Written July 29, 2012 . . .day after my birthday

Whew! What a day yesterday! It was one for the books that’s for sure. I have had some really really stupendous birthdays in my life. I love birthdays - not just mine, because they are a special day that is all about a person. Its not like any other day in the entire year, it’s a celebration that the world was given another integral part of the way it works. Needless to say this past one was a really great one.

The day started off with a walk to the german bakery. . . where we all bought sweet bread, macaroons, fresh warm bread etc. . .it was delicious! Then I had some coffee at home with my sweet bread, something about sitting in the sunshine with warm coffee (even though its instant crappy stuff) and fresh bread is just so good. It gave me a chance to think about all of the cool celebrations I’ve been lucky enough to have for my birthday- be it rafting adventures at the cabin, trips to the beach, going out to dinner with family, vacations with best friends, or whatever – its just always been a really special time in my life.

So after my delicious breakfast, I went to play soccer! Shocking right? Two of the other volunteers in my training class played at home, so the three of us are always looking to play pick up. Thank goodness there is always an abundance of children ready and wiling to play too! We had a really great game of 5 on 5 going, it was fast paced, challenging and a great time. Some of these kids are so talented, and many of them play without shoes. . . its interesting to think what they would be like given proper equipment, a field, and some coaching (we play on a cement basketball court type thing). So that was a fantastic time/event to add into my birthday celebrations.

Afterwards, we went back to our respective houses to clean up a bit, and then headed to the HUB area to meet. The plan was to not have a plan for the day haha. My style- totally organic, no plans, just seeing where the day took us. We had this incredible marble cake with chocolate icing – a gift from some wonderful volunteers who baked it the night before!! - and played UNO haha (when was the last time YOU played??). a pretty cool way to continue the day if you ask me.

So once everyone was semi-assembled at the meeting spot, we all took off for the first bar location. Shocking right? Hahah hey you only turn 23 once. It was a great rest of the day, hanging out with friends, lots of laughter, sunshine, dancing, beers and just a general great day of relaxing and letting loose. After 9 or so weeks of home stay- training- and the stress we have been under here it was really nice to just let our hair down and enjoy ourselves.

My night culminated with a great dinner out with three wonderful volunteers. We had grilled chicken, salad, and these things called samousha’s (not sure if I am spelling that right) oh and of course some red wine haha. It was delicious, and relaxing – even though my host family is pissed that I didn’t come home for dinner. I had told them that morning that I was spending the entire day with friends and to not expect me for meals. Its not like they were home anyway- my host mother went to the big city for the day, and again I would have been home with all children- not the way I wanted to spend my birthday haha. So needless to say, I really don’t feel like I needed a “lecture” this morning, but of course I got one. I’m over it. . . I have 7 days left here, and then get to have my own place. Take baths when I want to. Cook what I want etc. and get to know the community that I will be working in.

Woke up today feeling a little strange- its to be expected I think haha. So I spent the morning laying in my bed watching a movie on my computer and writing this blog post. I just want to take a bath. . . but I have to wait for my family to finish doing who knows what. I tried to start the charcoal stove this morning, was yelled at for that, and then lectured about yesterday, so I gave up and went back to my room haha.

I think I’m going to do some laundry today after my bath, eat something, and go try to find some Internet. Not setting too high of expectations for this Sunday, its going to be a lazy one. Maybe I will think about packing up for my big move to Quissico next week! Ahh! Its almost here!!

This past week was great, Angela came to be our weekly volunteer, so I got to spend time with her again, we worked out some of the things I am buying from her, things I will need for my house etc. I am living in a temporary house for the first month and a half, during our ‘overlap’ timeframe. Then will be moving into the house she is living in now. I have been making lists in my head about things I will need, and really should put these things down on paper.

This coming week is our last full one here in Namaacha. Its filled with language classes, some people get to start learning their local language – I have opted to continue studying Portuguese instead. Some preparation tech classes about things like settling in at site, managing expectations, legal stuff, and other tech training. Monday August 6^th is our last round of language tests, we go over the emergency action plans that we have at our sites. Wednesday the 8^th we depart for Maputo, have our swear in ceremony there (when I become an official volunteer- not just a trainee) and then we depart for site the 12/13^th! How exciting right?

Oh! Great news!! I got my first piece of mail yesterday! It was a birthday card from my grandma – Oma. It was beyond perfection and wonderful. The timing was perfect, the card is beautiful and it made me so happy and I felt so loved. My trainee’s also made me a homemade card here, that is really really cool.

Getting texts/calls yesterday from people, emails, facebook posts etc all meant so very much. The love and support I have had during this process is overwhelming. You all mean the world to me, and I could not be here doing any of this without you. Thank you so much for thinking of me yesterday. Words will never be able to describe just what it means to me.

With overwhelming gratitude and love for all –

t

Written July 24, 2012

Posted – I should really stop guessing.

Good evening all – its about 7:45 here in Namaacha, I have just finished dinner with my family – we had a fish “stew” for lack of better terms, it had a peanut base is served with some rice (very tasty except the massive bones in the fish). They don’t de-bone fish here, they chop off the head and peel the scales off, leaving the skin on, and then toss in the fish. Its generally served in a stew type thing called a “caril” or curry, even though its not the traditional curry flavoring. Hard to explain, and that was a very poor attempt, my apologies.

So this week, we are starting to get “in touch with reality” or so our weekly schedule is titled. The volunteer I visited on site shadows is here this week, so its nice to spend time with her again. We have an overlap time of a month and a half when I replace her in Quissico, so that’ll be a nice transition. I will be living in a separate house for those 6-some weeks, so that’s a bit sucky (having to pack, unpack, and repack) most of you know that I detest packing and moving, so to have to do that twice in a span of 2 months is going to be annoying. In addition, her and I are going to try and work out a good transition and how we are going to go about whats going to happen with items like a stove/pots/pans etc. I don’t want to amass too many things in the tiny room across town I’ll be living in for a month or so to then have double of things, and have more things to move. The second move I am guessing will be on foot as it is only across town, a town of loose sand and hills.. . . moving is going to be a bitch.  Alright, I’m done complaining – sorry, its just kind of stressing me out these days. How pathetic right? There are people here with genuine problems (problems that I see every day) and here I am worrying about if I will have enough pots/pans to cook in. pathetic.

Anyway, we have had some really great tech sessions lately- yesterday we learned about different skills of non-formal education and facilitation – something that will be used in just about every training we do here in Moz. Many people here are illiterate or have only had “formal” education where the professor stands and lectures. There isn’t a lot of room for creative learning, let alone attention paid to different forms of learning/apprehension. So we learned some creative ways to get people involved in our training/education sessions. Funny right? I’m a “community health volunteer” but a lot of my work is going to be educational sessions, it just happens to be about health-related topics, and not in a classroom setting. . . I think I really prefer it this way, I can gear lessons/talks/events towards what the community wants and needs, rather than having a set lesson plan. It’s much more flexible and really focuses on the needs of the people from their point of view.

 We have also had some really interesting Technical sessions about behavior change, focusing on health education, and one today with a woman from the CDC, she was fabulous. Very charismatic and spoke with a true passion for change and advancement of the health system here in Moz. It was one of the technical classes that really got me into the mindset as to why I’m here, which is a plus. I think these classes really give different things to different people. Some draw great information and positive encouragement, while others fall asleep. I suppose that’s the way the cookie crumbles.

So, as it is hard to truly measure the Peace Corps “impact” on a community in a numerical manner for tax payers and our government, every 6 months, volunteers are mandated to fill out a VRF (volunteer reporting form) that describes what work you have done, the number of people involved etc. This could range from a large group workshop of 15 people to a small palestra given to a group of 8. But it gives the higher-up’s numbers to crunch. In my humble opinion, its not the type of work that you can ever put a number on. I consider the talks I have with my host family here to be beneficial – last night; I compared the cost of a mosquito net (150Mts) to the amount of money they spend weekly on sweets and pop. The discussion came from me asking if they use nets in the hot season when mosquitoes are more likely to be out (even though they should use them all year around), the answer was that yes they have one net for the family, and that the children sleep under it sometimes. So of course, I continued to be nosy and ask why they don’t have more than one- answer, “its too expensive”. So I tried to relate the cost of a net to something they are more familiar with – spend 5/10Mts a day on sweets, crackers, pop etc, low and behold, if they went without these unnecessary (and unhealthy I may add) goodies, they could save enough money for a mosquito net in a matter of 2 weeks. They were a bit shocked by this thought (saving money? Who knew?!) and that’s when it hit me, things like planning and thinking outside the box tend to be foreign (cue the irony of me being an American) ideas.

My host mother said she would start putting money aside to buy another net. . .fingers crossed that she does. Not only do I not want to see my 3 year old nieces/nephews here get Malaria, using nets helps prevent the spread of it, and will eventually help irradiate it from Moz. (long term goal yeah. . ) My evening concluded with drinking some nice tea on my friends porch in the setting sun (tea time is possibly my fave part of Moz culture), a nice bath from my bucket (washed my hair today! Yay!) dinner with my family, my Mozambique version of a pedicure, and lots of language homework. Oh! We had a debate today in language class – the pro’s and con’s of technology. It was pretty good overall, and I’ve decided that when I can fully argue in Portuguese, I will know that my language skills are fine-tuned.

I wish I had more exciting things to write about . . . if anyone has questions, please let me know! I’d be happy to write responses in my blog. Or in personal emails. Either way. Thank you to all those sending me updates about their lives, and what’s going on in America – I miss being able to watch the news/read the newspaper. I finally was able to get onto the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette website the other weekend, but internet cut out halfway through a story. So it goes. 

Well kids my bed is looking mighty comfy, and my latest book is waiting for me.  So I’ll say goodnight.

My future mailing address (starting August 12^th) is:

Taylor Morsillo

C.P. 5

Inharrime

Provincia de Inhambane

Mozambique

As of now, I have yet to receive any letters. . . from what I hear, letters only make it about 40% of the time, when packages usually get here about 85% of the time. . . don’t ask me why. This country confuses me on a daily basis.

X’s and O’s to all –

T

Written July 21, 2012

Posted – not to sure.

Good mid-morning all!

I hope everyone is enjoying the beginning of his or her weekend – its Saturday morning here in Namaacha, the end of week 7 coming to a quick close. Where has the time gone? On one hand it feels like I was just saying goodbye to everyone, on the other, I feel like I’ve been here for an exorbitant amount of time.  The language is coming along, as I knew it would, and I find that I am only truly frustrated every now and then.

My frustrations have turned elsewhere. . .

So ok, as much as I have enjoyed living with my host family here, ten weeks is a long time to be a guest in someone’s house. Too long in my opinion. While I am a young adult, and in the eye of people in Mozambique, a child because I have neither a baby of my own and am not married, this does not mean I am an incompetent individual. I know how to boil water. I know how to sweep my bedroom floor, I know how to bathe myself. I have reached a point here where I am truly sick of being told what to do.

In addition to this, I am not enjoying the fact that I have to ask to boil water for tea, that I am on someone else’s time schedule, and often times belittled for having a life of my own. I know my family here means well, but I have just reached a point in this experience where I am ready to say a fond farewell.

So yesterday we had a “test” of sorts. It was with our language groups and mothers. The volunteers and I were tested on our competency for domestic chores. These included; using the pilar to crush peanuts, sifting the peanuts after smashing, grating coconuts, washing clothes, lighting the charcoal stove, and ironing clothes.  For many of us, this was not only an insult to our intelligence, but we found it mainly an unnecessary waste of time. Personally I would have much rather used those 3 or 4 hours to study more Portuguese or read, or do technical training, but instead we preformed these tasks in front of our host mothers and a supervisor.

We were criticized about everything, and because not many of us showed much excitement in this task the host mothers stepped in to “correct” us in how to do tasks. It was annoying more than anything. I am not sure why we had to prove to anyone that we can do these tasks, when many of us do not plan to use them in our 2 years of service. If I cook with coconut (which I plan to) I already know how to use the grater. I’ve been living with a Mozambique family for 7 weeks. I know how to do these things. I have asked to learn the things I know I will use, and have gone through the motions of those that I won’t. (for example, I did not pack  any clothes that need ironing for a reason)

Needless to say, last evening over dinner, my host mother was not happy with me. She can be a very critical woman, which is another reason why I am extremely ready to leave. She was upset that I didn’t show much excitement in the challenge, ignoring the fact that I received full marks for all of the obstacles (5 out of 5 for all). I explained to her that I don’t plan on using a carvao “stove” for cooking, instead I would use a gas powered mini-range, and explained that throughout the 7 weeks here, I have learned to wash my own clothes (reminding her that I do it every Sunday) and so on. . she kept coming up with scenario’s where I would need to do things the Mozambique way. . . and I kept responding with answers that I find suitable and perfectly acceptable. Needless to say, the evening was a tense one.

As Kurt Vonnegut would say “So it goes.”

This morning started off lovely. I got up early and walked to the German bakery here in Namaacha with a fellow volunteer, we bought some fresh sweet bread for breakfast, and I purchased a loaf of Mozambique style raisin bread (not the same as at home sadly) as a gift for my family, hoping to clear the air. Then I had a few hours of language class – things are going well there, I can write basic compositions, and carry on a conversation describing things in the past, present and future tenses (there are considerable amounts of past tenses in Portuguese, similar to those of Spanish). Am I fluent? Hell no. but I will be after 2 years here.

I came home, to find a house full of children and no adults. . . story of my life here in Namaacha. (that’s the other complaint for the day, I didn’t sign up to play babysitter. I could do that in the states) but I went about my chores that I set out for my day; cleaning/scrubbing my water filter, boiling more water for the now-clean filter, sweeping my room, folding and organizing my clothes, airing out my sheets and remaking my bed, and fixing a tear in one of my dresses. . . sadly all of this took me about 3 hours to complete. And its barely noon.

I need to start pacing myself when it comes to these types of days. In my mind, I thought that would at least take me to early afternoon, whoops haha. So now, here I am, writing a nice little blog post to you all listening to Xavier Rudd  - Fortune Teller (great song) and other music. I like putting my iTunes on shuffle and seeing what strange stuff will be played while I’m going about my business. (if someone wants to send me a small pair of speakers, I wouldn’t complain)

But onto the really exciting news! SITE PLACEMENT!! Thursday we were all given our site placements! (finally!) I am heading to Quissico in Inhambane Provience. This is the site I went to for our “site visits” in weeks 5/6  of training. Its absolutely stunning, it has these great lagoons that are secluded from the masses (no touristy stuff) and is a nice small town, even though it is considered a district capital. It is a replacement site, meaning I will be overlapping with a current health volunteer, thank goodness she is a wonderful individual who I connected with during the visit. I will be living in a temporary house on the other side of town for the first month, and then moving into her old house. I’m really excited to “set up house” and make it my home. I have some pretty cool ideas about utilizing space (it is a very small two room house, one living room, one bedroom). And surprisingly I am super happy that I have an outdoor bathroom area. I have found that pit latrines are far cleaner than dump flush toilets, and that I prefer having my bathroom/shower are separate from my house.

I will be working with three organizations; ICAP – which works with the hospital in Quissico, I will be working with peer educators, to help develop projects, capacity building, and health activities in the community. ACUMUZA- which focuses on home based care of those who are chronically ill, capacity building, and income generation projects. And Despertai – an organization that focuses on needs assessments, income generation, orphans and vulnerable children support, and home based care as well.  The first listed is an INGO, while the other are CBO’s. I think this is a perfect mix of experiences, and am really really looking forward to starting work.

Now, when I say “work” I am using that in a Mozambique context. This is hardly an 8 hour work day (or more, depending on who you are in the states). Most volunteers here, spend about 4/5 hours “at work” and the rest of the day is free to experience the culture, prepare palestras (speeches) bond with the community etc. it’s a totally different work environment than what you all may envision. Personally, I am really looking forward to having a more relaxed daily schedule. I don’t know if that makes me lazy or what, but in my mind, this experience is all about getting to know your community, learning their needs, facilitating sustainable ideas and capacity building (promoting sustainability) and in turn, giving them cross cultural information and experience of an American lifestyle.

So if that means that Sunday’s I spend all day down at the lagoon so be it. Twist my arm why don’t ya? But seriously, I have full intentions on starting a co-ed soccer team for kids here, and getting secondary projects going. . which reminds me- I need to buy a day planner. Totally forgot to get one of those before I left.

How is everyone doing? Send me some emails with updates about life (personal and country wide). I don’t want to be too far behind the times when I do decide to return home.

With that, I say farewell. Parting song for the afternoon – Back to the Earth by Rusted Root.

Sending you all laughter, light and love-

t

Written July 17, 2012

Posted- only time will tell

Small victory today! I figured out how to get books from my external hard drive to my kindle! Hooray! Yep- that’s about as exciting as it gets these days. And I know that that simple victory for me has others rolling their eyes. Face it kids, I’m not technologically savvy by any accord.

So we have all been doing a lot of file sharing from externals and I have now amassed a rather impressive collection of music (not that mine wasn’t before), movies, and the entire kindle library (over 30,000 books). Needless to say, if I ever state that I’m in the slightest bit bored, someone should smack me. I have enough media to last me more than a lifetime now, and am actually really excited about it haha. First item of business – put a bunch of good books onto my kindle – done! I cant wait to get into some Vonnegut and others. I cant explain how excited I am. Basically its like giving a small child a juice box. Well. . . I get excited about juice boxes too. Soooooo . . . ya. Basically I’m super excited about all of this haha.

Anyway- back to the real reason I’m here (oh yea, that Peace Corps thing) its been a fun few days of studying, going to class, working on language and domestic skills (I have my laundry down to about a 2 hour process now) and just generally mentally preparing for site announcements which happen this Thursday.

So the way this works – I have been in training here in Namaacha for about 7 weeks now. On Thursday we will be told where in Mozambique we will be serving our 24 month period – what NGO/INGO/CBO we are partnered with, the type of house we will have, and all that other good information. We have gone through some interviews leading up to this point, just so they can get a good idea of who we are/our background/what we want out of this experience etc. That last question is always the one that trips me up – I’m only 22, should I know what I want to do with the rest of my life or what I want out of Peace Corps? Jeez. . .i was kind of using this as a means of direction – figuring out what to do next was going to come towards the end of my service, not within the first 10 weeks.

Its been an interesting few days of self-discovery which goes hand in hand sometimes with self-doubt. Who am I to be here in a foreign country hoping to facilitate change? I’m 22. I can barely balance a checkbook, and often let food go bad in my own fridge. I’m lucky if I remember to put gas in my car, or to schedule dentist appointments, and here I am in a foreign country – speaking a new language – and hoping to create some changes for the better in people lives. The entire task seems a bit daunting.

Butttt at the same time, there are moments where this feels so right. I know I belong here, I love that I’m learning a new language, and that every day it seems to get a bit stronger – I gave my first Palestra today (sort of a informational speech) I talked to my family, and 3 other families about Malaria, the importance of prevention (avoiding stagnant water around the house, using mosquito nets at night, wearing long pants/sleeves, getting treatment right away if you do contract it etc) and was surprised that most got the general gist of what I was saying. Having people ask questions to you to go further in depth about your topic is always a good sign that they were generally curious and interested. Woop! Another small victory for the day!

But then after language class it was back to technical training, this week we are studying about organizational development – something that almost everyone here has already learned about either in grad school or through professional experience. I, being 22, am lacking in said education and am doing my best to keep up. I learned today what a SWOT analysis is, and how we can use it on an individual, group and then organizational level. Very interesting stuff which I plan on using in my service. (yes we get manuals that describe everything we are learning, which is good, considering my writing is quite terrible).

In addition to all of this class time, I have become close with my host family. These are incredible people who I enjoy spending time with, even if the kids tend to get on my nerves from time to time. Everyone is very receptive, and I can bounce ideas off of them, and they help me with my language retention (considering they don’t understand English haha). But even with all of this said, 7 weeks is a long time to be a guest in someone’s house. I’m about ready to have my own place, that way I can bathe when I want, drink tea when I want, have quiet time when I want, dance around to music that I like etc. be free to be me. It’s not that I’m not being me, I just don’t think that my personality fully translates both in a cultural and lingual context.

For all of those interested! I have a recipe for you – its called Mboa or Couve (depending on the leaf you use)

Ok, so you start out with the leaf (couve or something similar to it like spinach or collard greens) you chop that into fine ribbons/shreads and cook down with a bit of water. While you are doing that, you need to mash (or “pilar”) peanuts into a very fine powder, set aside. After that, you need one or two coconuts, split it in half and grate the inside of it into fine shavings (there is a special tool here that we use). After that, srain lukewarm water through the shavings, creating a coconut water. Add that, and the powdered peanuts to the cooking leaves. (this should all be done in a big pot, usually enough to serve 10 people or so). Allow this all to simmer for about 30 minutes, you can add onion and tomato if you like, but it all needs to come to a boil first, then simmer.

While you are at it, cook up some rice or xima (similar to grits, just cooked to the point of being very thick). Again, no measurements here, just put it in a big pot, enough to feed about 10 people, and cook over the charcoal “stove” alongside the other pot.

Simple you say? Sure. . . to some extent. But when it comes down to hand washing and slicing all those leaves, pounding peanuts into a fine powder, grating the inside of coconuts, and then watching it all so it doesn’t overcook? That process takes about 2/3 hours. All to be eaten within 25 minutes or so. Then its on to the next meal’s preparation.

I have a great respect for the women of this culture, their ability to run a household, raise children, and take care of a 22 year old child? Not an easy feat by any means. Oh, did I mention they do all of this with a baby strapped to their back in a capulana? I tried holding a baby in the makeshift sling on my back for a while-  I lasted maybe 15 minutes before my shoulder was aching, and my back was a puddle of pure sweat. I couldn’t imagine bending over a hot stove thing, or doing any domestic work with a 30lb dead weight on my back like that. P90X has nothing on what these women do on a daily basis. Hats off to you ladies.

That’s all for now. My bed looks comfy, and I have another long day of classes tomorrow. Time to put on socks, snuggle up, and read my book.

X’s and O’s

Written July 12, 2012 (happy birthday mom!)

Hopefully posted tomorrow!

Hey everyone! Sorry its been so long since I’ve posted anything on here, life has been kind of busy. So last week we spent most of our time in tech training sessions and language classes, the week culminated in two tests to rate our language aptitude and tech skills we have learned thus far. Good news is- my language is at an intermediate medium level (surprising right??) and I scored perfects on all of my technical training aspects. Small victory for me! I am internally very happy, and have found continued motivation to learn this language.

Soooo the big exciting news – I traveled to Quissico this past weekend (Saturday through Tuesday) and got to see first hand how a Volunteer lives and works. Needless to say, the experience was everything I wanted it to be and more. The woman I visited was beyond helpful both in communicating directions for transportation, advice on things to do during service, travel tips, how she goes about work on a daily basis etc. The town was about 7/8 hours from namaacha, we left at 4am on Saturday to get to Maputo around 6am. We arrived at “Junta” the place where all big buses (comparable to greyhounds) are stationed for departure, and go to for arrival into Maputo. Now, don’t get any ideas you organized Americans, this place is far from any semblance of a greyhound station. In fact it is the most unorganized thing I may have ever seen, people running around, screaming yelling etc trying to get you to get on their bus. Either way – I found a nicer looking bus heading to the Inhambane province got on, and began the nice long trip to Quissico. It cost me 400Mts to travel there, in reasonable comfort – I had my own seat, near a window that opened on a bus the size of a greyhound. It took about 6/7 hours to get there, and the bus basically slowed down to a gradual roll and I jumped off, backpack in hand. Oh yea- that’s the other thing, packing here is pretty great, I remember using a nice duffel bag or old sports bag for a trip lasting 4/5 days, I can now fit anything and everything I need for that time into a small daypack. (small victory again).

Ok so jumped off the bus in the center of this small town, and just kind of hung out near the center waiting for my host volunteer to meet me. I made friends with one of the women at a food stall, and bought a juice off of her. That cold liquid after a hot bus trip felt great, plus the lady was nice, and I was pretty impressed with myself that I could semi-speak to her in Portuguese. Suddenly there was this white girl walking towards me! I was engulfed in a nice bear hug and introduced to possibly the coolest person I’ve met outside my training group. Angela Francis- you are fantastic.

We walked a bit through town- its not super huge. Which I loved. And then headed to her house. Holy amazingness. Its so tiny, but so perfect. Its so Peace Corps. Its exactly what I imagined a house would look like- two rooms in total, a bedroom and a main room that acts as a living room, kitchen and dining room, a small porch and a bathroom/shower detached from the house on the other side of the yard. The house is constructed of half reeds and half cement, it has lots of windows (all have screens) and the front porch has a nice partition perfect for kicking up your feet to read or relax.

She has a great tall fence around her ‘property’ which secludes her from the neighbors. I had originally not understood why people wanted to build these, thinking that it would be a means of isolation from the community- but when I sat down on the porch, with some tea, my book and my fellow volunteer I realized that her site is exactly what I want. Its nice to be removed from everything, to have that safe bubble of comfort, to just have quiet, to not have eyes on you all the time. I immediately felt myself slip into a sense of relaxation I have yet to feel here. I think that’s when I fell in love with Quissico.

Ok so enough about her house (oh and she has a great dog named Ceu – sky). She works in a few places in her community, her official placement is with ICAP in the local hospital, which is brand new and absolutely wonderful, and with two CBO (community based organizations) of which, one parteners with the hospital. Her work is very cool,  and I thoroughly enjoyed seeing what she does, meeting the people she works with, and getting a general sense of the town.

One of the days I spent with her, we hiked down to the lagoons – about a 7km walk that took us about an hour and a half (about two hours on the way back as its all uphill). Holy gorgeous stuff. I felt like I was at my own private resort or something. It really is what one thinks of when they think tropical paradise. Only there are no snobby tourists, no hotels that have fenced in beaches and swimming areas, nothing at all. Just us and the cows (yes cows). Occasionally there was a passerby with a basket of fish or some firewood, but other than that, it was me, her our ipod and the cows. I think they loved our music selection.

I took that time to really get to know this inspirational woman, about her service, any advice she had for me, listen to her travel experiences etc. Words cant describe how fortunate I am to have met her. I know that we will stay in touch over the years (she is from Virginia Beach area) and am happy to have made another friend.

Among the many things we did in the community some of my favorites were; eating at a local restaurant, buying fresh out of the oven bread (can someone say YUM?) seeing the incredible constellations above her house, buying some capulanas (the colorful fabric) and walking around town. Its small, but that’s exactly what I want in a site. Something that is easy to integrate into, where people know me, and I know them. I want that grassroots, person to person experience, I want to spend weekends at site, getting to know my community and the people in it. Sure I want to travel and spend time with my fellow PCV’s also, but my main focus is going to be spending time in my community. That’s the whole reason I’m here- to experience an entirely new culture, to have a life changing experience, to learn from them, and teach them about me and my culture, and then of course to report back to all of you.

So yeah, that basically sums up my extended-weekend trip to Quissico, in the Zavala district, in the Inhambane province haha. It was a great time. The return trip is even better- ready for this story?

Ok sooooo, Wednesday morning bright and early (5:15 or so) I headed back to the city center with my Volunteer to catch a Chapa home. Finally one rolled through around 6ish that wasn’t full or super expensive. Just as an FYI- There is no set time for chapa’s to come through, the bigger busses are usually more expensive, and drivers of both are often drunk (something to watch out for) so there I am, side of the road with my backpack waiting to pick up a chapa. One stops (oh, you flag it down kind of like hailing a cab) that doesn’t look too beat up and the driver relatively sober looking, so I get in. Unfortunately the only seat left for me is one in the middle of the isle (they have ones that fold down and out, to maximize the number of passengers) the seat was broken, so I spent my 7 hour journey half on my chair, half in my neighbors lap. Thank goodness there is no such thing as personal space in this country, or else things could have been awkward. The woman was nice, and permitted me to sleep on her shoulder while she slept on the window. Life was uncomfortable, but good. I finished another book on that chapa ride as well.

Book count as of now- I have read: The Fever, 50 Shdes of Grey (all three books), Breakfast with Buddah, All but My Life, Haven- War of Princes, and am starting The White Man’s Burden (why the west’s efforts to aid the rest have done so much ill and so little good) – so far very interesting, and ironic at times.

Anywho – yeah, had the great chapa ride to Maputo, it dropped me off at “Junta” again, and I had to grab another chapa to a place in the city called “Baixa”, so did that a 20 min ride or so later I was dropped off on the street (just like at Junta) and walked to the chapa spot where ones depart for Namaacha. The chapa’s to Maputo cost 300some Mts, the ones through Maputo cost about 10Mts and the one from Maputo to Namaacha costs 70Mts. I was very very proud of myself for figuring my way around town, using my language skills to haggle with the drivers when they tried asking for more money (simply because I’m white/American) and just finding my way around the city. This is a BIG city- I want you to all understand that. I really have no idea where anything is in it, don’t have a map, and had only spent one day in it (my first week when I was scared and lost most of the day) so needless to say, Maputo is not a place I wish to go to often. But I faced my fears, and made it back to Namaacha in one piece. Only having one attempted robbery (sadly they did get my flashlight out of a front pocket on my backpack) but that’s all I had in those, money was kept in a pouch inside my pant leg – thanks Aunt Sara for that great gift, phone was in an inside jacket pocket, and sunglasses were on my face. I acted like I knew where I was going the whole time, so I didn’t have to much problem. Like I said- I was mentally fist pumping to this victory. In the grand scheme of things, getting from point A to point B is simple enough, I’m just impressed with myself. This gives me encouragement and motivation to travel more without being too apprehensive about it. (though a good dose of nerves is always good – keeps you aware).

So yeah! That’s about it for now. My trip was great, the transportation was interesting to say the least, the food was excellent, music wonderful, spent some time at a beach . . .what’s not to love? I’m continuing to learn lots, with language acquisition, technical training, exploring the country, reading my personal books (send some suggestions!) and just gradually understanding the culture I am surrounded by – life is a-ok for me at the moment.

Next Thursday (the 19^th) we find out our Site Placements!!! That’s the day when I find out where I will be living for the next two years. Tomorrow, we are having interviews with the APCD to discuss what are some preferences of ours, what we want out of a site/organization etc. Just to get some semblance of where we would be best suited for. I want Quissico. The town/location/organizations/associations are all exactly what I am looking for out of this experience. So the interviews should be ok tomorrow. Keep your fingers crossed I get a cool site!

If anyone cares to read, or has read “The White Man’s Burden” I would like to just say that I think I am a Searcher. . . not a Planner.

“In a single day, on July 16, 2005, the American and British economies delivered nine million copies of the sixth volume of the Harry Potter children’s book series to eager fans. Book retailers continually restocked the shelves as customers snatched up the book . . .there was no Marshall Plan for Harry Potter, no International Financing Facility for books about underage wizards. It is heartbreaking that global society has evolved a highly efficient way to et entertainment to rich adults and children, while it can’t get tweleve-cent medicine to dying poor children” pg. 4

just some food for thought.

That’s all for now – I have some hot tea, my socks are on, and I plan to cuddle up with my latest book and pass out for the night.

X’s and O’s all the way around – Happy Birthday to the best MOM anyone could ever wish for. You are my inspiration and strength. I love you with all my heart.

-t

HAPPY 4th of July!!! Missing everyone and the fireworks!!! 

Written July 2, 2012

Posted soon, I promise.

Greetings all, hope all is well in the states.

Sorry its been a few days since my last update, but I promise all is well here, I’ve just been very busy with all the work here. Between the endless language classes, studying/making notecards, the tech training, and then the other duties of daily life, I have a tough time getting to internet and or finding time to write these entries.

So the past few days have been kinda rough physically for me. Experiencing my first GI problems, but never fear, all is well. I am drinking lots of water, sometimes mixed with rehydration salts, eating somewhat bland food – I ventured into eating Couve tonight, stay tuned – and getting lots of sleep at night. It’ll pass soon. Like I said, it wasn’t a matter of if, but when. All of the volunteers are very supportive when one another falls to the GI issues. We have dubbed it “Victoria Falls” or “the number 7” (we were given the Bristol Fecal Indicator chart – google it). I don’t think I need to go into much more detail than that. We are strangely open about everything in our health and lives, creating such a great support system. At the end of these 10 weeks, I will be very sad to part with everyone.

As I type this, the cat of the house Paciencia – meaning patience in Portuguese (there should be an accent over the e, but my computer speaks American) is wandering around my room, she comes back to check on me every now and then, but I’m letting her feast on the dead cockroaches and spiders. Thank goodness for both the cat and my bed net, they keep the bugs out of my bed. I know many have cats here in Moz, and I am considering getting one once I get to site. Many people inherit a cat, if they replace a volunteer, and if you start your own site, you can pass the animal on. I would never bring one back to the states because it would need to be in quarantine for a few months, something no animal should ever go though. But it’s not hard to find someone who wants a cat here, whereas dogs are hated and feared, something to consider as a deterrent for crime, but after 2 years it’s a bit harder to find a nice home for Spot.

We had our second written language test today, I did much better on it than the first one! Yayy! My brain is starting to come out of it’s year long hibernation, when I was just working random jobs, its nice to utilize it again haha. I feel that things are starting to click. I’m sure getting to site is going to be another harsh reality, but I’ll work through it, and before ya know it, I’ll be bilingual. Hot diggity dog.

This weekend coming up, we have our “site visits”, it’s a chance for current volunteers to host a trainee, and it gives us as trainees, a chance to see real world Moz. Away from the comforts and trainee bubble here in Namaacha. I am really excited about it! I am going to stay with a Moz 15-er (I’m Moz 18) who lives in Quissico/Zavala, Inhambane if any of you care to be a bit map-savvy.

So its July already. . . when did that happen? Last I checked it was May 28^th and I was all sorts of worried about a simple plane ride over an ocean and continent. It seems like so long ago that I was saying goodbye to friends and family, simply because of everything that I’ve experienced and learned already. But at the same time, it seems like only yesterday. Time is a very skewed thing here, days seem to melt away in our training sessions and the weeks have literally flown by.

Ouch! I wasn’t paying attention to the kitters, and she nibbled my toe! What a little attention skeeker. She’s super cute though, so I guess its ok.

This week is 4^th of July! Yay!! Happy Birthday America! Sadly I have classes all day, no one realized when making the schedule that its kind of an important day for Americans. No big deal though, I am sure that we will all get together to do something fun after class, and by something fun, I mean sit around until it’s dark – because we need to be home soon after that.

With all this free time at night, I have been creating notecards for the language, studying verb conjugations (a bit confusing, but I have faith) and reading lots of books. Currently I am engrossed in “The Fever” which talks about Malaria, “Breakfast with Buddah” a comical, yet wise novel, and “Haven, War of the Princes” a fantasy type that I read before bed on my Kindle. The other two are hardback, and I regret not packing more or putting more on my Kindle before leaving. I feel I am going to fly through books (hint hint for care packages). Books and shoes – its been about 5 weeks, and my tennis shoes and Teva’s have taken a beating. I know for a fact that every 3/5 months I will be ordering new ones. Shoes here suck, and they are super expensive, not worth it. I’ll wait for the mail to arrive haha.

I am learning more and more each day about this amazing country, the people in it, my host family and everything else you could possibly imagine. I am thankful for the loved ones I have at home who wish me well, and very grateful for this wonderful family here that I am slowly creating. What I would do without these people is unfathomable. You have made me who I am, and continue to shape me as an individual. I am forever in your debt.

Its about 9:30pm here, I’m exhausted both physically and mentally from today, and am looking forward to laying down (even though my bed really kinda sucks)

Sonhos Doce

-your