from my home, to my other home

Happy Thanksgiving to all-

I thought it would be interesting to take a look back at my past blogs written around the Thanksgiving time and see what I was thankful for then, and then state what it is I am thankful for now.

Thanksgiving 2012 (spent in Gorongoza, Sofala Province with friends)

How to spend Thanksgiving in Mozambique:

First you have to decide last minute (two days beforehand) to travel halfway across the country. Secondly you can only take a backpack because you will be hitchhiking and can’t carry a lot of things. Thirdly I suggest bringing sunscreen or a baseball hat (both is advisable) because more than likely you will be sitting in the bed of a pickup truck for countless hours.

I am thankful for my family and friends, my amazing colleagues here in Mozambique, to be in Africa, capulana’s, hard-boiled eggs (a staple here when traveling), clouds, nice people who give boleia’s, Obama winning the election, music and movies, and the fact that I now have two homes –one here in beautiful Quissico, and one back in the states where my friends and family will always be.

Remembering my travel to Gorongoza in the central part of Mozambique made me smile. It was a fantastic adventure that found myself and other volunteers in (literally) the middle of nowhere sleeping in a tent, and drinking warm beer because we had no energy. I was still so new in my Peace Corps service, that this was a fantastic opportunity to travel and see parts of the country that I otherwise would not have gotten to see.

Thanksgiving 2013 (spent in Bilene, Gaza Province with friends)

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 can’t wait to see where it takes me.

Reading this took me back to the realization that just a year ago my family went through a rather difficult and scary time regarding my fathers health. I am thankful that he continues to get better on a daily basis, and that he remains a positive and encouraging presence in my life. I also remember just how wonderful my friends and family in Quissico (locals and PCV’s) were during the day, and the time leading up to it and am ever grateful for them. The holiday itself was spent with fantastic people, and a beautiful location, eating delicious food. I could not have asked for a better holiday if I tried. 

Thanksgiving 2014 (spent in Queliamne, Zambezia Province)

This Thanksgiving, finds me hard at work here in Quelimane. I decided to not travel anywhere (though I did have some options to do so) because I have been gone for about 3 weeks from site, and this work week has pretty busy. However, with that said, I have taken the time to explain to my coworkers and supervisors what Thanksgiving is, and what my family and friends usually do. The cultural exchange has been lovely, and they have seemed genuinely interested in it. 

Thanks to internet, and social media outlets, I have been able to talk with friends and family members to express my thanks. I even have a skype date set up with my family for late this evening Moz time, around dinnertime for those stateside.

So although I am not officially celebrating today in any traditional way, I would like to take a moment on to express my awareness and thankfulness for all the wonderful things I have had, have and will have, in my life.

To all the people who have made the adventures I have had in my travels, my education, my friendships, family and love, worthwhile, I say “thank you”.

the kids camp!

Hey all!

I’m back in Quelimane on my work grind, after a great week in Mocuba, and a weekend of travel and relaxation in casa.

So last Tuesday I traveled about 3 hours north into Zambezia province to the town of Mocuba, where I helped a fellow PCV run a kids camp. As the students of Mozambique are now on their holiday break (until basically February) my fellow PCV decided to put this camp together to offer children something to do during their free time. The week was chock full of arts and crafts activities, games, sports, and time spent in the library. We had between 50-55 kids every day, and they would all show up around 7:30am, and we would start promptly at 8am. We provided breakfast and lunch everyday for the children and in the afternoon we offered a small classroom session about various health related topics – personal hygiene, malaria, hiv etc.

I was in charge of the sports aspect of the camp, we played soccer for two days and basketball for the other two. The first day of the new sport, we focused on drills and more ‘control’ activities, and the second day we played small-sided games. Having been a soccer coach for a middle school boys team in the states, it was very very interesting to see the difference between the two.

Also, as a side note – I took some time to evaluate just how ingrained the gender roles are in this country, even at a young age. We had divided the children into 4 groups, young/older boys and young/older girls. The boys were all very interested in learning how to play sports, and I could see a market improvement from the drill day to the game day, and see how they responded to suggestions and instruction for their game. For the girls . . . UGH. It was like herding cats! They were uninterested, oftentimes leaving the field or court all together to go pick mango’s, or laying down in the middle of the field etc. . . I wanted to scream haha.

Overall it was a fantastic week, spent with wonderful children, and great PCV’s. As many of you know, I am not the biggest fan of kids – but am learning that I enjoy spending time with them for a limited amount of time like this. We can play, learn and have fun . . .and then they go home to those that are responsible for them … it's a great set-up.

learning to dribble

again

learning to shoot the ball

our health sessions in the afternoon

a malaria activity we played with nets

travel back to quelimane

zambezia province, and the open road (view from the back of a truck)

I was supposed to be a part of a workshop given through ICAP for the Focal Points at the hospital in Mocuba for the GAAC program, considering I was already in town . . . but, surprise surprise, that didn't actually happen. Oh, the workshop did. . . I just wasn't a part of it. Due to no responses to my texts or calls to my supervisor, asking where exactly it was happening and what time it was starting. Oh well. Their loss. I got to hang out with kids all week and have fun.

I’m back in the city, and am catching up on all of the emails I missed last week (where I was staying had absolutely no cell service), and organizing my life for the next few weeks. I’ve also started getting people’s Christmas presents together to bring back with me, so if you all have requests- get them in now!

Xo

t

a light? or just a brief respet

Sorry I have been out of touch for almost a month! After my rant about Ebola, I felt you all deserved a break from my soapbox nonsense. Plus, work here in Quelimane continued to go at a snails pace, so there really wasn't much to report.

On the 2^nd of November I traveled to Maputo with to help facilitate the Reconnect conference for group Moz 22 – it was both interesting and eerily strange to hear all about their first three months in country at their sites, doing their presentations about their community needs assessments etc However, this was the group that replaced Moz 18, my friends and family at our various sites. . . hence the strangeness. Hearing their stories about their daily life, funny events, and awkward situations with people in their communities and thinking back to my friends continuous life events that, were at times spot on with the new volunteers (sometimes even with the same people!). My days were pretty full with the sessions, and then the evenings were either filled with a Bootcamp workout that I did with my fellow 18 extendee Colleen (who lives in Maputo) or dinners at various friends houses, or work that continued into the evening . . . I didn't really have much time to really enjoy being in Maputo.

Until . . . .Saturday rolled around! We had some close southern friends roll into the capital city to attend a wine festival that night in the big city. It was so fun to get a little dressed up, go and sip some fancy wines (read, we attempted to be classy) and enjoy the jazz band that was playing. In reality we all got a bit drunk, did our best to maintain our composure, while constantly on the lookout for snacks haha. A wine festival with NO CHEESE???? What kind of malarkey is that?!

colleen and i at the wine fest

Sunday morning, bright and early, I boleia-ed (read, hitchhiked) north to my old site, Quissico, where I stayed with the boys until my return to Maputo on Tuesday. My time there was spent talking with old friends at the hospital and ACOMUZA, spending a good amount of time with Tia Julia at her shop, going to the lagoon with the boys, and drinking ice cold beers at the overlook. I really could not have asked for a better trip. . . except to maybe have been able to stay longer.

family

i missed this view so much

on the way south, a friend and i stopped at the worlds greatest take-away place. renowned through the volunteer community

Wednesday I had a meeting scheduled with ICAP at the Maputo office to work on changing up my job description here in Quelimane. . .while it seemed productive at the time, looking back now it seems just like a lot of ‘yes men’. Just like every visit by any superior or outside visitor is… sigh.

Thursday was a bit PAC , Project Advisory Committee, meeting in Maputo with some of the higher-ups at the CDC, the Ministry of Health, USAID and some implementing partners. We were a group of 4 volunteers who presented to the panel, two of us 3^rd year volunteers, and the other two in their second year. We gave an overarching look at what volunteers are doing, what some of our national programs are, our secondary projects, and just basic life in the communities. Its pretty interesting to present this to people who have been born and raised in a city, never lived without energy or running water.

This kind of reaffirms a thought I’ve been pondering as of late; do outsiders, like Peace Corps volunteers have a better read on what life can really be like in the communities, and on a day to day? We see first hand the suffering, the frustrations, the needs of the people. . . a majority of those in the ‘big city’, while they may work in the health sector, really have no idea what the patients go through on a daily basis.

Anyway. Just a thought.

This week has started off well, I’m heading to Mocuba tomorrow (about 3 hours north of Quelimane) to help with a fellow volunteer’s sports camp for children – and attend a training for the focal points at the hospitals in the city for the GAAC program. Hoping for a fun, and productive week.

21 days until americaland.

There is a tunnel on the PA turnpike that has a section in the middle of it where the hills it cuts through dip into a valley, creating a brief moment of ‘light at the end of the tunnel’ before plunging back into the other half of it. That's kind of how I am looking at this upcoming break home to the states, it’s not an end to my time here in Mozambique which (despite my grumbling) I am thankful for, but it is a much-needed gap in my service where I can be around family, and friends during the holiday season.

I depart Quelimane on the 8^th of December for Maputo where I will stay for one full day before departing on the 10^th for Pitsburgh, PA. So, if anyone wants anything from Mozambique, place your orders now! I’ll be arriving around 11am on the 11^th, less than one month until I’m freezing my butt off in negative temperatures, compared to the sweltering, sweat-inducing nonsense that I’m dealing with over here.

xo

-t