Written June 30, 2012, hopefully posted today.

Good afternoon all!

Sorry it’s been a bit since my last post, I have been a busy individual here in Namaacha. This week was full of many classes, lots of time with the family, and some great experiences with my fellow Volunteers.

Monday was Independence day for Mozambique, it was not exactly what I expected, in comparison to the 4^th back in the states. No matter where you are in the USA, the 4^th is a huge party, usually filled with barbeque, beer, family and friends. Here in Moz, it was a bit different. Yes it was a day off from school, but many businesses and things were still open, people still went about their daily lives, and there wasn’t much of a party. What about fireworks you ask? Nope none that I knew of.

I took the day to spend time with the family here at home, as well as some time with fellow volunteers. We hit up a few local places, danced a bit, and just generally had a wonderful time. It was the 1 year anniversary of the married couple we have in our group, so we all celebrated with them that evening. It was a great time filled with lots of laughter, and memories not soon to be forgotten.

Tuesday was back to the grindstone, language classes, meeting this week’s visiting volunteer (every week we meet someone new) having an intro into HIV/AIDS like the biology and what current programs are here in Moz etc. it was interesting, if not a bit daunting. HIV while it is only a virus, is a very serious one, that many are ill-educated about. It is possible to live a fully, happy and healthy life being HIV positive. Many here in Moz feel that if their test comes back positive, it is the end of the world, that it’s a death sentence. One of the main goals of programs here is to show people otherwise, encourage the taking of medicine, seeking treatment, eating the correct foods, etc. The healthcare system here is free to all, its just the lack of convenience and accessibility to health care centers, lack of doctors, and general lack of education to those in rural areas that deter people from seeking medical support. Like I said, its kinda a daunting task set before us.

Wednesday was filled with another language class, an intro into Tuberculosis (which was presented in Portuguese, so unfortunately I missed a lot of what was said) and a meet/greet with PLWHA, people living with HIV/AIDS. We had three women come to speak with us, all HIV positive, and all accounting their life stories, the stigma’s attached to the disease, their personal struggles and how they overcame them. It was an overwhelming time, but concurrently gave hope and excitement. Every day here is a rollercoaster of emotions. I can’t really stress that enough. I have my high and low moments, as I am sure most here do.

Thursday started out with language class again, but this time was followed by another round of vaccines (I should be vaccine free for a year now! Yay!!) then a chat about harassment (generally sexual) and unwanted attention, how to handle any issues that may arise, and what Peace Corps does to try and prevent and or help in situations. The motto that we came away with for that session was “Peace Corps has your back”. No matter what the situation, they are always our advocate. After that heavy hitting session, we had another one that was equally as tough to swallow. It was a session about grief and loss, what many of us may experience here in Moz (people in our communities dying/people at home etc) and how to handle things, different ways people deal with said issues, and how Peace Corps supports individuals. We also had a crazy session about Malaria, prevention, causes, infection, treatment etc. all in all, Thursday was kind of an intense one to handle.

I’m sure you all can guess what Friday started out with . . . wait for it. . . .language! yayy! You were right! I was truly frustrated with the language, and did not have a good morning. Some days its much easier than others, and I keep having to remind myself that it is only week 4 of speaking a totally different language, and that it’s going to take time, practice, and lots of hard work for it to finally sink in. either way, I was pissed yesterday morning. It sucked, and I was a bit sulky until after lunch. We had another session about Malaria, a subject which I find truly fascinating. I don’t know if it’s a good thing or not, but I am much more interested in Malaria than HIV/AIDS. Don’t get me wrong, I am very excited to work with people concerning HIV and AIDS, but something about Malaria just seems much more appealing to me. Perhaps it’s because it has a known cure, it is totally preventable, and with the right amount of support, discussion, physical implementation of things like bed nets, taking prophylaxis’s it could one day be totally eradicated.  Ok. . . I know. Truly lofty goal. A bit out of proportion as well. But as someone said during the malaria talk ‘close your eyes, imagine you are in your bed about to fall asleep, and you hear the shrill drone of a mosquito, you swat at it frantically, but never make contact. Its just one tiny mosquito, but think about the damage it could do’ . . .its a bit of a metaphor for how one person, though tiny in the grand scheme of everything has the ability to do something drastic (hopefully in a good way, not in a bad way like, say, Malaria) haha.

If anyone is interested Peace Corps has started a brand new initiative called “Stomping out Malaria in Africa” – it focuses on reducing malaria in areas where we work, contributing to the reduction of malaria in the entire country, and helps to build an online community of malaria prevention professionals. With the advances in technology and file sharing, Peace Corps is starting to share, country to country, different programs, information etc. It is comprised of 20+ different countries across Africa, through google docs, malaria team facebook page, conference calls, emails etc we have begun communicating with others about this disease, and how we can prevent, and eventually stomp it out. Check it out – www.stompoutmalaria.org its kind of fascinating. Im really excited to get involved with things like this. This is why I’m here, why I wanted to come to Africa, why I wanted to join Peace Corps.

Its days like yesterday, that started out so crappy, but ended on such a good note, which remind me that, in all aspects, I am exactly where I want to be in my life.

With that said, I encourage you all to check out that website, send me some response e-mails, and by all means, have a phenomenal weekend.

Missing you all!

t

Written June 24, 2012

Posted sometime soon.

Greetings all- I am writing this by candle light tonight! No more electricity in the house soooo we are all walking around with candles. Its actually kind of nice. I have no candle holders, so am making due with one coconut shell as a holder, and the other candle has been sort of wax glued to the one table next to my filter. A combination of the two allows for a soft glow to caress my room this evening. Its actually quite lovely.

As today is Sunday, we had no classes, and it was a day dedicated to exercise and domestic chores. Not nearly as many as last week, but I did wash all my clothes from the week (a process that took about an hour and a half) swept my room, cleaned my room, remade my bed (fixing the mosquito net) and a general sprucing-up of the house here.

This morning, some friends and I took a nice long hike to the waterfalls again. Its really a great way to start off a Sunday. The weather was nice, sunny and a bit windy, but the wind was a welcome thing, as we were hiking a long way. Its about an hour walk from my house, down into the valley area. The waterfalls aren’t anything truly spectacular, but they are pretty, and the setting is nice to just unwind from the prior week, and spend time with friends. We are thinking about having a cookout there for the 4^th of July.

Moz’s day of independence is tomorrow! So I am very excited to see what the celebrations are. I have been told that Namaacha’s day of celebration is another time. Soooo I am really not sure if there will be a massive party tomorrow or not. Stay tuned. . . .

I was trying to explain the 4^th of July to my family here, and I think it just led to some confusion. Maybe the idea wasn’t put across well enough with my broken Portuguese,  or maybe they just didn’t understand that the entire nation celebrates in a big way, who knows haha. I did my best.

So after the waterfalls, I came back to eat lunch, read my book in the sunshine for a bit, do my laundry, and then jogged over to the field for our weekly soccer game. Always a good time. Although this time, I seem to have injured my foot more. Not really sure what I did to it in the first place, but the outside of my left foot, under my ankle is super tender, a bit swollen, and hurts to walk sometimes. I think I’m going to have the med team look at it this week after one of our sessions.

So yep, that was my day, a hike to the waterfalls, lunch, cleaning, washing clothes, playing soccer, taking my bath, cooking dinner, and then hanging out with the family here for a bit attempting to talk, but then the babies started crying, and I said goodnight haha.

Just sitting around now, hoping to get a call from Dad. If anyone would like to get in touch, the information about my phone number is 82 710 8641. To call me, you must first dial the US country code, then Moz’s country code, and then my number. . I think that’s how it works. I could be incorrect. Someone google it, or talk to my Aunt Sara. She knows these important things.

Tomorrow is independence day, so no classes. Tuesday the US Ambassador is coming to visit, so we all have to ‘look our best’ hahaha! I haven’t had an actual shower, or shampooed/conditioned my hair at the same time for almost a month now. Yep that’s the truth. I pick and choose days to wash my hair, and other days to condition it. I just don’t have enough water in my bucket to make that happen. Gone are the days of water pressure, or a showerhead haha. Ive come to accept that my appearance is going to be lacking in a big way these next few years. I did however, manage to wear my contacts a few times here. A nice change from the everyday glasses wearing. I have yet to really do make-up though, just some mascara here and there when I wear my contacts. I don’t really have anyone to impress, and honestly my looks aren’t going to help me learn the language any faster. Truth.

Wow, this blog post is kind of boring. Im sorry to all of those who are reading it haha. Weekends aren’t really anything spectacular here, there is a lot of down time, and we all try to get together to play a game, or get in some exercise. But seeing as many of us have to be home for dinner around 7ish, the nights are cut short. There isn’t really any reason to go out after dinnertime, because we are already clean, its dark out, and most shops/places are closed. That’s the biggest difference for me. The lack of really anything to do/places to go in the evening timeframe.

Could you imagine if you had to be inside and just about ready for bed around 8pm? I haven’t done that since I was maybe 10 years old. But, silver lining of this is that I have time to kick back and relax a bit from my day, do a bit of yoga before bed, some abs if I’m feelin frisky. I get to write to all you fine folks, and have been an avid reader on my kindle every night. Book suggestions are welcome! Im currently engrossed in “the fever” and my guilty pleasure before bed is the “50 shades of grey” trilogy. Guilty as charged. I fell to the man, and purchased the trilogy before leaving the states.

Alright. . . its 8pm. Im staring at my phone. Willing it to ring. Comeeeeeonnnn pop’s, lookin for a bit of normal American conversation here.

I bid all of you a candle-lit farewell, and urge you to try going a night using only candles. Its comforting. And slightly romantic.

Well. . . as romantic as it gets here in Namaacha I suppose.

big hug and kiss

td

Written June 23, 2012

Posted – stay tuned.

Crying babies . . . don’t like them in the states, don’t like them much more here in Moz either. Just being honest. Kids aren’t my thing. They are cool for maybe a few hours, and then they can go home to their parents. It’s the constant crying here of the kids that kind of starts to get to me. And its not normal crying that can usually be soothed either. It’s the uncontrollable, body shaking, screaming sobs, tears down the face, boogers out the nose. The one baby that lives in this house, was crying so hard, she peed herself. I wish I was kidding. And its really for no particular reason. At least not that I can tell. They are beyond adorable, don’t get me wrong. Its just the incessant crying that drives me to my room, to plug into my iPod, and attempt to study this complicated language.

Thank goodness for the support network we have of the staff, other volunteers etc. it makes this entire process so much easier. For example this afternoon, after gardening, my friend and I went to “shoprite” a local outdoor market held every wed and sat. It is exactly what one would imagine if I were to say “outdoor African market”. Its kind of perched on a hillside, and there are many stalls made out of wood and tin. They sell everything from food, to shoes, to sweaters. I wanted to buy a capulana today, but it was a bit expensive, and the women weren’t willing to barter. So I am just going to hold off until I go to Maputo again, and buy some there. By ‘expensive’ I mean 150Mts here in Namaacha, whereas in Maputo I can get 2 or 3 for that price. Really that’s only like 5 dollars, buttttt it’s the principle of the matter haha.

After our “shoprite” experience, we just wandered through Namaacha for a bit, deciding to return to our respective houses. Mine was filled with crying babies, so I found a semi-quiet corner of the yard under a tree, and read my book for a few hours. Then helped cook dinner (bean stew stuff, and some xima with salad) and retired to my room for a bit before dinner to do some yoga and get a quick meditation session in. Basically I needed to get away from the babies haha. Although living in this family setting is a daily challenge, and I complain about it, I am chalking it up as a life lesson, of which I will grow and learn.

I was very fortunate to have a good friend (another volunteer) stop by tonight, I had about reached my breaking point with the crying children, and lo and behold, there was my friend. It couldn’t have been better timing if we tried. We went for a brief walk under the African stars, and just had a conversation about nothing. Yet we talked about everything. Don’t you just love talks like that? I know I do. In addition to the mental support, my friend was nice enough to bring me two avocado’s which I have here on my desk for breakfast and a possible snack tomorrow.

I try to eat at least one avo a day, it’s a great form of protein and healthy fat. Plus, if I’m eating that, I’m not eating crackers or bread or any other form of carbs. They are kind of my enemy here haha. I’m doing my best to focus on mainly eating proteins, with veggies and fruits and a small amount of carbs. I think my friend and I are starting a daily running routine next week too, now that we really have this schedule down pat.

Good news – I scrubbed my feet today. Thrilling stuff right? Haha, but yes, that was basically the highlight of my evening, getting all the grime from the week off my feet, and applying lotion. Host mom was very proud – they take pride in clean feet here for some reason – but she was very confused about my Teva tan-line. I tried explaining a suntan to her, but I think it fell on def ears. She just insisted that my feet weren’t fully clean, because there was a change in skin tone. “sigh”

She is a very interesting woman, over dinner tonight, (which was eaten in our ‘kitchen’, because the lightbulb (yes just one) in the dining room/living room area had burnt out) we talked about her work, and they type of work I want to do in my next two years. So while we ate in the semi-outside kitchen area, which was kinda a nice change of pace, we discussed HIV/AIDS, mothers who are positive and pregnant, different foods and treatments, the importance of breastfeeding etc. The standard dinner talk really haha.

Its helping me practice my language skills (which I desperately need to do) as well as providing me with information from a first hand perspective. She works with people living with HIV/AIDS on a daily basis, as she is an activist. Like I said, fascinating woman. Not to mention, she doesn’t take any crap from anyone, she runs a tight ship here at the homebase, and everything is always done in a neat orderly fashion – as neat and orderly as things can be in Africa haha.

The one thing I have really noticed here, in kitchens, in bedrooms, in general are the lack of shelving units and wall adornments. In America, we have cabinets and shelving units for everything, especially in the kitchen. Here not so much. That is one thing I want to have in my house, lots of hooks in the wall, and plenty of counter space. Not to mention an incredible garden. Basically I’m pretty excited about getting my site placement and getting my own place.

Well friends, my water has been boiled for my filter (I’ll fill it tomorrow morning when it is cool) my feet are clean, hair is in a braid (standard hairstyle for me these days) and my underwear is drying over the mosquito cube. I’d say its about time I say goodnight.

We are taking a nice long hike to the waterfalls tomorrow morning, then soccer in the afternoon again I think. And of course, laundry and cooking, with maybe some room scrubbing again if I’m lucky.

“Whatever tomorrow brings, I’ll be there, with open arms and open eyes, yeah” – Incubus

td

Written June 21, 2012

Posted – meh, who knows.

Well here I am again. Sitting at the lovely plastic table in my room, aka my desk haha. This is where I do all of my important thinking. Aka- a place to escape to, to write in my journal (thank you Tara), to type up these entries, to read my book, listen to music, do my homework etc. The little plastic table that would.

Had a great day today – spent the morning in language class, learning about various clothing vocabulary, and putting them into practice describing what we were wearing today, and what we wear in various seasons. Then had an all day tech session at the HUB touching on everything from diarrhea to  planting a garden haha. Quite a spectrum of topics, no?

We have been instructed from top to bottom how to handle gastrointestinal issues, and (knock on wood) I have yet to have any GI issues. But I know that eventually its going to happen. Its not a matter of if, but when haha greattt.

Last week, we had the option to take a Myers-Briggs Type Indicator test, so I went for it. Why not right? See what kind of personality type I am at this point in my life (I am sure that it will continue to evolve as I evolve as a person). So my “score” was a ENTP – Extraversion, iNtuition, Thinking, Perceiving:

“Quick, ingenious, simulating, alert and outspoken. Resourceful in solving new and challenging problems. Adept at generating conceptural possibilities and then analyzing them strategically. Good at reading other people. Bored by routine, will seldom do the same thing in the same way, apt to turn to one new interest after another”  “one exciting challenge after another”  – argues both sides of a point to learn, tests the limits, enthusiastic, new ideas “most inventive”

Sound like me? Yeah I thought so too. It was an interesting feedback, something I kind of assumed but its interesting to see where I am at this point in my life. I hope to take another towards the end of my service here in Moz, just to see how I have changed as an individual (if I have at all).

After that, we had an intro session into Permagardening – something you all should really look into if you have a green thumb. Or if you want to see what I will be doing for the next two days here in Namaacha. The basic gyst of this activity is to teach permaculture and bio-intensive home gardens to help promote growing family nutrition security, and fight against HIV/AIDS. There is an inextricable link between food/nutirion security and HIV/AIDS, food an nutirion insecurity are structural issues contributing to the spread of HIV, where hungry people may turn to unsafe practices in order to feed themselves. Once infected, malnutrition increases susceptibility to opportunistic infection and hastens the onset of AIDS.

The idea here is that, with a Bio-Intensive Permagarden, families can begin to feel in charge of their own futures. High yields of nutritious fruits, vegetables, staple grains and proteins can give a family reason to be hopeful for a future free of hunger (and hopefully, eventually HIV/AIDS).

It was a very interesting class, we received a handbook about the various practices, and an oversight DVD about various people who have had successful permagardens. We even touched on compost – how to make a compost pile here in Africa, and what the benefits of having one are. Incredibly interesting stuff. I am very excited to get my hands dirty these next two days. It feels good to finally be putting some theory into practice.

Not to mention, I was able to describe this gardening idea to my host family! The language is really coming along – not to the point of being comfortable by any means, but I am doing more than grunting, and don’t need so many gestures any more. Although I tend to use them still, as I am a very animated individual (like you all didn’t know that).

Small victories today- teaching my family that after chicken is steamed, it doesn’t need to be fried afterwards. Teaching my family about permagardening. Teaching my younger sister (8years old) how to multiply – love that math is the same in every language – and finally think I have a handle on the food situation here at home.

Breakfast was a small piece of bread, some peanutbutter and a banana – yum. Snack was some crackers and an avocado, lunch was some sort of bean stew with delicious green leafy veggies in it (mom you would die for this stuff its incredible) dinner was a sort of hodge-podge, we cooked potatoes, eggs and fish and combined that all together with some tomato, onion, green pepper and a bit of lemon juice, into sort of a chunky mixture (potato salad consistency) and then had the boiled chicken in addition.

I do miss cheese, yogurt, hummus and ice cream though. Small battle everyday (first world problems).

First movie I watched here in Africa was “Gone in 60 Seconds” so so so cheesy, but so good. First music I blasted from my computer and danced to was a mixture of Red Hot Chili Peppers and Goo Goo Dolls. Oh! I saw a total stranger in town yesterday with a chili peppers t shirt on, and about freaked out, he was slightly afraid I think, because he had no idea who the band was. I promptly made him listen to my iPod, sadly, because it wasn’t Beyonce, Justin Beiber or Chris Brown, he didn’t like it.

Next mission – introduce rock and roll to my homestay family. Before ya know it, they will all be air-banding with the best of them. (here’s hoping!)

‘everything’s different, with my head in the clouds . . .” – So Damn Lucky, Dave Matthews Band

I bid you all a musical farewell for now

td

Written June 20, 2012 in my friends dining room after language tutoring

Posted- hopefully later this afternoon, if I can get online.

Well kids, its been a rough day for some reason.

I think I’m just a bit exhausted from the continuous scheduled lifestyle we have here. It could be because it’s mid-week, and we still have many more things to do this week, it could be that I’m tired, it could be something I ate. Who knows. All I know is that today is kinda a poopy day.

I have had slight frustrations with my host family when it comes to diet, and what is offered for me to eat. I am aware that my family has lives of their own, and I would never want to interfere with that, or ask for special treatment simply because I have my own needs. They have offered me their home, to feed me and put a roof over my head, to teach me things I would never learn on my own here in Moz – and for that I will be eternally grateful.

I think I have just reached a point where I am annoyed at having certain things done for me, not being able to communicate my points fully to those I live with, and just a general exhaustion that many others are feeling. Nothing a good nights sleep wouldn’t cure I’m thinking. But seeing as its only 4pm here, I still have a bit of time until then.

The food situation here is wonderful, there is always a lot of variety in fruits and many veggies available to eat. I have expressed to my family here numerous times that I love fruit and veggies, that I can eat them with every meal. Like for breakfast – rather than just bread, how about some bread and peanut butter with maybe a banana? Or better yet, maybe just a banana and some peanut butter? I’m hardly starving here, so there is no need for the starch overload. (even though the bread here is absolutely amazing)

I am trying to explain to my family the health benefits of having a balanced diet, how many of the dishes they make and eat are very healthy, but the proportions are wrong. Rather than taking a massive amount of xima and a small bit of couve, switch it around! I try to exemplify this every day eating lunch and dinner, but I don’t think its catching on. For example, today for lunch, I was served a salad (yum), rice and homemade french-fries (which are batatas fritas, very common). I took some salad and rice, covering the rice with the hot sauce. My host mother kept insisting that my plate was incomplete without the fries, and I insisted right back that the redundancy of carbohydrates was unnecessary. (of course this was all done in Portuguese, so it was not very convincing on my part I think). I asked for something with some protein, like an egg or possibly some more peanut butter for my banana afterwards. She said the egg would be fine, so I followed her to the kitchen to hard-boil an egg. Something I obviously know how to do, however she insisted on cooking my egg (10year old status) and before I could say anything, cracked it into the sizzling oil. Fried egg for lunch. Yum. . . kinda. I decided to choose my “battle” for the day to be the rice/fries thing, and ate the slimy egg haha.

Its these mini inner-battles that we all face here everyday. I think it comes from many of us not having such a proficiency of the language to communicate our points of view, the perception that we are indeed idiots and cannot fend for ourselves, the idea that we are a “guest” in the house and therefore must be taken care of, or who knows. I don’t mind doing work around the house, in fact I would love to cook for myself, but seeing as I live with a number of people, that is out of the question. I could manage breakfasts I think, and have mentioned this to my homestay mother, but I think it fell on deaf ears. I don’t expect special treatment, and it does make me uncomfortable that I am given a certain plate every meal, and sit at the head of the table etc. I want to be one of the family, but as accepting as the family is here, they also have drawn boundaries that prevent me from doing anything like that. I tried to eat lunch outside with the kids today in the sunshine, but was quickly ushered into the dining room, to eat by myself at the table, because it was the ‘proper’ thing to do, or whatever.

Like I said, today is just a rough day for some reason. Tomorrow will be better.

This morning our technical lesson was incredible. We had sort of an introduction to nutrition – something I am very interested in, project wise. We talked about what we all feel nutrition is (funny that this was the topic of the day, considering my home life situation at the moment). The Moz health/nutrition system is different from the American food pyramid. Here there are 3 main groups. Alimentos Energeticos, Alimentos Protectores and Alimentos Construtores. The first are things that give you energy ie pasta, xima, potatoes (oil and sugar are combined in this too under a sub category Alimentos Energeticos Concentrados). The second are things like your fruits and veggies, and the third are things like meat, cheese, eggs and beans (which can be put into the first category as well).

We chatted briefly about the food availability on a month-to-month basis, the differences between the rainy season and dry season. Food storage ideas (I learned to make a homemade refrigerator) were discussed, and the idea of food availability, accessibility and utilization. Only 20% of the 36million hectacres of fertile land her in Moz are used for agriculture – but if you remember 78% of Moz live in a rural area, and of that 71% live in “absolute poverty” which I think by definition is less than 1 USD per day (broken down over a year timeframe).

We talked about this incredible plant called Moringa, it grows like a tree, and only takes 6-8 months to reach maturity, the idea is to continuously prune it, so it grows in a horizontal manner rather than up. These trees/plants are ideal for surrounding gardens, providing some shade from the relentless African sun. The leaves can be picked and used in a salad, or dried (in a shady area) and ground into a powder that can be sprinkled on cooked food – it packs a punch of vitamin A, C, calcium, protein and iron. Basically it’s a miracle plant.  Its almost impossible to kill, and all parts of it can be used – including the seeds (leave 10 seeds in 25liters of water for 5-6 hours and you have drinkable water). I plan on planting a few of these around my site, hopefully using it both myself, and in my work here in Moz.

There is an excellent website that I encourage you all to check out – www.echo.org it is full of wonderful plant seeds (send me some!!!!) with full directions on how to plant/care for them, and their food/medicinal purposes. Jackpot!!

I want to study more about different plants, what they can provide, how they can help etc. Why buy vitamins, or have people spend money on medication, when you can grow it in your own garden? Sustainability and empowerment right there.

These two years are going to be great (see, I’m already in a better mood).

X’s and O’s

Send me some seeds!!

taytay

Writen June 19, 2012

Hopefully posted sometime this week.

Hello hello – it is I your not-so-faithful pen pal in Moz.

Sorry for all of the delays of posting blogs and responding to emails, internet is just a bit hard to come by here (the free stuff is about a 20 min walk from my house) and I have yet to have a chance to purchase more credit for my phone. I have figured out how to use it as a “modem” via Bluetooth, however it does eat up the credit quickly, so my time online is sparse.

I will figure out this situation though in the next two years, that is my promise to you haha!

Today was another veryyy longgg day. It started out with a brief language session, where we went over how to make recipes and different words for in the kitchen. We then put our knowledge to good use, and made an “American” lunch for our host mom’s while they concocted a lovely Moz meal. My language group decided on mac & cheese, lemon garlic chicken, sautéed green beans, and a salad. It actually turned out very well, given our cooking area the resources, and some necessary improvisation.

Everything was cooked over the carvao, except the salad of course. We grilled the chicken after marinating it in lemon, fresh garlic, onion and a bit of salt. The green beans were sautéed in a soup pot, after sautéing some onions to accompany them. The pasta was cooked in a large pot with water, and the “cheese sauce” was comprised of the type of milk that doesn’t need refrigerated until opening, a type of cheddar cheese (which we shredded) and a pinch of flour. Mixing them together after the pasta had cooked.

The mom’s made xima, and this topping (forgetting the name of it now) but it was comprised of leite de coco (water that has been strained through the shredded coconut) the shredded leaves of pumpkins, a bit of salt, ground peanuts (a fine powder) and simmered together. As simple as that recipe sounds, it is a truly all-inclusive meal. We started out peeling the veins out of the leaves, then crushed the peanuts in a massive pilar, sorted the fine powder by hand, all while cracking coconuts and grating the insides into a large bowl.

After the physically laborious part of the preparation we washed the coconut shavings and strained the water into a large saucepan. It amazes me that they do not actually eat the coconut shavings, instead either throw them out, or feed it to the chickens. Soooo of course there I was, picking at the raw coconut, and drinking the actual coconut milk – all while the women looked at me like I was some crazy person. We sliced and diced the leaves, amazed how the women here cut everything in their hands, usually towards themselves. They are truly truly skilled women. From cracking a coconut with a machete, to slicing leaves into fine strips for consumption. . . actually now that I come to think of it, we used the same knife for almost everything today. Including – I’m sure, killing the chicken. Mmmmm nothing like a little cross-contamination to get the GI belly felling good haha! (still holding up strong – no massive issues yet)

So you simmer all of that together for about 25 minutes, while the xima takes about 30 min or so. So in about 2 hours (from start to finish) you have a very basic Moz meal, that is delicious, and full of starch. Ahh. The wonderful world of carbs. I am quite familiar with it, but I think I’m doing an ok job maintaining my physical aspect, because of walking so much everywhere, going for a jog/hike 2 or more times a week, doing yoga with friends – we even started a small aerobics class usually wed/thurs or fri nights.

Rumor on the street – the host moms are playing a game between themselves, to see which can make their volunteer gain the most weight. NOT COOL. I eat my rice and xima anyway. Its part of dinner, and by 7:30 or so, I am usually very hungry.

Luckily there is an abundance of fresh fruit and veggies here, so I am basing most of my diet around those. An avocado a day keeps my belly happy. And the bananas here are incredible, a bit smaller than those found in the local Giant Eagle back home, but something about them is a bit more . . . savory shall I say? Mmm. Mouthwatering just thinking about it.

Had an orange after dinner today. Fantastic stuff.

Ok enough about food – although most of you know me well enough to know that I could go on about food for days.

After our cooking extravaganza, we headed to the HUB for our afternoon session of technical tutorials. We were assigned new language teachers, and tomorrow we are going on a field trip (in individual language groups) to some sort of health clinic here in Namaacha. I am looking forward to it!

The evening comprised of taking a walk with one of my fellow volunteers and his host dad. We walked down to the main market in Namaacha, chatting along the way, stopping to talk to some passers-by. I didn’t buy anything at the market, but it was wonderful seeing all the various stalls, and talking with some of the vendors. The language is coming along. Its was nice to be around my friend and his dad – my language picks up when people around me are speaking in a manner I can understand. My host family tends to talk a bit rapidly, and slur their words, making it difficult to follow along – but I do my best, and for the most part understand what they are saying. (I hope) haha!

I’m off to brush my teeth from a water bottle, crawl under my mosquito cube/net contraption, and snuggle down into my terrible mattress that bows in the middle haha. I wake up every day in a king tut position due to the concave corpse receptacle some may call a mattress. And please don’t even get me started on this pillow that was provided. .  . I think a rock from the outside garden would have been a bit easier to snuggle down into. But I think with time it will get broken in (again, I hope). Either way, I am always exhausted by the end of the day, and sleep has yet to be a problem for me. Mornings always seem to come rapidly, and another day is born.

Did yoga today outside as the sun was setting. It was a magical time, and I found both comfort and balance in the quick, but effective practice for the day.

Namaste

td

 Written June 18, 2012 . . hopefully posted sometime in the near future.

Greetings my fellow blog-goers!

I hope the weekend was enjoyable for all, I had a very busy one myself, seeing as my one “day off” consisted of being a domestic diva. Yes, its true. Contrary to popular belief, I can be quite the domestic individual when it comes time to be.

Sunday started off with coffee and bread for breakfast, eaten on the “front porch” as it was an absolutely stunning day. Then the work began, washing laundry by hand (using 3 different buckets and bar soap), I have a new found appreciation for washing machines, and will never again complain about doing laundry haha. I had a decent amount of clothes to wash, nothing compared to what I would have in the US though, so the whole process took about an hour and a half from washing/rinsing to hanging on the line to dry. Best part about Africa- my clothes were dry in less than 3 hours out on the line.

After clothes, it was time to clean the house, I broom-swept my entire room and then “polished” the floor with this wax stuff. Apparently its to make the floor a bit softer, seeing as my room is a cement cube with a window, and to protect it from dirt buildup? Who knows. I did as I was told, and my floor is lovely under bare feet. I can get the idea of protecting the floor, but the process was a pain – literally, I was on my hands and knees doing the Mr Miagi (spelling?) “wax on. . . wax off”. A thrilling way to spend another hour or so.

Then we proceeded to fill all of the water barrels for the week, there is a spigot in front of the house with a gauge on it that limits the water usage. I think the family pays per-month, as they do for electricity (we ran out of electricity for two days last week) but am not entirely sure.

After water was gathered, it was down to brass tacks- cookin’ up some nummies. I cooked the entire lunch meal, host mom simply oversaw to make sure I wouldn’t kill myself in the kitchen (did someone warn her ahead of time?). I made a coconut xima - splitting the coco, and scraping out the insides to use to strain water through, boiling that “coconut water” and adding the xima to cook. Num num num. Then I prepared a lovely salad of lettuce, tomato, onion and green pepper. Add in some oil, a bit of lemon juice and a touch of salt and boom – salad bonanza. (this was after soaking all of the veggies in water with a bit of bleach to clean them). All the while, I was grillin’ up some carne de vaca (beef) over the carvao (charcoal grill thing).  Host momma was impressed- as was I. And we sat down to feast together afterwards. A well deserved meal for all of the intensive labor we did in the AM.

I sat in the sun for a bit and read after lunch, but was soon interrupted by fellow volunteers asking if I wanted to play soccer- duhh. So we played for about 2 hours or so, some of the local kids getting involved. Basically it was my favorite part of the day. Playing soccer in Africa. Doesn’t get much better than that in my humble opinion.

Came home to dinner already in progress, so I took my bucket bath, and hung out with the kids around my house until dinner was ready. They help me practice vocabulary around the house, in the kitchen etc. Did I mention that no one in my house speaks a lick of English? Its truly quite funny sometimes when I attempt to explain my day, or where I’ve been, or where I’m going. The language is coming along.

I really have no choice with this language thing. Its essential to do any form of work here in Moz. So every night here I am with my note cards, dictionary and my “501 Portuguese verbs” book, trying to get it to stick in my brain. I’m slowly making progress. This week I’d say I’m at the level of a 5 year old or so. Haha!

Today was another long day- started off with language classes in the AM, went to the HUB for the visiting volunteers presentation, had lunch at the HUB (our families bring us lunch when we are there) then had a session about community mobilization, and then discussed some of the differences between Moz and America – beliefs, behaviors etc.

It was a very fulfilling day, very tiring – even though all we did was sit around and talk. You’d be surprised just how tiring that can get. But it was a gorgeous day, sunny and warm. I have an almost ripe avocado for tomorrow’s snack, and a banana for breakfast with my coffee. I’m rather excited to tackle another day of activities.

Until then I bid you all a fond farewell.

Your anxious for sleep (even though its barely 9pm) pal in Namaacha-

td

Written June 16, 2012. . . posted- sooner than you might think.

Well well well . . .here we are again!

I hope everyone had a marvelous Saturday, or those of you who braved pittsburgh’s south side I commend you, and hope you had a drink for me! My day was very complex, well, kinda.

The morning started off with our written language test at 7:30am. It was a total bust. I was feeling so confident about the progress I had made in the first two weeks, to be totally and completely stumped by a few small pieces of paper. Woof. Oh well, back to the starting blocks I suppose. I have made note cards, talk with my family every night, pay attention in class, do my homework etc. I really don’t know what else I could really do to get my language up to speed. I feel like I am just so far behind. Starting week 4, all of our lessons (technical included) are going to be tought in Portuguese. . . yikes. Hopefully in these next two weeks, I become as fluent as possible to be able to understand these rather important classes in the upcoming weeks. 

After the test, we went to the HUB for our intro into PACA – Participatory Analysis for Community Action. We briefed over a few topics, just to get our feet wet, as one might say. Various tools used by health volunteers, ie; needs assessments, seasonal calendars, daily activity charts, community mapping etc. The fundamental paperwork/charts and activities a volunteer needs to do to get any form of actual community service work implemented.

It was good stuff. We even have a homework assignment to prove it “discuss with your homestay families information to create a map of your community, showing resources and facilities for health and health education”. I made a vain attempt to explain my assignment to my host mom this evening. I think it just made us both very confused. So we went back to talking about food, and things around the house. My vocab for domestic things is pretty good I have to say. Too bad I cant use it in everyday life in the health sector. Unless I’m talking about nutrition- then I could talk about food all day . . .hmmmm “lightbulb”

In addition to that coursework, we also have a weekly Trainee Directed Activity (TDA) which we are to complete every week, and turn into the technical trainer every Friday afternoon. This upcoming week is about water – “observe water, hygiene and nutrition practices in your house”. We are to document all of our observations and findings. Its kind of interesting to learn about where we get our drinking water, how its transported/stored, the type of bathroom facilities (if you want to call it that) we use, hygiene-related behavior, nutrition on a daily basis (I have explained again and again, the amount of carbs we are given every day is wayyyyyy too much).

I’ve actually started giving away my crackers to my younger siblings, and not taking rice or whatever carb is served with dinner. To have bread and cheese and instant coffee (yuck. I miss my French press) for breakfast, rice and some sort of topping (today was a tomato type sauce with onions and carrots, and a salad) and then dinner having either rice or xima. . . too much too much too much.  Thank goodness we walk everywhere and that I do yoga every night. I’m trying to work with my homestay family to be more aware of what is good to eat/what isn’t. Adding more protein, and veggies would be good for starters, and fruits after meals to curb any final cravings or that “empty feeling”. I have showed them a few times that one avocado is more than enough for my mid morning or mid afternoon snack (I do get both, which is nice).

I basically am 10 years old again. I wake up, homestay mom has breakfast ready for me, go to school, come home for lunch, go back to school, go play with friends after (some exercise, sometimes walking around, sometimes playing cards/games) come home, “help” with dinner, take a bath, write about the day, and go to bed with my kindle.

I cant express how routine this schedule is. Its going to be a drastic change to go from this, to being at site, with no real schedule (unless I’m with an NGO that is super organized).

Ok, so with that major digression, I get back to the various work we are doing in PCT. Language, daily homework for language, the TDA’s, the assignments for PACA, and a community practicum for all volunteers (sort of a test run with an NGO during training).

As I write this electronic journal entry, I am transferring pictures from camera to computer, and looking over my schedule for next week. A regular mulit-tasker. Look at me go.

Hopefully the pictures will be up sometime in the near future, but who knows really. The schedule for next week looks pretty interesting I must say. We have two new current volunteers coming to visit (every week someone comes to stay the week at the HUB, giving us a bit of insight into what’s to come).  We also have language classes every day, but not as extensive, more tech sessions about health practicum’s, food safety/basic nutrition, and next weekend we get to Permagarden. Woop! Lookout, my non-green thumb is about to see some serious action!

Today after classes some friends and I went to the local bar (had a diet coke) and played cards/talked about the week. It’s the one place in town where there is enough room for everyone to sit outside, and just decompress from the day. Not everyone drinks, and we aren’t there to get drunk, its just a great place to unwind and get to know one another. There are these amazing trees that line the “patio” where we sit, with these massive roots that intertwine one another.

Oh that’s the other thing I wanted to mention- just how beautiful this place is. The sunset every night is beautiful, the trees and various plants are incredible, not to mention the beautiful people I see every day. Seriously. Some of these individuals are just drop dead stunning. And the children- oh gosh, where do I even start with explaining how absolutely beautiful they are. I hope I can get my pictures uploaded for you all to see. Sometimes I just stop, look around, and take it all in.

The stars at night are by far my favorite thing about this place though. It is so incredible the amount of them one can see on any given night. In addition to a portion of the galaxy. I brush my teeth under them every night outside the house, and just gaze in total wonder. That’s something I will never forget – the way the sky looks when I brushed my teeth in Moz. Hahahah go figure it would be something like that.

 I will bid you all a fond farewell. I have some water with lemon (from the tree out back) waiting for me as I relax with my book before bed.

Ps- food discovery of the day, papaya from the tree out back, cut open - with some lemon squeezed over it. A phenomenal explosion of flavor that words would not do justice.

Toodles

td

Written June 15, 2012

Posted – probably at some random hot spot in Namaacha, who knows when

Hello all you blog spectators! Welcome back!

I hope everyone is doing well back in the states, and don’t worry I’m holding up pretty well here myself.

Today was another jam-packed day of schooling – language lessons in the morning, followed by an “Introduction to the health system” here in Moz. Dr. Ema Chuva came to speak with us about the basic forms of public health care, how it ranges from district offices, to provincial to the central health program. Very interesting stuff, not to mention useful, as we are all Community Health Volunteers in this program.

Some crazy stats for you all to digest – there are 23.7 million people here in Moz. Of that number, 29.8% live in an urban setting, while the other 70.2% reside in the rural parts. The literacy rate is 50.4%.

This is when things start to get a bit shocking. . the infant mortality rate is 93/1000 and institutional birth rate is 58%.

There are three hospitals in this entire country. No I did not stutter. 3. That’s it. There are more hospitals in the “smallest big town” aka- Pittsburgh, than there are in this entire country, which is about 3 california’s stacked upon one another. Mind blown.

Again another number commin at ‘cha – in this entire country, there are 859 doctors. That’s one for every 26,000 people, if the doctor is actually practicing treatment. Oftentimes, the doctors are the ones running the show, organizing things, and therefore do not actually spend much time with patients. With that said, there are 5,397 nurses in Moz, that’s one for every 4,000 people, and again the skill level of the nurses vary as well. Last ratio I have for you, there are 2,461 physicians assistants, that’s 1 for every 9,000 people.

If you haven’t picked up the main theme of this post yet here it is – Moz is an amazing country, it needs help in the health sector in more ways than just funding. It needs the trained staff. Money (while helpful for sure) can only go so far, the manpower needed to utilize the things money can buy is what is most important.

Down to the nitty gritty-

Of the 23.7 million people here in Moz, about 1.4 million of them are infected with HIV/AIDS. 250,000 are children, 860,000 are women, and 552,000 are men. The life expectancy in this country is 42 years of age.

Leading causes of death – malaria, and hiv/aids.

As shocking as all of this information was to receive (and there was much more, that’s just a summarization) it also spurred many of us into an almost excitement-like mood. We are here. We are here to make a change. No matter how small or large, this is what we are here to do.

The basic idea for our projects in the two year span range from; promoting key health behaviors and practices, detecting community health problems and offer/work  to find possible solutions, and coordinate/carry out activities responding to community needs.

The idea of integration of HIV/AIDS services into the community, incorporation of new lab technology, expansion of a community adherence group (help to facilitate long-term patient retention) – are just some of the few things we discussed, and hopefully can accomplish.

Children and women are going to be a target audience that we will try to reach out to. They (just by numbers) are the ones that are most strongly affected. Hopefully I can get involved with an NGO, or even a secondary project that promotes the health and well-being of women and children. If even possible, tying in nutrition studies – sustainability and various educational seminars to promote empowerment of women. . . thinking big things here. But I am well aware of the way things work here, and know that the pace may be a bit slow (drastically slow in comparison to the way things move in the US) but that’s ok. I’m a go-with-the-flow kinda lady, I don’t need specific timeframes for things (as my mother cringes at the thought haha) It would be great to see some things get accomplished during my time here, but its an evolutionary process, start small- building blocks for the future generations, future volunteers etc.

Ok- enough of the advocate chat – I had a lovely day today. Got a great workout in this evening with some friends, some cardio and aerobics. I have been trying to do yoga every night before bed in my room, and next week, we are going to try to get people together to have a small yoga class. Along with the circuit stuff we did today (lean mean moz 18) look out.

Dinner was delicious- grilled frango (chicken) with a salad, and some xima, followed by a banana for dessert. Again – no complaints on the food here, so far, all experiences have been good!

With that lovely thought, I will say goodnight. I still have a bit of studying to get done before I snuggle up with my book in bed. Tomorrow is our first language test, and I am slightly nervous for that. But no matter how I do it’s a mark to see how far I’ve come with the language in two weeks, where my strengths are and weaknesses are. Keep ‘em crossed kiddies. I want to learn this language.

X’s and O’s from your studious and excited pal here in Mozambique

td

Written – June 14, 2012, posted – your guess is as good as mine.

Good evening all!

Well, its evening here, about 8:20ish to be somewhat precise. I had a lovely day today, and even managed to snag some internet for a bit to answer emails, post the previous blogs, and get a brief taste about what’s going on in good old America. Miss you all! Just not enough to come home haha.

So this morning started out with language, its coming along I suppose you could say. Our professors never speak to us in English, which can be sometimes confusing, while other times very beneficial because it is total and complete immersion. The only time we speak English is around one another, and during some programs on HUB days. We learn this language even if we don’t want to haha. Which I don’t know why someone wouldn’t, its kinda pivotal to any form of success in the upcoming years. Communication is a huge part of cultural immersion and integration- two things that will be very helpful and necessary.

So after language, we went up to the HUB where we had a visiting (currently serving) volunteer who told us a bit about his experience, the work he is doing at site, what his site is like, how he copes with things etc. . all very enlightening and a very positive message! Every time we meet and talk with current volunteers, it makes us all the more anxious to get to site and actually get going with work. But these baby steps are necessary. If I’m going to get anything accomplished here, I need to learn to talk to my Moz counterparts!

The next segment of our day was a brief interview into community development, what it means to us here in Moz, some things that we want to accomplish, the break down of budgets and funding, possible programs etc. Finally! Some info that isn’t about safety and security! These were the words that many of us were really looking forward to because it means that this is the real deal! The stuff we are here to do, and hopefully accomplish. 

“Sustainable, community based change through participatory, self-help initiatives leading to improved quality of life for poor individuals and families. – The beneficiaries are subjects, not objects in the development process.”

Then we broke for lunch, we went to our respective casas, I had xima (prounced shee-ma) which is basically grits, and some wonderful green leafy veggie thing called couve. Followed by a very tasty orange. Aside from the massive carbo-overload, everything here is pretty tasty. Most meats or fish are either put in a stew like thing, or are fried in some oil. Ive decided that ovens are kinda rare around here, as I haven’t seen many in my fellow trainee’s houses.

Then back to language (bored with my schedule yet?). Its not super thrilling to be sure, and it is always structured. Sundays are our free days, as we do have classes and technical training on Saturday’s. Last Sunday some fellow trainees and I hiked to the waterfalls here in Namaacha. What a glorious site! I have a great photo of 4 of us ladies in different yoga poses on the rocks of the waterfalls. I had an excellent morning of physical exercise, a bit of stretching, and then some great meditation time. It was finally a chance to soak in this incredible opportunity, realize whats going on, and kinda disengage for a moment or two. That’s the big thing here, just taking a moment to realize things, ponder, think, wonder etc. Growth of the mind.

After language, I went to scam some internet from a local hot spot – bingo! I was able to send off a few e-mails and update the blog, which was nice. Im really sorry for being so out of touch, and bad with updates, but the walk is about 15/20min from my house, and its unlikely that the internet will even work. I think about everyone often, and want to share my experiences here with you all, its just a bit difficult to put everything down on paper, and then get it online. I hope you understand. In addition, there really isn’t too much to report here, as this is still training and my days are pretty structured with language and skills training. Not exactly the thrilling things you all want to hear haha!

As I sit this evening, soaking my very dusty and dirty feet (I have no idea how anyone would expect to have clean feet here – I have yet to wear socks haha) I want to share a quote from earlier today that I found to be interesting:

“I am done with great things and big things, great institutions and big success, and I am for those tiny, invisible molecular moral forces that work from individual to individual, creeping through the crannies of the world like so many rootlets, or like the capillary oozing of water, yet which If you give them time, will rend the hardest monuments of man’s pride.”

With that, my warm (and now clean toes) bid you a very pleasant night.

Boa noite!

Your barefoot friend in Moz-

td

Written June 13, 2012 . . .posted- your guess is as good as mine.

Well here we are again. . . another long day of pre-service training. .

Today was HUB day, a time when all of the volunteers congregate at the “hub” a house/library/conference room type-thing, Moz style.  It also has a lovely yard/outdoor space where we usually eat lunch, and oftentimes put on small skits and whatnot.

So today’s first topic was about situations that may arise in our service here in Moz. Often times we will run through various scenarios just to bring some awareness to various possibilities that we may face here. Today focused a lot on people asking for money or to borrow things, or how to handle responding to more personal questions. People here can be very invasive about you and your life, how much money you make etc, simply because its in their nature, and they are curious about you as someone who is ‘different’. It was nice to run through some of these scenarios, as I’m sure they will be helpful throughout our 24 months here.

The second topic of the day was sexual assault- things to be aware of, things to look out for, and just an overall word of caution. We discussed the differences between what American men and women do when they want sex/when they do not, and what men and women in Moz do. It was a great laugh as none of us are really mature haha, but at the same time very informative and again, helpful for the upcoming two years. We also discussed the heavier subjects of rape, sexual assault and possible violence, a bit scary, but nevertheless, helpful.

Then lunch break, where I had “carne de vaca” and some rice, with an orange. Yum yum yum. We sit outside in the sun (an attempt to warm up) while we eat, and it is a really nice time. I had a chance to delve into the book “the fever” a bit more, finding it to be truly fascinating. Perhaps this adventure and my experiences will lead me into a health related career. . . .hmmm. The possibilities are truly endless. (as an American, I know I can actually say that)

Enough about school. It’s a long tiresome day, and writing about it is making my eyes droop even further – did I mention its 8pm here and I’m just about ready for bed? Pathetic.

My language with my family seems to be coming along, the daily test for me is dinner time, how well I can communicate with them about my day, asking about theirs, talking about tomorrow, all while smiling and chowing down on the delicious nummies. Tonight it was xima (grits for lack of better description) peixe in a sort of peanut sauce (fish) and a ‘salad’ of tomato, cucumber and onion with some lemon juice. No complaints here about the food. And to date, no GI problems with my barriga (belly). Here’s hoping that luck continues.

So as I sit here in my chilly room – no insulation, concrete walls and floor with a screen window haha – staring at a dead cockroach in the corner (mental note- sweep tomorrow) I’m truly satisfied with another day here in beautiful Moz.

I had my moments today of feeling low and disconnected from what this whole thing is about, which I tend to feel at least once a day, but I have yet to go to bed truly upset about being here. I hope I never do. Coming home to this family, while it can be a bit overwhelming because of the amount of people here, the small children (there are two under the age of 3) and the lack of anything truly familiar, is still the best blessing in disguise. Love, compassion, and family translate over all languages. Its incredible that these perfect strangers have taken me in, fed me, given me a place to sleep, and make sure that I take at least one bath a day. In America, would we ever find something quite like this, without expecting anything in return?

They are giving me an insight into what it is like to live, breathe, and eat I this country. Something I could never truly gain if I was immediately on my own. My family is very smart, witty, caring, great cooks, etc. The list goes on. My only frustration is that I cant truly communicate with them just how happy I am to be here.

Tomorrow is another day though.

Oh! Side note- I had an avocado today from the tree that grows in my backyard. Be jealous.

Later dolls-

td

Written June 12, 2012. . . Posted – whenever I find internet.

Another day, another dollar… well minus the dollar here in Moz. We use Meticais (pronounced met-ee-keish) – exchange rate abour 28/29 to 1 USD, and the last time I checked, I’m not really in this for the money haha. Either way, another day has passed here in the beautiful land of Moz. Today’s activities included language class, cooking, dancing, tomar-ing my banho, and reading. Basically how I’m going to spend the next two years of my life lol.

The morning started out early, 6am like usual. I boiled water to wash my face/brush my teeth, got dressed for classes, and ate breakfast of pao (bread) and queijo (cheese) and of course a bit of café- which is really really bad because its powder coffee. . . but it does in a pinch.

After breakfast, language classes began, this week the class is being held in my casa (pronounced ca-za) so I didn’t have to walk very far, unlike last week, when I had a nice 15/20 min walk to my friends house. It was a difficult morning of language consumption. . . I get frustrated at myself for not picking up the language as quickly as I would like, all the while, kicking myself for not being super studious about it before I came. Yes I did use Rosetta Stone before my arrival (its brilliant, I suggest it to anyone) but not to the extent that I should have. I try to use it on my computer some nights here, but the majority of the time, by the time I retire to my room for the night I have absolutely no desire to listen or speak any more Portuguese haha!

Class usually runs from 7/730 am until 330/4pm, with a break from 12-1:30 for lunch. Mornings are chilly here, so we are always bundled up in our coats, and sometimes two pairs of pants (guilty as charged). But after lunch the layers are pealed off and we usually sit out in the sun for the remainder of the classes. Today’s lesson was about the environment, we worked on various vocabulary used to describe our surroundings, problems caused by pollution, and in return what the pollution does to our bodies as humans. It was all very interesting, and it began to tie in the language with the upcoming health-related work I hope to be doing here in Moz.

I have started reading a wonderful book in the evenings (aside from 50 shades of grey that is) one that Oma gave me – “the fever” by sonia shah. Incredible stuff to mentally digest I tell ya. All the while making me flinch even more every time I hear the shrill drone of a pesky mosquito. Yes I am taking malaria medicine – doxycycl 100. So far the drug has given me no intense side-affects, aside from some intense (but not bad) dreams. I still am not super thrilled about taking a potent medicine on a daily basis, but if it helps to prevent malaria, than by all means let me at it.

In addition to the drug, I sleep under a lovely forest green mosquito net. It is not hanging gently from the ceiling as one may imagine, instead it is in almost a cube form around my bed. On move in day here in Naamacha I gestured to my Mae that I needed to hang the net, however my ceiling is probably 12 feet above the floor, and is a pure tin roof. . . hanging the net wasn’t really an option. So instead, we found some random pieces of wood, and tied them to the bed posts (did I mention I have a full size bed, but a twin size mattress?) creating sort of a four-poster bed – Moz style. I then draped the netting over said posts, and it brushes the floor of my room (which is very spacious and most times very chilly) leaving me with a bed-cube type thing.

But I digress. . . After class I helped to make dinner, which for the life of me cant remember the name of as I type now. It was a very simple, yet filling and satisfying dinner. Tomato, onion, carrot, green pepper, a green leafy veggie similar to kale, a bit of salt, and beans (kidney I think). Start with some oil in the big pot on the carvao (charcoal stove-like thing) let that heat up, add in the onions, some fresh garlic and a bit of salt, let those cook up. . .add in diced tomato a few minutes later. . . a few minutes more add in the green leafy veggies, let simmer for a bit (adding a smidge of water). Then toss in the boat load of beans, the carrots and green pepper and let simmer for maybe 15 min or so. Do that while keeping an eye on the white rice cooking in the pot next to that, and boom- a dinner fit for a volunteer and her family. Yes I cooked it all, and yes, they were quite impressed. Although I did need help cutting up the veggies and such, as the women here do not use cutting boards, instead cut into the palm of their left hand. I’m getting better at it as the days go, but the fear of mutilation is still in the forefront of my mind.

As things were simmering or when the rice was done I heated water for my bath, took that along with my trusty flashlight to the “casa de banho” as it gets dark here around 530ish. Took my bath (a glorious feeling after a long day) and then had dinner with my family. Dinner conversation is starting to pick up as the language gets better. . . my proficiency is that of a 2 year old now I’d say. . . not too shabby for two weeks.

I obviously have my down moments here in Moz. It is tough to be surrounded by a language that is totally different from your own. I miss my family and friends, the normalcy of American life (the convenience of a shower and water pressure, my bed, driving a car etc) but also know that this adventure is going to be that of a lifetime. And for that, I wouldn’t give up my bucket baths, or watching my kid sisters sing and dance while I’m cooking, for anything.

Already in my experiences in this country, no matter how bad the day one is having, the most simple things – a child’s laughter, cooking with your older sister, listening to your Mae tell stories from work – are the reasons why I am here. To learn about these fantastic people, their culture and way of living, with hope of imparting some knowledge to make it just a bit safer, healthier and with that, longer and happier.

Until next time.

Your tired, yet happy- daughter, granddaughter, niece, friend, etc

td

Killing chickens, taking bucket baths, using a latrine, and learning to speak Portuguese!

(written on Monday June 11, 2012) Posted- whenever I finally get the internet to work.

Welcome to my first few weeks in Moz! It has been a whirlwind adventure of trying to catch on to the language, figuring out the currency, figuring out the time (they use military time here) – again, thanks mom for having a work schedule that taught me at a young age what it is-  all while learning to cook on a carvao (a charcoal “fire” for cooking), trying to talk to my family in caveman Portuguese, and having my time totally eaten up by classes and information sessions.

Internet is totally hit or miss in Namaacha, so I am sorry about my lack of communication. I posted my phone number on my facebook wall, if you buy an international calling card and shoot me a “hello” that would be wonderful.

I had a really nice convo with Sara yesterday (thanks love, it was nice to hear your voice) and a quick one with Poppa Bear. Gosh it was amazing to hear your voice Dad. I miss you.

OK- so the nitty gritty. I am living in Naamacha Mozambique, which is right on the border of Swaziland and South Africa. It is a beautiful little village set in the mountains, so it is a bit cold here (should have packed more pants and jackets) ohh well. My very first day, I met my host mother (a minha mae, in Portuguese) named Lina. She is a tiny woman who runs the show. Her profession, aside from running the house, is an activist for HIV/AIDS. She (from what I have gathered) gives food and medicine to those who are HIV positive. She is an incredible woman who doesn’t take any crap, helps we with my language, and is teaching me how to cook.

I also live with about 9 or so other people at one time. During weekends (fins-de-semanas) the number varies, as there are others who reside here. Honestly I am still trying to figure out the entire family dynamic, but on an average day, its me, mom and dad (who is crippled, and I don’t really know why yet) my older sister, who acts like a suto-mom, my two other sisters 20 & 16, and two adorable little babies who are about 2 or so.

I have a fairly routine schedule, school from 7am until 3/4pm. Depending if I have tutoring afterwards. That leaves about a half hour to do some stuff with friends like yoga in the HUB (the local place where we go for training days) go for a walk, or come home to “tomar banho” – take my bath, in a bucket of course, to be explained later, the help with dinner do my homework (TPC) and then basically go to sleep. It’s a fairly rigid schedule, so the other trainees and I try to get together after classes to just decompress from hours upon hours of Portuguese being bored into our heads.

Ok, sooooo bucket baths. Let’s have a quick chat about these babies; possibly the most liberating thing I have done thus far in my experience as a trainee. Because my language skills are those of a caveman, and I am unaccustomed to the cooking methods here in Moz (hell, I’m unaccustomed to cooking in the states) I basically have the status of a 3year old. So the act of being alone with my basia (bucket/basin) of warm water, my bar of soap, and face wash in our outside “casa de banho” is a lovely time for self reflection, and silence. I have a large basin that I first fill part way with cold water, add in some boiling water from the carvao, and you are good to go. I have a small plastic measuring cup, for lack of better words, that I use to pour water where I please. Then I suds it up with my lovely bar of antibacterial soap, and rinse in the same method used originally. It can get rather chilly, and somewhat creepy when I’m “tomar-ing my banho” at night, which happens more often than not because the sun sets at 5:30pm our time. So I take my “lanterna” or flashlight as us GI’s like to call it, and make the best of a somewhat strange bathing situation.

The toilet (or pit latrine) is located on the opposite wall. I am lucky enough to have a western toilet placed over the pit, so I have somewhere semi-decent to rest my laurels during those lovely private moments. But as there are many children running around my casa, there is sometimes an interruption, cutting “me” time short. Its all in good heart though.

My family here is very welcoming. Mae was in Maputo last night for her cousin’s wedding, and she still called before bed to make sure I had eaten supper, and of course, taken my bath. Being clean here is super important. I cant stress that enough. My mae was in a slight tizzy when I first explained to her that one bath a day would suffice, she was insistent that I take two a day, if not more. But I politely told her that it was just too cold in the morning to take a bath, and that if I took it before dinner/bed I really wasn’t getting dirty. She finally came around, and I am down to one bath a day, but part of me still feels she disapproves. Oh well, can’t win ‘em all.

So I’ve explained bath time, I’ve briefly explained school and classes – language classes are held in the various homes of volunteers. We have been broken up into smaller groups depending on skill and aptitude (I think I am in the slow-learner group) and we rotate between the houses in said groups depending on the weeks and size of homes. All other technical training happens in the Hub, and our mae’s bring us lunches.

Oh- that’s the other thing. The amount of food here- holllyyy sheesh. Whoever grew up hearing the phrase “finish your dinner, there are starving children in Africa” has clearly never been to Naamacha. In my backyard alone, we have two avacado trees, a grove of bananna trees, a lemon tree, and mango trees. Meals usually consist of some sort of carboydrate (rice, pasta or xima – grits for lack of better words) some sort of protein (fish, goat or chicken) and some vegetable. Tonight, we had xima and something called Couve, sort of a mushy version of collard greens. But its made with coconut milk so it is super savory and delish. No complaints here on the food. And as of yet, no serious indigestion problems (fingers crossed). I’m attempting to build up a bit of an immune system to the water and food here, by slowly incorporating it into my meals and daily habits. Ie- brushing my teeth with just boiled water, eating fruits like apples etc. In order to drink the water here, it must first be boiled and then filtered. Or one could filter the water and then add a few drops of bleach. Personally the idea of ingesting bleach is not appealing, so I stick with the boil-filter method. It just takes a bit longer because you must wait until the water is cool to filter it, or else the rubber washers melt and problems arise.

There have been so many more goings-on here, including killing a chicken (yep, I did it) and daily peaks and pits. There is not enough time in the world for me to describe every single bit of the lifestyle here, and although it is different, and I have had my moments of “holy shit what am I doing here” this is beyond what I had anticipated and or expected. Which is good. The surprise and welcome challenge is incredible. And its only week two of training.

I cant imagine what is to come in these next few weeks- well that’s a lie, I have a detailed itinerary (mom, you would love it haha). But in respect to personal gain/growth and experiences, the future is unknown.

This Friday, we have interviews for site-placements. These are going to be ongoing throughout training, to really get a handle on us as individuals, and where we would be best suited for the 24 month duration of service. What do I want/where do I want to go? – not a darn clue. In week 6 of training we go on “site visits” so that will hopefully help me get some idea of the possibilities. 

Welp- that’s all for now folks.

I hope everyone is safe and sound, enjoying the summer livin of good ‘ol US of A. I miss it for sure. . . just not enough to come home lol ;-)

Until later.

Your (somewhat) dutiful pen-pal in Naamacha, Mozambique.

td