Local news recently reported that a woman gave birth to a live hen. Curious about the apparently widespread acceptance of such a biological impossibility, a number of us questioned our language instructor. We chose him partly because he is a highly educated man, with master’s degree and teaching certification from one of the best schools in Mozambique, and mostly because he is accustomed to dealing with the cultural naivete of Americans. (Basically, he puts up with our dumb questions.)
We asked for an explanation: How is such a thing possible?

“These things happen.”
What do you mean ‘these things happen’? Tks is, quite simply, not possible.
“You’re in Mozambique now. These things happen.”

I guess that’s that.