It's the most wonderful time of the year...

Feliz Natal! Merry Christmas! Boas Festas! Happy Holidays!

Well my first Christmas in Mocambique was a good one. I have to say it definitely didn't feel like Christmas with the heat, no lights and lack of Christmas music for the last month but it was good. I was able to travel to Gorongosa (the villa near the actual national park) where two married volunteers live on a mission.  Brian and Jordan Mills are just amazing people and really took us all in and gave us a wonderful holiday. Jordan made us all stockings which were filled with candy on Christmas morning and had a whole array of amazing food planned for the weekend. We had a cookie decorating contest (I won!), fiesta night, pancakes and a fabulous sausage pasta dinner. We were spoiled.  Christmas Day we opened out stockings and ate candy, went swimming in the river, hiked down to some falls and jumped off rock outcroppings with Mocambiquen kids and sat around cooking, eating and talking. It was definitely not you're typical Christmas Day but this isn't exactly a typical time of my life.

Being away from my family was hard for sure but I've found a family here amongst the volunteers. We had a good mix of MOZ 14ers and 15ers (I'm in MOZ 15. MOZ 14 arrived in country last fall) and we were able to just relax together, play games, share stories and enjoy the time together. Brian and Lauren, from MOZ 12, were two of the first people we met when we got off the plane in Maputo and were with us for the first two weeks pf PST. So getting to see them again in a less bewildering situation was so good. Jordan came to training around week 5 and is one of the most memorable PCVs that visited. She is an incredible teacher with so much energy and so many ideas. Mona and I told Brian we were taking her back to Dombe with us until we got our own cooking situation under control. Other 14ers, Dov and Tim, were wonderful too because they have that year under their belts and can give realistic descriptions of service and traveling. The rest of us were 15ers ready to be away from site, with other people and missing our families. But like I said, we were in it together and had ourselves a really wonderful day. And I am so thankful for cellphone rede so that i could talk with my family! Everyone was together celebrating and hearing their voices just warmed my already sweating heart!


Oh and I've put pictures on Facebook going back to orientation for your viewing pleasure. And of course there is more to come as things progress!

Realizations

17/12/10

I have been in this country for nearly three months now and things still surprise and frustrate me.  I imagine (and hope) it continues throughout my service because stuff like this just doesn’t happen in the States. Let’s take my latest chapa ride for example. Mona and I were able to escape from Dombe Wednesday afternoon to come and restock and regroup in Chimoio. We caught a chapa to Sussendenga outside the mission with help from some neighbors and were on our way.  As we hit the first bump in the road I were this yelp like sound from beside me and thought the woman next to me had been jostled or something. It was an odd sound but people here make odd sounds.  I let it go until I heard it a few times in a row and quietly asked the guy on my other side what it might be. He very casual replied “o cabrito” (goat). Shocked, I asked “O cabrito? Onde?”. And again, as if it was completely normal, pointed and said it was just under the seat. I busted out laughing, which the woman thought was hilarious, and we all had a good laugh. So for the next three hours I was treated to the yelping and crying of a goat from under my seat. There was a chicken as well but I didn’t know that until we reached our destination.  Of course no chapa ride through the mountains is complete without a loose tire and “cuidado com elefantes” signs. But we made to Sussendenga alright and enjoyed the last leg of the trip into Chimoio on the back of an open-bed truck with our new friends and that lovely goat.

On the other side, are the frustrating moments when you just have to bite your tongue and realize that this culture is simply different than that in the U.S. Plainly stated, this country has a lot to learn about customer service and efficiency before they advance very far in this world.  I spent over two hours at the bank yesterday trying to pick up my new ATM card and withdrawal money because communication between Chimoio and Maputo branches is archaic and nobody does anything quickly. Apparently I don’t have a signature for my account in the system so everything I try to do requires authorization from Maputo by fax. Naturally the fax system was down.  I decided to change some money as well just in case that authorization didn’t come through but that was a struggle in and of its self. Everything is done in multiple forms on paper first, a single mistake requires you to start over and unless you keep the pressure on, your forms are easily forgotten and pushed aside. Getting upset really doesn’t get you anywhere, especially when you can’t actually explain your frustrations, so I smiled, stared and threatened to go to move to a different bank. They eventually just gave me my money and we went and got a beer.

Everbody Hurts

16/12/10

So I almost made it a week without a break down. Almost. Tuesday was the toughest day yet. I felt so helpless and trapped. After another restless, sweaty night in our oven, Mona and I got up and started our normal morning routine of getting water, bathing, hiding in the shade and scrounging up something to eat. Our director was still M.I.A. from his latest trip so we went to talk with the other pedagogical director, a Brazilian woman who lives at the mission.  We approached her with our concerns over moving, the rumor that the director was leaving and maybe trying to find an empregada (maid) to help us once school started. She said the director had in fact been transferred to a different school, she didn’t know when the new one was starting although Director Rui was coming back today; the maid thing was complicated because you want to find someone you can trust but that we would probably be fine on time, and the real downer, the house was not ready. She walked us down to the house and it’s definitely got a ways to go. The cement floor isn’t even poured, there are holes to be patched around the window, door and roof frames and there aren’t actually doors, screens or bars on yet. Director Rui made it seems like it was just days away from done. It’s another duplexy thing but oriented differently. I think the rooms are a bit bigger and the front window is larger. She didn’t think screens would be added but we insisted that was a requirement from Peace Corps. Gotta prove we’re not pushovers. She said it would be at least another week but I’m guessing it’s January before we move in.

On top of this we were getting texts from our APCD and security coordinator saying we could no longer travel for Christmas and that we needed to be staying at site until the 23^rd when we could go to our provincial capital to do some visa stuff. I had been planning to travel up to Tete to spend the holiday with friends there but those plans were squashed. It was looking like a depressing Christmas with just the four of us MOZ 15ers in Chimoio. Mona and I returned to our house, set up our mat under the big tree and just bitched and moaned. A few tears were shed, texts were sent out to friends in search of encouraging words and escape plans considered. We called some people to fill Peace Corps in on the situation, hoping someone could step in and put the pressure on Director Rui to get things done before he peaced out. My dad was planning to call so I warned him of the impending break so he could be prepared and standing under a mango tree outside the mission I just lost it. God bless my dad because he was patient, let me vent and did his best to encourage and support me. I can’t imagine how hard it is to be so many thousands of miles away, hearing your daughter cry about her life and know that you are completely helpless (you’re amazing Dad!). But he talked me down, got me to describe the good parts, the things that make it all worth it and even joke a bit. Meanwhile, Mona is talking with the recently returned director about the house and gets a bit of good news: he will actually be around until after the school year starts, insists the house will be done soon and is going to speak with PC to get permission for us to leave site on Friday because no one is going to be around until the new year. We felt a little better as we sweat ourselves to sleep that night.

Wednesday came and we started the usual routine but the depression returned as good ol’ Director Rui came by saying he was going to Beira until Sunday and that he would try and talk to the Peace Corps over the next couple days to get our leaving cleared. So it looked like we were stuck at site until the normal departure date anyway. In a fit of frustration and anger, we called Custodio in Maputo and just explained the situation and our issues (he was genuinely surprised by the news of the director leaving), begging to be allowed to leave for Chimoio early. We did finally get permission, packed our things and left. It was exhilarating to have a plan, some positive news. I’ll share the chapa ride soon but it was uphill from there.

Everybody Hurts – R.E.M.

Running Up That Hill

13/12/10

It’s day 6 in Dombe and we are surviving. We’re figuring out the carvão (charcoal) stove and are able to light it in about five minutes without much paper. The lack of electricity really sucks but we’re dealing with it as best as we can and know who has solar panels so we can charge our phones when it comes time. We got some big water jugs in the market and have a good system of getting water regularly from the pump down the path so we always have it when we need it. And we boil water for our filters at least twice a day to stay ahead of our thirst. Issues we’re still working on are the nasty latrine, the bugs and critters in our house and food.

First off, we are in a temporary house right now while our real one is finished. It’s half of a duplex that is better described as a cement block with a tin roof. Professors at the school basically all live on site in these rows of little houses. Our current row is three of these two person structures with us sharing half of the last one. The front has a slit of a window with a screen and a door that opens into the front sala (room). Its small, maybe 8ft by 10ft, and stuffed full of our suitcases, boxes, buckets, the two chairs the school gave us and at night, our stove, water jugs and carvão. There’s a doorway that leads into the quarto (bedroom) but no door so I rigged up a curtain with a couple capulanas, some safety pins and a bamboo reed. The back room had a window but no screen so we have to keep it closed if we leave or go to sleep making the whole house a little oven. I don’t think the new digs are much different except newer with a bigger front window, screens and we’ll each have our own. Supposedly we will be moving this week. Cross your fingers for us.

Okay back to the issues at hand. The latrine is pretty terrible and, how shall I put it, not exactly built with the female anatomy in mind. First off it’s small, so close quarters with the smell and flies. But the opening is literally a 6in by 6 in hole in the cement with these two raised spots for your feet. Their location isn’t very accurate so you end up squatting awkwardly and aiming. There’s no cover of any kind and no door so the flies are awful and it definitely smells. Makes you appreciate that lovely porcelain throne at home right? It’s our only option so we obviously use it and don’t complain but we’re hoping and praying that our director lives up to his promise to build us a new one with a door and lock.

As for bugs and critters, we’ve had more than our fair share so far. The school didn’t have the money to get the bed frames we were supposed to be provided with so our mattresses are currently on reed mats on the floor. The first night was cool and rainy so bugs weren’t really an issue but night two provided our neighbors with some lovely entertainment as we screeched and screamed for an hour or so. First was the weird flat spider I found near my bed, then the rat/mouse (who we’ve “affectionately” named Stuart), the cockroaches and the alien like creature that emerged from the wall after I missed the cockroach with my sandal. Fortunately we have a fabulous neighbor that said we can knock on his door whenever we find something big and scary. He killed the spider, helped us unsuccessfully search for Stuart and got assistance to try and smoke/burn the alien out of the wall. Quite literally, I smacked the wall, missing the cockroach, and this large blackish thing pulled itself out of the large crack in the wall. We didn’t stick around long enough to get a good look but by then a crowd had gathered and some brave souls went in to investigate while we stood outside in the dark. It was determined that it was either a bat or a scorpion but either way it couldn’t stay. Meanwhile my mom has called and she’s on the phone as two neighboring professors attempted to kill the beast with smoke and fire as we watch from the corner. They called it good after a while and we had a restless night sleep tucked into our mosquito nets. The following morning we were woken up by our director with two guys to fill in the crack with cement. So whatever was in there is now sealed in and hopefully long dead. The good that came out of that adventure was that word spread quickly to the guy in charge and we fixed the situation quickly. Good to know for future “issues”. Unfortunately now our fearless neighbors are all off on holiday and we’ve been left to fend for ourselves. Last night after another round with Stuart and mid-conversation with mom, I found a huge, hairy spider crawling along the wall in our room. I screamed and ran out the door with Mona on my tail and luckily the spider followed suit. But we couldn’t leave it to re-enter the house so we proceeded to push it along the wall with a broom, throw large pieces on cement at it and trap it injured in a hole. This morning the hole was swarming with ants feasting on its defeated body. It was a scene worthy of an audience I think. But like I said, my mom was conveniently on the phone so you can ask her for confirmation. We’re now in search of a carpenter to get some bed frames made and us off the floor. Oh and Stuart is still loose in the front room.

The third and least exciting issue is food.  We are limited by both the carvão stove and the inadequate food availability at this point and aren’t sure how to proceed.  We have lots of beans, rice and pasta and can get bread, bananas, tomatoes, onions and garlic in the market 5km up the road. We had bought Agua e Sal crackers, peanut butter and apples in Chimoio before we left but those running out and our current money situation leaves something to be desired until we can get back to the bank in Chimoio. We’re trying to be creative with our dinners (mango curry pasta, feijao and veggies, curry rice) but it’s tough. We’re always thinking of things we wish we had or are missing. We’re often hungry during the day but then we aren’t doing a whole lot that requires much energy. We have a plan though and a growing list of things to buy when we are in Chimoio before and after Christmas. Maybe we’ll be the exception to the “girls usually gain weight” rule?

But don’t get me wrong, things are rough out here in the mato, but we’re doing okay. It’s absolutely beautiful and so green. The vivid greens against the clear blue sky is impossible to describe and the scattering of mud houses amongst the trees reminds us we truly are in Africa. I’m incredibly thankful I’m not alone out here and we do have amazing phone service. We have tons of free time to fill right now and are counting down the days until Christmas but I imagine we’ll be beyond busy once school starts in January, looking back on our languid days in the shade with envy.

Running Up That Hill - Placebo

Carry On

6/12/10

So I'm in Chimoio now mid-way through our Supervisor's Conference. Chimoio is my provincial capital but also the regional capital for the Central Provinces of Manica, Sofala and Tete so all the central education volunteers are together for the next couple days. We are meeting our school directors, colleagues and/or counterparts and having sessions to get them better oriented with how we work and what can be expected. It’s pretty much all in Portuguese and incredibly exhausting. I feel like it’s week one again and everything is new. But I need to get used to that feeling because come Wednesday Mona and I are headed to Dombe and, quoting my friend Amanda, “things are about to get real”!

So as you should remember, I am opening a new site here at the Escola Secundaria de Dombe which is a Catholic mission school 2-3 hours south of Chimoio. Now in my mind mission school meant nuns, padres and some money floating down from the Catholic Church. Maybe I was being naïve, bringing in my American way of thinking. Either way I was wrong because I am headed into the mato complete with elephants, crocodiles, forests and no electricity. I was talking to Custodio, the PC guy in charge of my conference, and he was saying “oh Dombe is so beautiful, right in the forests, close to the mountains. Oh you just have everything there, it’s so beautiful. The one thing you don’t have is electricity”. The one thing? I was expecting to hear “oh but you don’t have mangos”, something innocent. But this throws a whole new wrench into the situation.  Okay I’m being dramatic; it’s not really that bad. Mona and I are going to be experts at cooking with our carvão stove and I’ll finally complete my goal of trying to live more simply. I just wish I’d had some more time to wrap my head around it. There are some positives though – we won’t be spending money on a refrigerator or electric stove, we don’t have to worry about finding fans and there won’t be an electric bill to pay every month. Custodio says that when conference time rolls around it’s us in the mato that have money to spend and the city folks are all broke. It’s the little things in life, now more than ever.

What this all means for you, my faithful followers, is that these posts may start to get pretty far apart. I still plan on writing things up as they happen I just might not be posting them very often. I found out for sure that I can get mail at the PC office here in Chimoio so that’s sweet and I’ve included that address down below. I have a few requests if you’re up for sending packages (I realize it can be expensive): movies (old and recent), books, any new music, candy (specifically skittles, starbursts, Swedish fish, sour gummies), dry foods (macaroni & cheese, couscous, seasonings, oatmeal, spices, raisins), rechargeable batteries and stickers. As much as I would love chocolate and peanut butter type things, the heat and time it takes to get here makes those items a bad idea. I guess that also rules out me getting a Chipotle burrito anytime soon but the sacrifices have to start somewhere.



Emily Rosser, PCV
Corpo da Paz/Castelo Branco Hotel
Rua Sussundenga 295
Chimoio, Moçambique


Carry On - Pat Green

The Way We Get By

4/12/10

I’m back in Maputo. Swear-In was yesterday and most people left this morning for their regional supervisor’s conference. Seven of us are staying another night here before flying out early tomorrow morning. We are actually staying at Hoya-Hoya again which is the hotel I was in during those first orientation days before Namaacha. It’s slightly surreal. Combine that with the fact that I’m an emotional wreck and you can imagine my current condition. It feels amazing to have gotten through these nine intense weeks of training and be an official Peace Corps Volunteer. I’m ready to get to Manica and be just days away from being at site but nervous to start all over again and not have anyone to show me the ropes. I’m slightly depressed after saying goodbye to so many of my friends this morning not knowing how long it will be before I will see them again. I’m completely satisfied after having two amazing meals of Thai food and a swanky night in a 5-star hotel. And I’m excited to get to look through my 2-year bag after wearing the same clothes for the past nine weeks. My stunted emotional maturity can’t quite handle all this.

But backing up a few days, we closed PST on Thursday with a hub day at the IFP in Namaacha, went out to our usual barraca for a drink and went home for our last night with our families. Throughout the week we had our boxes and big suitcases picked up, so we just had our carry-ons when we left Namaacha Friday morning. Our swearing in ceremony was held at the ambassador’s house overlooking the water in Maputo. The ambassador, our country director, a couple trainees and someone from the Ministry of Education all spoke and we were officially sworn in. We took the same oath that members of the Foreign Service, military and all government employees take so it was a slightly daunting moment. In the spirit of cultural exchange we had prepared a song and some of us learned a traditional dance and chant. Then it was a little cocktail hour so we could get pictures and talk with our language and tech trainers one last time. Peace Corps spoiled us by putting us up in the Hotel Cardoso and letting us pretend for a night that we weren’t about to head out into the unknowns of Moçambique. A few of us went out to pick up Thai and were able to relax for a bit before partying the night away in the hotel with everyone. Knowing the morning would be hard enough, we tried to focus on having fun and being together rather than moping about the impending separation. We got hot showers, comfy beds, English TV shows and an incredible breakfast buffet. Groups were heading out in shifts starting at 5am towards their regional capitals for their Supervisor’s conference but most of us were splitting up between 8:30 and 10am. Everyone was gathered in the lobby, bags packed, hugging and crying as we said goodbye to our friends before they left. I was doing okay until our cars showed up early and we were frantically saying bye so they could get back to the hotel and take others to the airport. I turned around and my friend Meagan was standing on the bottom step looking overwhelmed, I caught her eyes and we both just starting bawling. She’s headed out to the coast of Zambezia Province and is a serious chapa ride away from me in Dombe. We’ve gotten each other through a lot and it sucks to get ripped apart just when we need that support most. I’m lucky enough to be going into this with a roommate so at least I’m not completely alone.  With such a big group we have naturally formed cliques but those melted away as we sought out those people who will be the furthest away.  It’s entirely possible that I won’t see some of them until our Close-of-Service (COS) conference in the fall of 2012. The distance factor can be disheartening but it’s always possible to see people if you make the effort. I will see my closest friends even if they are in the far corners of this rather large country and a 15 hour chapa ride away!  Anyway, we were raced over to Hoya-Hoya only to learn that we probably wouldn’t be able to check in for another couple hours. Exhausted and slightly hung-over, we sat around in the dark lobby, laughed at ourselves and how ridiculous we must look and napped until we got our rooms. Eventually we made it out for another amazing meal of Thai food and ice cream. In the morning we will catch our flight up to Chamoio and meet either our counterparts or school directors at the conference. Because Mona and I are just two and a half hours south of the city we should get to our site by Wednesday. Hopefully we’ll learn a little more about our house and have an opportunity to buy a few essentials so we can actually function and eat when we get there.  Because it’s a school holiday, lots of people travel for the holidays and most of our villages will be pretty empty. I imagine the nuns at our school don’t take off so we should have at least a school community around.

I don’t know, it’s quite the transitional time around here. My emotions are running on high, my life is about to change dramatically again and I’m headed into the holiday season without my family around. Apparently one of the toughest times during service is when you have to watch that Peace Corps truck drive away leaving you at your site alone. I guess we’ll see how that goes here in a couple days…