gobble gobble

A great big sigh of relief, my dad’s second surgery went very well, and he is home from the hospital. Now we are just waiting for the biopsy results from the removed thyroid, and all should be well.

In light of these recent health problems, occurring in my immediate family, I have personally started a Peace Corps version of a “wellness program” here in Mozambique.  What does this entail you ask? Well . . . it means a few things. Firstly, I have cut way back on my alcohol intake, what is the point of poisoning my body with nasty tasting alcohol? Its not even good beer, so why drink it? Secondly, I have started a daily workout routine. Yes, I was working out before, but not in this type of organized fashion. I now have an organized schedule, and I follow it the best that I can. Thirdly, I have become very aware of the food I am putting into my body, and have tried to make it the so I am only eating the healthiest, most nutritious food I can. Oatmeal and moringa for breakfast, usually a fruit smoothie for lunch (banana, papaya, mango, yogurt, coconut milk, and moringa) and some sort of stir-fry or hearty bean stew for dinner. I have also started incorporating morning meditation into my daily routine. Giving myself a few moments every morning where I let my feelings become visitors – they come and go, and I let myself sink deeper into another level of consciousness.

Through this process my body has started to feel exceptionally better, which is good – the heart problems my father suffers from are genetic. Whatever I can do to help prevent or stall this outcome is what I will do.

I have recently finished a few books; Secret Daughter- Shilpi Somaya Gowda, Jurassic Park- Michael Crichton, World War Z – Max Brooks, The Concubine’s Daughter – Pai Kit Fai, The Autobiography of Macom X – Malcom X.

And many others. . . I have some down time in the evenings here. I suggest you all get out and read, its good for the soul. –then report back about what books you liked! I’m always on the lookout for the next good read.

Another personal victory; all of my graduate school applications have been submitted. Yes that's right kiddos. . .this girl is trying to become a grownup. Wild. I have applications in to Johns Hopkins, Emory, Maryland, Pittsburgh, and Boston. All for a masters of public health program, most with a concentration in behavioral and community health. Keep your fingers, toes, and whatever other extremities that can be crossed, crossed. I need all the luck I can get.  

Work continues along. . . I don't want to say we are wrapping up for the year. . but we are wrapping up for the year. Break starts on December 15^th, and everyone is just getting things in order before we go away for the holidays. I have a few things going on right now with CCS and Acomuza, REDES has been put on hold until school starts up again next year, and I am desperately seeking a new counterpart. Other than that, work is work. Same stuff, different day- which is fine . . . I just hate feeling like I'm getting complacent. Which is why I have been brainstorming with a few counterparts for some new project ideas. I think we have a few winners! 

This week is Thanksgiving – what is everyone thankful for?

I am thankful that my dad is healthy.

I’m thankful that my family and friends are healthy, happy, and are still very supportive of my life decisions.

I am thankful that I have a beautiful life here in Mozambique, which has introduced me to so many incredible people, Mozambican and others.

I am thankful for real coffee.

I am thankful for you, the faithful blog readers, that make this silly website meaningful.

I am thankful for this life, which has led me on some incredible journeys so far, and I cant wait to see where it takes me.

Give Thanks. Give Love.      – Happy Thanksgiving, from your friend in Mozambique

election week

Hello and happy Monday to all! 

Sorry about my last blog post, I am chalking it up as just a bad week, getting over being sick, and a lot of big life changes here in Moz. Overall, my experience here (while at some moments, truly devastating) has been life-changing and amazing. I love my life here, especially in Quissico, and wouldn't trade these past years for anything.

That being said, I had a wonderful weekend, spent with two close friends. Nothing spectacular, just hanging out, enjoying time together, trips to the market, cooking great food together, and funny movies. What else does one need?

This week in Mozambique it is elections. The big day to be held on Wednesday, the 20^th. . . I know I have posted a few articles on my facebook page about the current political climate, and will post a few links at the end of this post, if anyone cares to take a look at some news articles. The best information I find is online at “@Verdade” a main Mozambican news journal. Basically, the opposition party, RENAMO, has cut off the central part of Mozambique, forcing nearly all transportation to come to a halt, burning busses, raiding military posts, unnecessary killings etc.  They have recently demanded that the election be cancelled, and have begun to dig a huge crater in the road to prevent any transportation.

Here in my town, it is all FRELIMO support, I have never seen a RENAMO flag, t-shirt, hat etc. . . just the eruption of FRELIMO support in this past month, growing as the election day comes. They have songs, dances, cars with flags hanging off of them, posters everywhere. It's a lot. Imagine a US political rally, now put it on steroids, and make it last for a month. One of the frustrating things with all of this, is much like in the states, people have noooo idea what they are voting for/supporting. They just jump on the bandwagon, without question, and put their blind support into whatever it is the masses are doing. It's a chance to win a free t-shirt, or a flag, or whatever. . . but without concern about what they are actually supporting.

Most of the news I have read, and seen on TV has shown that the people of Mozambique don't want another war to break out, issues like this are between the two male-driven, political parties. It's a “dick wagging” contest to be honest. Who’s is bigger, who can get more power, who can be the wealthiest -Without any regard to those lives that are affected. TV intervies I have seen of local people in the central, when asked if they want a war, or where their support lies, they say they have none, and just want their lives to continue normally. Although they have no particular political affiliation, this matter is still highly personal, and you can sense the weariness and anxiety about the whole thing- this is their country, their history rearing its ugly head – they are concerned that the world is going to judge them based on the acts of few. This country has already been through so much, a revolutionary war, then a civil war – the last thing they need, is this nonsense.

Switching to happier news-

I am getting sitemates! After a year and a half of being the only American in Quissico, we are about to receive two more! They will be teachers at the secondary school here, not sure what subjects, or where they will be living. . .but come December 6^th, we will have two more “mulungu’s” here in town. Wild. I have been in correspondence with them through some emails, and they seem like lovely gentlemen – who lucked out to have such a cool site! Seriously, Quissico is one of the best places I’ve been in this country, and couldn't imagine being placed anywhere else.

            -I have not forgotten Naira, she is a lovely girl, who I am very happy to know, however she is German, so there are still cultural barriers there - ones that we enjoy talking about and exploring throughout the days, so I don't mean to discount her by any means, but it will be interesting to have people from my own culture so close by.

I had my site visit from my APCD (assistant peace corps director) this past Friday. It was a nice day, was at the hospital for a bit, went to Acomuza, then down to Despertai, had smoothies for lunch at my house, went and explored town, caught up on the gossip with Dona Julia, and made a nice dinner for us all here at my house. . . oh wait, that's my everyday life here. Haha either way, I think it was nice for Rachel, my boss, to see me in action. She had great words of support, and it was nice spending time with her one-on-one.

Applications are almost done for graduate school, I have some people looking over my statement of purpose, letters of recommendation are being turned in, my resume has been updated, transcripts sent in, and the GRE’s taken… this is actually happening.  Wow.

Plan b – if I don't get into graduate school, I have been doing a lot of research on Ashram’s in India. I want to study yoga at the feet of a Guru that could lead me to higher clarity, a deeper spirituality, and a greater understanding of life.

“it is health that is the real wealth, and not pieces of gold and silver” – Mahatma Gandhi

lua's new favorite spot in the house. . . spoiled girl

Some sites to catch up on the on-going's in Moz.

http://www.averdade.org/

http://www.aljazeera.com/Services/Search/?q=Mozambique

a goodbye, and some ramblings

I have many things I wish to write about, and the funny thing is, not much has really happened here in Moz to report.

Firstly, I would like to dedicate a moment or two to my friend, coworker, and wonderful person Nelson Magul, who passed away last week. I know I mentioned him in a previous post, but I would like to bring to light the reality of this loss. It is not often that you meet a younger individual in this country that is educated, dedicated, motivated, and an all around –good person. He was one of the good ones for sure, and was making a tangible difference here in my town. I enjoyed working with him from the moment we met, he was dedicated, responsive to suggestions, and kept me both busy and informed here at the hospital- something that I had been lacking a great deal since coming to site over a year ago. For him to die so tragically and suddenly, with so much life left, and things to do, is a great shock. Our team here at the hospital has suffered a great loss, we have lost a friend, and until today did I realize just how much he will be missed.

            -We had our monthly HIV+ support group today, and I don't know if it was the prayer said in the local language, the song dedicated to him, or the look on everyone’s face when the tragedy was announced, but I finally have accepted the loss, and am allowing myself to be truly saddened by this occurrence.

Secondly, I don't know if its “senioritis” kicking in, or if I’m sick of my role at the hospital changing, or because work is slowing down for the year. . .but I’m kind of “over it” here. It could just be a bad week, or a bummed out day, or the fact that the GRE is over and I’m not stressed as much anymore. But yesterday afternoon I was sitting on my porch, after a very productive morning of work, with nothing really to do – and didn't enjoy it. Naira is in South Africa organizing her visa, my friend Artur moved to a different town further south, Fernanda is in Maputo, my closest neighbors are either MIA from the peace corps scene, have ET’d or are in the capital city with their girlfriends, and even my neighbors have gone for the holidays. So its literally just Lua and I in the evenings now.

I successfully watched all of season 5 of Sons of Anarchy (someone want to send me season 6?) cooked a big pot of split pea soup, make my smoothies every day, cleaned etc. I had NOTHING to do. So I sat and watched the sunset, which usually brings me a lot of enjoyment. While the sunset was stunning, as per usual, I didn't feel a connection to it – to my life here. I’m on the downward slope of my service, only left with about 7 months to go. I’m getting a new sitemate next month here in Quissico, who will be in the Education sector of the Peace Corps program. This is very exciting, and I am thrilled for someone to experience the beauty of Quissico – but I feel that personally I’ve “done it all” here.

-suggestions for things to do around town/with my free time are welcome.

Thirdly, work is actually going very well. With my new counterpart here at the hospital we are doing some great stuff. Getting GACC groups started, the relationship I have created between the hospital and my community organization, ACOMUZA is going really well, we are preparing for “DIA 1” – world HIV/Aids day here (December 1^st), etc. its going great- what any seasoned volunteer could hope for. Even my work with the REDES project is going well. While my groups have stopped meeting for the year, until the girls come back to Quissico/restart school next year, the program of getting REDES legalized into a separate organization continues on. Which is a really great thing.

I have run out of internet credit. Still have much more to write. So I will post this now, and post the remainder at a later time.

Hugs

t

what a small world.

It has been a busy busy few weeks here in Mozambique. Where I last left off was just getting back from my trans-Atlantic travels to Americaland. Re-assimilating back into life here in Moz etc. . . I had the pleasure of hosting two lovely women from the Peace Corps Zambia program, who had just finished their two years of service. I met the one woman when I was traveling in Zambia with my dad, back in June, her and I exchanged emails, and it all worked out that her and her friend were able to come play in Quissico! How great right? It was a lovely few days spent with them, I have such a fantastic site, and such lovely people live here – every chance I have to show it off I do! We cooked some great food, had some drinks, and really fantastic conversation. Its very interesting to hear about different peace corps experiences- while we all have similar/a consistent underlying theme of pit latrines, local housing etc, the programs are drastically different. So the time spent with them provided great insight into life in Zambia.

This past weekend, I traveled up to Tofo beach, for a Halloween/going away party for the 17er’s (the education group that is leaving country) which was very fun, I camped out on the beach, had lots of fun with people I hadn’t seen in months and just enjoyed the beach. Want to hear something totally crazy? The two ladies that stayed with me the week prior went to Maputo where they met some Peace Corps from Botswana who were staying in the same hostel there – they told them about the party in Tofo beach, so PC Botswana traveled up to the beach to see what we, as PC Moz have to offer by the way of fun. Wouldn't ya know it- one of the volunteers is actually from Pittsburgh, PA, and went to Keystone Oaks High School… graduate a year ahead of me. WHAT ARE THE ODDS? Totally wild and crazy that I would run into someone from high school, on a beach, in Mozambique, while we are both serving in Peace Corps. WILD. Sometimes you just have to smile at the silliness that life throws at you.

Sunday morning at 4am, some vol’s and I hopped a bus heading south, I stopped in Chidenguele (Yuri’s site) to drop my stuff, bathe, and prep for our incoming site visitors. He and I then traveled to Xai Xai to meet the new Trainee’s, had lunch in town, and then popped back up to Chidenguele. 

Remember back in July how I hosted two visitors- during pre-service training we all go to see a current PCV’s site, to see how life is, what work is like etc. .  this time around, I am hosting volunteers that will be in the education sector, so I thought that it would be more advantageous for them to see Yuri’s site, considering that he is a professor. We stayed the night at his home, so they could see how a professor lives, and in the morning we walked around his school, giving the trainees an opportunity to ask questions and see what sort of work environment they are in store for.

That afternoon I traveled back to Quissico with my two trainees, lovely ladies who I have truly enjoyed having stay with me. That afternoon we didn’t do too much, just kind of relaxed a bit, went and saw the town/the overlook of the lagoons and had some beers with the setting sun. Not a bad way to unwind from what has been a crazy few days. Yesterday I took them around town, to the hospital, to my one community based organization, and back through town. It is starting to get veryyyyy hot here, so the hot hours were spent here at home on the porch/in my house trying to ‘beat the heat’. In the afternoon we went to check out my local school here, chatted with the director a bit, and saw the mural that we painted with my REDES group. Ended the day with a beer in the local bar, and a great big stir fry dinner.

Oh yes! Some of the good things we have had to eat in the past few days- lunch in xai xai was Indian food, that evening we made fajitas at Yuri’s house, then an egg scramble for breakfast the next morning, fresh fruit smoothies for lunch, a great lentil mixture for dinner, french toast for breakfast, smoothies again, last night I made a great stir fry, somewhere in there we also made some hummus for later today, and some banana bread. Today we started our day with banana cinnamon pancakes, and have a full day planned of visiting my other community organization, and maybe heading down to the lagoon. Yuri and his trainees are going to come up to Quissico this morning, so that way they can see how a health volunteer lives, and see the health system.

So all in all, it has been a veryyyy busy few weeks, lots of people in and out of my little hut here. I take the GRE this Saturday, so I am heading down to Maputo on Thursday morning, to spend the day Friday at the office doing a final review/prep. This will also give me an opportunity to see some 17ers that are getting on a plane home this coming weekend. Officially making Moz 18, my group, the crusty old PCV’s in country. Wild. I feel like I was just in training. And now here I am, showing the newbie’s the ropes of life here in moz. Wildddddd.

On a very sad note, my counterpart with CCS (the organization at the hospital) was killed in a car accident on Monday morning. He was returning from Maputo, after spending the weekend there with his girlfriend and family. He traveled down there last Thursday to buy a car that he had been saving up for, for months – and on his return trip, a sleepy semi-truck driver, drove him off the road, killing him instantly. I’m very saddened by this news, he was such a fantastic person, very motivated and driven, a real ‘go-getter’ – which is kind of rare to find here in Moz (sad to say)… so this is a very hard thing to deal with. In addition to the fact that I finally had a counterpart who I was getting work done with. You all remember all the issues I had when ICAP was here- and how many times my role at the hospital has changed… I thought that with Nelson my work was set, and I had found a great project. Now it’s going to change again, and with only 7 months to go, its just frustrating. Transportation in this country is so dangerous. And when it hits so close to home like this, makes it even scarier.

Sorry to leave off on such a sad note. . . but it happens here in Moz. Life is fragile. We all kind of just do our best to get by.  On the plus side, it is absolutely beautiful here today, and I have finally found some time to write out a blog post for “yinz guys”.

Big x and o always

tay