another day, another dollar

A great, grand hello from Quissico!

Its Friday, plans for the weekend anyone? Another week slips by here in Mozambique, its already the end of September… woah buddy.

Overall the week was good, I was at the hospital a good amount, doing excel spreadsheets to try and help get the process of “buscas” organized. Buscas are meant to be used to locate people who are in the hospital system as eligible or receiving ARV medication, but are no longer adhering to them. These people have not come to the hospital or health center for their ARV/counseling etc.. the saddest part of these is realizing, seeing, and knowing just how many people are not adhearing to their medication. . . .especially the forms that I have been filling out and entering into the excel spreadsheets. . . they are all children under 5 years of age. They have no control over their “adherence” because it relies solely on the parents to get their children to the hospital. People don't come to the hospital for many reasons; difficulty with transport, no money, busy at home/at work etc.. when they don't come, and don't get their medications, their body builds up a resistance to these medications, which leads to more problems (other types of ARV drugs are not available etc).

The work can be very depressing, and I don't necessarily love the sitting in an office, plugging and chugging numbers thing – but it helps my org get more streamlined, and they are already suffering for manpower anyway… so whatever, every little bit helps.

The plus side to being in an office, is power to charge my computer, internet access to post blogs and to look at graduate school programs and a quiet place to study for the GRE when I’ve completed my work. Not a bad set up if you ask me.

So I was here all day Monday, Tuesday we had our REDES meeting where I taught the girls how to properly use condoms, putting them on a wooden phallus and everything. We talked about the importance of using them, where they can be procured (at the hospital, at my house etc) and how to use them. The basic steps of; looking at the expiration date, checking the package for holes, opening it carefully (not with teeth, scissors or fingernails) how to properly put one on a penis, how to remove it after sex, and where to dispose of it.

(my REDES group)

Of course there were lots of giggles, but every girl had their turn to practice, vocalizing the steps as they went. Afterwards we talked about what to do if someone doesn't want to use a condom, ways to say no to sex, and the importance of abstinence (all of the girls in my group haven’t had sex yet). We focused a bit on body language, and types of communication to get the point across “NO I do not want to have sex”. Etc…

This is the kind of work I love. Real, hands on, sexual education and behavior change. Hopefully this group continues to thrive, and we can have more great sessions like this.

Wednesday was a holiday here, so there was no work. I spent the morning studying for the GRE, and doing some research for grad school programs. . . my list keeps evolving, the more I read and do research, the more focused I get on the specificities of the programs. I will post a list of the ones I end up applying to.

I spent the day cooking with my neighbors, we made a fish curry, and a chicken curry, xima and rice, and salad. I had made some delicious desserts (orange spice cake, banana bread and ginger brownies) and my friend Julia from Inharrime came down to spend the day together. It was a perfect day by my standards of Mozambique. I spent time with my family, played with the kids, had a fellow PCV over, ate good food, and just enjoyed life.

(gutting fish for the curry)

Years in the future, when I look back at my time here in Moz, it wont be the work I remember, it’ll be these relationships, the afternoons spent on the porch, a baby on my lap, conversation with my friends and family and a smile on my face.

Yesterday we had another REDES meeting, this time we talked about the HIV test, why it is important, what it means, where to get one etc… I have 6 girls in my group right now, none have ever been tested, none are sexually active, but they all want to go get tested! I am SO proud of them. Hopefully I can get something set up this coming week so we can all go together. We stressed that it was completely voluntary, and that it would be private – and the girls all agreed that its important to go. So so fantastic.

Today I’m back at the hospital, doing data entry, and some life admin stuff. Sending emails, and such- just trying to get a grip on the future. Its odd, last year at this time I didn't have a care in the world (apart from learning Portuguese) now, I need to start thinking about real life, being a grownup again, and not just playing around in Africa. . . though my hope is to get into a good program, that allows me to find a job that pays me to do just that haha.

(lua and i on a typical night)

Bom fim de semana todos!

xo

monday blues

Good morning everyone-

Well. . . .it would have been good if there had been coffee involved. . . unfortunately I have been without power for the past 3 days, so unless I ask my neighbors to use their stove/fire, I have no way of boiling water/cooking. Fortunately I am good friends with my neighbors, and have been able to do a bit of cooking on my stove in their homes these past few days. . .yep, that's right, they have energy and I don't.

Let me rant for just a minute or two- all day Saturday we didn't have energy, it was a scheduled working time, no big deal because we were told it would come back at 5pm – which it did… to every house in my town except mine and my two neighbors houses. Why, you may ask? Because there was a downed power line that connects the three of us to the “grid” …. So I call the power company, because no one else has the motivation to do so.

            - side note about Mozambique, people will wait around and complain about shit, rather than take the initiative to actual fix the problem.

So I make the call, the guy says he will be there soon…. But I don't bother holding my breath. Its Saturday evening, there is no way he is coming. Sooo… I call early Sunday morning, and he shows up- the problem is fixed, and I have energy once again.

            - side note again, the man who came to fix the energy was a classic example of everything that is wrong with men in this country. He was an arrogant ass, who called me “mulungu” said the typical things about wanting to marry a white person to go to America, etc. . . disgusting. Oh, and he did most of this in the local language, not realizing that I understood everything he was saying. So when I responded rather curtly, in the local language, the look of shock on his face was hilarious. Yeah dude, you are a fucking assbag.

So energy is back, its all going well, I’m baking a cake, boiling some water for a bath, and then BOOM. . . . energy gone again.

But here is where it gets interesting. I don't have energy- but all of my neighbors do. Why you may ask? I don't know. I checked all of the lines, the circuit breaker at my house …. It all seems to be in working order. So I call the guy up again, and he ignores my phone call. So I call my landlord – who is in Maputo as per usual, and he says to just keep trying to call the fuckwad (pardon my French) from earlier. Who, again, is ignoring my calls.

Whatever. I did some studying for the GRE’s by candle light. And went to bed at 8pm. Nothing much else to do.

So this AM I get up nice and early, thinking I will go to the energy place and resolve this issue. . .of course no one is there. I don't get it!!! People wake up at 4am, why cant a business be open at 7/730am?! Sigh. . . .so I am here at the hospital. Waiting for the people at the office to show up, charging my computer and my phone here.

Mehh… Mozambique.. you make it really tough to love you sometimes.

Pemba!

Pemba-

So, the night after the discothèque, we all woke up a bit frosted around the edges –not the best for a long day of travel, but whatever, we made it work.

It is a bit difficult to get off the island by boleia, so we decided to take a chapa to Monapo, a town about an hour or so from the island. The driver was a total and complete asshole, and a terrible driver to boot, so Olivia and I were quite happy to be out of that car ASAP.

From there, we hitchhiked to Pemba. . . it took us 4 cars after the chapa to reach our final destination – the last car being a police truck! We were a bit hesitant about getting in with the police, neither of us having great past experiences with them, and not knowing if it was actually going to be a free ride – but we did it anyway haha. The police trucks here in Moz have 4 seats facing back to back in the bed of the truck, so that's where we sat. Wind blown, and a bit sunburned, we arrived in Pemba safely and for the price of “free.99” gotta love the power of the boleia.

(a dusty boleia, is still a free lift)

(the lift with the police)

In Pemba we stayed with a volunteer every night, and he happened to be hosting many other people that weekend as well, so we kind of just joined in with the crowd. That afternoon, after arriving, we went down to Wimby beach. After a few days of secluded beautiful beaches – seeing a public beach on a Saturday was not what I wanted. It was jam packed with locals enjoying an afternoon off. The beach was dirty, lots of people bothered us (we were a big group of americans) and I was tired from the travel. We didn't stay long at the beach, returning back to his house to shower and relax before dinner/dancing.

I took a nap, and when I was woken up to go out, I almost declined. But then thought “YOLO – you only live once” and got my butt up, and went out. I’m happy I did-  it was an ok dinner (chicken and fries) and the dancing was for the most part, fun. Nothing compared to Ilha – at this disco, there were a lot of prostitutes, and skeezy men, but I still enjoyed moving to the music, and just being out and about in a new city.

(wimby beach)

The next day, Olivia and I hitchhiked down to the beach, wanting to get some coffee- fortunately for us (and this is where our story just becomes a magical fantasy) the people who gave us a ride were also going to have a coffee, so they took us down the road a good way to this small resort/hotel on the beach – still Wimby beach, but far enough down that the masses were not there. We talked with them for a while, and had some coffee overlooking a beautiful stretch of the beach. They continued on with their Sunday, leaving us to soak in some rays, and were kind enough to pay for our coffees! How lovely.

So yet another day was spent soaking up the sun, swimming in crystal clear blue water and relaxing. It was VACATION at its finest.

Now, this is the best part of Mozambique – during our time on the beach, we made friends. One of the friends bought us some drinks and an appetizer, and the other offered to take us around the next day for some shopping/to get to know Pemba a bit more. There was fantastic conversation, we met some amazing new people, and had a lovely afternoon.

Around 4pm, the hunger bug struck, and we decided to go in search of a fish dinner. We decided on a local spot on the beach, had a delicious meal, and while we were sitting there- ran into someone Olivia knew from Maputo! So there were a few other wine bottles that were uncorked, some of the friends we had made earlier in the day arrived at the spot where we were, so conversation, and wine was the agenda for the evening.

We got back to the house a bit late, all of the other volunteers had gone to bed, and our phones had been at the house. We had a few missed calls and some texts that read like “are you still in pemba?” . . . . that's what we get for falling off the grid for a day haha.

The next morning we woke up sick to our stomach’s . . . I’m positive it was a bout of food poisoning, which is so incredibly unfortunate, but it does happen. More often than I would like, especially in this country.

We still went out with our friend from the day before though, did a bit of second hand clothes shopping (calambidades), had lunch at this beautiful place called Wilson’s Wharf, and got to see a good bit of Pemba, seeing as our friend had a car and she was willing to drive us around a bit. We ended our day on the same beach from the previous day – relaxing in the sun, and chatting a bit about the our concern for the next day- us needing a ride from Pemba to Nampula to catch our plane at 8pm.

Fortunately, our friend made some phone calls, and put us in touch with a lovely Portuguese man, who was, in fact, going directly to Nampula the following day! Yayyy! That evening was low-key, with just Olivia, Zeke (the volunteer we stayed with) and I going to have a nice little dinner, and then watching some movies at his house.

The next morning, we met up with our ride, and had a fantastic trip to Nampula. Seatbelts, air conditioning- the works!! We arrived in Nampula around 2pm, and were offered lunch and a place to nap until our flight …. We must have done something right in our past lives to be so fortunate in our travels.

(or lift back to nampula)

After a good nap, we grabbed a quick bite to eat, and our friend took us directly to the airport, where we hopped on a plane and had a quick and safe flight back to Maputo. There, we were met by a friend of our friend, and given a ride to where we were staying for the night.

By this time, it was rather late, so we both made the executive decision to sleep in, and just have a relaxing day in Maputo at our friends house. We did some laundry in a (wait for it) WASHING MACHINE! We both did some research about graduate school, a quick trip to the supermarket (I got oatmeal, coffee, cheese and some soy sauce) and an evening spent with amazing people and a lovely home-cooked meal (I made stir-fry, chicken and rice).

Yesterday AM, I was up and out of Maputo before 7am, and back at site around noon. A quick and uneventful trip north, exactly what I needed. I was greeted with such love when I turned the corner into my small neighborhood, the kids all running at me, and Lua going crazy at my feet.

I had a fantastic trip, got to spend time with an incredible friend (Olivia), I saw and met some phenomenal things and people. . . but, damn, does it feels good to be home.

Off to work this morning.

A blog post about normal life to follow sometime this weekend.

xo

Ilha de Moçambique

Ilha de Moçambique-

After our REDES handover in Nampula, Wendy, Olivia and I hitchhiked our way to Ilha de Moçambique. A 3km long island located off the coast of the Nampula province, connected to the mainland by a small bridge, wide enough to let one car go at a time.

We had to take a chapa out of Nampula city, to successfully catch a car leaving the city. From there, it took us 3 cars to make it to Ilha, successful, smooth and a beautiful trip. The North is something else, lots of mountains, sunshine, and different types of vegetation. I thoroughly enjoyed watching the scenery pass by.

(view from the back of a truck)

We rode into Ilha in the back of a truck, perfect for taking in all the sights. Once we hopped out, we promptly realized we had no idea where we were on the island, where our friend lived, or where we were going next! Haha luckly the island isn’t all that big, and we started wandering around, eventually meeting up with our friend who is a teacher on the island. We settled into our housing for the next few nights – a friend of the volunteer who rents our rooms for 300 mtz a night. With breakfast added into the price, and a water front view? I’ll take it.

We went for a swim off the pier, had some beers then showered and relaxed a little after our trip, to then met up with people for drinks and dinner at a – rooftop bar. That's right. . . . a beautiful, chique, rooftop bar. I had forgotten those existed. Cool seating, chique drinks, and a great atmosphere. It was quite the spot.

            Side note- sitting up there was incredibly enjoyable, a little taste of first world comforts, but then when one looked over the side of the building, and saw local’s hanging out at a local bar, the division was very clear. . . .it was a mixed bag of feelings for me.

The next morning, we had a later start, enjoying sleeping in a bit, and the breakfast that was prepared for us. Unfortunately, because we decided to be a bit lazy, it made the next part of our adventure that much more of a challenge. 

There are many beaches on the main-land of Nampula province, that you can easily get to with a boat from Ilha, so we decided to take one and see what these beaches were all about. Unfortunately, because we had a late start, the tides were not in our favor. We had to dock the boat on some random beach, and hike/walk for almost 2 hours, through bush, lagoon, and sand. It was an adventure to be sure. At first, I was not thrilled to be walking for so long – I was on vacation! But then realized that this was still an experience of a lifetime, and that walking through the bush somewhere is a good way to get to know how locals live, and see some really cool things. Which I did.

The beach we went to that day was FANTASTIC. I mean. . . my goodness. White sand beaches, turquoise water, and not a person to be seen for kilometers. We were the only ones there. Deserted paradise- we found you. The day was perfect. Swimming, napping, and just taking it all in. Fortunately we didn't have to walk back as far to the boat on our return trip, and the setting sun was spectacular over the water during our sail back to the island. That night, we had dinner with a bunch of volunteers who were staying on the island as well, and just had a really fun night with them.

(beach)

The next day, Wendy, Olivia and I decided to take a historical bike tour of the island. We rented bikes, and even had a guide who took us all over. It was very informative, very fun, and a great way to see every part of the island. There is an absurd amount of cool architecture on the island, left from colonial times, some has been restored, and while other buildings have become weathered over the years. The mixture of it all is a fantastic sight to see. Throw in the combination of people as well, and it's a regular buffet for your eyeballs. Beautiful people, a beautiful place, and a bicycle. . . what more could you ask for?

But wait, there is more! In addition to all of these great sights and sounds, there is the FOOD. Matapa de siri siri. You all remember me explaining what Matapa is correct? Well this dish, just takes it to a whole other level. Its seaweed, with cashew flour, coconut milk, and then raw cashews mixed in. Boiled and simmered to perfection, served with coconut rice, and a piece of amazingly grilled shrimp….. ughhhh. It's an explosion of flavor in your mouth. Needless to say, I had that Matapa a few times while I was there, and Olivia and I basically ate as much fish as possible. Grilled with lemon and garlic? Ahhhh… perfection.

(YUM)

Olivia and I decided to stay a third day at Ilha, feeling our time there just wasn't enough. So the next day (Friday) we took another boat to another deserted beach, and took in all the sights to see there. Again, at this beach there was not a person in sight, nothing to hear but the sound of wind and waves, and the warmth of the sun on our skin. It was a perfect day… again. Haha!

(beach day 2)

Since it was Friday night, the discothèque was the place to be! So we had some drinks, went to a local bar to meet up with some friends and dance a bit there, then there was kind of a mass exodus to the disco where the party continued well into the morning. This dance club was located right on the beach, had great music and a fun atmosphere. Olivia and I danced and danced and danced. Stopping only for some grilled chicken in a great marinade, haha.

The night was the perfect end to our time in the magical land of Ilha.

I don't know if I would want to be a volunteer there (a thought I had while there) because I do love my site, and my experience here very much. But it is defiantly a “must visit” place, and I have a very strong desire to return. See you soon Ilha… see you soon.

xoxo

REDES handover

Home sweet home…. It feels great to be back from my adventure in the north, Lua is healthy and well, and the neighbors all had such a warm reception to me coming home. I forget sometimes how much I’m loved here.

So… the GREAT NORTHERN ADVENTURE! I think I’m going to break it up into parts, like I did the trip with my dad. The breakdown of our trip (I say “our” because I traveled first with Wendy and Olivia, and then Olivia and I continued on) – We were in Nampula City, Nampula Province for the REDES handover from Sat night until Tues morning. From there Wendy, Olivia and I hitchhiked to Ilha de Moçambique, Nampula Province, where Olivia and I stayed until Saturday morning. Saturday morning, we hitchhiked to Pemba, Cabo Delgado Province, and were there until Tuesday morning. Flew home Tuesday evening, and stayed the day in Maputo on Wednesday. I successfully arrived home yesterday mid-afternoon! Lots of moving around, lots of sights seen, and great time spent with wonderful people.

REDES Handover 2013-

Saturday morning I traveled down to Maputo, to meet Olivia, and catch our plane to Nampula. Now, the airport is on the outskirts of Maputo, so for me to come into the city, to then turn around and come out, just didn't seem smart. So I found myself a little café at the airport, had a beer and read my book until the plane departed. Smooth flight, no problems, and one of the Peace Corps doctors was actually on the flight returning home, so he gave us a lift to the backpackers where we were staying. We had dinner out that night at a Chinese place in Nampula. . . I miss Chinese food so very much, and this did not do it justice. Sadly it was just a bunch of grease and noodles on a plate. Very disappointing.

At the actual handover (sun/mon) we had one full day with our Mozambiquean counterparts, and one full day with the new volunteer leadership. We discussed many things; the responsibilities and roles of the counterpart and volunteer, the monitoring and evaluation of programs we run (the training of trainers, the workshops etc) our budget for this coming year, we talked about the curriculum for REDES, had a long discussion about our income generation project and the future of REDES. All in all, it was a great few days.

We have lots of ideas for the future of REDES – the biggest idea is, turning the secondary project for volunteers into an actual legal organization run and operated by Mozambique. Volunteers can still have groups, and help run them, and we can possibly even create a third year position focused primarily on this organization. A great dream to be sure, we just have lots of work coming up these next few months to help determine if it will be possible/what we will have to do to make it work.

So, two long days spent in the Peace Corps Nampula office, left little time to really get to know the town. We did a little exploring, and I bought some new beaded sandals, but I have discerned that Nampula is not a great city to go “walking around” in. It is very unsafe, especially at night.

(the whole gang)

The second evening, the night before departure, I made a big dinner for everyone at the hostel – we had eggplant parm, pasta, homemade tomato sauce, and some sautéed veggies on the side. Turned out great, and was very cheap for everyone because we just split the cost of the ingredients. There was wine, and lots of dancing on the front porch of the backpackers that night, so much fun.

Great people, great food, great work and motivation. . . what is not to love?

(the porch at Ruby's)

Xoxo

i wash my hands of this nonsense

Emotionally abusive relationships and living abroad, two totally different ideas, yet after living in Mozambique for a year and some change, I’ve come to realize that they go together like pao and bagias. The best of days can take a turn for the extreme worse in a matter of seconds. I suppose that's true in any place, home or abroad- but when you are so far removed from everything remotely like your culture, any bad occurrence can seem like the end of the world as you know it.

Let me start with what happened last night. Some of you may have seen my rather explicit facebook status post. I do apologize for the amount of “f-bombs” I dropped in those few sentences, but I was very upset. Some children in my neighborhood thought it would be good fun to tie a 25L water barrel (empty) onto my dog, and chase her around town, onto the national road, through the neighborhood wile throwing rocks at her. Somehow she came untied and was able to run back home, but she was shaking from head to toe, bleeding, her tail bent at an awkward angle. For the first few hours being back, she wouldn't even let me near her – refusing to come out from under my bed where she lay curled in a ball shaking and crying.

My heart broke. . .my baby girl, my buddy was so torn up- and I couldn't do anything to help her. I was so confused as to what had happened until my neighbor came by and told me the whole story. First, disbelief struck me – who does that type of thing to a nice dog? Annnndddd then, the anger came. I stormed out of my yard, marched over to the house where I knew the children would be –wanting to talk to their parents. . . of course, no adult was home, and the kids were running amok. So I publically shamed them in front of the other neighbors. Never once raising my voice, but speaking sternly about how much Lua loves them, how she like to play with them, how she’s never bitten or hurt any of them – and how do they repay her? With torture? We gathered a small group of neighbors, and they joined in on the shaming.

(insert the cultural exchange promo here, my neighbors have learned how to act/treat a dog from me, yay)

The children apologized. . and today, Lua is better. Still shaken up I can tell, but I tied her up to the house today, and she’s getting a good rest in the sun right now. Tomorrow she goes to Yuri’s for “summer camp” while I’m gone on my northern adventure.

Sadly, that story is just the tip of the iceberg with this love/hate, emotionally abusive relationship I have with Mozambique. Today started off as any other Thursday does, my REDES meeting went superbly, the girls participated, we had a great session etc. I walked down to the organization on the other side of town, Despertai, for our monthly meeting. . . . wouldn't ya know it, no one bothered to show up. I waited around for about 30 minutes- and then gave up, deciding my time could be better spent at the hospital.

I wanted to grab some water from home and check in on Lua on my way back to the other side of town. When I arrived to my home, I saw something I never thought I would ever see.

My fence was on fire.

Now, I believe I have spoken about how much I love, and depend on my fence here. Its my separation from the outside world, and my mini-bubble of comfort, safety, security. It is a huge reason why I feel so safe and calm here at home. I can walk around my yard in shorts, read a book on my porch, leave shampoo and things in my bathhouse without fear of getting stolen. To see it on fire shattered the fragile piece of comfort I have here.

Apparently the woman who washes my clothes/brings me water thought my trash pit was too full, so she set it on fire which, is a totally normal thing to do here. . what isn’t normal, is not watching the fire – which is what I am supposing happened. Because my fence caught on fire, and about half of the front part of it (the section facing the national highway) was burned to the ground. To add insult to injury – she and I had to use all of the water I had in my house to put out the fire. . . and of course there isn’t running water at the tap in town today. Soooo I spent the next few hours trying to find someone with a donkey to go to the next town over and bring water to my house . . . fortunately I found someone, so that problem was resolved.

The next issue- my electric kettle. Again, seemingly unrelated right? I suppose my friend was using it to dump water on the fence/control the fire. . .because it lay broken beyond repair in my front yard. Now, these things aren’t cheap, and a volunteer should only need to buy one in their entire service. Yet here I am buying my third. The latest two were bought because of this woman as well. . . so I’m wrestling with the idea of removing half the cost of what the kettle costs out of what I pay her a month. I don't pay her all that much, because she only comes to my house once every two weeks to bring water/wash clothes, so I feel bad. On the other hand, she set my fence on fire, and has broken two kettles. . .  I’ll let you know the decision I came to during the next blog.

So. . . after sitting in my front yard, trying to process all of what has happened – Lua, my fence, the water situation etc. I just had to laugh at the ridiculousness of it all. How my life can be so shattered by some burning pieces of dried palm fronds? What has my life become, that this fence is so connected to my feeling of safety, security, and seclusion?

Anyway. I was hysterical for about an hour, just totally shattered, alone and broken. But then I put on my big girl pants, and got to work fixing it all. I made some phone calls to get water, called my landlord about finding the material and some workers to fix my fence (I think he heard the desperation in my voice, and hopped to it) and went to town to buy a new electric kettle.

I had texted many friends, even sent an email home on my blackberry begging for a phone call of support. Many came to my aid, and I realized that even though I am alone here at site, in this house… I am not alone. Their words of comfort, rationalization of the issues facing me, and positive affirmations helped me through this time.

The fence will hopefully be fixed this afternoon before dinnertime. And all will be well in the world again. Going through such emotional turmoil on a seemingly regular basis is exhausting - so while I love Mozambique, my house and my friends here . . . I don't think I will extend my contract. I think that come August of next year, I will embrace my friends, shed some tears, but my butt will be firmly seated on a plane taking off towards my next adventure.

That's all for now folks.

xoxo

t

(photos- the fence directly after the fire, and directly after the repairs.)

apple pie?

Dinner parties in Mozambique. . .who would have thought?

After a normal workweek here in Quissico, which was wonderful compared to the craziness I had been living the past two months, I decided to host a small dinner party Saturday for some friends. People decided to come Friday night as well, so we had an impromptu dinner that night as well. On the menu Friday; stir fry with rice noodles and cold beers.

Stir-fry: garlic, onion, carrot, green pepper, cabbage, peanuts, and a homemade teriyaki sauce, served over rice noodles. Yummo.

Saturday I spent the entire day in the kitchen, and loved it. I really miss having people over for dinner, cooking for/with friends. Food just brings people together. It's a lovely thing. My friends hung out around the house, having a relaxing day, we watched some movies, listened to some music and ate. On the menu Saturday was; cinnamon sugar crepes for breakfast, (no lunch really) dinner was bruschetta and good cheese from Americaland for appetizers, a big salad, garlic bread, cheese tortellini with sautéed veggies in a pesto sauce, and mini apple turnovers for dessert.

I used to burn oatmeal in college. I’ve come quite far.

This week has started off with not a spark, nor bang, but with a fizzle. The president has come to visit Quissico. . . wahoo. (note the sarcasm). This man has not done great things for Mozambique, yet people REVEARE him. I understand its important to show respect for our elected officials, but not in a corrupt system, with a corrupt person. Anywhooo…. Many of my coworkers went to a town to the south on Sunday to receive him, there was singing, dancing, and sleeping outdoors. Only to turn around, drive back here, and welcome him again here in town. Why people didn't just wait to welcome him here, I don't understand.

I was holding a meeting with my REDES counterpart when he arrived in Quissico. Mind you, this man did not get in a car and drive the hour it takes to get here. . .nah, he did it up in style. My counterpart and I watched his three, yes three, HELICOPTERS land on the airstrip (I can see it from my porch). Lua was confused about the noise, and ran around like a goof trying to figure out where it came from. My counterpart and I just shook our heads at the ridiculousness of it all. The amount of money he spent on those three helicopters could have fed the town of Quissico for a month. It’s just infuriating where money goes. The hospitals need mosquito nets for a big distribution? Nah, the president needs to pave the road to his beach house in Bilene. Infuriating.

Town was a hot mess yesterday, just people everywhere, a massive caravan of trucks/SUV’s and such, police escorts, people dressed in their finest. Cool and all, but not on a Monday when there is stuff to be done. I didn't spend much time in town, just went for a quick shop, chat with Tia Julia, and meet with Naira – the new volunteer in town. She’s lovely, German by descent, but has lived in different parts of the world. She’s 18, and will be living in this town, in the small house I was temporarily in for the next year of her life working with Acomuza. Its nice to have a friend. We had dinner together yesterday at my house.

I haven’t been alone since Thursday. Which is very strange for me. Its nice to have someone to talk with, but I’ve also learned how much I love my “me” time. Being alone to do things like read, type blogs, workout, drink tea etc. I love having guests, and I really enjoy cooking for people, and I am happy to have an open house. I just enjoy my alone time as well. Who would have thought, I join Peace Corps and find out that I like alone time. That was my biggest fear when I joined. That I’d be alone with no friends somewhere. Hahahah!

Anyway, my day went well here in Mozambique. I had my REDES meeting this morning, and then went to the hospital afterwards. On Monday my counterpart for REDES, Rosalia, and I planned out the entire month of September with the various sessions that fall into the theme of HIV. The session this morning went wonderfully, unfortunately only one girl showed up… this is a big problem we have been having as of late – lack of attendance. I don't know how else to motivate the girls. We have planned sessions that open with a song or game, then the actual informational part of the meeting, then some time to work on arts and crafts… I even made the incentive for whoever doesn’t miss a meeting gets a cake! So if anyone has suggestions about how to keep people involved, specifically young girls, please let me know!

At the hospital I have been busy working with my counterpart on the issue of “buscas”. When the Peer Educators go out into the field to find those who have stopped treatment of ARV’s/ haven’t been coming to the hospital for their next consults. Some of the time people have phone numbers, so I am able to call them and encourage them to return to the hospital. More often than not, people do return, because they feel they are being though of as an individual. So that's a small victory. For those patients that don't have a phone number, we fill out “busca cards” which specify who the patient is, the neighborhood they live in, and are taken at the end of each day by a Peer Educator in that locale. The problem we have right now, is the lack of Peer Educators in certain neighborhoods. . . something we are working on. I’ll keep you all posted on developments for that.

I got back home later in the afternoon, having stopped in to Dona Julia’s shop (as always). When I got home, I was surrounded by the neighborhood kids (again, as always) and we had a cool info session about the world map I have here. I quizzed them all about where countries are, how far they are, what languages they speak, what the people look like etc. it was great. Then my neighbors girls hung out a bit longer (the girls are part of the family who has adopted me), my hair was braided, we talked over a range of topics; gay marriage, shoes, pregnancy, food, family, pets, etc. haha you never know where the conversation will go with them!

Nothing special for dinner tonight. Just some cereal and a movie while I get some work done.

Only a few more days until my wild adventure/travels to the NORTH!

(I’m excited)

xoxo

t