My African Adventure

Second Year!!

2010-02-11T01:13:00.000-08:00

I went home for the month of December hoping to feel refreshed and rejuvenated for my second year as a Peace Corps volunteer. The eve of my departure I felt dread. I didn’t want to go back! I had been reminded of how easy life could be. I want a coffee? There are 3 Starbucks on the same block. I need some cereal? An entire aisle is dedicated to it in Safeway. The aisle is next to the Safeway Starbucks. I could drink a latte while I picked out my cereal. I had forgotten how it felt to have so many choices! I blended into crowds. I could walk down the street and no one would give me a second glance. That may sound like an odd thing to miss, but when you stick out like a sore thumb everywhere you go for 14 months a little anonymity is nice for a change.

After finally arriving in Mozambique, however, it felt like I had never left. Just like my transition home, which I had worried about, my return to Moz felt natural. Mozambique is surely where I’m meant to be. My smooth shift back into life in Africa came as a huge comfort. I had a few obstacles to deal with…my house being broken into with a huge hole in the wall, being pick-pocketed and my electricity being turned off, for example…but after living the easy life for 5 weeks in Oregon, those problems seemed justified. Everything is back to normal and I’m happy to be back.

Almost immediately after getting back to Mozambique, I returned to Maputo for our mid-service conference. All of the volunteers from my group, Moz13, came to Maputo for medical work and some further training. I got to see volunteers that I hadn’t seen since we left training. Some people had just returned from visiting home, like myself, and others spent December traveling Africa. It was great to catch up with people.

We had a session led by Todd Chapman, Mozambique’s charge d’affairs officer. As always, his talk was an inspiration to us. He said that Peace Corps volunteers are the best ambassadors and reminded us of just how important our work is. It’s very easy to lose sight of our “big picture” goals while we live our day-to-day lives. Todd also had some information about the recent presidential election that took place in Mozambique. Frelimo, as predicted, won again. Armando Emilio Guebuza is still the president of Mozambique. Frelimo’s victory is thought to be questionable and, as such, the United States Government no longer recognizes Mozambique as an electoral democracy. That has created some tension between the Mozambican government and the U.S. America states that they are simply promoting a “competition of ideas.” During the election, the Minister of Education got promoted to Prime Minister. There has always been heavy teacher involvement in the political process, but it’s increasing. Other volunteers shared stories that their colleagues are being transferred or losing their jobs if they didn’t participate enough in the October election. Chapman said, “The opposition’s voice is like a pressure valve. You must open it so they can let off steam. If not, it’ll explode.” I thought this was a good analogy, especially with things occurring in United States politics at the moment. It’s an incredibly interesting political time in Mozambique. If anyone is interested in having some more information on the political situation in Mozambique, I know there have been articles in the NY Times you can search for. Check freedomhouse.org, too.

I’m teaching 8^th and 9^th grade this year. I have 6 classes: 2 of eighth grade, 4 of ninth. I have many of my students from last year and that makes me really happy. My average class size is about 80 students and it’ll only get larger. The first trimester is pretty informal because students are still petitioning to be enrolled in the school year. Things don’t get serious until the second trimester, which begins in April. I have classes in the afternoon so I get to spend time with teachers that I didn’t have an opportunity to get to know last year because I taught in the morning. So this year is full of changes! It’s already going by quickly.

On the home front: nothing too exciting! A few rats tried to move into my house the other night but I promptly poisoned them, haha. I’m going to try, yet again, to get a cat that will keep the rats at bay! It’s REALLY hot here. January and February are the hottest months in Moz. Last weekend I had my first beach trip since returning and it was great! I got a sunburn that redefines the color red, but it’s healing nicely J.

As always, I hope everyone is doing well and I miss you all!

Picture update!

2009-12-30T21:14:00.001-08:00

Mango grove in Namaacha during training!
Barra Lodge...
On the left is my shower hut, right is the latrine. Pretty fancy that they're separate.
My pretty yard! Obviously the grass needed to be cut.
A family boarding the boat to travel from Morrumbene to the beach of Linga linga. It's about a 2 hour ride through mangroves. Really pretty.
View from my site!

My school :)
New latrine!! Very exciting.

Main road in Morrumbene. I get a great leg workout with all the sand!

Doing the end of year grades...ugh!

Some students after a trivia game.

Beira, Sofala in Mozambique. Beautiful sunset!

Ok, I have vowed to be more on top of my blog for my second and last year of service! While I'm still at home I'd like to upload all of the photos I've taken thus far, but I'll have to do it in stages. Hope you all enjoy! Happy New Year!!

A year later...

2009-10-13T03:39:00.000-07:00

On October 2nd I celebrated one year in Mozambique by returning to the place of my training, Namaacha, and welcoming the new group of Moz 14 trainees. Talk about coming full circle! Seeing all 66 of their "what-the-deuce-am-I-doing" faces, hearing their questions and their voiced concerns of learning Portuguese quickly was an intense deja-vu for me. This year has been both the slowest and fastest year of my life with the steepest learning curve I've ever experienced! I couldn't help but feel incredibly grateful that I was not in their place again. Training still remains the most difficult part of my Peace Corps service thus far. Well, maybe I shouldn't say that. Being at site certainly didn't cure off of my problems...it just brought along a new, different set, haha. Overall, though, it feels good to finally feel comfortable here. I speak Portuguese, I know (mais ou menos) what to expect from Mozambique and that is certainly preferably to not having any idea what is going on or being said around me. I still can't quite grasp that I'm half way through my service. I've finished with my first year of teaching and that feels like the biggest accomplishment of all. I look forward to starting again next year because I'll actually know what's going on! I was warned that the first year of service for a Peace Corps volunteer can end in frustration because you usually don't feel like you've accomplished anything- and it's true in my case. I've learned so much more about myself and FOR myself than I feel that I've given. I guess that's what the second year is for, though. :) This year has been full of so many ups and downs, a verifiably roller-coaster of emotions. I've learned that the saying "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger" could not be more true. I questioned my ability to fulfill 27 months of service more than once, and I'm sure I'll continue to question it up until I leave. That I have one year under my belt gives me an undeniable sense of accomplishment, however. Peace Corps is indeed the hardest job you'll ever love!!
It's an exciting time to be in Mozambique at the moment. Presidential elections are happening October 28th and it's impossible to escape the campaigning of Frelimo, Renamo and MDM (Movimento Democratico de Mozambique). Frelimo is the current party in office with President Armando Guebuza. This is the first election where there are more than 2 leading parties. MDM is gaining popularity while past elections were basically between Frelimo and Renamo. Definitely and interesting time to watch the progression of Democracy. Here's a conversation I had with some fellow teachers a few weeks ago:

Teacher: "In America, if you are not a part of the ruling political party, can you still work?"
Me: "Like, if the president was Republican and I was a Democrat, could I still get a job?"
Teacher: "Yes, exactly."
Me: "Hahaha, yes, of course! In the states, your political affiliations are private. You don't have to disclose your political preferences before you work somewhere."
Teacher: "Even as a teacher?"
Me: "Of course."
Teacher: "That's not how it is here."
Me: "What do you mean?"
Teacher: "Mozambique is a democracy...but we are still working towards acting democratically."
Just another mini-lesson in how lucky we are to be born American...

Here are some interesting statistics about Mozambique that I was given during an HIV and Moz information session:

* 21 million population (2009)
* 54% of people live below poverty level (~10 USD/month)
* 33% of men and 63% of women are illiterate
* 50-60% of the population has no access to health care
* Mozambique HIV prevalence was 16% of adults (2007)
* Southern Mozambique prevalence 21% (highest in country)
* 75% of HIV positive women in the world are in Sub-Saharian Africa
* 2% of women and 3% of men aged 15-49 had and HIV test AND received the results in the last year (2003)
* About 32% of HIV positive pregnant women received ARV's for PMTCT
* Mozambique is one of the 10 countries mostly affected by HIV in the world
* By 2009, 96.3 million people died from AIDS (21.4 million ages 1-14)

I thought that might be interesting to some...it's amazing how many of the false rumors about how HIV is transmitted are still spread and believed among Mozambicans. A fellow volunteer who is still close with their host family has been trying to teach the kids about safe sex and the truth about HIV. Then the older host brother returned home from working in South Africa and told the younger siblings about how "white people" put the HIV into the condoms... and the kids believed him. All the work and effort that this volunteer put into their family was disregarded. Students in my classes told me that HIV is transmitted via mosquitos, that virgins can't get HIV the first time they have sex...there's still so much work to be done against this epidemic. While incidences of HIV are leveling off in both central and northern Moz, they are still on the rise in the South. There are many contributing factors to this, but the close proximity of both Swaziland and South Africa are certainly prominent reasons. I read a book called "The Invisible Cure" before coming here and I've found that a lot of the topics discussed in it are incredibly accurate. I can't remember the author's name...but if you have any interest in learning more about the HIV epidemic in sub-saharian Africa then that's definitely a great book to read! I'm planning on re-reading it when I'm home in December.

Como sempre, espero que todos nos Estados Unidos estao bem na vida e na saude. Beijos!! Ate ja!!

2009-07-01T08:55:00.000-07:00

Before coming to Mozambique, I often heard from people how much I was going to change. I was going to "come back a different person." I didn't like hearing it. I liked who I was so why would I want to come back different? The idea of leaving my home for a foreign place and knowing that I was going to "change" was incredibly unnerving. It seemed that only crazy people would volunteer to be the outsider everywhere they went, battle cockroaches and rats, shower outside with a bucket and cup and...relieve...oneself into a pit that your dog insists on digging up every week. Why would a person choose this way of life? Why would a person choose to change, not knowing what that change would entail? I questioned my decision before my departure. When I finally got on the plane headed to Philadelphia it was mostly out of sheer stubbornness. I could never have anticipated, no one could, what I was flying myself into. I have had my ups and downs, as have all volunteers, but I cannot deny how much I have truly changed. The most surprising part is the ways I have changed.
I was an anti-America American. I was so judgmental of the U.S. government, our President (at the time) and how all Americans seemed to take what they had for granted. I had always thought that I knew just how lucky I was to grow up in America. I was aware of my good fortune at being able to go to college, to have a nice home, to have parents who were always there for me, no matter how often I screwed up. I knew all that. Rather, I thought I did. My appreciation for these things has grown ten-fold, and I also know that there is so much more that I hadn't even realized I was so fortunate to have.
The education system in the United States is great. Elementary through high school, kids have the chance for a free education, books provided that encourage active learning and free thinking. There are teachers that bring their classroom worries home with them because they care about their students. Who spend hours outside of the classroom, during their free time, to plan lessons, grade homework and think of new and creative ways to teach. I know this first hand from living with Gail. I took 16 years of education for granted, never recognizing- never thinking- that this was not how it was everywhere in the world. Those opportunities are not offered to everyone. And while I find it odd that moving to another country is what made me patriotic, I hope that I never forget how truly lucky we are. I don't want to take that for granted again.
About 2 months ago, the director of my school (like the principal) told me that there was a problem with one of the students in the class that I am director of. She said that "number 34" (students are mostly referred to by number) did not know how to write. I had noticed that Joana wasn't doing well on her English test, but I assumed that it was the English language that was confusing her. When I talked to her about her ability to write she admitted that she had never known how to write or read. I asked her if her parents could give her lessons in the afternoon so that she could learn and thus pass 8th grade, but she lives with her aunt who also does not know how to read or write. I offered to give her writing lessons after school. It took us a while to get a consistent schedule going, but we're now doing lessons 3 times a week. Honestly, I'm not entirely sure how to teach someone to read or write in Portuguese, but hopefully after 2 years she can make some progress.
I've gotten my journalism group going as well! I've got a core group of students that are very dedicated and talented. One student in particular, Ernao, is taking the group very seriously. He's always encouraging the other kids, telling them "don't try, do." I've given him the "editor" position. They've written about 6 articles, are doing interviews and are practicing their writing skills. We're going to produce the newspaper the first week of 3rd trimester. I'm asking around for students that are interested in displaying their art, too.
Things are going well here in Mozambique. I'm approaching the end of my second trimester of teaching. Next week are the trimester finals, followed by grading and then I get a week vacation! Third trimester, rumor has it, is going to be a weird time for teaching. Presidential elections are happening at the end of October here and I guess school kind of gets put on hold during that time. Mozambique is definitely still a democracy in progress, but at least it's working towards it! Three weeks ago the governor of Inhambane province came to my school to visit. A week after that the bishop of the Catholic church of Mozambique came. I've also met the first lady of Mozambique...it's all very exciting.
The dog that was left to me, Lucy, gave birth to 7 puppies about a month ago. They are incredibly adorable and a lot of fun to have around. I currently have 9 dogs in my yard...but once they get older I'll be able to give them away.
As always, I hope all is well back home. I miss you very much and can't wait to see you all in December!
PS. Sorry for no pictures! I'll try to upload some next time :)

2009-04-26T21:47:00.000-07:00

2009-04-26T21:44:00.000-07:00

Hi all! All is well here in Mozambique. I finished up with my first trimester of teaching 2 weeks ago (YAY!) and that was quite the learning process...it was very frustrating to be a part of the test giving and grading because I had no idea what I was doing! I had to pester my fellow teachers to explain. Eventually, I got the hang of it. It just makes me all the more excited for second trimester because I'll know what we're supposed to be doing. We had 2 weeks of "vacation" that wasn't really vacation at all...the first week we were doing grades. This involves the directors of turma getting together and exchanging grades. For example, I'm director of turma 8-10 (eight grade, group 10), so I had to collect all of the students grades for every subject (chemistry, physics, biology, math, Portuguese, history, English, physical education and geography). All of our grades are recorded by hand on charted paper. I then had to transfer all of their grades onto a huge piece of paper called a "pauta." It's about the size of A4 paper in the states. After all of 8-10 grades were recorded the fun part began. I had to figure out how many males passed, how many females passed, how many males/females failed, how many scored between 0-4, 5-9. 10-13, 14-15, 16-17, 18-20. Then I had to figure out the percentages for all of these. 60% of my turma did not pass the trimester...not really too shocking considering their course load. Anyway, I learned a lot that week and I must say it's my least favorite week of the school year. Well, that and controlling the ACP (trimester finals). That was pretty awful. I had to control the turma that I'm director of and they all cheated so much...I think I took it personally because I'm closer to that turma than my others so every time I caught them cheating (I caught the same student cheating 3 different times in ONE test) I felt like they were deceiving me directly. I obviously can't take that approach next time- much too stressful.
During the last week of break I was helping out at a Peace Corps conference with the groups REDES and JOMA. These are groups started by Peace Corps volunteers that are throughout Mozambique. REDES, which stands for Raparigas em Desenvolvimento, Educacao e Saude (Young Girls in Development, Education and Health) is just for young girls. It's about gender equality, dealing with gender issues, and HIV/AIDS awareness. The girls made dolls for orphans, baked cake, we discussed their relationships, safe sex, etc. JOMA is, now, for boys and girls. This was the first year that girls were allowed at the conference. The JOMA groups are journalism, photography, theater and art. The focus is also on HIV/AIDS and gender equality. JOMA stands for Jovens para Mudanca e Accao (Kids for Change and Action). It was a really fun experience and I plan on being more involved with the programs this coming year. I'm trying to start a journalism group at my school so we would have a school newspaper! I'm also doing an English club which is going pretty well. Some of the teachers at my school are coming to the meetings. :)
I have my computer now (thanks, Mom!!) so that has made my life SO much easier. I've made spreadsheets for all my turmas and that makes grading a lot more simple. It's also nice to have ways to take other peoples music and movies...I was getting a little tired of reading. There's Peace Corps software that helps with grading, class schedules and learning local dialects so that's been really nice.
I had quite a scare 2 weeks ago...someone tried to break into my house...when I was home. As my Dad can testify, I was a wee bit freaked out (that's a lie- I was INCREDIBLY freaked out). The guy tried to just open my door! I blew my air horn and yelled out, in Portuguese, that I had a gun and was calling the police. He continued to loiter around my yard for a couple hours. I finally went to sleep around 23:00 and when I woke up and examined my yard I saw that he had tried to get in my bedroom window after I had gone to sleep. Very creepy. I haven't had any incidents since then, though. I sleep with my air horn tucked under my pillow now and my front door is always locked even if it's midday. So, no worries.
Oh! Some random tid-bits of information: I saw a wild monkey last week! My first since arriving in Africa. It was running across the road as I was riding in a crazy safari jeep. Very cute! Also, as I'm sure most of you already know, my WONDERFUL Dad and LOVELY Gail are flying me home for Christmas 2009. I'm excited to come home and recharge before my second year.
Ok, well I'm signing off. Please keep writing (or start)! I miss you all very much and hope all is well back home.
Beijos! Tchau.
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Swanky

2009-03-12T09:34:00.000-07:00

Hello!! I am currently at a super swank hotel in the capital of Mozambique (Maputo) for inservice training. It was mind boggling to arrive! I was delivered to my room in a golf cart, I have air conditioning and the food is AMAZING. I will be here until Sunday...then it will be a rough adjustment back to site, haha. Anyway, my daily life is much less glamorous, but much more fulfilling (most days). My school has a relatively small number of classrooms, but all classes are divided into morning, afternoon and evening so that hasn't been a huge problem. The classrooms don't have windows or doors, but that just means you always have a nice breeze while you teach! There are about 40 teachers at my school. They all have been very nice and helpful. I'm still amazed by how young they all seem! It leads to a light-hearted and laughter filled atmosphere to work in. I am one of 4 English teachers. As I said in my last post, I teach 8th grade English at the Escola Secondaria de Morrumbene. By 8th grade the students have been studying English for 2 years. On my first day of teaching, however, I had to do the alphabet. My frustration is not with the students, but with past teachers. Or maybe a mixture of both. There are obviously some students that put more of an effort into their education than others (just like in America) and I can easily understand how learning English can be on the back burner compared to other challenges and duties my students face on a daily basis. My daily routine is, mais ou menos, as follows: I wake up at 5am (I teach only in the mornings Monday through Friday so I have to arrive at the school by 6:45 but I am done with teaching by noon each day), I heat up water for my ricoffe (a coffee and chickory blend that I have grown to loathe with a passion that I did not know I could possess) and I partake in some high fiber kellogs cereal that, I think, has saved my life/digestive track since I discovered it. I make breakfast for my dog, Lucy, which consists of white rice and dried fish or shrimp. I make sure that I have all my materials that I will need for my lessons that day (maybe visuals, a hacky sack to throw around to practice conjugation, and my lesson plan notebook), put on my bata (a long, white, polyester lab coat that I have to wear everyday to teach in. It is incredibly warm and makes me sweat buckets, but it's uniform) and then I'm on my way! The school is only about an 8 minute walk from my house. I'm always the first teacher to arrive, which I don't mind at all. At 6:45 the cow bell is rung to signal the students to line up in order of turma in front of the school while we raise the flag and sing the Mozambican anthem. It's always a process to get the students organized, and if it's raining we don't sing. At 7am the cow bell is rung again meaning that the students should be in class and ready to learn. Lessons are 45 minutes, but the cow bell never rings at the exact time to signal the starting or ending of a lesson each day. My busiest day is Tuesday- I teach 2 lessons, then have the "turma meeting" (I'm director of turma and we have to hold meetings once a week where the students can complain to me about any absences they may have received or problems that might be having with other teachers). After that, I teach 3 more lessons back to back. This may not sound like a lot because I'm still done by 11:55, but it is so exhausting to maintain such a high energy for 5 lessons! Noon is the "siesta" time so most shops in Morrumbene are closed anyway. They reopen at 2, and that's when I go out and buy my vegetables, fruit and bread for my lunch and dinner. I'll plan my lesson for the following day, grade any homework I collected and walk around my community. If the weather is nice I might wash my clothes. I am usually in bed around 8pm...Africa has turned me into an old woman! My life isn't too terribly exciting, but I'm starting to enjoy the slow pace of Mozambique more and more. In the states I had to become a master multi-tasker. Always juggling 2-3 things at once, especially in college. Mozambique is just not a place to multi-task. Things just move a lot slower here, and I certainly don't view that as a bad thing (most of the time) but it has definitely been an adjustment. I'm slowly learning to draw out my daily activities after teaching so I'm not too terribly bored for the rest of the day. At night, I've taken to watching the geckos hunt on my ceiling for entertainment. Like I said, life moves a little bit slower in Mozambique. Unless, of course, you are riding in a chapa. I know I have mentioned the infamous chapa before, but I think it's time to describe it in greater detail. the chapa is my only form of transportation (unless I hitchhike, which I do, on occasion. It's much easier to do here than in the states and I plan on traveling to northern Mozambique at some point in my service only by hitch hiking. Should be fun!). Chapas are about the size of the old VW vans and are usually worse for wear. I've ridden in many where I could see the road through the floor or the door fell off every time it was opened. There are 4 rows of seats in the chapa, meant to sit 3 people in each row, plus space for 2 people in the front next to the driver. In all, the chapa is supposed to hold about 15 people. This NEVER happens. There are always, at minimum, 20 people in the chapa- usually 24-25. The chapa will not leave until there are at least 4 people sitting in each row, so I spend quite a bit of time just waiting for it to fill up. I have yet to ride in one that has left before it was full. It doesn't matter if you have to wait for an hour. Even after it gets going, the driver still stops along the road to pick up people in random areas. So, you get the idea that people are crammed like sardines in the less than up-to-code van (oh, if you were wondering, the idea of seatbelts is laughable. I think I've worn a seatbelt once since arriving in Mozambique). On top of the 20-some odd people, you have their "stuff." Jugs of water, bags of who knows what, blankets, babies, chickens (alive, noisy, and pooping) and even the occasional goat. I was on a 4 hour chapa ride a few weeks ago where we kept stopping every 10 minutes to pick up random stashes of 2x4's that were hidden along the road. It is not uncommon, especially on longer trips, for people to be getting drunk en route. And driving! It is acceptable to pass another car on any kind of road, at any speed and without any real regard for how close oncoming traffic is. I've very often thought "This will be my last chapa ride," but I keep surviving. I've actually grown to like the chapa experience, and if any of you visit, you'll have to go on one. A few months ago, I went on a 10 hour bus ride (larger bus than a chapa, called a machimbombo-that might be incredibly incorrect spelling-but just as packed). Every time we stopped the engine died and people would get out to start pushing the bus along the road until the driver could get it going. All chapas slow down significantly when going up hill and greatly accelerate when going down. It's a real adventure and quite a unique experience. I am learning the tricks of the trade to living in Africa...for example, it's important to keep your skin moisturized (especially your feet because there are many little critters that can crawl in through cracks in your feet). Unfortunately, lotion literally melts off you once you start walking. It VISIBLY melts off. I quickly learned that it's much more practical to put lotion on at night, in front of the fan and underneath the mosquito net. This may seem silly and probably not worth mentioning, but my life is now full of these weird lessons that I could have never anticipated before coming here. I've also learned that it's vital to keep a flashlight near you at all times. Electricity cannot be described as reliable. I've come to terms with the spiders, ants, roaches, mosquitos, geckos, rats and large flying insects that sound like wind up toys that I share my house with- but I'm still working on accepting the snakes that live in the rafters of my ceiling. It's never too quiet because coconuts and large seed pods are always falling on my tin roof. It still makes me jump every time...especially when I'm sleeping. Living by myself has been a huge challenge sometimes and it is very easy to feel incredibly lonely. I think it can only get easier, though and the good days I have make up for any bad ones. I hope this has been fun for you all to read! Please keep in touch! I always love hearing from people. Much love to you all. Estamos juntos. PS. If you write letters, be sure to put "air mail" on them! :)

2009-03-07T14:35:00.000-08:00

5 months away!

2009-02-27T04:14:00.000-08:00

Hi all! Unfortunately, this will be a short entry. The good news is that I´ve found a reliable internet cafe thats relatively cheap so I´ll be able to post on a more regular basis. I have gotten some questions about whether I was continuing with my blog, so I just wanted everyone to know that I am! Today marks 5 months away from home. In some ways it feels so much shorter, and in others so much longer. I have been teaching for about a month now. I have 8th grade. My students ages range from 14 to 18. My average class size is about 60 to 65 students and I have 7 classes in total that I teach. They are called `turmas.` Instead of the students walking from class to class, the same 60 students take all of their classes together and the teachers walk to the different rooms. Teaching is much harder than I could have anticipated, but I´m sure it´ll just take time to get used to. The kids here are used to being taught at, without asking questions and without active participation. I am trying to change that, and sometimes it is like pulling teeth, but I think they will get used to it after some time. It´s very tiring! I try to keep my energy up to get them excited (but really, how excited can a teenager get about articles or personal pronouns?) and at the end of the day I am very ready for a nap. There are about 45 teachers at my school in total. I am one of 3 English teachers and I am one of 5 female teachers at the school. Most everyone has been very nice...though there are exceptions, of course. Not everything is done in the most time efficient manner, and that has been frustrating, but I am trying really hard to be more relaxed about everything. I´m so sorry this is so short and lacking detail, but I promise to write more next week. It´ll be rich in detail and a more accurate description of what my daily life is like. As always, I miss everyone back home very much. Please stay in touch! Much love.

Much to update!!

2008-12-23T21:13:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas Eve!! Again, many apologies for my blog posts being so few and far between. I'm at site now (yay!) and there's no internet there so that makes keeping this up to date a little difficult. Ok, so my site! Here is my address for the next 2 years:

Chelsea Harrower
CP #36
Morrumbene, Inhambane
Mozambique Africa

Please remember that if you want to send packages you need to write "Jesus Saves" all over the box! That is incredibly useful in deterring theft.

Morrumbene is a really beautiful, quaint town that's near the beach. It's pretty ideal in that I'm a 30 minute chapa (taxi) ride from Maxixe, which is a larger city with all of the nice amenities (restaurants, cheese, ginger snaps). I've only been at site for a week and I've already traveled to Maxixe 3 times...I live in a 1 1/2 room reed hut. I say 1 1/2 because there is the main room that has a table, 2 burner stove and shelves, then there is a 3/4 wall to separate my bedroom from that main room. I have a little curtain as a door. It's very cozy. I have a large quintal (yard) area with lots of pretty trees. My latrine is in another hut thats separate from my main house and then my shower hut is also separate. I'm the proud owner of 3 huts total. I inherited a dog, Lucy, who makes sure I don't get too lonely. She barks at everyone and everything. No one walks by my house without her announcing it. I definitely feel safe. I'm the only volunteer in Morrumbene, but I'm only about 30 minutes from quite a few other volunteers so it's not too bad. I don't start school or anything until February so I have A LOT of free time on my hands now...it's been quite boring and has made me question if it was a good idea for me to live by myself. I think that once school starts, however, I'll really appreciate the peace and quiet I'll be able to have by myself. I stare out of my window quite a bit...it's amazing how long I can do that without even realizing it. I'm definitely learning to adjust to the "slow life" here in Mozambique. I'm 99% sure that I'll be teaching 8th grade (at least for my first year). My average class size should be about 70-80 students in each turma (turma is a group of students that take all of their classes together. Instead of students going from class to class like in the U.S., teachers travel to each classroom and the kids stay put). I should teach about 8 different turmas in 1 year. It'll be a huge learning curve, but I'm really excited to get started. The volunteer that I replaced in Morrumbene, Taylor, left me really well prepared with sample lesson plans and visual aids for class. So, yeah! I'll have more information on what it's like to teach here come February...
Being away from home for the holidays has been a little rough...I think all of us here are feeling a bit lonely and out of sorts. It's HOT HOT HOT here. I keep hearing about all the snow storms back home and I just can't picture it. I hope you all are driving safely, though! I traveled North to Vilankulos to spend Christmas with my friend, Laura, and some other fellow PCV's (Peace Corps Volunteers...everything, EVERYTHING has an acronym here). We are planning on spending the entire day at the beach...so life isn't too rough here. :)
Anyway, happy holidays everyone! I really do miss you guys. I hope everything is going OK back in the States. Keep me updated!! Much love!

Almost done!

2008-11-29T02:38:00.000-08:00

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...

2008-11-05T00:26:00.000-08:00

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.

Week 3...

2008-10-25T01:31:00.000-07:00

Hello again! This time I am writing from Maputo. We are on a field trip to the capital so that we can learn how to get around when we need to come here from site. I definitely prefer the rural community of Namaacha...it's scary walking around here. I've been clutching my bag the whole time. I got to ride in a chapa (taxi like service) for the first time as well...we smashed 24 people into a van that wasn't supposed to hold more than 16. I sat facing the opposite direction with my legs jammed against the person in front of me. Not my favorite way to travel. The drivers here are incredibly dangerous, so it's best to avoid riding in cars as much as possible. There are no stop lights or signs and I still haven't seen a speed limit sign...
The good news is that I survived week 3! I have to congratulate myself every time I make it through a week. This week proved to be a reality check for many volunteers...lots of random bouts of crying...the honeymoon period (if there ever really was one) is definitely over. My language group (we have all our Portuguese language sessions together, 6 times a week) had a slight breakdown this week, which I guess is pretty common. We found it was resolved by getting out of the 105 degree weather and into a barraca (bar) and drinking some cold fanta. All is well.
I have been kind of sick the whole time I've been here and I decided to talk to the medical officers about it yesterday...turns out I have giardia! About 90% of volunteers get it at some point during their service. It's a water parasite that makes life unpleasant. I'm getting medication for it on Monday. I must say, I miss the days when waking up at 6:40 wasn't sleeping in, I didn't think condensed milk was a treat, and getting giardia wasn't common...but I'm still doing OK.
Things with the host family are about the same...luckily I'll only be living with them for another 7 weeks. I definitely made some mistakes this week asking why women didn't get to eat inside...I was told it was because they didn't like eating with the men, and I was given an awkward long stare afterwards. I went to bed quite soon after that. I spoke with a PC officer, and he said it's best to aim those weird cultural questions at him...will do.
I'm getting super pumped for site visits! They happen in about 2 weeks and we get to go to actual sites and "shadow" current volunteers for 5 days. After that we do more indepth interviews with PC officers to find out where we should be placed in December. Also, after site visits, we start preparing for "model school." Each volunteer will teach a class for a week and be evaluated. As of now, that idea is really daunting because the tech sessions we've had have been a joke thus far. All of us trainees are feeling frustrated with the inefficiency of time and such. I'm the "chefe" (boss) for my language group, so I got to voice some complaints to the main people. We are hoping to see some change soon.
Everything else is going OK...still have to take it day by day. Some days are definitely better than others, but I'm sticking it out. I miss you guys all a lot. Please let me know what's going on in your lives and with the election!!! I still haven't gotten any mail...A girl received a package but it had been broken into. It was really sad...clothes and an ipod charger were stolen from it. Again, for safety precautions, if you want to send something do the following:
1. Use US Mail. It's the cheapest.
2. Within the main box, put things in tampon boxes. It makes it less likely they will search through it if they just open it and see feminine hygiene products.
3. Write "irma" before my name...they might think I'm a nun.
4. Try to send small boxes.
I guess that's it! Many hugs and kisses to all!

I got through week 2!

2008-10-19T04:21:00.000-07:00

Hello again! Sorry it has been so long since my last post. The internet here in Namaacha leaves much to be desired and there is always a long line to use it. I´ll try my best to post something once a week though. Please leave comments! I like to see what you guys have to say and I miss you all so any contact whatsoever is lovely...
Ok, so like the title says, I survived my second week of training and living in Namaacha. Things have definitely gotten easier, or at least I´m used to them more, but I still have new surprises every day. For anyone that has talked to me on the phone, it is common knowledge that I do not like my host father. Apparently I got stuck with the most patriarchal family of all. His name is Jorge and he is the most authoritative person ever! All he does is ask me when I´m going to cook and wash clothes. When I did do those things he could not have looked happier. FYI, I do in fact wash my clothes on a rock. Yeah. Pictures to come. I´m constantly wishing that Jorge would fall down the poop chimney but it hasn´t happened yet...As it turns out, after talking with my host mother, Eliza, Jorge has a woman on the side that he has 3 kids with. I asked my host mom if she was ok with that and she said no, but her sister died of AIDS last year (her daughter is staying with us) and her mother died a long time ago so she doesn´t have any other family she could go to. It made me really sad. Women and girls here, especially within the interactions of my host family, have nothing. The little girls act as servants to all the men (host father and 3 host brothers). The girls and mother eat on the floor in the bamboo shack that is the kitchen. They don´t even get the same food as the men of the house. Since I´m a white American it´s a little different for me, I eat with the men and eat their food, but it´s still expected of me to clean and cook. I´m constantly being told by Jorge that I study too much. It´s taking a lot of adjusting. I knew the culture would be different coming here, butI could not have prepared myself for going from a place where I was respected by my male friends and family, to just being expected to fulfill certain gender roles. I doubt I´ll ever fully adjust to it. Hopefully once I start teaching and am at my site I can more actively fight against it.
It´s also difficult to get used to the absolute poverty here. Yesterday I saw little girls playing jump rope. The rope was made of trash bags tied together. Very few of the children (and I mean little kids, toddlers and older) have shoes. They are constantly filthy and their clothes are torn. Toddlers walk around in packs without any adults. There are just so many things you wouldn´t dream of seeing in the US.
There is still an incredible water shortage here as well and the people are suffering. It has only rained twice since I´ve been here. A volunteer that had training here in Namaacha last year said that he can´t believe the difference. All the wells are dry and the river is nothing but a stagnant creek for washing clothes and dishes now.
As much as I can´t believe it, I´ve actually grown to enjoy my bucket baths! I wasted SO much water showering in the US. Here, just a small bucket and cup is all I need. They are quite refreshing, unless it´s cold in the morning. Then I miss my private, indoor shower.
I´ve learned to make a few Mozambican dishes, wash clothes, light charcoal for cooking, pilar amendoim (smashing peanuts colonial style) and my Portuguese is improving each day. I´m constantly tired! I wake up at 6 every morning and I haven´t stayed up later than 9 so far...ah the life of a Peace Corps trainee.
The only wildlife I´ve seen has been an ostrich. It was huge with prehistoric looking feet. I´ve seen lots of crazy lizards, some cockroaches (in my room and crawling around my poop chimney), and one HUGE spider (black with white stripes...my host sister killed it while laughing at my fear). I´ll be in a more rural area for my service so hopefully I´ll have more exciting animal encounters then.
I think that´s all for now...please leave your comments! I miss you all SO much!!

Training

2008-10-08T02:28:00.000-07:00

So, I am half way through my third day of training here in namaacha. (im sorry but it is difficult to capitalize and do proper punctuation with this computer). here is a little bit of my everyday life thus far - i wake up at 6am from the rooster crowing, then i gather my things and walk down to the bathroom area, which is really a concrete shack with a tin roof. there, i set my bucket of river water and then i use a cup to pour water over myself as a squat on the floor. right next to the shower area is the hole where you do your duties. it looks like a mini chimney. i squat on that too. then i walk back to my room, which is also a concrete room with a tin roof (that the chickens like to jump on and then walk all over) and i get dressed. i brush my teeth over the trash hole, which is a giant square dug out of the ground that all the trash is dumped in and burned when it gets too full. then i have breakfast that consists of tea and bread, and go to portuguese lessons. those are going really well. my house is made up of 4 different buildings. 1 for eating, my room, the bathroom, and the shack that is the kitchen, which only has a hot plate in it for cooking. it has definitely taken some getting used to and im still adjusting. im doing much better than the first night. ive killed a few cockroaches. no snakes or spiders yet though so i am thankful. we are doing cross cultural lessons and such during the day too. those are also going well. i like all of my fellow trainees so thats good. im making some friends. ive taken some pictures of my neighborhood. i can see swaziland and south africa from the top of the trail down into my area. its a beautiful view. when i can upload pictures i will. i hope everyone is doing well and i miss you all. much love!

Maputo

2008-10-03T10:41:00.000-07:00

Hello!
I've been in Africa for a few days now. I think I've actually managed to adjust to the time change quite well because I've forced myself to only go to sleep at normal local times. I didn't sleep much on the plane so that made it easier. We're staying in Kaya Kwanga now, but I'll be living with my host families starting on Sunday morning and I'll also start my more intensive training then. Thus far, I've received 4 vaccinations (with more to come), metacais (local currency), a HUGE medical kit and general precautions about our safety in regards to where we can go and water and food. We get a heavy duty water purifier too. Maputo is a pretty dangerous place...our hotel is surrounded by a fence with barbed wire on top. I guess a lot of crimes happen right across the street from where we are, along the beach. Assaults and robberies are the most common, but the Peace Corps is very upfront about telling us what we can and cannot do. I'm becoming quite certain that I'll get malaria or some sort of other parasite at some point during my stay. It's just inevitable. But we have all the medicine we need. We have to brush our teeth wiith bottled water because the tap is REALLY unsafe. I'm enjoying everyone and everything so far. I'll try to write more later, but as I'm going to my host family soon communication will be even more limited. If anyone wants to text, my cell number is 011-258-82-819-8145. I won't text a lot, but if you want to know I'm alive I'll give you updates. I hope everyone is doing well! Miss you all. Much love!!

2008-09-28T16:43:00.000-07:00

Hello again!
So, I'm in Philadelphia right now. I just finished with my first day of staging and it was pretty awesome. Everyone is REALLY nice. It's been great getting to hang out and talk with people that are going through the same emotions that I am. We haven't discussed anything really country specific, but we did some introduction stuff and aspiration/anxiety workshops. It was helpful. I got my first malaria pill! I guess they can cause "vivid dreams" or "hallucinations" so I'll let you all know how that goes...for all that know me well, I don't take pills gracefully. This one is not small so wish me much luck. I got a cool "debit" card from the Peace Corps. It has "We the people" written on it with the flag in the back...very patriotic. Oh! In search of coffee this morning, my roomie and I (her name is Sara, she is absolutely fantastic) saw Betsy Ross' house! We didn't go in, but Philadelphia is definitely a place I'd like to spend more time in. Cobble stone streets and old buildings...it just oozes history. Ok, well we are now in search of a place to eat dinner! I won't be able to write again until I get to Africa, so hopefully that is sooner rather than later. Again, much love and missing you all! :)

Leavin' on a jet plane...

2008-09-26T11:23:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone!
So, my flight is in less than 24 hours and I'm still quite nervous/excited/etc. This first blog post is just to thank everyone for the amazing support I've received. I don't know how I could have gotten through this entire process without you all. I wish everyone the best and I beg that you keep in touch as much as possible! Yes, the mail is slow, but I promise to write back to any and all letters I receive. Email/internet access might be limited, so be patient. Once I'm there for a bit I'll be able to get the feel for how much I'll have internet and such.
Ok, well I'll see everyone soon (-ish). I love you!

Obrigada e boa sorte a tutti