Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Holidays!

Almost at the end of week two in my new place! It feels like home most days but I’m still getting used to not having running water or knowing if I’ll have electricity. The temperature has been in the 90s and 100s all week so that’s been quite a change from Alaska. I keep telling people in my town it’s going to take me some time to get used to because I’m from a place that is cold and has lots of snow, but the people here can’t conceptualize anything less than 60 degrees so it’s been a little tough to explain.
Christmas is right around the corner, so all of us in my province are headed to the beach for the weekend to bask in the sun (not that I need any more sun but why not), grill out, and drink mimosas. Most of us are not thinking of it as Christmas break but more as a chance to get together and share stories from our first two weeks at site. It’s strange not having snow on the ground and holiday music playing constantly, but in a way it’s nice.
Ok- fun facts. Sand is everywhere- a nice change from constant mud. The sky is always blue, cloudless, and gorgeous. Not many trees but the ones we do have are huge and beautiful. Several trees in town are right out of The Lion King so that’s pretty cool. (For those of you unfamiliar with the movie, think of the most stereotypical African tree, and that’s it.) My house has cement floors and walls with a tin roof- I feel like I’m in an oven all the time. I don’t actually have an oven or a fridge but I’m learning to cook little by little. I can cook an egg on my floor- I did it on accident yesterday. I cracked my one and only egg into a container to beat it, set it on the floor to prepare a few other things, and when I came back it was already cooked. Who needs a stove when I have heated floors! I have cockroaches that fall from my ceiling. I actually just killed two that fell onto my couch as I was typing this blog. While raking my sand yard the other day, I threw a rock into my lixo pit (a hole dug in the ground where I put all my trash- and where children like to find new toys) and accidentally hit a chicken. I have neighborhood galinhas do mato (“bush chickens” that I’m pretty sure are turkeys) that squawk from four am until ten at night (and I thought roosters were bad!). My neighbors and colleagues are so friendly and helpful and are making my first few weeks here very enjoyable and comfortable. Professora Telma invited me over for dinner to make Matapa (coconut milk, crushed peanuts, and green leafy veggies- amazing!) and Professora Carlota has come by with cooking and fruit and other yummy treats. Every day several herds of cows and bulls come through town. Because they take up the whole road, I usually have to move to the side of the road in the bushes to get out of the way. I’m sure they’re not harmful but when I have sixty sets of horns coming at me a get a little nervous. My laundry dries outside within 10 minutes which is awesome. Then again yesterday I had to look through my health manual and find out how to get rid of the bugs that attach themselves to cloths left outside to dry. They’re not pleasant- believe me. I have about 14 neighbor criancas (children) that like to play on my porch (so much for it shocking kids). They typically stand in my doorway and watch whatever I’m doing, usually reading. Stare and scream are what they’re best at. A few are pretty adorable, but it’s sad to see them with their distended bellies and ringworm covered heads. And let me note my power has gone out six times in the last 10 minutes. It makes me cherish the moments when I can use my fan. All in all, many funny moments throughout the days due to things previously mentioned. I’ve learned to laugh at most things and really appreciate the things I used to take for granted. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love it here. I wouldn’t change a thing about my situation, even the spider that lives in my kitchen. It just takes time to get used to.

Wish List!!! I know I won’t get any of this by Christmas, or New Years, but think of them as valentines wishes 
**Powder drink mix (ice tea, Gatorade, Kool Aid, lemonade)
**More drink mixes
**Powder cheese from Mac and Cheese boxes
**Brownie or cookie mix
**Letters!
**Powder soup mix (Really any powder mixes- i'm craving it all!)
**Cute tank tops
**Visitors!!

Happy Holidays to all!!

Thursday, December 17, 2009

Suprise!

Fun fact about me new house- my porch shocks people. There must be some loose wiring under my house because randomly if someone steps on my stoop they get a surge of electricity running though them. This fact was first discovered when Telma and Carlota (my two women colleagues) were helping me clean my house and Telma couldn’t leave the porch because every step she took she got shocked. We gave her some flip flops and she was fine. Two days ago the same thing happened to me- I could feel the electricity through my feet and into my legs. So strange! Well, yesterday, these two little girls kept estou pediring me (“estou pedir” means “I’m asking”- it’s almost like begging here) yet I couldn’t tell them no because I don’t know Changana yet. They decided to get closer and estou pedir from my porch- they both got shocked. Not bad, but enough to scare them and make them question if they really want to get close to the new crazy Americans house. Maybe I’m a witch? They don’t know what happened. Needless to say, I’ve had less visitors to my front porch.

Saturday, December 12, 2009

Making it work

The people are so incredibly friendly! I went to the market today because all I had in the house to eat was more rice (which I ate for lunch and dinner yesterday), and it was definitely an awkward experience with everyone staring at me with dropped jaws, but the few that said hello back were very sweet and welcoming, and most already knew my name. In less than 24 hours the fofoka train (gossip) has spread through the town. I think what makes things a bit more awkward is that not everyone speaks Portuguese here. Most people (all the kids and almost everyone over the age of 30) only speak Changana, the local language. It’s tough at the moment, because when I have a heard of children sitting at my door I can’t talk to them or get them to go away because I don’t know the language (again! I was getting so good at the Portuguese thing and then this is thrown at me). At least when I leave here in two years I’ll be able to say I’ve learned at least two languages.
Ok so this morning was my first morning of living alone- sad for a bit, not sure what to do, but it turned out pretty good. My fellow English teacher Silvino came by to make sure I was ok and to ask how my first night went. I walked through the market- the only foods we seem to get here are onions, tomatoes, potatoes, mangos… that’s actually about it. I found two cucumbers and bought them both, found a few eggs, and there were definitely a few live chickens but I’m not ready to take that on solo yet. I have a feeling I’m going to be eating many of salads in the coming months. I met up with the teachers again today and learned a bit about how they do the end of the year grading and whatnot. And they all keep commenting on how well I speak for only being here ten weeks, and that’s such an amazing compliment and so encouraging to hear. I think I fake my Portuguese knowledge well ;)

Friday, December 11, 2009

Here I GO!!!!

Wow so much to say- but where to start!!! I’m officially a Peace Corps Volunteer which is very exciting. And I’ve moved into my own house in a small little town about six hours from where I had training. It’s been a rollercoaster of emotions these last few days. I had one day where I wasn’t sure what I was doing here and the next I was on top of the world, then scared out of my mind to move to a foreign town where nobody speaks English, then so exciting about my new place, and at this moment I can say I’m pretty content with it all but I’m still pretty lonely. This is the first time I’ve lived alone so it’s going to take some getting used to. Not to mention I’m going to have to start practicing my Portuguese even more than before.
My first impressions of my town are great. It seems fairly small even though I haven’t done much walking around yet. And I’m their sixth PCV (I believe) so the people here are used to having an American among them and I have a feeling they’ll all be pretty welcoming. My colleagues all seem welcoming as well. There is one other English teacher so I’m exciting to have him to talk to when all I want is to hear English. I was pretty surprised when I met many of the teachers yesterday at lunch. We’d been told that most likely the teachers would be primarily male but I was surprised that not only were they all male except three but that they were all in their early to mid twenties. I think there are two or three teachers a bit older, otherwise they’re all pretty young.
Ok, my house. It’s a three room house that the previous volunteer has painted lime green (living room), aqua marine (bedroom), and coral (kitchen). It’s impressive to say the least. She also left behind a house full of things which was a nice surprise. I have an electric two burner stove, some pots and pans, spices, a couch, four chairs, a couple small tables, and so many book and teaching supplies. I haven’t tried to go through that stuff yet- for the moment I’m just trying to figure out where all my things are going to fit. Animal wise, last night I came across several cockroaches that really didn’t want to leave my house, several lizards in my bathroom (which backs up to the director of my school’s bathroom- awkward!), a few more spiders, but nothing that I can’t handle. I think I found a nest of some sort when I was cleaning the ceiling with my ten foot poll (I feel like a jouster when I hold it) but we’ll see what happens with that later. All in all I’m really happy with my place and I’m looking forward to make it my own.