Well hello there-
Life in a big city has its disadvantages like it does in any
country in the world. A few weeks ago I was privy to an experience that I had
been hoping to avoid during my time here in Mozambique, but it happened
nevertheless. I had an attempted robbery/mugging when I was walking home from
the yoga class that I had been participating in with friends.
I am safe, and unhurt (save for some fading bruises on my
arm), and reported it to Peace Corps. It happened, it was traumatic, I cried.
Its done. I haven’t been going out in the evenings at all – instead spending my
nights at home doing various forms of exercise (yoga, cardio, total body
circuits) finding that it has become a good hobby and stress reliever. I’ve
also been experimenting with cooking to fill the evenings – this weeks
experiment was a pumpkin curry with a coconut milk base. Delicious.
Stand up comedy has also become a big chunk of my evenings
entertainment- so if anyone has favorite stand up artists, please let me know
and I will try to download them to watch!
Work still continues to be a frustration, I spent the week
at the ICAP office doing work online for Peace Corps, and sending emails to the
DPS trying to schedule a meeting. I finally was able to get through to people
here, and am currently sitting in a room, waiting for a training workshop about
data collection for HIV related information to start. It is 930am, and the
meeting was to start promptly at 8. Just goes to show that even in the big
city, working with professionals NO ONE ever shows up on time.
Thankfully the meeting ended up being a success, and I think
it was a great way to get my foot in the door with the DPS. . unfortunately
ICAP still proves to be a challenge. . so keep your fingers crossed for me.
October 15 was
Election Day in Mozambique! Thankfully here in Quelimane it seemly passed
peacefully and without any big incidents.
This past weekend I made an impromptu trip to the beach
about 30 minutes from here, named Zalala. The trip was exactly what I needed.
Getting out of the city was wonderful – just being at the beach with the wind,
sand and water. It was a party weekend with some friends of a friend, so there
was consistently beer in hand, great food to be had (fresh seafood of course),
and just lots of laughter and music. We came back Saturday afternoon- which was
nice. One night on the sand in my tent was enough haha, especially when I have
a very comfortable bed only 30 minutes away.
But the best part of the weekend was Saturday afternoon- I
got to play soccer on the beach!! I do not even have the words to explain just
how wonderful it was to play, let alone in the setting I was in . . .sigh. I
really miss the sport. More than anything really. It is one of the most
frustrating things about being a woman here in Moz. . .the inability to play
soccer. I can talk until I am blue in the face about how I played in college,
how I was a coach, and how I have a good understanding and deep love for the
game- but many people (read, men)
do not take me seriously because I am a woman. Sooo when I have an opportunity
to play, I go all out.
When the teams were being selected I was originally placed
on the sidelines as a ‘sub’ … knowing all too well how that goes (I sit there
until the game is over, never seeing time on the actual field). So when that
happened, I put up a bit of a fuss, and was allowed to stay on the field
(noticing many eye rolls, and dismay of the men). . . the quickly realized how
wrong they were. I’m not trying to talk myself up here, but I do know how to
play haha- after scoring two goals and assisting with another one, the ‘men’
realized that in fact, I did know what I was doing. Suck it.
I had such a fun time running around, really getting into
the game. It wasn't until the next day (and today) that my body was like “what
the fuck did you do?” haha loose sand, and running around on it for a few hours
awoke some muscles that I forgot I had. And here I was thinking that my daily
workouts were doing me some good. . .sigh. someone is getting old around here.
Anyway. . .the work week has started off with our weekly meeting
at ICAP. And now we have all returned to our separate desks, and of course- I find
myself with nothing to do for ICAP. SIGH…. Just another day in Moz.
Hope all is well at home.
xo
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