quick update

Hello all

I found a spare moment or two at the Peace Corps office, so I thought I’d send a quick update about what is going on in my semi-crazy life.

As many of you may remember, I have since left Quissico. It was a good parting, filled with lots of love, good food, and very few tears. Lua has settled in nicely to her new home in Panda, hanging out with two great PCV’s there who work at the local school. Her new past time, according to them is playing soccer with the kids, she chases after the ball with them- but her mouth is too small to actually catch it, so she is left snapping after it! Haha what I would do to see her running amok with the kids. . . sigh. I miss that goober.

(photo of the baby i got for my birthday- yes, she is sleeping like that)

So since leaving my little grass shack, I have been living out of my backpack for a few weeks now in Maputo at my friends house. I first traveled from Quissico, to Maptuo... then spent about a weeks time in Namaacha helping with pre-service training for the new volunteers, and am now currently living on my friends floor here in Maputo. 

I will be here in Maputo until the 6th, the new group of volunteers swears in on the 5th at the Ambassador's house. From that I will fly to Nampula City, in Nampula Province to assist with their supervisor's conference from the 7-9th. On the 10th, I will be going overland to Quelimane in Zambezia Province (my new home for the next 13 months). There we are having a separate supervisors conference from the 11-13th for the volunteers who will be working with ICAP in the province. So then I am in Quelimane for a week and a half (living in a guest house or something….details still to be worked out). 

From the 13-23rd I will be in Quelimane, getting to know my new town, meeting my work team there, etc. just sort of settling in (while still living out of my backpack). On the 24th I fly back down to Maputo to help with Moz 20 MidService Conference, so back to living in the big city here, in yet another hotel. 

But the very best part of all of this craziness is- on the 29th (because I will be in Maputo) I have been granted approval to travel back to Quissico to help/participate in the Timbila Festival!!!!! So even though its about 6 hours out of my way, I am making the bus trip up to my wonderful town of two years, to see friends and family for the festival. SO EXCITED! 

So... the 29th-31st I will be in Quissico. Bussing back south to Maputo on the 1st, and flying back to Quelimane on the 2nd. 

that is my life in a nutshell.

hectic. crazy. adventurous. fun.

Since being here in Maputo I have been working heavily with this new GAAC toolkit, ICAP and Peace Corps. I have been spending my mornings at the ICAP office, meeting the team there, getting introduced to the various programs I will be assisting with. Afternoons have been spent at the Peace Corps office, working on programming prep for the new incoming volunteers (I found out who is replacing me in Quissico, and think it is going to be a great fit!)

I have completed the final drafts of a few documents with this GAAC program, and turned them into the CDC for final review/feedback/revisions. Hopefully we will have word from the various implementing partners this coming week, in regards to them both.

In addition to the work I’ve been doing, I am also here in Maputo doing medical tests and such, similar to the ones I did at Mid-Service – a physical, dentist, etc. I am hoping to get new glasses while I am here too. Oh, and beauty of all beauties- I had to poop into a cup (testing for parasities)…. Ahh the glamorous life of a volunteer.

(one of the goodbye nights with some fellow 18ers)

With that lovely image in your minds, I’ll say ta-ta

loving every minute of this crazy adventure  

missing you all even more. 

bosse, ahnna na na manguana

Writers note; this will be my last blog probably for a bit because of my upcoming transition. I will be spending this last week at site packing up my house, and saying my goodbyes. from there I will be living in Namaacha, then Maputo. I move to the north in August after the new group swears in. Also, the title of this blog- bosse, ahnna na na manguana is how you say "bye, see you tomorrow" in the local language, Chopi. 

So, I have spent the past week sorting through all the assorted junk that I have accumulated in my house over the past two years here in Quissico. I was slightly shocked and appalled at myself for the amount of crap that has amassed in my small abode. 

During all of this cleaning and thoughts about packing (because in reality I won’t put things in bags/boxes until the final hour), I have done some serious soul searching. While I am still staying in Mozambique for a third year, my life here is about to change drastically.

Not to sound too morbid, but in these last few weeks I have almost felt like I have been told that i only have a few weeks left to live, and that I need to start getting my affairs in order. If you turn your head and squint in a very dramatic way, that statement could be construed as true, in a week, I wont be living here anymore. In reality it is the end of a life, that I lived to my fullest capability. I experienced both emotional and physical intensities I never would have anticipated when I was first sitting in the student union at my college, filling out my application. 

Packing up my little house, I start thinking about all the work I have done to/within it, how I have turned it into a home- and know that next weekend I  am going to walk away from it, never to return again (at least not under the same circumstances and not in the foreseeable future).

How do I get the people whom I have lived amongst to understand that I am actually leaving? --This I have found to be the most frustrating and saddening part of my upcoming departure. When I say that I'm departing in 6 days, they always joke about how I'll be able to just come south and visit, when in reality, I probably won't. 

How do I deal with those, who I thought I made meaningful connections with, who’s sole desire to strip me of my material possessions as I prepare to leave instead of maybe expressing the sadness in your departure? --This has been the second most frustrating part of my departure. "Estou a pedir, _____". It seems that in the end, all I am good for is my stove, my chairs, my clothes, my shoes etc. . . consumerism and materialism- not just a problem in the United States.

But then there is the rebuttal internal argument that I have about how Mozambicans, especially those I have made close friendships with, are incredibly caring, generous people who opened their homes, and lives to me.  For example, Tia Julia is always there to offer me meals, voices her concern of my (and my family’s) well being. She is overly curious about my habits, and life choices.  I have loved sharing recipes with her, watching as she marvels in shock that Americans make black bean burgers, vegetable stir fry, and banana bread.

Two years of life here in Quissico is now at its inevitable conclusion. Its an odd thing, coming into Peace Corps, knowing that I will have 2 years to serve in a small community, thinking that it is going to be a long and uphill battle the entire time. I know that I have attempted to express my experiences, failures and successes here, but words fail to tell the story. It has been a wild emotional and physical roller coaster. Sometimes within one day I can experience; joy and suffering, accomplishment and disappointment, success and frustration, friendship and familial love - and lets not forget all of those glamorous times when I've had to poop on the side of the road while traveling (or the rare occasion that I didnt actually make it to the side of the road) because of a previous day's indulgence in cheap market food. (ahh, the gastronomic adventures of a PCV)

I have not cried all that often in this country, but when I was walking around town yesterday, I had to put my sunglasses on because the tears started to well up in my eyes as I passed all the familiar scenery which I don’t know when I will see again. My relationship and love for this small town has been created and nurtured by the numerous frustrations and challenges that I went through here. It has been much like a hazing experience, or as my friend jokingly said, like Stockholm Syndrome, making the separation all the more difficult. 

I have been challenged by life here on a daily basis, which I both appreciate and loathe. But through it all I have felt the love of this town, and its people in an indescribable way. I am leaving this amazing place for my next adventure in the northern city of Quelimane but the unforgettable experiences here have left me with a new perception of life. And that, that will never leave me.

thoughts, musings, and observations

Sometimes I feel like I’m the grandmother on an episode of Teen Mom. Lua is a great dog, and a decent enough mother, considering how young she is- but there are instances when I want to smack her and say “you are the one who got pregnant, this is your responsibility” and then I realize that I’m talking to a dog. Not a person.

I have become quite adept at soothing puppies (see on my resume under the section “special skills” – puppy whisperer) and starting to teach them right from wrong. Lua hangs around during the day, but then in the evening goes and wanders around, doing what she does. As the time has gone on, she has become more Mozambican, and less dependent on sleeping indoors etc. She prefers to be outside at night now, and oftentimes digs her own little bed in the sand. All of this is a good thing, especially considering that I wont be caring for her in a week or so. –side note, she is going to a set of PCV’s, but I’m sure that there will be an adjustment period.

who doesnt love a puppy pile

I started cleaning my house yesterday, taking down photos, organizing clothes to pack, throwing out a lot of old papers and such. . . Its strange to walk into my house and know that next week, it wont be my house anymore. I have been trying to think about how to word a note to the new volunteer about what life is like there, but don’t really know where to start. Every individual has a different Peace Corps experience, and what they make of it is completely their own. I will be leaving the keys to my house with the other PCV’s here at site, and will also leave money for the July energy bill. I have already written a note to the new volunteer about where to pay the bill, and will be leaving some old paid slips as examples. . . how strange. Some total stranger will be living in my house, my home in a few short weeks haha. Is it bad that I have created such an attachment to this house? It is my port in a storm, when things become too much to handle here, I go home. Its comforting, its beautiful, its small and shabby, but that's the beauty of it.

I have learned that as a human being, you don't need much to live comfortably. Yes, my house is not the best for hosting people (though I have hosted over 35 people more than once), but it is a perfect size for one, plus a canine companion.

home sweet home

On my walk to work today, I marveled (as I often do) at the stunning view I am privy to on a daily basis. The steep drop off from the main highway, down into the dense palm tree packed matu that leads to the edge of the lagoons, and the solitary strip of white sand dividing the two lagoons that is my private beach, the other bank of the lagoon is the dividing piece of land between the lagoon and the ocean.  The lagoon was a placid stretch of pale blue, the mirrored image of the two banks with the abundance of palm trees perfectly defined in the water, while on the other side of the dividing stretch of land- the ocean was a turbulent mess of waves, the white froth from the crashing giants visible from the highway.

That view… that spectacular image that presents something different every day for the eye to see will never be forgotten. I feel truly lucky that I have been able to call this spectacular place my home.

view from the highway, looking down onto the lagoon

 - the strip to the left dividing the two is our beach

a cloudy day at the beach

On a side note- my cousin tied the knot the other day to a wonderful man. To find someone that you are willing to commit to forever and ever is no small feat. I am so happy for her and her husband, wishing them a lifetime of laughter and love. It was when I started scrolling through some of the photos my family sent me of the even that I realized just how much I have been missing since being gone.

I wish I could have been a part of that wonderful day, to celebrate with loved ones and family, but (for better or for worse) my life has me going in a totally different direction.  

the happy bride, my aunt and uncle, and her new hubby