Three Little Birds

I just wanted to post a quick update about life. I am down in Maputo for medical right now but am doing fine. I was having crazy back pain and trouble breathing during the night and in the morning and nothing seemed to be working. I saw a doctor in Chimoio and got all kinds of tests done but still nothing definite. The Peace Corps doctor finally flew me down here to see a specialist and get to the bottom of this medical mystery. This doc (I was hoping for House but got this quirky German guy who speaks like 6 languages but told me not to learn German unless I really have to) thinks it might be inflammation at the transverse process of my thoracic spine where the lower ribs come in. Now I don’t really know if that’s correct or if I am even using the right words, but I do know that it should be something treatable. I am now getting physiotherapy everyday which is a combination of ultrasound, electrotherapy and massage. I’m definitely not going to complain about a daily back massage but I want to get back to Dombe and school and my students.  I will be down here for at least another week and then hopefully this will have done the trick. But like I said, I’m doing well. I’m stuffing myself full of Thai food, ice cream, pizza, pastries and draft beer before I have to return to the mato diet at site! And there have been MOZ 14ers coming through for their mid-service medical checkups so I haven’t been alone and depressed in my hotel all the time. I was actually out until 1am a couple days ago – so see I’m not dying!

Oh and my hand is healing nicely and other than some slightly pinker skin you can barely tell anything even happened.

 

 

 

 

 

Three Little Birds - Bob Marley

Fresh Feeling



So I’m at the two month mark at site and it’s been an adventure. Mona and I are still in our temporary house, much to our dismay, but the new house is truly almost finished. Hopefully we can get in and paint this week and start moving in. Between the holidays and issues getting our windows made, we were away from site for nearly three weeks. When we first saw the new house we knew we’d need some bigger windows. You’ll understand when I eventually get pictures up, but we decided we were willing to pay for them if it meant not suffocating. With the help of our sleazy old director we found a carpenter in Chimoio to make us four meter by meter windows with screens and glass. Turns out he was as shady as ol’ Rui and we nearly took him to court! It was a ridiculous situation that involved threats, name calling and a trip to the police station. Let’s just say I’ve seen enough to know that I don’t want to be on the wrong side of the law here. Think of the show Locked Up Abroad. Creepy.  Anyway, we finally got the windows and they were put into the house last weekend. One step closer!





First Day of School!





And then of course school started on January 18^th and we are now three weeks in. The school is really nice too. There are three blocks of salas (rooms) and the newest one has a library and laboratory. I don’t think there is any equipment in the lab yet but it’s a start and the library is pretty decent considering. Every classroom has a big chalkboard and all the kids have desks.  We are lucky enough to have classes with just 40-50 students because some schools up north have over 100 students per class and not enough space.  Our pedagogical director is on top of things and is really involved with the kids and keeping them in line and accountable. Overall it’s a good situation. I’m teaching 8^th grade biology which of course is all in Portuguese and I was so nervous my students would ask me something and I wouldn’t understand or be able to answer their questions. I proceeded to write out every word I wanted to say and even anticipated possible questions. Needless to say, they were silent; a sea of blank stares looking back at me while I explained the scientific method.  I’ve given aulas (lessons) on the scientific method, characteristics of all living things, prokaryotic vs. eukaryotic cells, animal vs. plant cells, levels of organization and the five taxonomical kingdoms (I definitely learned it as six kingdoms but apparently in Moçambique they only recognize five. I figured it best not to rock the boat this early). I still write out everything but I’m getting more confident and by the last session I don’t have to use my notes as much. The frustrating part is the lack of participation from the students. I ask if they have questions and I get silence. They say they understand when I ask, but who really knows. I think they just say what they think I want to hear. The first test is week after next so I guess I’ll find out then.

Despite the frustrations, I am enjoying teaching. There are some really sharp kids (I had a girl explain sexual versus asexual reproduction better than I could) and I can tell I’m getting through to a few of them. My lessons aren’t exactly thrilling at this point but I think I can find ways to spice it up when we get into the body systems. The school actually has posters and charts showing the human body and the various systems; which is good because as most of you know I am no artist (my animal and plants cells turned out well though!). I’ll keep ya’ll updated on how school progresses.

In other news, I’m currently in Chimoio on medical hold due to back issues and my newly burnt hand.  The back thing is a giant mystery at this point but my hand is supposedly healing well. Hopefully we’ll get everything settled soon so I can get back to Dombe and back to teaching.

a Mocambiquen style picture



Fresh Feeling - Eels



You Can't Always Get What You Want

I miss Chipotle and fountain diet cokes. I miss being able to get cold, safe drinking water right from the tap and not having to light carvão anytime I need hot water. I miss driving, blasting music on the highway and even Denver traffic. I miss the east coast. I miss the convenience of having my bedroom, bathroom, laundryroom and kitchen all in one structure. I miss washers and dryers. I miss good customer service, self efficacy and the efficient workplace. I miss drive thru ATMs and even the drive thru window at Wendy’s. I miss Super Target where I can get everything I need in one stop. I miss reliable public transportation and personal space in crowded settings. I miss air conditioning, although not as much as I thought I would, but I do miss feeling clean for more than 10 minutes after I bathe. I kind of miss having meat in my diet but am actually enjoying this mostly vegetarian lifestyle and don’t think about it much. I miss my favorite TV shows but not TV in general, if that makes sense, and I miss sitting in a dark movie theater with my spiked diet coke waiting for new trailers to start. I miss the pedestrian right-of-way. I miss the cold weather and snow that I typically associate with December through March but like the tan I am getting during this African summer, even if it is slightly uneven. I miss cheese. I miss walking through a crowded place and not being the immediate center of attention because I’m a branca or muzungo. And I miss my family every single day and wish I was around to see how my friends and their families are changing (Tommy in particular!) but am thankful for Skype so I can occasionally see their faces while we talk.

But I like waking up without the sounds of a city and traffic. I like being called tia, amiga, irmã and mana by kids in the street and around my house. I love that you can buy fruit, chicken, cashews, sodas, vegetables, bread and phone credit from a chapa just by sticking your arm out the window. I like eating mangos that you know fell from the tree within the hour and getting a “pineapple popsicle” from the market to eat as you walk. I enjoy speaking Portuguese even though I haven’t been doing it as often as I should lately. And I like our mashed up English/Portuguese language that may be slightly confusing to our family and friends back home (I apologize if random Portuguese words make it into our conversations. Just ask for a translation). I like not worrying about bills, buying gas or paying over a dollar for a soda. I like the view from my future house and the contrast of the vibrant green vegetation against a cloudless blue sky. I like the sound of rain against our tin roof and the way it drowns everything else out and leaves the air crisp and cool for awhile. Part of me likes the fact that there isn’t a paved road within 50km of my site - it’s charming. The other part thinks it’s a bit obnoxious. I love that random people on the street greet you, asking how you are and are not always rushing off to something “more important”. I like that I’m just a few hours away from the Indian Ocean. I like sandes de quiejo e ovo and cold Fanta laranja from the street vendor in Chimoio and eating meals we have literally made from scratch. I think I like the idea of teaching eighth grade biology and am excited to have some structure to my week. I like that there are nearly 200 other people in this country that I know understand these struggles and joys even if I never speak to some of them about it. And I like that when I stop and think about it, it still catches me off guard that I’m in Africa and that I’m actually taking on this adventure.

You Can't Always Get What You Want - The Rolling Stones (liking the Glee version too)

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