just another day..

Written January 30, 2013

I’d like to return to the “swing” metaphor I was talking about in my last blog, its basically the perfect metaphor for daily life here. The amount of up’s and down’s in a single day is immeasurable really.

Yesterday I went to the hospital, and was there for about 5 hours, registering people for there ARV medication, that can get depressing quickly, especially when I’m registering 3 and 4 year olds who were passed the disease through their mothers. Oh and I saw someone die at work too. This person came in the front entrance, just totally and completely overwhelmed with sickness – huge boils secreting puss all over their body, they were puking, and weighed at the most 50lbs. this was a full grown adult mind you. The person collapsed and started convulsing, when it was all over, they covered the body in sheets and took it into a private room. It was a harrowing experience. So that was a low point in my day. I actually had to stop and mentally process what I had just seen, others just went about their daily activities – death is a very common thing here, and people in general are not as emotionally forward as we are in our western culture.

After the hospital, I walked through town, stopping in to say hi to Dona Julia  - a high point in my day. I had a cold coca-cola, and just chatted with her for a while.

Then I came home, to make lunch – another high point, because of my new fridge I have been able to keep my homemade hummus for more than a day, as well as veggies. I have started making bigger batches of things to eat throughout the week like hummus, tortillas, bean stew etc. it makes life so much nicer to be able to come home and just have a quick lunch.

After lunch I hung out with my 8yr old neighbor, helping her with math homework. This was a high and low point in my day. Low because she is 8, almost 9 years old, and still cant understand the concept of 0 + any number. She cant understand the concept of a number signifying nothing. That, and she is overall very behind in her education. I asked why she didn’t ask about these things during class, to find out that professors here often just write the homework assignment on the board and leave. . . . low point.

This little girl is so special, she is smart and wants to do well I can see that when we are working together, but if she is not given the resources to expand her educational horizons, she will be trapped in this cyclical poverty that diminishes future development. I thought back to the “start of school” time when I was her age, going out and buying notebooks, pencils etc. being stressed out about my book covers, the color of my backpack etc. I had a childhood where I wanted for nothing (which I am grateful for) and continued on with my schooling without delay or doubt – but the stark contrast between my experience, and hers. . . sometimes it just makes me stop and think.

To wrap up my day, I had an English Group meeting, a new club that I’m starting here in town. It is open to any and all who want to practice/learn how to speak English. We work on a specific aspect of grammar first, and then have conversation or work on English homework from school. To conclude our meetings we listen to a song in English, that way it leaves the meeting in an upbeat mood, and is sort of an exchange of culture. So far its been a good success. The amount of people showing up for meetings continues to grow. We usually have them Tuesday evenings, but may start having them Sunday mornings/evenings due to school schedules – but that would cut down on my travel abilities. . . something I’m going to have to think about.

I have a meeting with my CBO’s today and tomorrow, and Friday I’m back at the hospital. Going to cover a lot of things in these meetings, get on track for the next few months, talk about some projects and hopefully get some stuff started!

Friday I am off to Vilankulo, which is a beach town about 3 hours north of Inhambane City. I passed it on my thanksgiving trip to Gorongoza national park, but didn’t make the stop. Going to spend the weekend with some great girlfriends, sun, sand and good friends. This is going to be just what I need to push the swing into a “great” place.

If anyone has any good songs, quotes, or other inspirational things that got them through a hard time in their life, I’d love to hear about them. I’m always looking for new inspiration.

xo

t