Macanhelas, a rural site in Niassa, was a wonderful stop on my trip. I was immediately surprised at how many bikes were in the town. It’s like the Holland of Mozambique. Anyways, aside from dodging bikes and seeing infants on motorcycles (seriously, if your kid is in a diaper, just walk), I was able to meet and talk to people from all three of the organizations Vicente works with, talk to his JUNTOS counterpart, and spend an afternoon with a group of crianças from the Clube Infantil. The club meets every Friday and invites orphans and vulnerable children throughout the town. They sing songs about healthy living and respecting others, learn about things like nutrition and malaria, and get a free meal at the end of the meeting. Vicente gave a presentation about malaria transmission and prevention, and I was able to help out, dressing up in a mosquito net (things NOT to do with a net) and quizzing the kids on malaria.
My lasting impression, however, did not come from my dynamic presentation or my charismatic personality. It came from being a clutz. During my morning run, when I was about 10 paces past the market (where the ENTIRE town likes to gather in the morning), I tripped on a rock and went flying. Not just a little fall- I was picking rocks out of myself for days. From behind me I hear, ‘OOOOOOHHHH!!!!” and “EEEEEEEPPPPPPPAAAAAAAA!” I couldn’t stay down so I jumped up, through my hands above my head, yelling “I’m good!” and then took off running again. (Scooter likes to point out that had she been with me, she would’ve been in stitches laughing, rolling around on the ground. I believe that’s a true statement.) Anyways, embarrassment’s not over yet. Later that afternoon I walked into one of Vicente’s organizations and right away his coworker yells out, “Oh, I saw you this morning! You fell down!” Yep. It’s not over. The next day I took a 2+hour chapa ride to visit another PCV. We get to the town and a person there comes up to our chapa to talk to our driver, sees me and says, “Oh, it’s you!!! I saw you running yesterday, and then you fell. Wow!” Looks like I made an impression not only in the town but in surrounding towns as well. I preemptive sorry to any Makunhas that visit Macanhelas- the community will most likely think you are me, the clumsy Makunha who can’t run.
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