Almost done!

Hi everyone! I'm sorry it's been so long since I've written on here. The internet in Namaacha is really expensive and there's always a line! I'm sitting in a restaurant in the capital, Maputo, with some current Peace Corps volunteers from last year and one of them was nice enough to let me use her computer! We are listening to American music videos and eating delicious food so it's easy to forget I'm in Africa...then I look outside. Ha ha. Well, I'm almost done with training!! Only 2 more weeks left. We had site visit a few weeks ago. I went to Morrumbene in the Inhambane province and I completely fell in love with it. Lucky me, that's where I got my site placement as well!! I'll be living by myself in a reed hut but I'm no more than 30 minutes from other volunteers so I think it'll be a really good situation. I'm inheriting a dog, Lucy, who just had 5 puppies about a month ago. So I guess I'm getting 6 dogs...but I'll give most of the puppies away. My school is very quaint. There aren't any doors or windows so controlling noise will be a problem but I'm sure I'll figure it out. My average class size will be 70 to 80 students and I think I'll be teaching 10th grade, but that's subject to change. Morrumbene is about an hour from the most beautiful beaches in Mozambique so I feel very lucky. I'm also close to Maxixe, which is a larger city where I can get luxuries like cheese and beef. I'm very excited! I'm feeling checked out of training, but everyone is kind of on the same boat. We have been having Model School this week and that has been a huge learning experience. I've taught 4 classes so far and I've discovered that teaching is REALLY hard. I have a huge new found respect for teachers. There is so much to think about all the time. My class for model school is only 15 students on any given day, so I can't even imagine how I'm going to manage a class 7 times the size...but I'll learn. The thing I'm most sad about with training ending is that all of the people that I have become close to are going to places really far away! I won't even see them at regionals. We are all so spread apart. But we all have phones so hopefully we'll stay in touch. School won't start until February and I'll be delivered to site on December 15th so I'll have a lot of time to figure everything out. I think that by living by myself I'll be forced to speak only Portuguese and I'll become more integrated into my community. It'll be lonely sometimes, but that's when I make the trip to Maxixe to go hang with some Americans! I'll even be living by someone, Anne, who is from Oregon! She went to U of O! We feel a bond ha ha. How was everyone's Thanksgiving? Peace Corps threw us a lunch thing, and that's the day we found out about our site placement so it felt a bit like Christmas. I cannot stress enough how anxious we all were to find out where we were going! It's hard to explain to people in America...but it was a very big deal! Now we all know and are counting down the days til we leave (16...I've had a countdown since day 64). We are having our swearing in ceremony in less than 2 weeks so I'll be an official volunteer. We're having it at the ambassador's house and I guess they serve really good food so I'm very excited. Again, I cannot explain how dependent I've become on food. It brings me many joys when I can get anything other than rice or bread with rocks in it. Still, I've definitely lost some weight! We walk everywhere and we sweat all day, everyday. Oh Africa. I am loving it here. I've finally (semi) let go of life in the US so I can really focus on my experience here. I still miss everyone, of course, but I know I have a huge opportunity here that I worked really hard for and have wanted for a long time. So I'm making the most of it! A lot of volunteers got their scuba certification while here and they go quite often. They see whale sharks and crazy fish. It should be fun. Well, I'll write again when I can! Much love to everyone!!

The things I´ve learned...

I´ve only lived here for a little over a month, so it may sound cliche to say this, but I have learned a lot about myself thus far. For instance: even bread, when consumed 3 times a day as a main dish can grow tiresome; I can handle squatting with my dirty water bucket bath, squatting over my poop chimney, squatting to wash my clothes on a dirty rock (counter intuitive, is it not?), and dealing with roosters who cannot understand that the sun does not rise at midnight. Those things I am actually quite OK with. What I have learned that I cannot handle is the absolute degradation of my gender. I may be just a woman, but I know that Baghdad is not in Canada. I know that George Bush is not President of South America (or America for much longer! Go Obama!), and I know that red wine is not actually blue. These are real situations I have encountered here. But still, I am supposed to be content with washing clothes and cooking for my husband as a daily routine?I think not. One of the 3 goals of Peace Corps is to share about American culture while I´m here. I fully intend to at least attempt (with the most stubborn of efforts) to teach women that they can be so much more than a stereotype and can do more than fulfill a gender role. Anyone would be shocked at the amount of work 9-12 year old girls do at my house. I know when I was their age I couldn´t balance gallons of water on my head or cook entire meals with charcoal and plastic for heat, or sweep the dirt around our house every morning. 85% or more of the students in Mozambican schools are male. Why? Because the culture and social norms make it so difficult for girls to continue. Unplanned pregnancy, duties to family and general harrassment are some of the factors working against them. There is also a considerable shortage of women for them to look up to as role models of something other than the housewife. I don´t want to force American ideals on them, I just want women/girls here to realize they have choices and they don´t have to do things they don´t want to. Therefore, the solution, in my eyes, to the gender problems lie in education. I´ll go door to door if I have to, or drag the girls to school. Everyone deserves and education and what they do afterwards is up to them. Sorry. I´m done venting now. :) Everything else is going well here. We are going on site visits this Saturday. I´ll get to shadow a current volunteer and see what their life is like for 5 days. It will be a much needed break from my host family. I´m anxious to see the conditions I´ll be living in for the next 2 years as well. I´m sad to not be in the US during this crazy election time! History in the making! Everyone is really pumped about it here. Last couple days were a bit of a struggle for me...thankfully I have a Dad who can help me keep things in perspective, and Cody to write me inspirational/motivational speeches. The one month milestone is rough...but I am going to stick this whole thing out. The Peace Corps is supposed to be the hardest job you´ll ever love, right? Much love to everyone. I honestly miss you all more than I can say.