just another day. . .

Written Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Good Morning! And I really mean that – put yourself in my shoes for a moment. You awaken under a white mosquito net to the sun, your fan is bathing you in a cool breeze, your dog lazily stretches in anticipation for the front door to open. You open the front door to another beautiful day, the sun caressing the palm trees in your front yard, the sand still cool from the night under your feet. You make yourself a cup of coffee and enjoy a fresh mango for breakfast on the front porch while listening to a bit of music (this morning it was Dave Matthews Band) and scratching your dog behind his ear.

Now that we are all on the same page, I will bid you again, a very good morning!

Yesterday was an excellent day here in Quissico, I had a nice slow morning at home, then wandered down to my one community-based organization (Despertai) where I discussed a project with the president. I have asked them to construct a small dehydration box for me, so that I can dry mango and other fruit. My organization seemed very interested in this (another form of income generation), so tomorrow and Friday we will be constructing these boxes. We talked a bit about what we would do with the money, I checked in on the Jackfruit tree’s that we have planted (they are germinating!) and then headed back towards town.

I went to Sota’s house to pick up some Moringa plants he had left behind for me, and proceeded to plant them in my yard. I also gave a few to my neighbors, taking the time to teach them about the incredible nutritional benefits of this plant, and how to use it. One of my neighbor’s daughters knew about the plant, so she helped me out with the explanation. I felt really great after all of this, knowing that my neighbors will take good care of these trees, and hopefully spread the word of Moringa to others. I also suggested that once they are a bit more grown, sharing the seeds and cuttings with friends/family and other neighbors. The more people we can get eating this amazing plant, the better.

For those of you who don’t know what Moring is – a plant of India/Ethiopia descent, grows like a small tree (the idea is to trim it so it grows more horizontally and produces more leaves) has a growing rate of 6-8 months, and you can use ever part of it. The leaves can be dried and then ground down into a powder that can be added to prepared food (without altering the taste) or in a tea. Or one can eat the leaves raw in a salad. The seeds can be used to purify water.  This plant has Vitamin A and C, calcium, iron, and more protein than eggs. It is indeed a magical plant. It grows in areas where people need it the most. It can grow in sand, doesn’t need a lot of water, and likes sun. Basically it’s the all-encompassing plant for those here who are suffering from mal-nutrition, and illness.

So after I did a bit of “work” I wandered into the town, chatted with my shop owner friends, and helped out some lost South African’s who wanted to buy vegetables and fruit. I realized that I’m at the point with my language where I could translate for people – that’s pretty cool. I never imagined that at some point in my life would I be bilingual.

Came back to my lovely little house to try out a new recipe: apple-carrot salad with toasted coconut. You toast the coconut in a skillet with some cumin, add it to chopped apple and carrot, and toss it in a dressing of lemon, salt, cayenne pepper and olive oil. Top with a bit of parsley and boom. Nummies.

It was good. I also made a coffee cake – dutch oven style, for dessert/breakfast this morning.

Today, I don’t have much going on – going to wander into town this afternoon to find some mosquito netting, I want to make a screen door for my house. I also have tentative plans with my friend Dona Julia (the shop owner) to bake and cook some things at her house tonight. I’ll probably wander around town a bit, give the dog a bath etc. just another day in the life of a Peace Corps Volunteer.

I have friends coming in this weekend, Monday we are heading up to Tofo Beach to celebrate Christmas, then the 27^th Mom will be here. . . madness.