorful history, from its years as a Portuguese colony to a number of movements for independence in the 1960's and 70's. Shortly after gaining independence, civil war and domestic unrest plagued the country from 1977 to 1992. The country today is more stable, and continues to develop.
Mozambique is located on the southeast coast of Africa. It is made up of 10 provinces and a capital city-province. The country has five principal rivers, the largest and most important is the Zambezi River, which divides Mozambique into two topographical regions. To the north of the Zambezi, the narrow coastline moves inland to hills and low plateaus, and further west to rugged highlands. To the south of the Zambezi, the lowlands are broader with the plateaus and mountains located in the deep south. The country has three lakes, Lake Niassa or Malawi, Lake Chiuta and Lake Shirwa, all in the north.
Mozambique has a tropical climate with two seasons, a wet season from October to March and a dry season from April to September. Climatic conditions, however, vary depending on altitude. Rainfall is heavy along the coast and decreases in the north and south. Annual precipitation varies from 500 to 900 mm (20 to 35 inches) depending on the region with an average of 590 mm (23 inches). Cyclones are also common during the wet season. Average temperature ranges in Maputo are from 13 to 24 degrees Celsius (55 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit) in July to 22 to 31 degrees Celsius (72 to 88 degrees Fahrenheit) in February.
Mozambique is a multi-party democracy. The executive branch comprises a president, prime minister, and Council of Ministers. There is a National Assembly and municipal assemblies. The judiciary comprises a Supreme Court and provincial, district, and municipal courts. Suffrage is universal at eighteen.
The official currency is the New Metical (1 USD is roughly equivalent to 27 Meticals), which replaced old Meticals at the rate of a thousand to one. The old currency will be redeemed by the Bank of Mozambique until the end of 2012. The US dollar, South African rand, and the euro are also widely accepted and used in business transactions. The minimum legal salary is around US$60 per month.
The north-central provinces of Zambezia and Nampula are the most populous, with about 45% of the population. The Macua are the dominant group in the northern part of the country; the Sena and Shona (mostly Ndau) are prominent in the Zambezi valley, and the Shangaan (Tsonga) dominate in southern Mozambique. Other groups include Makonde, Yao, Swahili, Tonga, Chopi, and Nguni (including Zulu). Bantu people comprise 99.66% of the population, with the rest including White Africans (largely of Portuguese ancestry) and mestizo people of mixed Bantu and Portuguese heritage. Also, roughly 20,000 people of Indian descent reside in Mozambique.
Portuguese is the official and most widely spoken language of the nation, but only 40% of all people speak it — 33.5% as their second language, mostly Bantus who also speak an ethnic dialect such as Swahili or Makhuwa, and only 6.5% as their first language, mostly white Mozambicans and mestizos.
Information from Wikipedia.com and pictures from Celso.
Celso Tamele
November 2009
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From the Department of Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering...
This week, International Ag Programs would like to feature Celso Miguel Abdala Tamele from Maputo, Mozambique. Celso is a Fulbright scholar and a Master’s student in Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering.
Completing his Master’s degree abroad has always been a dream for Celso. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in Agronomic Engineering from Eduardo Mondlane University in Mozambique, applied for and received a Fulbright Scholarship, and came to Oklahoma State to learn from our remarkable agricultural college. After he completes his Master’s, Celso plans to return to Mozambique, teach at the university level, and work as a private consultant. He speaks English and Portuguese, the national language of Mozambique, as well as local dialects. In Mozambique, Celso has many relatives hoping he's enjoying his time in the States. He has three sisters; two older and one younger. He cites his family's value of education and their support as key factors in his success in his studies. His father and one of his sisters are construction engineers, his other sister is an architect and a sworn translator in Italian and English, and his mother has a degree in linguistics. In Mozambique culture, one's family includes aunts and uncles (Celso has 49 aunts and uncles just on his mother’s side) and cousins, and so Celso has many close relatives with which to spend his time when he's at home in Maputo.
The best thing about Oklahoma, even more notable than the natural beauty or safe environment, Celso says, is the people. In his experience, Oklahomans are happy, active and always concerned about the wellbeing of others. He also cites Cowboy football games as one of his favorite activities, and the atmosphere and excitement inside the stadium as one of his most memorable experiences in the States.
Outside of class, Celso is embracing his American experience. His hobbies include roller skate hockey, various sports at the Colvin, attending OSU sports events, and playing video games. He says he tries to attend every cultural event at OSU, and loves the diversity of experiences available on campus and with his classmates. His schoolwork keeps him busy, though, and sometimes discussing research ideas with classmates is his only daily entertainment. He has worked as an assessor and a field research assistant since he completed his Bachelor’s.
To international students contemplating coming to the United States to study, Celso heartily encourages them to pack their bags and catch the next flight they can:
Celso’s advisor is Dr. Glenn Brown.
Interview by Paula Smithheisler |
| http://internationalagprograms.okstate.edu |
