Funeral

Turns out the scary goat-killing beast was a baboon. Unfortunately it moved on without me getting too see it. Maybe next time.

So this morning was a bit particular. My next door neighbor committed suicide. It’s not at all common here and I have no idea why he did it. Well, I woke up this morning to some screaming and crying when he was found. Then as the morning and afternoon continued, I witnessed the funeral process. Around 8am people started gathering at the house to pay respects to the family. At around 9:30 a crowd of people came walking up carrying the body and placed it in the house. After that people just kept coming and coming. The women sat on the ground under a huge tree and sang while the men sat under another tree in chairs and watched as one man made the casket. This continued until about 4pm when the singing calmed down and it got quiet. Then the body was placed in the back of a truck and everyone (about 60 people) followed behind the truck singing as they went to the cemetery. It’s currently 5:05pm and it’s surprising quiet around here. A huge part of me wanted to see more of what was going on today, learn a bit more about the funeral process, but because I wasn’t invited to participate I didn’t feel it was my place. I will say I’m amazed at the singing that took place all this afternoon- at least 6 hours of constant chanting and singing. It was quite beautiful. Also I was somewhat surprised by the male female separation all day. Only when they were placing the body in the house and as they were driving to the cemetery did I see any men and women interacting together. This is a very gender-separated culture, and I guess traditional ceremonies only accentuate that separation.

PINK

I don’t remember if pink was a trend/popular color when I was in the states, it’s not something I’d pay attention to, but here pink is everywhere! Not only the little girls or the women, pink is worn by all. And I’m not only talking pink button-ups or pink ties, the men and boys are wearing pink hats and carrying pink backpacks. They wear “I am a princess” shirts and “This girl’s got ATTITUDE” shirts. There are also the collared shirts that have Best Buy or LOWES or other random labels on them that they wear. I think my favorite was a Trojan condom t-shirt my ped director wore when we met the Ministry of Education, or the Santa sweater (yes, one of those big puffy tacky Christmas sweaters with bells and pompoms) the director of my school wore last month (July) to an important meeting. I understand why she wore it, it was cold, but I definitely got a chuckle out of it.

Chapa rides...

My life is so much less eventful when I’m not riding in chapas! I love getting rides not only because they are safe and sometimes free, but also because it’s so much more calm and uneventful. Well this morning was anything but calm and uneventful. The taxi ride was pretty smooth going- good start. Then once we got to junta in Maputo, Scooter and I parted ways and I was left to haggle my way onto a chapa headed south. I’m a small white woman carrying bags, so not only did I stand out but I was an easy target for the cobradors (not drivers, but the people who “take care” of you once you’re on the chapa-open the door, take the money, etc). I walked back and forth between a few chapas, trying to find the one that was most full because it has the most potential to leave the soonest, and also who would give me the best price. I found one, started haggling, and ended up getting into an argument with the cobrador. I was telling him he was charging me WAY too much and I wasn’t going to pay, and he told me I was white and had plenty of money for him. I tried to explain Peace Corps- I’m here as a volunteer NOT as a tourist and I’m NOT getting paid a lot of money. He didn’t want to listen, and he was being a douch about it, so I got upset and walked off after a few minutes of arguing. Luckily, a few other people heard me and how rude he was being so they followed me and we filled up a different chapa.
So, once on the road, the woman behind me started chanting. It wasn’t in Changana or Portuguese (or English or French for that matter) and it was very strange- there was some rocking back and forth with the eyes closed… It died down about an hour in, which was when a man starting to complain that we needed to pull over so a little girl could pee. A few minutes later he admitted it was him that needed to pee and everyone in the chapa started to make fun of him. It was strange- riders don’t seem to care when we stop every 20 yards to pick up more people, stuff, rearrange, blow a tire, whatever. But to pull over and pee was absolutely out of the question! For a minute there I thought he might just pee out the window. Anyways, finally got out off that chapa and on to another. It was full of drunk teenagers, before 10:30am. At least they were friendly and the driver was sober. We waited over an hour to fill the chapa before we could leave. Once driving, we still stopped every few minutes to pick up more people- at one point we had 26 people on board, not including children and babies. At one point we stopped to let people off and I saw a dance party going on- several people with crazy hats dancing around with people watching. My favorite was the little boy in hot pink rain boots that came up to his knees, dancing in the sand. Finally at my stop I got out and waited for another ride to take me into my town. Luckily I made it home and back to school with my bata just as classes were starting, 12:20. A 5 ½ hour trip via chapa that should’ve taken maybe 3. An exciting morning.

la!

The word La (which means there) is used often here in Moz. I originally thought it meant right here, close. However, after many months I've come to realize it can mean anywhere between right here close to down the street to the other end of the country. The way to deduct this information is to listen to the pitch of the person talking. For example, "Oh don't worry you're carrying heavy luggage, the hotel is just la" - If the speaker sounds like a baritone, you really have nothing to worry about, the hotel is probably in view. If he sounds about normal, count on a few minutes hike. Now, if you hear a high pitched la, you're in for quite a hike. And if he sounds like an opera singer, just give up there because it's probably not even in the same town. This valuable information has been collected through months of long hikes trying to track down things that I assumed were just around the corner but turn out to be (opera)) la!

Box of Love

I received a care package today- an unexpectd gift from a complete stranger.

My first reaction- "Who do I know in NYC?" Next- "How does she know me?"

Apparently, Mom, Nana, you're not the only two that read this.

My new friend told me a bit about her life and her experience in a thrid world country. She opened my eyes up to a few things I hadn't really put much thought to. I hope she won't mind me quoting her on a few things-
"Hindsight has provided me the great gift of thinking about all the things I would do differently if I had the chance to go back into a third world country. I would spend more time in the village just hanging out. Maybe I would befriend a woman at the market and sit with her at the market. Just hang out, even if I didn't understand her. I would ask her if I could try for a day to do all that she does. I would invite someone from the village to my home for dinner. I'd learn how to do the daily things people in the village do: pluck a chicken, carve a chicken, or even kill a chicken. I would spend more time with my village learning everyone's name or almost everyone's name. I would try to think like them, even if I didn't agree. The reason I say all this is because at the time I thought I was pretty well intergraded. I got used to limited electricity, no tv, no computer, no internet, but it wasn't until ten years later that I was able to reflect on my experience and say taht I didn't really learn any skills there. I didn't really know the things the average person in my village knew. I would challenge you to ask yourself that. What are the five basic things your average villager does that you could envision yourself actually doing?"

Those words really got me thinking- I do feel quite intergraded but then again I have never spent more than a few minutes at the market, nor have I planted a machamba, or killed a chicken... I know these are only specific examples, and just because I'm not doing EVERYTHING the people in the community are doing doesn't mean I'm not intergraded, but it gets me thinking that there is always another way to get myself a bit deeper into my experience here.
So, not only did I get encouragement, fresh ideas, and goodies for my belly, I think I made a new friend. You have made not only my day, my week, but my month- you have left me speechless by your generosity. Thank you.

It's a what?!

So get this- I just got home from a conversation with a few of my neighbors. Walking back from class I stopped to talk to my neighbor Mana Angelina. Another neighbor passed by and the two started talking in Changana (so I didn't catch a word of it) but I did pick up on the emotion behind the words- excitement, terror, confusion. The nameless neighbor turned and spoke to me for the first time ever- "Mana Ana, fechar o porto bem, e nao pode apagar as lampadas. Nao pode sair a noite!" translation- Ana, close your door well, don't turn off the lights, and you cannot leave at night! I turned to Mana Angelina and inquired porque- My guess was a ladrao (theif) was in the neighborhood. But no, no theif, it's a wild beast. Nobody knows exactly what it is- some say large cat (leopard? cheetah?) others large monkey (chimpanzee? gorilla?) but whatever it is has been killing and eating goats in the middle of the night. Two nights ago two goats killed by the market, last night 3 at a house just down the street from mine. But what is this beast?!?! LION? TIGER? BEAR? I want to see it! I can't promise I won't go looking for it in the night, but I do promise I'll take my machette with me :)

Inhanbane

I decided to get out of site for a few days after all the stress from conselhos and the end of the trimester. I made the trek up to northern Inhanbane province, and even though I made the trip pretty fast, it took me about 12 hours on the road (not including the time it took to wait for rides). The first part of my journey was with Matt, who was on his way to the beach as well, but a bit further south than my destination. I made it up about halfway and stopped to stay the evening with Ann (a health volunteer, who I haven’t seen since parting ways in Swaziland). Not only was it WONDERFUL to finally spend time with her, I also got to see the new episode of GLEE! New to me at least- I’ve been deprived. Back on the road in the morning, and I made it to the beach at around 3pm. I met up with Tim who was also staying with Colin for the evening, and caught up a bit. And I thought I lived in the middle of nowhere! After hearing about Tim’s several hour boat rides, one-car-a-day in and out of his site, the 4 hours bike ride to the closest volunteer because there is no road… I feel like I live in the city in comparison. That evening, we had dinner with Gracey’s parents who were visiting. Gracey was busy for the evening so we were fortunate enough to be foster kids for the night. They were absolutely wonderful! I felt so at home with them, and had a fantastic meal of coconut curry crab. Unbeatable.
Lisa came the next day! A group of volunteers from all over were there for a PC conference, so I stuck around with them and caught up with everyone. Lisa was my best friend during training, and I’ve missed her like crazy. Fourteen other volunteers were down for the weekend, so we hung out, caught up, traded tv shows on our hard drives, and laughed, a lot. While they were in meetings I spent time lounging at the pool and reading. Come Monday morning all I wanted to do was come back to site. I’d forgotten what it was like to be around so many other friends and just have a good time. Being here alone is definitely changing my perspective on more things than I was prepared for.
Anyways, after leaving the beach, I made half the trip home and this time stayed with Scooter. I wish we lived closer to each other! Her dad was also visiting so I got to meet him and catch him up a bit. I’ve loved meeting people’s parents. Mom, Dad- be ready to meet A LOT of volunteers during your vacation.
Now, back at site, I’m settling into things pretty well. A few classes over and done with, third trimester on a roll, and the pace of life is picking up speed very quickly. Before I know it it’ll be Christmas!

Boleia

I got a ride from a group of divers today on my way back home from the beach. It not being a chapa, it was not only comfortable and safe but their hospitality was above and beyond what I was prepared for. They stopped in Xai-Xai to do a bit of shopping- chips, soda, water, the essentials- and one of the men looked at me and said “I hope we aren’t offending you by this, but we wanted to buy you a few things to take back to site. We really appreciate all the work you’re doing here and we’d like to say thank you.” First I was blown away, and then almost in tears. I watched as they loaded a shopping basket full of cheese, soy milk, sausage, yogurt, chocolate, coffee, and more and more… I had said earlier in the car that where I lived it was difficult to find certain things, and I hadn’t realized they’d been making a mental list. I was/am blown away by their sweet gesture and now I will have a happy belly for weeks to come.

Matt!

Matt, the Moz 10 volunteer from my site came through for a few days to visit. I had such a fantastic time! It was such a pleasure to spend time with someone who has not only experienced Peace Corps and come out the other end still intact, but to talk to someone that knows exactly what I’m going through- who my friends are, how the school and neighbors treat me, the particular challenges I’m faced by this particular town- I’m so happy he came through! We talked, cooked, spent time with friends he had when he lived here (pretty much the people that befriended me when I arrived), and both wished at the end of it all that we had a few more days to relax, hang out, and catch up. We parted ways at the turnoff to his favorite beach where I hope he spent some much needed time relaxing and catching some fabulous Mozambican sun.