Creepy Crawly

I killed a spider the size of my hand. I took his picture. It was impressive.
So I was cleaning the mud from my ceiling, and this giant spider crawls out from a crack in my ceiling. I left him alone for a while, because I was cleaning and didn’t really want to deal with it, but once he got close to the floor and looked like me might start running my direction I took action. I was too scared to get close to him (remember, AS BIG AS MY HAND) so instead I threw shoes at him until he couldn’t crawl anymore. Then I squished him and fed him to Lucy. Inhumane, I know, but he was huge and scary.

REDES excitement!

I had a meeting with my school director about our REDES group. The primary focus of the meeting was to secure a location for our meetings, but both my counterpart, Professora Telma, and my director got so into it that we were there about an hour talking about all the different ideas we have for the group and how excited we all are about it. It was so wonderful to see them so into it and supportive. I know that I have support from my school for this project, but it wasn’t until this moment that I really felt like we could do something with it. We’ll see if this enthusiasm continues, but I am hopeful.

Rain

I have been teaching for the last four months or so, and everyday we stand outside under the giant tree to sing the national anthem. Out of all those days outside, today was the first day that it’s rained. And you could hardly call it rain- there was about two minutes of drizzle and then the sun came back out. But it just made me think- every day we are outside and this is the first time it has rained in the afternoon. I’m not in Alaska anymore…
Speaking of, I used a few pictures from home during my lesson today and showing my students said pictures blew their minds. Snow? Ice? What?! It was fun.


I want to mention- I wrote this blog entry a few days ago, and it was true, we hadnºt had rain in a LONG time. Of course, I leave my house this morning to run some errands in town and it starts pouring. I´m more than an hour away from home and everything is closed because of the rain and I´m drenched. Awesome. Just my luck.

Weekend of fun

On Saturday, my school was chosen to host an HIV/AIDS community discussion on the radio. I didn’t know exactly what was going on when I got there but I slowly started figuring things out as people showed up. We pulled desks out from the classrooms (they’re benches with desktops that fit about three people) and put them in the shade underneath the giant tree in our courtyard. At first when we started the desks were full but not too many other people were around, but by the end of the broadcast the whole courtyard was full of people sitting under trees, on esteras, crowded around the desks- it was a pretty nice size crowd. So, Radio Mozambique (‘radio’ is the same in Portuguese) was doing a live two hour broadcast discussing HIV prevention, treatment, and, well I didn’t understand much other than that but I’m sure a lot more was talked about. They spoke in Portuguese, Changana, and Chopi, another Bantu language. Well, I have a hard enough time following Portuguese, so it’s safe to say I understood hardly anything that was said, but it was still pretty fun. So many of my students were there and participating- it was so fun to watch and listen to them. One of my students read a poem she’d written, several performed a skit, and many others participated in the debate and question/answer session. And I was on the radio! Yeah, so one of my students was talking about how HIV affects everyone, regardless of color or nationality- white, black, American, Mozambican. I heard the word mulungo (‘white person’ in Changana) so I laughed a little and shook my head in agreement with him. The announcer saw this and decided to come over and talk to me. Thankfully he spoke fairly slowly so I could understand when he asked me what I thought of the discussion and debate, but I was a bit flustered so I didn’t say much of anything important. I said I thought it was very important to have these types of debates and I was happy to participate, but no other words came to my mind at that moment. Anyways, I was on Mozambican radio! After the broadcast finished I went with Prof Fenias to Prof Silvino’s house for a Missa he was having. A missa is a ceremony held to commemorate the life of someone who has passed. This missa was for Silvino’s father who passed eight years ago. Well, I missed the entire ceremony, going to the church and to the grave, but I did get to participate in the party that followed. I had expected there to be a few people there but I was shocked when that few was actually about 200. People were scattered all over the front and back yards of his house, people crowded around tables, camped out on the ground, under trees- people everywhere. We arrived just in time to eat. There were probably about 20 women around the grill making chicken and cow and serving out plates with potato salad and french fries and salad. It was nuts- they must have killed 100 chickens for this feast, if not more. Side note- a pig is being slaughtered outside my house right now and it’s an incredibly disturbing sound… But back to the party. There were people everywhere eating, dancing, drinking, talking, napping (I guess the drinking had started early so a few people were already talking their midday naps). I sat with the other teachers from my school and it was really nice to have conversations with them outside of the school setting. And as the night went on and they continued to drink (I was putting back juice boxes), the conversations got more and more interesting. We covered many topics, from dancing styles to family planning to American politics to female circumcision to HIV being a commercial disease to polygamy. I learned a fair amount about teachers I’d never talked to before so that was nice. Not everything I learned was encouraging, but it’s nice to know where some of my colleagues stand on some big issues. There was a lot of dancing going on, and I was most impressed by the old woman bustin’ a move on the dance floor (aka patch of dirt under a lemon tree). She had to be at least 70 but MAN she knew how to move! Mom, you would have loved her. I’m so sorry I didn’t have my camera with me. It was quite a party and continued late into the night, although we didn’t stick around too late. Silvino was busy being host the whole night so we didn’t get to talk much and I still have so many questions about missas, but he did tell me today that people continued to come to the party throughout the night and all day Sunday as well. Being a very open, communal culture, he said he was expected to give these people food and drink, even though they were a day late to the party. Anyway, aside from the experience of just being there, learning about a missa is pretty interesting. I think it’s a pretty cool idea, to throw a party to celebrate the life of someone important in your life. From what I know, a family will throw a missa on the one month anniversary of the death, one year, and every year thereafter if they so choose, forever. I remember hearing about a missa when I was in training that was a 30 year anniversary. That’s a lot of parties. Anyways, it was a great party and another very cultural weekend for me.

Mozambican Week

Not that every week isn’t quite Mozambican, but I think something about being completely detached from the outside world has let me get even more into what I’m doing. That or I finally have a schedule that allows me to breathe and enjoy my time here. I choose to think it’s the former. So, this weekend was absolutely great. We finally got some more rain on Saturday- not enough to fill but two of my bidons, but it’s something. And I was able to read about 200 pages of Dark Star Safari, an amazing book. Theroux rights about his trip from Cairo to Cape Town, and even though he’s still in Tanzania at the moment (I’m not quite halfway through the book) I can relate to so much he’s writing about. I’m looking forward to his travels through Mozambique. Sunday was refreshing and educational. I spent about an hour with three little kids on my porch playing and laughing. I’m used to having kids around, but something about today was different- they weren’t “estou a pedir”ing for anything, they were just being kids. I was the tickle monster for a good 30 minutes and it never got old and their laughs were so infectious. It felt really good to just laugh and make other people laugh and smile. At about 10am I went to church with one of my neighbors and students, Nando. We were late, of course, and actually the last two in but I don’t think we missed anything. It was my first church experience in Mozambique and I really enjoyed it. The Padre, who was visiting from a bigger town about an hour away, was Brazilian so he spoke in Portuguese a lot which was nice (plus I wasn’t the only molongo in the building). He spoke Changana very well, and did I lot of his sermon in Changana, but translated almost everything. And what a great sermon- he talked about how in the bible it says to have only one man or one woman in your life, and to stay faithful to this person. He talked about how people here typically have many wives or girlfriends, but that’s a cultural thing, tradition, but not the word of God. He reminded the people that they should follow the bible and stick with one person. I don’t consider myself a religious person, but I thought it was an absolutely perfect message for the people here and I really hope it sunk in to at least a few heads. Anyways, there was singing and dancing and drum beating and more singing- I wish I’d had a video recorder or something. Let’s see if I can recreate something here… The church is just four cement walls about 15 feet high with a tin roof, 20 feet by 60 feet. On the right there are rickety wooden benches and on the left esteras (grass mats). The older women of the village sit on the esteras with their babies while the teenagers and men on the benches. There are probably about 100 to 125 people, so it’s full but not packed. There is a small alter in the front with candles lit, and a small podium to the right. I can’t see who’s playing the drums but I can hear them in the front. And there’s a tambourine as well. Whoever’s playing is responsible for starting up the songs and chants- I have no idea what they’re saying while they’re singing because it’s all in Changana but the harmony is beautiful. At one point all the teenagers stand up and move into the aisle between the esteras and benches and start singing and dancing. The Padre stops them, makes fun of them because they seem tired and unenthusiastic, so when they start again they shake the whole church. Everyone joins in singing, drums are going, tambourine ringing, ai ai ai ai’s coming from the old women… it was pretty moving. I look forward to going again next week. So, after church, I was riding my high and decided not to worry about schoolwork but instead to wander around town and visit with my neighbors. The women in the market were very excited to teach me a few new phrases, which I’m sad to say I can’t remember anymore, but I’m sure they’ll be just as excited to teach them to me again tomorrow. I ralared a few coconuts and buscared water (buscar = to fetch) on my head. That’s right, on my head. It was a nice break on my arms but rough on the neck. The well close to my house was just fixed so I intend on buscaring my water more often rather than having to rely on someone else. Watch me come back looking like a linebacker… Suma came over and we traded more music, read some of Dark Star Safari, cooked dinner, and learned some Portuguese. I’m going to miss having a friend around when he goes to Maputo. I’m also going to deeply miss coconut milk when I come back to the states. I put it in almost everything I cook, and it’s delicious. Maybe I’ll just move to Hawaii…

All before 10am...

Today got off to a running start for sure! I’ll admit, the last few days I’ve been sleeping in, trying to catch up on some sleep lost this weekend, but today was eventful from the get go. I was out my door by 6am and within my first four hours I watched the sunrise, met two English teachers that had been students of Emily, a Moz 12 volunteer in Xai Xai, I was on 7 different chapas, was recognized in three different towns, was mistaken for two different volunteers, learned all about the African Leadership Academy and helped a young boy with his application, bought a phone and got a free MCEL t-shirt (it’s exciting, believe me), and listened to Eminem, 50cent, DMX and techno. I was home by noon and took advantage of the extremely hot afternoon and napped on my couch while watching episodes of 30 Rock. I never did get my phone working, due to faulty MCEL service, but I have faith. This evening I made a delicious dinner with lentils and rice, and while eating I watched a spider jump across my floor. We definitely have jumping spiders all over here, but they’re typically pretty small and only jump when they’re trying to get away from being crushed by my flip flop. The one tonight was different- he was pretty big and was jumping around my living room like a frog. I’ll admit, I was too scared to get close enough to examine him or get a description, but I know he was creepy and I don’t look forward to finding more of them. On a positive note, I’ve been bat free for a few days now. I’m sure they’re not gone, but at least they haven’t been squeaking and creepily watching me at night.

Reality Check

Several of my students came to my house this morning, asking for help with their homework. I really enjoyed helping them, seeing that they understand the material, and I’m so happy they feel comfortable enough to come to my house for help. Last trimester when I was teaching all six turmas I felt a little uncomfortable having the students (especially the male students) come to my house for help because it didn’t seem quite appropriate, but now that they’re not all my students it seems a bit better. I did have one student that came over not exactly for homework help but more for conversation. He’s one of my most driven students and I can tell he really wants to learn and do something with his English once he graduates. Well, we got talking today about his life and what he wants to do in the future, and I found out he’s an orphan that really has nothing. Both his parents have recently passed, and last year he was taken in by Teacher Nelson (my Portuguese teacher during training and a former English teacher at my school). He told me his parents were very young when they had him and that they never really made anything of themselves (no money, no job, no house) so when they died he was left with nothing. Luckily Nelson saw his potential and helped him with housing, money for clothes, and money to enter school. My student, Manuel, has so much going to him- determination, intelligence, and optimism- and I really hope to help to empower him and that I can feed his desire to make something of himself.
One thing that continues to shock me time after time is the lack of emotion Mozambicans show. When Manuel spoke of his parents there was a slight trace of sadness, and even that was more than I’m used to seeing. Normally people get more worked up and emotional over missing a test question that talking about a family member or friend that has died. Manuel also mentioned a student that passed away the day before yesterday. I was at school almost all day yesterday and not once did I hear about it. Of course now I’m sitting here wondering who it was because I believe it was one of my kids. Even though I’ve only been here a few months, if one of my kids were to get hurt or die I know I would be a bumbling mess of tears and grief. I probably show more emotion in a week than most Mozambicans show in a year, if not a lifetime. Part of me thinks it’s cultural, but really I think it’s a coping mechanism. Death is so much more common here than in the states, so how is one suppose to get through life is he is constantly mourning the loss of someone.

Bat attack

I’m not sure if I’ve written about this, so if I have please forgive me for the repetition. I was hit in the head by my first bat the other week. I was teaching a class- controlling a test actually- and this bat was flying around the room, but the students didn’t seem to notice. I however am still not used to it. So, once I finally put my guard down and started to ignore him he swoops down and smacks me in the head! I was shocked, but still none of the students seemed to notice or care. Come on!

Farewell

A huge blow to my week was the departure of a good friend and fellow volunteer. This volunteer was one of the most enthusiastic, optimistic, interesting, and patient volunteers from our group. However, nobody is superman, and when enough things are stacked against you there’s only so much you can handle. If you happen to read this blog, I want you to know how much you will be missed and that I can’t wait to see you in the states. I know you could have done so many amazing things here if you had been given even a shred of a chance. I will carry your optimism and enthusiasm with me for the rest of my service. And don’t forget to write!! You will be truly missed.

Beach Time!!

The last few weeks have been a bit stressful because of school and scheduling changes, but as of today, everything is squared away and I’m set in my new classes. I have the same students, just less of them now. And I’m starting to collaborate with the new English teacher who’s pretty great and giving me a lot of great ideas for lessons. I look forward to working with him and collaborating with him.
So, this weekend I went up to Vilankolos for beach Olympics- so much fun! Volunteers from almost all provinces came- I think there were about 50 or so of us there. It was so wonderful to see people I hadn’t seen since training and catch up on life and school and work and everything. It was also very comforting to be reassured that I’m not the only one that has bad days or feelings of uselessness. All of us, from Maputo province up to Cabo Delgado, are going through the same thing. Things I learned this weekend- I’m a terrible swimmer when there’s a currant, sand flees apparently love me however the bites are anything but pleasant, Queen can always make me smile, and I will have sand in my dreds for the next 6 months. Only downside to the weekend was the lost cell phone. Hopefully I get a new one soon, but I will admit being completely detached from the outside world has not been a bad thing. Granted, it’s been all of three days- we’ll see how I feel in a few more.