feast or famine

Hey there, hi there, ho there-

Just thought I would write a quick update about what’s going on with me, your friendly pen pal in Mozambique. Life has been a combination of incredible stress/being busy and an insane amount of boredom/doldrums.  Its either feast or famine here, there is hardly ever a middle ground.

The week started off dull and listless. Monday and Tuesday I only left my house to take a walk through the market and chat a bit with Dona Julia, my supervisor and organization at the hospital were in another town for the week, leaving me with little to do. On Wednesday, I waited around for the water to start running in town, so I could refill my big drum in my house… unfortunately the water gods were not smiling upon my small town that day, and I was waiting in vain. I missed my meeting with Acomuza because of this, but was told that not much happened at the meeting, so I don't feel all that bad.

Thursday finally found me doing something- bright and early at the hospital for our Cha Positivo meeting (support group for those living HIV+ in the community). Because my supervisor and counterpart were in a different town for the week, I got to run the meeting- and decided to give a small workshop about the plant Moringa. I have talked a great deal about this “wonderplant” here on my blog – but I will say it again… this plant is truly astounding. The amount of vitamins and nutrients it offers are fantastic. I have planted a few trees in my yard, and enjoy the benefits of it on a daily basis. During this small information session, I had photos, seeds of the plant to pass out to those in attendance, and an example of the plant itself. We discussed the methods of cultivation, how to make it into powder, the fact that you can eat the leaves raw, etc.

It was an incredibly good feeling to be able to talk to 40+ people about this plant, I had someone translating into the local language of Chopi the entire time to ensure maximum retention. We even had a Q and A session afterwards. People were digging the Moringa! Woo!

Like I said… feast or famine.

Today I am in Maxixe, preparing for the REDES Regional Planning Meeting that will be held tomorrow. A lot of time and effort has gone int planning this meeting – contacting all PCV’s in the area, their counterparts, organizing the budget, supplies, a space for the meeting, food for the participants etc. . .my fingers are crossed that everything goes smoothly tomorrow, and that the meeting is a success.

I’ll be here all weekend for the meeting, going to go over to Inhambane City after it on Saturday to have dinner and drinks with friends. Looking forward to it!

Next week my Aunt Sara will be here, she is currently in South Africa, enjoying the sights and sounds of that beautiful country. I’m excited to have a viasitor, slightly saddened by the fact that we cant get to the northern part of the country because of the STUPID travel ban, because of STUPID political issues.. sighhh…. Oh well, it will still be a nice visit.

Turned in my deposit to the University of Pittsburgh. Welcome weekend starts the 20^th of August!

Hope all is well stateside.

Xoxo

t

valentines day in mozambique

Happy Valentines Day from Mozambique!

This lovely Friday finds me back at the hospital, going over the plan for next week, exploring Pintrest (a guilty indulgence of mine) and just chatting with my supervisor and colleagues.  It was a very slow workweek, compared to last week -the highlight of it probably being my REDES meeting on Wednesday. Aside from that, I haven’t done much.

It is really interesting how busy I can be one week, and how bored I can be the next. Once I got most of the REDES stuff organized for the regional planning meeting (to be held next Saturday) I didn't have much else to do. CCS is working on their budget for the new fiscal year, I don't play a part in that, and everything is running smoothly. I guess I should be happy that I don't have work; it means that everyone is pulling their own weight and things are getting done. But it still frustrates me…

This week’s REDES meeting was focused on the future, what the girls want to be when they get older, and how they can achieve it. We made ‘dream boards’ of magazine cutouts glued onto some plain white paper. They loved looking through the various magazines I had, and each had a great vision board with a different story for what each photo represents.

hard at work on the vision boards

One of the girls had a cutout of doctors on it, the other a car and a woman in a nice dress, and another had a girl working out combined with a delicious looking photo of a salad. We talked about how important it was to stay in school to reach these dreams of being a doctor/nurse, why acting and looking professional is important for job interviews and workplace attitude, and why it is even more important to workout and eat healthy – caring for one’s body is the most important thing that these girls can do. We also talked a bit about things that would hinder these dreams; like an unexpected pregnancy, quitting school, getting sick etc. The meeting started off rather slow, with the girls being resistant to really dive into a discussion, but I put on some music, we looked through the magazines and slowly the conversation came to be.

finished product! 

Nothing really new to report here in Mozambique…. I turned in my COS (close of service) date preferences to my Peace Corps supervisor, asking to leave on July 24^th. That is the earliest date for our group to leave, and I am sure that many have applied for that date, so I am doubtful that I will get it. The next options are the 25^th, 31^st and 1^st of August. . . The sooner I can get out, the longer of a trip I can take to come home -I’d like to try to get to India, or someplace east of Africa, to circumnavigate the globe in my return.

Also, I have formally accepted my admissions to the University of Pittsburgh for the MPH program! School starts around the 20^th of August, so that doesn't really leave me with much time between COS and classes. I’d like to get at least a week or two of travel in, giving myself a week or two to settle back into life stateside, and start school. I think that this is the best thing for me- coming home and immediately having something to do. If I didn't have school to look forward to, I don't know if I would be as excited to come home as I am now.

T-minus two weeks until my Aunt Sarah is here for her visit, I am very excited for this!

Coming up for me; this weekend I will probably wander up to Inhambane City to celebrate a friends birthday on Saturday. . . next week I have a few work meetings, and Cha Positivo at the hospital. We are preparing a workshop to give about the Moringa plant –so that is something to look forward to. And then on Saturday the 22^nd, I have the REDES regional planning meeting. So again, I will be busy.

That's the beauty of the beast here- one week you watch an entire season of a tv series, and the next you are so busy the time just passes oh so quickly.

That's all for now.

Happy Valentines Day to all of my loves.

Xo 

t

"A teacher, a healer, a writer of blogs

half way round the world in Mozambique

we can't fathom the lifestyle you volunteer for

how you bathe, wash your clothes, (take a leak!)

But the one thing we know whether here or afar or 

throughout your whole working day 

is that Pittsburgh and 'Zambique people alike

wish you a Happy Valentines Day

Much love from 6,370 miles away!"

(from my eat 'n park family, love you guys!)

tudo está no ar

Good morning everyone-

Well… some big things have been happening here in Mozambique, which is why I have been lacking on blog posts- my apologies.

First off, I have been traveling around the southern part of Mozambique a lot recently. Taking a weekend trip to the beach, to Manjacaze, or going to visit friends to watch the Superbowl (yep, we found a live stream, a projector and had a cookout!)…. I just haven’t been around.

The Superbowl weekend was one of excellence here in Moz; we did it up right! Spent Superbowl Sunday on a local beach, took power naps in the afternoon, then had a massive cookout including wings, mac n cheese, tortilla chips/guac/salsa, corn dogs, and chili. . . all homemade. All DELICIOUS.  Its ok to be jealous. We had a live stream of the game online, and a friend brought her projector so we could watch it ‘big screen’ style. I only wish the game could have been a more interesting one to watch. . . after that fumbled first snap it was kind of just expected to be a ‘shit show’. Pardon my French.

Monday here was a holiday, which was wonderful considering that we were up until around 6am watching the game (hooray for a 7 hour time difference) so the boys and I slept for an hour or so, and then made the trip back to site. I spent the remainder of the afternoon in a coma-like state exhausted from the weekends activities.

This week has been a busy one for me – between planning the Regional Plannign Meeting for REDES (to be held in Maxixe on the 22^nd) and my normal work with CCS/ACOMUZA which has steadily picked up since the holiday break concluded. I am happy with my work, and have had a great week thus far, the weather has been beautiful, just very very hot, and I have once again found the motivation to cook delicious things like; banana ice cream, guacamole, etc. simple yet delicious.

So… on to the big news.

Some of you may know that I was no accepted to Emory for the Public Health Program.. very sad news. Butttt when life closes a door, it opens a window! I was accepted to Pitt’s Masters of Public Health Program of Behavioral and Community Health Sciences! Since 1948, as Pennsylvania's first fully accredited graduate school of public health and the 11th in the nation, Pitt Public Health has been translating research into public health practices and policies to improve the health of people regionally, nationally, and globally. I am thrilled to have been accepted into this program.

I am still waiting to hear from Johns Hopkins and Boston University… I don't have high hopes for Hopkins, truth be told, but Boston – hopefully it’ll be a yes as well.

What does all of this information mean for me? It means that I have to make a decision. Yikes. Most of you know, my decision-making abilities are almost non-existent, I prefer to just ‘go with the flow’ and figure things out as they come. However… if I want to extend my service another year here in Mozambique (applying for the National Malaria Coordinator position), if I want to return stateside to go to school (if so, where?)…. Sigh.

Silver lining is that all of these possibilities and decisions that I need to make are positive ones! Its not like I’m between a rock and a hard place at the moment, and all options are incredible opportunities to continue this life in the public health sector. I will be making a pro/con list of things soon to help me decide – and do appreciate input from friends/family at home.

Other big news, my mom’s company (usairways) has been bought by American Airlines, which means there will be some changes happening on the home front sooner than later. The biggest change will be my parents moving to the new center of operations in Dallas/Fort-Worth, Texas. I think this is going to be an excellent adventure for the two of them, I know it was not in their master plan for things, but it could be an exciting new opportunity to see a totally different part of the country. It did throw me for a loop when I first heard about this – having them pack up my childhood home and move while I am still here, to potentially come back to Pittsburgh and not have them around? Wild.

I was explaining all of this yesterday to Tia Julia (who of course wants me to stay another year, but also wants me to continue my education haha talk about mixed signals) and she had a phrase “tudo está no ar” which means ‘everything is up in the air’…. So so  so very true.

I have until March 20^th to make decisions about extension, what COS dates I want, which grad school program I will attend etc. so until then, I am essentially in limbo.

Fortunately, my aunt will be joining me here in Mozambique on March 1^st- 18^th which I am so unnbeeelieveably excited for!!

Welp.. I suppose that's everything for now. I have some decisions to make, and some guacamole to eat.

Fica bem

t