I learned today that chapa, the name for the small buses that zip between what seems like every place where people live in Mozambique, means “sheet” or “plate.” When the war ended in the early '90s and the people of Mozambique were again able to travel freely between provinces to visit their family and friends, there was an influx of these vans. To show that they were in business, the vans posted metal sheets on their exteriors with the price of a ride – 100 meticais. The vans became known as chapa cem (“one hundred sheet”) which was eventually shortened to chapa.