Moamba REDES Exhibition

 

Yesterday, Dia da Paz (Peace Day), a fellow PCV in Moamba threw an exhibition for her REDES group.  Scooter and I traveled to meet her and participate in the festivities.  The REDES group invited government officials throughout Moamba to learn about what REDES is, what the girls do, and how they as community leaders can contribute to and support REDES.  The girls put together several dance pieces and invited students from a secondary school across town to dance and sing.  They then showed pictures of the REDES group and talked about activities they've done throughout the community.  Finally, the girls put together a fashion show of the products they make (everything from earrings, necklaces, and belts to place-mats and bags).  We then all got together for a snack (of DELICIOUS Indian finger foods), browsed and bought items the girls had made, and talked about their REDES experiences.  I don't think this type of event happens often, and I was happy I could participate.  It is a great way for knowledge of a program to spread through a community, gain support from community members and government officials, and motivate the girls to continue working and growing as a group and as individuals.  I was impressed with the leadership they took of the exhibition, and I was extremely impressed with the Mozambican group facilitator and all she did for the event.  I hope other PCVs take this idea and implement it at their sites, encouraging knowledge sharing, support, and participation. 

Really? With the trash?

On my run this morning I watched a man pick up a trash can, empty it into the street, and fill it with grass and leaves.  I was thinking maybe he'd put the trash on top after... No, I ran by 30 minutes later and there was trash all over the street.  Way to keep the streets clean and show some Namaacha pride.  Ridiculous

I still don't understand Mozambicans...

A man showed up at our front gate this morning. Neither Scooter nor I recognized him, so I went outside to talk to him at the gate and figure out why he was here. Our conversation went,


Anna: Good morning, can I help you?
Stranger: Good morning. Let me in.
Anna: I'm sorry, who are you? Can I help you with something?
Stranger: I was passing, knocked on your gate, and you should let me in. It is my right.
Anna: If you don't need to check our water or check the electricity, you don't need to come in.

This conversation goes on a few more minutes, the stranger making religious references about us being brothers and God opening up this house for him as well as me. So I go back in the house, back to Scoot who's watching. The man stays at the gate. Also, during this entire time Amenduim (our beloved dog) is going insane barking at him. Scoot and I sit down and the man starts yelling;

Stranger: Why do you have this dog to scare people? When someone comes to the gate you must let them in! It is our right as humans!! (some more yelling...) Who do you rent this house from?
Scooter mentions where our landlord lives, the stranger asks for his name, we don't give it. At this time the stranger says, “I am Joao. I am your landlord.” Well shit, if maybe you'd mentioned that right off the bat when you showed up at our house rather than spouting all sorts of other excuses to get yourself in and banging on the gate we would've been more inclined to let you in. Scoot goes out and opens the gate (which is actually unlocked anyways, the stranger just didn't know how to open it, thankfully) and they start talking.

Joao (stranger): I am your father. We must know each other. We are family.
Scooter: You have to identify yourself because we don't let people we don't know into our house.
Joao: But it's the afternoon! Nothing wrong is going to happen! You must let anyone who comes by into your home.
Scoot.: We are two young, female, foreigners living alone. We cannot let anyone that wants to come by into our house. That's not going to happen. You have to identify yourself.
Joao: (pensive for a moment...) Ok you have a point.

They stood outside at the gate and talked for about another five minutes. He didn't know our names, but gave us his wife's phone number if there are any problems (who does he think we've been paying rent to for the last 11 months?!), told us we should come visit him sometime because he is our father, and made sure we understood that he wanted to know who we were because we were living in his house and he wanted to help with anything he could.
The whole situation was weird and strangely very frustrating. Once he identified himself as our landlord we got it. I don't think Scoot nor I have any doubt he his who he says he his, yet his roundabout way of talking to us was so infuriating. We've been living in this house for 11 months and he just now decides to stop by? We're moving out in 2 months. He doesn't know our names? Ok yes, as our landlord he can come over whenever and check on things, but he thinks he has the right to not explain who his is? Again, the whole situation was frustrating yet very familiar. Very Mozambican. Sometimes I just don't understand people...

Happy birthday to me!

Today we drove down to see the penguins! Mom was so excited, and I guess I get it because the little guys are pretty cute.  Smaller than I would've originally thought, but adorable.  The drive along the coast was spectacular, although we didn't see any whales.  First we saw penguins, then had lunch (beer and fried calamari was EXACTLY was a needed on my birthday), then we were kind of at a loss of what to do.  Well, we knew we had an afternoon to kill so to the wineries we went!!! First we went to Annadale (partly because “anna” and partly because it was the closest), which is the oldest winery in the area (in all of the Cape I believe).  It was a tiny place, extremely beautiful, and very rustic feeling.  Apparently it's a place that people drive into, think they've taken a wrong turn, and turn around and leave.  We got lucky.  The wine we had here was the best wine we've had in the country.  We got through the tasting, got a tour of the winery, tasted a bit extra of their port (I'm not usually a port fan but this was SO good!), and then another tour group showed up.  Rather than moving on we stuck around and had another tasting! Again, best wine in Cape Town.  So, wineries turned into one winery, but we had a spectacular time there, for sure.  In the evening, after realizing probably too much wine was being consumed and bought, we headed out to my friend Michelle's house.  She's a wonderful woman whom I was lucky enough to meet on an airplane last time I was in Cape Town.  I promised if I was ever back in Cape Town I would come visit.  She was very gracious in letting us stay with her, her children, and her nephews for the evening (especially after our wine consumption). 

Red red wine

The cape of South Africa is known for it's wine. Thankfully my parents and I all love to drink it.


I've had several friends come to Cape Town and take various wine tours, but we found a great company, Cape to Grape, which worked perfectly for us. Turns out it was just us, the tour guide, and the tour guide's father, so we had a pretty personal experience. We drove through several parts of town just outside Cape Town and visited six different wineries. Each winery had something special to offer; Cheese pairings, biltong pairings (which is pretty much South African jerky made from all sorts of animal meat, like ostrich or kudo or beef), lunch (always necessary with six wineries), or a fantastic view overlooking wine fields. My favorite was the cheese. So... six wineries, six wines at each, a bottle at lunch, and a few extra glasses when the pour-er was feeling generous... Believe me, that's a lot of wine to consume in one day. By the end of it all we were a very happy group, probably a bit of a handful for our guide.

SHARKS!

As my birthday present, my parents sent me off to cage dive with great white sharks.  Some would see this as a dangerous and scary experience and would hesitate to do it or let their children do it.  We saw it as a once in a lifetime experience.  I got picked up at 510am (awesome) and rode 2 hours outside of Cape Town to Shark Alley.  Along the way (apparently we were ahead of schedule... thanks for picking me up so early...) we stopped in Hermanus to look at the whales that were literally just off the coast.  Rock throwing distance.  So, we get to the shark place, wait, then the owner comes out and says, “This is the worst part of my job...  I have to cancel today.”  Awesome.  The weather was too rough and he guaranteed everyone would get seasick.  So, he took several brave souls out to show them how rough the water was, came back 45 minutes later and said, “Let's do this!” We got in the boat, drove out 15 minutes, and quickly all understood what he meant about getting sick.  But hey, priorities! I was in the first group to get in the water.  Eight of us wet-suited up and slid down into a cage floating next to our boat.  When we were told, the captain yelled, “Down! Down and left!” or what have you and we'd hold our breath and go underwater, looking through the bars of the cage.  Visibility wasn't very good (good thing or bad thing I don't know) so when we saw sharks they were RIGHT HERE!!!!  The first time one came up to the cage my face was so close to the cage and he got so close I threw myself to the back of the cage, out of shock and fear.  Apparently my neighbor happened to be filming me at that moment, so everyone got to see my reaction once back on the boat.(thanks a lot Thomas).  The sharks were amazing!!!  They would occasionally come up and hit the cage with their bodies, jump and fight for the bait the captain was holding out, and sometimes just swim by and stare at us.  From outside the water we had an even better view, watching them come by and jump out of the water.  Seriously, one of the coolest experiences.  I'm thankful yet a little sad I don't have a little battle wound or memento from the afternoon...

Victoria Falls

We left early in the morning for a Victoria Falls walk around the island. I had no idea what I was in for. About 12 of us (my family plus a bunch of college girls and a guide) walked through the streams and over the rocks that fed the falls. It was tricky at times, trying not to slip on the rocks or be swept away by the current when the water was above our knees, but about 45 minutes after walking we ended up on the island (which is actuality is not an island at all, by common definition, but whatever.) Then came the surprise. We stripped to our suits and swam across the current to Devil’s Pool. I’ve seen pictures of this pool but never thought I’d be there. From a rock, we jumped into the pool, literally less than 10 feet from the edge of the falls. Then we swam to the edge of the pool and sat, less than 5 feet from the edge. Finally, we kinda hung over the edge- crawled on our bellies to where we could see over. It was terrifying and so much fun. And I will admit, I was extremely impressed with both parents. They had more balls than the college girls in our group.


After getting out of the pool, dad and I followed the guide back around the rocks and streams. After tracking down mom, we walked down to see the falls from the other side. They are just so amazingly massive and powerful. The guide was telling us each year crocodiles, hippos, and even elephants get washed over the 108 meter high edge. To think that's where I hung over the edge...

Three countries in one day

This morning we woke up early in Maputo and caught a plane to Johannesburg.  After our hour long layover in SA, where I took the time to eavesdrop on a team of Angolan soccer players, we got on a plane headed to Livingston, Zambia.  I’ll be honest, traveling with my father is usually an adventure; sometimes we don’t know where we’re going, we should take a public bus (or 5) to cut costs, etc.  But today was different- taxi to our doorstep, and we arrived with time to suit up, jump in the pool, play cards, and watch sunset over the Zambezi while sipping 2-for-1 gin and tonics.  It was spectacular.  So even though we didn’t leave the airport in South Africa, we got stamped in three countries so I think that counts.

Casa De Mar = Paradise



sunrise



Dad’s arrival in Moz marked a new pace to the trip. We rented a car from a friend of a friend and took off to Inhambane to the beach. Mom, Dad, Scooter and I headed out and along the way we ended up picking up fellow PCVs Erin and Dylan. Getting to the beach was a bit of a challenge, due to the enormous sand dunes we has to climb, and thankfully the owners of the lodge, Mary and Des, happened to be coming back from town so they pulled us up the last giant hill.

The beach is breathtaking. Several houses tucked into the side of a hill facing the beach, nothing else is site. We literally were the only people there. Our first day at the beach consisted of sun bathing, body surfing, whale watching, beer drinking, and relaxing. Day two was a bit overcast so we spent more time playing cards and bananagrams, cooking AMAZING food (get 4 PCVs together and you can come up with some delicious dishes), napping, more whale watching, and catching up. My dad’s main goal in coming to Mozambique was to see whale sharks, so day three we took out Des’s boat to try our luck. We’d been talking to people all up and down the beach for days trying to hear any news about the whale sharks but nobody had seen them in a long time. Unfortunately we didn’t either. But we did snorkel, see whales, and watch dolphins swim with and around out boat. It was pretty great.

I think all of us needed these few days to let go, relax, and spend time with close friends and family. I loved having my parents meet my friends and I really think my friends liked my parents. This weekend was very close to perfect.

our spot






enjoying evening activities



the house = amazing!

yes, those are flamingos

Market day

Every Wednesday and Saturday Namaacha holds a giant open-air market called “shop rite”.  This is where Scooter and I are accustomed to getting our veggies, but it also holds everything from leather jackets to plastic bathing tubs to capulanas to old running shoes, and believe me, everything in between.  I took mom around to see a few things, take a few pictures, and get her a bit more acclimated to my life here.  I’m not too used to walking around most of the market, just because there aren’t many things I need nor do I particularly like to be hassled, but with mom it was fun to point out all the different things for sale, explain those she was unfamiliar with, and talk with people.  Also, I swear I found more than one clothing item I donated to Good Will back in the day… I think this is where a lot of it ends up…

My old home

Mom and I took an afternoon trip back to my old town.  It was a quick trip but unbelievable.  We spent most of the morning with my best friend from site and her two adorable kids (whom I absolutely love).  I was sitting outside her house, talking and waiting for the kids to come back from wherever they might be. I saw the little boy turn the corner and I swear I've never seen a smile that big.  It filled my heart.  He ran over to me and lept onto me.  He's now in school so he showed me all his school work, so proud of what he was learning.  The 3 year old girl, love of my life, wouldn't leave my lap.  I was so thankful I could come back and visit with them, see them growing up, and remind them that I love them.  They are both such bright kids and have so much potential. I really hope they will be able to take advantage of any opportunities that come their way and learn to create opportunities for themselves.

REDES girls!!!

While in Howke I spent an hour with my old REDES group! They met me after they got out of school and we talked about everything; what they've been doing since I left, school, REDES projects, relationships, families, etc.  I could tell they were ecstatic to see me and have me back even if just for a few hours, but they were their normal, quiet selves.  There's something about girls from the bush verses girls from the city.  I've never been able to get the girls to really open up and just talk with me.  I think a lot has to do with their lack of Portuguese skills (they typically understand it but can't speak it) and for some of them the fact that they hadn't seen me in 10 months.  Regardless, it was a great time with my girls.  It made me miss my old home a lot.

Timbilia Festival

more street food

part of our booth

Timbila is an instrument, like a Xylophone, used by the Chopi people of southern Inhambane.  Each year, the town of Quissico holds a music festival to highlight these instruments as well as culture, music, and art from around the region and the country.  Two years ago I attended the festival, listened to musical artists from all over the country, watched traditional dances by community members and school students, and wandered around the town eating street food and people watching.  This year was very much the same, except Peace Corps Volunteers got together with JICA (Japanese International Cooperation Agency) Volunteers, who are very much like PCVs but from Japan, and we created a Japan/USA booth to share about our cultures, foods, play games with kids, and sell items made by PCV communities and projects like REDES.  While I was working the booth, talking to people about what I do, mom was able to wander around town, take lots of pictures, and experience an authentic African music festival.  I think she had a blast!!

yeah.. that's street food...

Lunch with Marta

My mom and I stopped by and had lunch with a woman from the community, Marta, who was not my host mother but has come to take that kind of role in my life over the last few months.  I stop in and visit her as often as I can, and talk about project ideas for Namaacha.  This afternoon she invited my mom and I for lunch.  We spent a few hours talking about life, other PCVs, projects, my future in Swaziland, and upcoming travel plans.  Unfortunately my mom doesn't speak Portuguese so she was lost for most of the conversation, but I think she really enjoyed meeting Marta, taking pictures, and experiencing a relaxing afternoon with someone important to me.  And the food was delicious.

Family Time

During training,  my and Scooter's host moms were sisters, so even though I haven't kept in great touch with my host family, I've been able to spend some time with the rest of the family, grandma, cousins, etc.  This afternoon on our way through Namaacha we stopped by and talked to Vovo (grandma), baby Anata (named after Scooter, who's real name is Anata), and a couple other kids of the family. 

Beach time!

We celebrated Scooter's birthday and the end of week one at site for the Moz 18ers.  We lay on the beach, made shrimp scampi, star gazed, and enjoyed ourselves.  The trip up was pretty painless, only two chapas and two private cars.  The way home was a bit more interesting.  Walking out of the beach houses, we ran into a bus full of Maputo university students who'd been farther down the beach in a sports competition.  The offered us a ride all the way into the city.  We each had our own row, stopped at KFC, took bathroom breaks, and didn't have to have the hassle of multiple chapas, long walks on dirt roads, and annoying passengers.  These guys were fantastic, very friendly, and helpful.  We made it home to Namaacha in enough time to make spring rolls, watch Mrs. Doubtfire, and put a candle in Scooter's birthday cheesecake.

Lemons: Can you identify them?

My mom's first night in Namaacha.  She comes back from the kitchen and asks, “What are those things sitting on the counter?”  Scoot and I are perplexed.  Our “counter” is practically nonexistent and the only thing on it now is silverware and a pile of lemons.  We say as much.  Mom retreats to to kitchen and comes back holding a lemon. “This!” She was dumbfounded that what she was in fact a lemon from our lemon tree.  She smelled it, squeezed it, and finally had to cut it open to believe us.  Apparently Scoot had a similar experience when her friend from America visited last month.  I guess our lemons look funny, not that we can tell anymore. Do you agree?

Swear In Moz 18!!

We officially have a new group of PCVs! This afternoon was the swearing in ceremony in Maputo, to formally induct Moz 18 into the PCV family. I haven’t been to one since my own way back in 2009 (wow, I’ve been here a LONG time!!!), but it was pretty much the same as I remembered- Country Director speaks, US Ambassador speaks, a Moz 18er speaks, and then we eat!


Congrats to all 28 Moz 18ers!!! Let the journey begin!!

Moz 14 with Moz 18er, Kyle

Colin reps his group

They all match!

fit of laughter #1,234,654,543,851 of the day

We clean up alright

“Just gonna stand there and watch me burn”

On my way back to Namaacha, after traveling for 4 weeks, after all the chapas and trains and planes, after the vast variety of people and cultures, I encounter the most frustrating men. I’m the first person on the chapa, so I sit in the front seat. I wait for almost an hour as if fills, and the last seat in the chapa is between me and the driver. I’m told, “Move over so this man can sit there.” I jump out and say, “No, I’ll get out to let him in, but I’m not moving. I like my seat.” I got laughed at. “Lady, it’s against the law for a man to sit in the center seat if a woman is in the window seat.” ?!?!?!?!? I quote, “Against the law.” I argued for a bit, (“Really, against the law? Culture, sure. Custom, I don’t doubt it. The law? Try again,”) talked about equal rights, (“Yes, men and women have equal right here, but not this. This is a law,” I was told), refused to move seats, and eventually the dude got in the middle seat. The driver, the dude, the cobrador (who takes your money and lets people on and off), and several of the men at the chapa stop were all talking and yelling about how this white chick was refusing to obey the law and give a man my seat. Lets note 2 things: They always think I’m weird here, and since when has the law mattered for anything?! So, we finally leave, the driver muttering, “You’re wrong but let’s go.” I politely asked to stop and talk to the police along the way, because there are conveniently 4 check-points between Namaacha and Maputo, but no dice. When we finally arrived, I asked the men, “Did you survive? Did you suffer?” I’m still amazed sometimes at people and their knowledge of what is “right”. I’m sure a few of those men truly thought it was a law that women cannot sit in the front. Ha, not on my watch.


One thing Scoot and I talked about once I got home was inability of the women on the chapa with me to support me or back me up. Sure, maybe some of them would’ve liked to, but they have to live here with these cultural inequalities for the rest of their lives, deal with misogynistic men constantly, and continually battle to get by in this imbalanced culture whereas I am just visiting and get to leave it all behind. I know they just had to sit there and watch me, but maybe I made at least one person think things could be different someday.

“It’s just tequila and the beach that’s why it’s salty when we kiss”

Even though I spent 4 weeks traveling throughout inland northern Mozambique, I still got a few moments of beach time. Ilha de Moçambique, where I got to spend time with not only the PCV who lives there but also visiting PCVs, was absolutely beautiful.  The town has such a different feel from the rest of the country. Plus there’s just so much history to the town.  However, I will admit, my favorite part aside from sitting and talking to a slew of crianças who followed Caitlin and I around, was the Matapa siri siri, made from seaweed and cashews. Same place Anthony Bordain came when he was in Moz.  I get it now- AMAZING!    Then beach time came in Pemba, relaxing a bit after the Science Fair competition.  And a fantastic way to close up my trip!

How to make a lasting impression…

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.

"Excuse me, I'm sorry, I'm really such a lady"

While eating lunch in Gurué, the town muluco (crazy dude) came up to us, a group of 4 PCVs and 2 REDES girls, and tried to… well really I don’t know what he was trying to do. Dance maybe. Get in our faces. Get some food.  Anyways, he was getting all too comfortable up in our personal space, so we ended up scarfing the rest of our food and getting out of there ASAP.  Meanwhile, watching the spectacle were about 15 Mozambican men, just hanging out and laughing at us.  As we walked away I gave them a piece of my mind.  I thought it was a good lecture about respect and helping represent your community, but I’m not so confident they took anything from it than a yelling Makunha (white person up here). But it made me feel better.

"Who Run The World? GIRLS!"

"Boy you know you love it

How we're smart enough to make these millions
Strong enough to bare the children
Then get back to business"

I have had the privilege of attending not only two but three REDES conferences in my time here. The first year everything was new and exciting- I hardly spoke Portuguese but I spent my whole time sitting and talking with the girls, watching them learn and share. Year two I was running the show, busy meeting invited guests, making sure sessions were running on time, but I was still able to see the smiles as the girls made new friends or saw the beach for the first time, learned public speaking skills, and recounted their favorite moments during the conference. This year was yet again different- I was an outsider with no girls of my own at the conference, but I sat in the back, watched the girls learning, answered questions when necessary (and clarifying any misinformed statements), and talked candidly about their REDES experience and how the program is truly changing their lives.

I will admit, the whole conference wasn’t easy (are they ever?!). Being in the position I was, I spoke to all of the counterparts about how the conference was running, things we could do betting in the future, and improvements they’ve seen and have appreciated. In the process I heard all about how the food wasn’t good enough, they’re not making enough money, or they didn’t travel far enough (they want a national conference so they can travel far from home.) All of it I understand, and like my entire experience here in Moz, I was reminding myself why I’m here. I’m not here to help extend peoples’ wallets or help them travel. I’m here to make at least a small difference in someone’s life. In the case of REDES, my goal is to change the girls, to open their minds to new things and new ways of thinking, and to try to give them the chance to succeed in this world.

Highlights from the conference would have to be the location- tucked about in the mountains = beautiful!, talking to the counterparts and hearing their enthusiasm about REDES, and listening to the testimony of four women living with HIV, guest speakers at the conference. One woman in particular talked about her struggle with an abusive husband and how she left him with her twin sons because she knew she was worth more. It was extremely inspiring to hear a young Mozambican woman speak like that. I really hope her words reached some of the girls.

(Pictures coming soon!)