Thanksgiving

Went up to Mapinhane, Inhambane for thanksgiving this year- it was fantastic. Totally worth the 12hour trip.
I spent tuesday with a few of my favorite volunteers as they got ready to go back to AmericaLand. I'm so happy for everyone going home but it can be so tough also. I'm going to miss them all so so much.
Wednesday i set out for Mapinhane- it's a smally town on the EN1 in northern Inhambane. The ride up was actually pretty great- I made some new friends, watched a group of men devour a goat head, eyes and all, got caught in a thunderstorm, and yet still made it to alice and aj's house before dark.
Thanksgiving was great- thursday morning was just 6 of us, we woke up early (do we ever not wake up early?!) and got to cooking. Alice made about 30 batches of cornbread for cornbread stuffing (which was sensational), while the rest of us drew posters explaining how to use the bathroom. Around 3 more people started to arrive. We bought a turkey and proceeded to get it drunk. I'm not talking a couple sips of wine, the boys poured several shots of gin the turkey's throat. Poor thing just passed out! (for the record, you're suppose to get a turkey drunk before you kill it- not exactly sure why but you're suppose to).
By 6, everyone was there- we were 28 people with representation from America (or course), South Africa, Mozambique, and Italy. Carl, our PC country director also came, which was awesome. The director of the school where we were cooking and sleeping said a few words thanking us for inviting her, and then we began. Simultaneously, the termites came out in full force. Thousands of termites were swarming the lights above us and landing in our food. You literally could not take a bite without brushing 2 or 3 away. We ended up moving outside to eat, among the mosquitos. We went around the group and said what we were thankful for- it was fun to listen to people in English, Portuguese and Italian. Some were serious, about how we're thankful for each other and the last two years together, and some were more light hearted, like how we're thankful our boss bought us two cases of beer for the occasion. Then, the puppy that a pcv had brought with her, got bit by something- spider, scorpion, centipede we're unsure- and was yelping and crying and shaking. We didn't think he'd live through the night- swollen tongue and difficulties breathing- but he did.
The power went out at 10pm so we were almost all asleep by 1030. Up at 5 to clean and eat some delicious leftovers that the termites hadn't gotten to. Pecan pie in the morning = heaven!!
By 6 people were on their way back home, and it was so sad to say goodbye. AJ started playing his guitar and singing and to be honest, I wasn't sure I was going to make it out of there without crying hysterically.
I can't believe it's all coming to an end! Yeah, i'm staying a third year, but everyone who I arrived with are leaving. My Peace Corps family is breaking apart. I'm definitely looking forward to next year with my new job and my fantastic roomie Scooter, but it's still tough to watch my other besties go.

Namaacha

I moved! At the end of last week, I finished up teaching, said goodbye to my students and fellow teachers, had a fabulous party with my REDES girls, and moved to a new town.

The end of teaching was completely bittersweet. It felt great to be done teaching, finished lesson planning and grading, but I'll really miss a lot of my students. They were difficult a lot of the time, but to see them learning was so rewarding. And funny story- my last day with them, one of my favortie students gave me an apple. An apple. Yes, that may seem normal for the states, but it's definitely not normal here. Apples are so expensive, and can't be bought in my town, and to give presents to teachers (not trying to solicit grades) is unheard of. I felt so special- she was such a great student and I really hope that she gained at least something from my classes.

My REDES girls helped throw a going-away party for me which was so much fun! We made t-shirts from the money they made selling jewelry, cooked delicious food all afternoon to make a wonderful feast (I had no idea 20 tiny little girls could consume that much food!!!), and sang and danced the whole day. I loved watching them let loose and have fun- so many of my girls have pretty structured and difficult lives at home so I enjoy giving them some freedom. And, corny I know, seeing theirs smiles. I will miss them so much.

Wednesday, I finished packing and then gave all my extra little things to my neighbor kids. They had a box of toys they would play with everyday - jump ropes, my-little-ponies, tennis balls, frisbees - so each kid got at least one thing to take home. After all my things were packed up and loaded into the Peace Corps car, I said goodbye to all the kids and my empregada Christina, and left Hokwe behind.

Namaacha is amazing! It's been forever since I've been here but it was a great homecoming. The area is so beautiful- lush and green and hilly. My new house is wonderful, and I have a great new roommate, Abby (3rd year PCV on her way back to the sates). I haven't really started my new job yet- it's a pretty busy time for Peace Corps with training new volunteers and sending my group home- but I can't wait to get things rolling and get into working.

This is definitely a huge change for me - new town, new house, new job, new roomy, new everything. I won't be working so much on a community level, I'll be working more with PCVs and PC staff, developing sustainable youth development projects, but I'm sure I'll have more crazy stories and adventures to share in the coming months.

and the training continues

I like to run- it takes my mind off things. And it's become a necessary part of my life here in Moz. I always find at least one interesting thing on my run- new crazy looking creatures, watch a bull fight, get chased by a herd of children... today for example was a man wondering along the national highway singing and playing the guitar at 630 in the morning. All this running is about to pay off... For the last few years I've been wanting to run a marathon but either never made the time or kept getting injured (i'm accident prone, it happens). Since being in Peace Corps i've accomplished a lot of things I've always really wanted to do (have dreds, go bungy jumping, learn another language, travel to cape town...) and on Sept 25th I will run a marathon. It's not an organized marathon but several or us PCVs are getting together and making it happen (we've been inviting Mozambicans to run but it's not really their thing. No takers as of yet). Not only am I running the marathon, I'm celebrating my 26th birthday by running 26 miles. I figure now is a better time than ever! Send me endurance vibes on the 25th!! (or the night of the 24th for most of you ;)

REDES Conference

End of day 5 of the conference- what a week it has been!!! It had been SUCH a wonderful conference- we started out with 62 girls (age 11 to 19) and 24 Moz Facilitators. Including PCVs we had just about 100 participants. The first morning, The Honorable Leslie V. Rowe, Ambassador to the United States kicked off the conference by sharing her experiences and the importance of women's education and empowerment. The girls were so inspired! Throughout the conference we've had several other guest speakers and have had sessions ranging from HIV transmission, women's rights, domestic violence, and pregnancy to test taking skills, effective communication, and public speaking. All in all, the conference has gone very smoothly- the normal problems arose (people have left due to illness or troubles at home) but the Lodge we're staying at, Barra Lodge in Barra, Inhambane, has been ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC!!!! The people here at so friendly, so helpful, and have accommodated all the crazy things that have come up over the last few days.

So much has happened, it's hard to put the conference into a few words. Because I was running the conference and behind the scenes for pretty much everything except opening and closing ceremonies, I'm really looking forward to getting back to site and seeing how my girls have changed. I brought 2 girls to the conference, one who's very closed off and another who was already pretty outspoken, and I'm really hoping to see them speak up even more. Tomorrow on the 10 hour bus ride home I'm going to try and get a few things out of them.

Because I'm horrible with taking and posting photos, check out theredesproject.wordpress.com, search REDES on flickr or Facebook, or check out Scooter's blog scooterinmozambique.blogspot.com.

AMAZING WEEK!!!! ...looking forward to some sleep...

3rd Year

It's official, I'm staying a third year. So exciting! I've been looking into different options for my future for almost a year now- several of the options included staying in Moz, and I was about to get a job (still as a Peace Corps Volunteer) working on secondary projects, aka I wont be teaching. I'll be working on youth projects like REDES, JOMA (a club for girls and boys), English theatre, Science fair, and several others. I'll be working towards sustainability of the projects and setting solid long term goals. This means I'll no longer be national coordinator of REDES (or any group for that matter) but I'll have my hand in all the projects. Plus I get to move to a new site, make new friends, see new places, and live with one of my best friends, Scooter. It's going to be an interesting and eventful year :)
I am coming back to the states for just over a month for the holidays- also exciting!! I'm looking forward to mirco-brew beer, sushi, mexican food, sleeping long hours in a mosquito net-less, comfortable bed, and of course lots and lots of face time with friends.

Just in time

Just got energy back, somewhat. It’s been out for three days and I was getting a little tired of not being able to see or cook or stay up past 6pm. It’s not back completely- my stove won’t get hot enough to cook, but at least my computer can plug in and charge my phone J
I broke up a fight at school today, and got punched in the process. It’s my own fault, of course, for stepping in between two students, but it still kinda sucked. Tomorrow I get to have my first official parent teacher conference. Should be fun.
Otherwise same old same old- I’m teaching about HIV transmission and prevention in class and today I taught my REDES girls how to use condoms. Never a dull moment around here.

Bats

I was watching a movie last night and in my living room I noticed something silently circling overhead. Another bat was trapped with no way out. Bats, being so fragile, using get injured in my attempt to free them from my little house. Last night, after knocking it down and cornering it, I brushed it out unharmed, and it flew away. I felt accomplished.

That was easy

I’m not sure why it took me an entire 6 months/ year to figure out my whole uncomfortable bed situation. I bought a new mattress in January hoping to finally get some good sleep, but no. This morning I took my kitchen door off the hinges and laid it under my mattress. Finally I’m comfortable. That was easy.

Cows

As my REDES girls are playing a game of soccer the cows came through town. I realize this is possibly an abnormal thing for most people, those living in the states, but I’ve become very accustomed to it. So, as my girls are mid-game, mid-field, a small herd of stray cows walks through the field. As they walked diagonally across the field, my girls just played right around them, like they didn’t notice them. I admit, I didn’t think much of it either- just stray cows. But seriously? Cows on a soccer field? I’ve become way too accustomed to the peculiar.

Pancakes

This afternoon, my REDES girls and I made pancakes. I’m not a good cook at all, but I wanted to cook something for them that is at least a little bit American. The process was fun, getting them all involved. I’m not sure how many of the 10 girls actually liked them (maybe 2 or 3?) but they were good sports about at least trying them. But really, who doesn’t like pancakes?! My cooking’s not THAT bad.

Weekend

I went up to Inhambane City this weekend for a training for REDES. In conjunction with the ministry of education, we held a 1 day training on how to start and maintain a REDES group. It was fantastic!! 55 (out of 60!!) teachers came, and throughout the entire day they were participating, asking questions, taking notes-ok, so this all may sound normal, like what people always do at conferences, but not here in Mozambique. It was strange and yet so wonderful.
On my way home, I got a great ride from a man who works for the Christian Counsel of Mozambique. He was so interested in REDES and helping support trainings and more groups. I felt lucky- not only was it not a chapa, but he bought me KFC and got me (almost) home in record time. As he continued to Maputo, I continued home via chapa. As I’m sure I’ve said before, riding in a chapa is really like participating in a contortionist act. They cram people into these minibuses like we’re sardines, people wrapped around each other, bodies bent in ways that they should not bend, 10 people sitting, hovering, bending in a space that was meant for three people. Meanwhile, what is actually yours (a backpack for example) gets shuffled around - my bag is in some ladies lap while a strange child gets put on my lap and chickens are crawling on my feet and a goat is bleating because it’s crammed behind the backseat halfway hanging outside the chapa. Once we finally get moving, we stop a few hundred yards down the road to pick up more people. Seriously?! I thought they might actually try to tie someone to the roof just to get more people. And of course, when we stop to let someone off, it’s not the woman sitting in the front, it’s the woman in the very back, so we all get out, pass the kids and purses around, climb over the stray chickens and broken seats that don’t fold up, let out the one person, and crawl back in again. It looks like a circus act. In the end, if I make it to my destination with all my belongings, in one piece, without getting peed or thrown up on, it’s been a good trip. My idea of personal space and comfort is seriously warped.

I saw a dragon!!

I had an interesting run today. It started with a herd of children following me. I lost them after about 10 mins- I was surprised they held out so long. Almost immediately thereafter I was charged by a cow. Legitimately charged. It was a girl cow but she still had horns. I almost dove into a bush trying to get out of her path, which in hindsight was not a bright move. I kept thinking I was seeing giant bugs flying through the air (which isn’t abnormal) but once I got away from the cows and children I realized I was seeing ash falling from the sky. Off in the distance I could see smoke and I thought I’d smelled something burning, which again is not abnormal, but I thought it was strange to see all the ash floating around. About halfway through my run, over the sound of my music, I heard a rustling to my side. I looked over and I swear, it was a dragon. A komono dragon, maybe, if they have those here. Whatever it was it, was HUGE- over 4 feet long. I think I spooked him because when I stopped he stopped and we stood there for a moment- then I took off and got at least far enough away so I didn’t think he’d attack me. He was pretty- slithered along his path. I kept thinking on my way back I was going to encounter something else- bigger and scarier. Adds a whole new level of enjoyment to my runs.

Party

One of my 8th grade classes threw a party for themselves today to celebrate their birthdays. It was so fantastic! Birthday parties are not a normal thing here- I don’t think I’ve ever been to a birthday party or even heard of one, so it was a fun surprise. The students invited all the teachers into their classroom where it was decorated with balloons and drawings on the chalk board. Eulalia, a student and one of my REDES girls, got up and gave a speech to the teachers thanking them for participating and for supporting them throughout the year. Then the Director of Turma (the teacher in charge of the class) read a poem about growing up and how they, the students, are our future and how important they are. It was so sweet. Then we sang happy birthday and ate the food the students had prepared- French fries, salad, and sandwiches. It was a feast. I was completely surprised by the party and not only was I happy to be involved, I was/am so happy that the students had the opportunity to celebrate themselves and feel special. It’s so rare here that kids get that. And they seemed so happy. I did make them work a little, considering the party took place during my class time- I made them sing Happy Birthday in English.

Cabral

At the beginning of the year, my co-worker Professor Cabral was in a fatal car accident. He didn’t die in the accident but he never came back to school and nobody ever spoke about him. I had no idea his condition until this afternoon. I saw his face and had to do a triple take. He seems to be his old self, same smile, same humor, only now he’s missing his right arm. I didn’t get a chance to talk to him because he was going into a meeting with our director but I’m so happy to see him back here and see he’s happy and healthy. (About a week after writing this originally, I found out because he lost his writing arm, he’s not able to teach, but he’ll still be working at my school, as the librarian. I’m happy he’ll be here, plus I’m happy we’ll FINALLY have a library).

good moments

I had a great convo with my loga guy, Rafael. He and his brother Samito run a store next to my school so I’m in there a lot to buy stuff, talk, whatever. They’ve been good friends of mine since I got here. Anyways, I talk to them a lot, but today Rafael and I got into some pretty fun topics. We talked about the US going to war, Mozambican violence or lack thereof, gun control, transactional sex, HIV and other diseases, and the importance of educating girls. So many topics covered! It was so great to hear his opinions on things. He’s not an extremely educated guy (graduated high school but born and raised in the bush) but he’s got such amazing thoughts and priorities. His thought process is so much different from most Mozambicans I meet- he was talking about the importance of only having one girlfriend or wife, about not having more kids than you can take care of, about the importance of educating girls so they’ll be able to make smart life decisions rather than rely on a man. It was amazing! I wish these conversations happened more often because when they do I’m on cloud nine and feel like I could never leave here.

Education

My REDES girls have never been very chatting. Considering they’re 13-14-15year old girls, they’re quite a quiet bunch. Today we were making earrings, listening to music, and chatting a bit, what I decided to give an impromptu lecture on myths and facts of HIV transmission. I’ve done it before with my REDES group but none of the girls today had heard the info. I was shocked at how lit up and involved they became. Usually when we talk about heavy topics they don’t speak, don’t ask questions, just kinda sit there and (I hope) soak it up. Today was completely different. They asked questions and participated in discussion. I had a lot to explain to them, and now I know we have SO much more to talk about, and I’m completely motivated.

Power come back!!

Looks like I’m only getting power at night for awhile. Apparently the entire time I was in Maputo, the energy was coming and going several times a day. Since I’ve been back I’ve had power between 5:30pm and 10:30pm. It’s annoying because I have an electric stove and I’d like to cook during the day, but it’s not bad now that I know I’ll at least get power in the evenings. Only big difference- no morning baths. Without being able to heat the water it feels like ice. I may be tough, but I’m not that tough, especially not at six in the morning.

Strange Site

I caught a chapa on my way back from Maputo today- I went to Junta (a large area, not really a parking lots because it’s more of a free-for-all where cars, buses and minibuses load up passengers to head to just about anywhere in the country) and while walking toward my chapa I almost literally stumbled over a man passed out in the middle of everything. I think he was passed out from being drunk- that’s not at all abnormal here, especially it being a Sunday afternoon- but I was most surprised that everyone just left him where he was- cars were swerving around him, people were walking around him, but nobody thought to move him out of the middle of Junta. Just thought it was strange.

Back to my hut

After waiting for an hour and a half to speak with the doctor and a 3 minute inspection of my foot, I'm medically cleared to head back to the bush. It's been a nice ride, this last week- showers, good food, being part of a family- but it's time to get back to real life. Hopefully my students haven't forgotten EVERYTHING I've taught them in the last few months, but I'm not holding my breath...

Just adorable

I stole this from Katie's facebook. This is baby Eloite (e-LOY-tee). She's clapping because she just put on a brand new beautiful dress. I want to bring her home.

T. I. A.

I love Maputo- warm running water showers, comfy bed, thai food, indian food, pizza, bacon cheese burgers (I like food alright!), good beer, fast internet... it's refreshing. But it's still Africa. I went into the clinic to get minor toe surgery. First, as I'm waiting in the ER, the receptionist is on her cellphone chatting up a storm as people are walking in and the phone is ringing- she couldn't be bothered. TIA. Second, I go in to get cut open and the doctor says "oh, looks like i might have trouble numbing you because of how red it is." My response- "go ahead, cut it out. I have a high pain tolerance." And he did. Apparently Africa has roughed and toughed me up a bit. But really, does skin tint have much to do with administering any sort of numbing agent? TIA.

REDES success

I came to Maputo this past weekend for a REDES planning meeting- it went so well!! Usually it's only PCVs involved in the conference planning process, but this year we included 3 Mozambican women who have been part of the project for many years. It was so great to see how into it they were getting and how many wonderful ideas they had we would've never thought of. In my experience, these kinda of meetings/interactions with Mozambicans can be difficult, but I was so surprised and thankful with the women we have working on REDES.

Injustices

One thing I have a hard time getting past is the fact that schools make students pay for their tests. Aren’t tests a part of going to school? Aren’t you supposed to be evaluated? At my school, each student has to pay for the paper used to copy the tests- for some students it turns out to be as much as 66mets per person. That’s only about 2US dollars but that’s more than these children and their families can spare. Many kids at my school can’t afford uniforms or shoes or even food- yet they’re forced to pay for tests or they can’t take them.

Jump rope

I’m still amazing to see all the children raising children in my town. Today several little girls were playing on my porch, coloring and jumping rope. One of the girls had a baby tied to her back. But man, she didn’t miss a beat with that jump rope! I guess it’s good to see that even though so many of the kids have responsibilities placed on them at such a young age, they can still have some fun now and then. With a child strapped to their backs.

Locked Up Abroad

One thing I never wanted to experience = Jail in a foreign country. Thankfully I'm still blissfully ignorant- my parents on the other hand are international jailbirds. Yes, my parents.
On the last day of our travels we left Zanzibar in the morning for mainland Tanzania, then caught a flight into South Africa. We had dinner plans, a gorgeous B&B to stay at, and a few more hours to spend together before they left me in Africa. Instead, they were quarantined in the airport for not having documentation of receiving yellow fever vaccine. After I got all hysterical on the customs agents for trying to separate us, they took us to a holding room for about an hour and a half while they “sorted through the situation.” Then, without much warning, they told me I had to leave the airport and they would be taken to another holding facility. I was escorted out of the airport, with hopes that I’d be able to track them down in the morning. Turns out they were placed in two different jail cells- metal bars, squeaky bunk beds, florescent lights that were never turned off, horse-hair blankets- the whole nine yards. And then they waited.
In the morning, about 12 hours after our escapade started, they were released into the airport after signing deportation paperwork and told to wait for their flight to the United States. I, being a Peace Corps Volunteer and therefore very resourceful, worked my way back through the airport and tracked them down (and getting myself into the VIP lounge), so at least we had our last few hours together.
A few things I find odd about the situation: After being detained and help in jail cells overnight, they were released into the airport with all other passengers, to roam around for the three hours before their flight. Wasn’t the point of detention to keep them from contaminating other passengers? Also, all it would’ve taken, to avoid the whole evening of jail cells and airport fees (the airline had to pay 180rand per person per hour for the jail cells AND (I believe) a 10,000$ fine for each of them) was a simple shot. Two 50$ shots, given upon arrival, and they would’ve been let on their way.
So, after a fantastic trip and so many wonderful memories, my parents leave Africa after spending the night in jail and being deported. At least they got a nice story out of it.

Spice Tour

We took a tour of a spice farm today. It was so cool how they had so many different spices growing next to each other. And not only spices but fruits and trees as well. They had; teak trees, red mahogany trees, rice paddies, vanilla bean, cumin, ginger, tumeric, coffee, anato, lemongrass, star fruit, bread fruit, banana trees, coconut trees, cardamon, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, mace, and I'm sure I'm forgetting a few... We walked around the farm, which looked and felt like a rain forest, and then had lunch in a thatched roof patio thing in the middle of a spice farm. The food, once again, was fantastic. So many spices and flavors. Can't wait to get back to my hut and start learning to cook. Like actually cook.

Hakuna Matata

What a wonderful phrase! Seriously, I never thought I'd be able to say those words and yet still be taken seriously. It's great. At least 3 times a day people say Hakuna Matata to me and I break into song and dance. Also, Zanzibar. Say it with me, ZAN-zi-BAAR. This place is just as exotic as the word sounds. Tonight, after wandering through Stone Town we had margaritas on the beach while a movie was filmed on one side of us and boys practiced capoeira on the other side. Then it was off to the Forodhani Gardens for street food- zanzibar pizza with coconut bread followed by fried banana and nutella. I'm in food heaven.

Zanzibar

So, day two in Zanzibar and I've already eaten my body weight in fantastic food. Oh my goodness!!! Yesterday was fresh fruit smoothies while watching sunset over the water. Last night was traditional Swahili cuisine, coconut milk King fish with lentils, sweet potatoes and calamari on the side, while sitting on the floor (PS sitting on the floor was great, except that my mom noticed the mouse running around and wasn't too excited about his company). This morning, homemade chocolate cake for breakfast (YES PLEASE!). This afternoon, street food (kinda) including coconut squid, clams, and red curry vegetables. And tonight, we went to this family's house, sat in their dining room, and ate a 7 course meal. Appetizer after appetizer of fried, stuffed goodness followed by coconut milk tuna (if you can't tell, I have a thing for coconut milk), deep fried sweet bread, and a fruit juice concoction from heaven. I thought I was going to explode. It was so delicious, I put all the sweet bread we couldn't finish into my bag so I could eat it later. Don't judge- you would've done the same.

New perspectives

It's fun having new eyes after being here so long. Showing my parents where I live was not only fun for them but fun for me to relive the peculiarity of my current situation.

-There's no possible way to sleep-in in Hokwe. By 6am, without fail, there are goats, chickens, children, pigs running around making noise. I've become accustomed to this. My parents- not so much.
-The goat tied up outside my bathroom for three days threw them off a bit. We couldn't hang out clothes to dry on the hedges for fear the goat would eat them.
-A baby goat gave my mom a little mid-morning entertainment as it ran inside my house, narrowly escaping capture by three dogs. It came in, wandered around, then waltzed out again.
-Giant snail crawling around outside my house- also apparently not normal. It's only the size of my hand, why so surprised?!
-Daily afternoon on my front porch = 12 children anxiously waiting for the coloring books and frisbees while chickens, goats, dogs and pigs wander around my yard looking for food and/or shade.
-main roads littered with potholes so big I could lay down in them, with ease.
-3 day power-outages.
-Cockroaches the size of small birds.
-Bats flying around in the classroom during English Club, that drew no attention from anyone other than my parents.

From Alaska to Africa part II

The Parents

I've had such a fantastic time having my parents visit!!! They picked me up from the airport and immediately took me to a FABUOUS B&B where I drank wine, took a bath, and slept in a giant bed in a room all to myself (note: yes, small events, but when combined after a year and a half living in the bush, they are amazing). Then we went to Mozambique and to my site where my Alaskan family got to meet my Mozambique family. I have to say, they handled themselves quite well in all regards of living in the bush- no electricity, sleeping in 90+ degree weather, peeing in a hole- great job guys. Then it was up to the beach for Beach Beer Olympics. Yes, my parents were not only invited, they stayed with us at the hostel. They were champs, meeting all my friends and holding their own when need be.
After Moz we went to Kruger Park. We hadn't been in the park more than 30 mins when we drove up and saw zebra and wildebeest on one side of the road, a giraffe, an elephant, and two rhinos on the other side, and all the while impala running around grunting mating calls at each other. Then we watched a crocodile eat a snake in the water while a hippo calmly watched from a few feet away. And, get this- Big Five within 24hours. Elephant, Rhino, Buffalo, Lion and Leopard.
Now they bring me back to the B&B for a few more hours of wine, internet, and delicious food. Tomorrow, off to Tanzania!!!

Happy Mothers Day. I'm so thankful to have my mama with me even though I'm living on the other side of the world. I have amazing parents.

and i fell from the sky!

Cape Town, South Africa
4 Peace Corps volunteers, 6 days, 1 car, so many memories!! Hiking up to Table Top Mountain in the freezing weather (I hadn't seen my breath in over 2 years!!), Cape Point to see the penguins and of course visit the most southern point in Africa, wine country (3 wineries in 1 afternoon = fantastic! even when I was DD), and jumping off a 64 story high bridge. Amazing! So bungee jumping was great! I got my toes over the edge of the bridge, help my arms out, they counted "5 4 3 2 1 BUNGEE" and I did a swan dive off. Let me just say, even though I was screaming on the way down, it was a damn good looking dive. Thank you Alice Sullivan and ADT for the many years of ballet training to allow me such beautiful form while jumping off a bridge.

Names

People's names in this country are so interesting to me- there are some very common names that when you translate them to English just seem a bit strange. I've been told many people name their children based on the pregnancy, and by that calculation I feel very bad for many women of my town...
Hilaria (hilarious), Mercia (mercy), Faztudo (does everything), Crimildo (criminal), Miseria (misery), Lembranca (remembrance), Inocencio(innocence), Narcisio (narcissist), Facilio (easy), Silencio (silence), Salva (salvation)... and those are just some of my students...

Delicacy

I was invited to eat lunch today with my director, ped directors, and the directors of classes (grades). I assumed it'd be a normal lunch at the cafeteria- wrong. The school had purchased an entire cow to feed the students- very rare. Well, today’s lunch was to eat the head. Yeah… I wasn’t really sure which part of the head we were going to eat, so I was slightly hesitant, but when they brought out a tongue I felt a bit better. Granted, the tongue, like a cats tongue, has all sorts of texture to it- tastebuds and whatnot- somewhat hard to get down. When they brought around a Tupperware of mystery meat, unfortunately I didn’t have the strength (gumption?) to take any more. They tried to feed me a chunk with long, wiry black hairs on it but I passed. Needless to say, it made the rabbit brains I once saw being sucked from the skull seem like no big deal.

Finally back!!!

So, i´ve just postd whats been happening to me in the last 3 months- goes back to just after the pictures I posted... its a lot to catch up on, so i hope it gives you something to do until i find internet again :)

March 20th

My REDES girls are getting so excited about our meetings- at every meeting they ask if we can have a meeting the following day because they don’t want to wait. On Thursday, they invited themselves over on Friday to make hair clips. On Friday they decided we were going to play soccer on Saturday. And on Saturday they made a meeting to talk about what we’d do for Woman’s Day, in April. They are fantastic. I really hope their enthusiasm stays strong.
The soccer game was a blast. At first I wasn’t sure how it’d work out- I had 5 girls there at first, so I had to play. And it attracted some attention, let me say. As the afternoon went on more and more girls came and played- after two hours we had 18 girls. It was so wonderful to see them having such a good time! (plus after awhile I didn’t have to play anymore).

March 16th

Sweet words

I just received such an encouraging email.
I’ve always thought that I wouldn’t be able to know the impact I’m having during my service and I’ve never expected to really see much agradecimento, thanks. Here’s the email I just received from a host brother of another volunteer from my group. Note- it was written in Portuguese and I’m translating...
‘Hello teacher Anna! A long time has past since I’ve wanted to write you but I didn’t have your email. With all the years that pass, I will still write to know that you have rich health. Are you still teaching English? How is your work going? Before I forget, how are the other teachers Tim, Tim, Erica and Diana- are they still teaching? At this moment I’m taking advantage of (making the most of) all that you taught me, especially when we played Bingo! I liked it so much. However, I don’t have enough to give you to show my thanks, but I have you in my heart, no matter where I go you will be with me. I will never forget you and your lessons. I wish you every success in your work, and say hello to the others for me. Thank you for everything. From your student, Adriano from Namaacha.’
I will note, I believe he liked my lesson on family vocabulary (and BINGO) because he won and had his picture taken. This email comes as a complete surprise- I haven’t been back to Namaacha since training and I haven’t had any contact with Adriano or any of my other students. Even though I only taught him English during a two week period, apparently I made an impression and he actually learned during my classes (more than I can say for some of my current students). This email totally makes my week/ month. It’s not easy going day to day knowing your students don’t care about your class or care to study, but to hear from a student I had briefly, 16 months ago, makes me smile. It gives me hope. And I honestly need it right now.

March 15th

Time
I’m teaching how to tell time on a circular clock to my 8th and 9th graders. I assumed they’d be able to tell time by the age of 14 (or 20) but I was wrong... However, although it’s frustrating, the thing I find the most amusing is how long it takes them to draw a clock. They are such perfectionists! For my lesson they needed to draw 5 circles on their paper, and fill in the clocks with the correct time. They ALL whipped out their protractors or coins so their circles were just perfect, and then a ruler to make sure the spacing was correct between each number... I just wanted them to make circles! It was hilarious when I had them come to the board to correct their homework today- four students trying to draw circles without the help of a protractor. They kept erasing and starting over, redo this part, fix that part, redraw these numbers... just to correct homework!! At least I got a laugh out of it.

March 14th

I had a REDES meeting this weekend- only about 10 girls came, but still a pretty good turnout. Catia, one of my girls from last year who’s now in 11th grade, helped facilitate the group, and she was fantastic- so knowledgeable and confident. Also, a teacher from the primary school who was one of my night students last year also came. She wants to help facilitate. I’m really thinking this might take off!
Today I had a meeting with Moises, the student who had PCVs at teacher-training school, and we set up a plan to get our journalism group going at the school. I mentioned it to some students a few weeks back and they keep coming up to me- “Teacher Ana, when do we start English club? When are we going to learn about journalism?”(Their English usually isn’t that good, let’s be honest). It’s so great to have not only motivated and interested students but also counterparts, other teachers and members of the community, that want to get things moving and get people learning.

March 6th

MOVING

Yesterday I ran into Gina, the woman we has practically adopted me here in my town, and she informed me that she and her entire family were moving- today. She said they got a great opportunity to open a store and live in a bigger house and so they’re taking it. Thankfully the town is only about 40 km away, not too bad. So, today we all loaded into the back of an open bed truck with their things and went to see and clean the new house. The day in and of itself was normal- sweeping, washing, arranging, fixing- but some things I found pretty different. In the states, when you help someone move or clean up a house, you typically work and then order pizza or take out or something. Here they don’t have that luxury. When we got to the house, I was sent with one of the daughters to start preparing launche (snake time). We had to set up the grill, track down carvao (charcoal), buy bread, boil water, and clean dishes (note- the stove and dishes we brought with us). As we were doing those things we started preparing lunch. This is still at about 8:30 in the morning. So, we gut the fish (we’d brought with us), clean them, peel potatoes, cut tomatoes, fry the fish, cook the rice... I sat cooking lunch with two other girls for almost 4 hours. I wasn’t allowed to help clean (still not sure why) and to be honest I pretty much just watched them cook. At about 1:30 the rest of the family (4 adults and several kids) calmed down and we had lunch. After, we cleaned dishes, threw out the used carvao, and loaded everything back up into the truck. The thing that I find amusing- I thought we were taking all that stuff to their new house, to get things started, and I was there to help clean. Apparently I was just an extra set up eyes to make lunch and everything in the back of the truck was to prepare a meal for 10 people (6 of whom didn’t help clean). Quite the production if you ask me!!

March 6th

MOVING

Yesterday I ran into Gina, the woman we has practically adopted me here in my town, and she informed me that she and her entire family were moving- today. She said they got a great opportunity to open a store and live in a bigger house and so they’re taking it. Thankfully the town is only about 40 km away, not too bad. So, today we all loaded into the back of an open bed truck with their things and went to see and clean the new house. The day in and of itself was normal- sweeping, washing, arranging, fixing- but some things I found pretty different. In the states, when you help someone move or clean up a house, you typically work and then order pizza or take out or something. Here they don’t have that luxury. When we got to the house, I was sent with one of the daughters to start preparing launche (snake time). We had to set up the grill, track down carvao (charcoal), buy bread, boil water, and clean dishes (note- the stove and dishes we brought with us). As we were doing those things we started preparing lunch. This is still at about 8:30 in the morning. So, we gut the fish (we’d brought with us), clean them, peel potatoes, cut tomatoes, fry the fish, cook the rice... I sat cooking lunch with two other girls for almost 4 hours. I wasn’t allowed to help clean (still not sure why) and to be honest I pretty much just watched them cook. At about 1:30 the rest of the family (4 adults and several kids) calmed down and we had lunch. After, we cleaned dishes, threw out the used carvao, and loaded everything back up into the truck. The thing that I find amusing- I thought we were taking all that stuff to their new house, to get things started, and I was there to help clean. Apparently I was just an extra set up eyes to make lunch and everything in the back of the truck was to prepare a meal for 10 people (6 of whom didn’t help clean). Quite the production if you ask me!!

March 4th

Christina is back! I was getting very worried; I’ve been asking my neighbors every day for news about her condition and when she might be home. Every response was inconclusive and occasionally very scary. This afternoon, a little girl sombrely came up to my house and told me that the neighbor needed to speak to me about Christina, it was serious. My heart almost fell out of my stomach as I walked next door but once I sat I was told she would be coming home and just needed some financial help. Unfortunately I was unable to accommodate, but within an hour Christina was back and sitting on my couch, telling me she was still weak but feeling much better, happy to see the two faces of her beautiful children.

March 2nd

Funeral
Today was the day of Dona Joana’s funeral. It was for the most part what I expected, very much like a funeral in the states. After teaching two classes in the morning, we went to her house for the ceremony. I arrive just as they started singing and speaking. The men and women seemed to be separated again, and it was the women who did the singing. A priest spoke for a bit in Changana, and then Dona Joana’s casket was brought out. People came up to her and spoke a bit, and the entire crowd broke into tears as her eldest daughter spoke. The top of the casket was folded down and people walked past, viewing the body, and spraying her face with some sort of mist. Because I was myself (I arrived without the other teachers) I didn’t feel comfortable elbowing my way through the crown to view the body. After the whole crowd, including many students, passed by, the crowd piled into about 20 cars (in the backs of trucks) and drove to the cemetery. I walked along with many other students and teachers. Once at the cemetery I stood back in the shade so I couldn’t see or hear exactly what was happening, but I can only assume more reading, singing, and lowering the casket into the ground. Plants and flowers were handed out to some people in the crowd to decorate the grave after it was covered. As we all left the cemetery I realized how many people were gathered it had to be close to 300. As I walked away I could see a sea of people in both directions. It was very impressive. I guess many people went back to her house afterwards and they were told how she died and what from, but I didn’t feel the need. All in all it was a very pleasant ceremony. Joana obviously affected many peoples’ lives and she will be missed greatly.

Feb 10th

Teaching 9 difference turmas three times a week each can get dizzying. I forget which kids are in which class (I have at least 50 students per turma) or which class has finished which lessons (even though I write it all down). Sometimes I write something on the board, turn around, and ask the students if we’ve already done this lesson before. It wasn’t until 20 minutes into my 5th lesson today that I realized I was in the wrong class. I asked the class “Is it time for English?” “No teacher, it’s physics.” Well, none of them seemed to care that I’d taught for 20 mins and the physics teacher never came in to stop me so I kept on going.

Feb 8th

GOING NATIVE!!

Wow, so here’s my embarrassing moment of the day/ week (year? It’s still only February). So after finished doing a little yoga at my house after school, to decompress a bit from yelling at children all morning, I went outside to get some water to take a shower. Usually there’s a big line at the pump but today I was alone. It was actually kind of nice because I didn’t have to convince anyone I’m capable of pumping and carrying my own water. Anyways, I fill my 20 litre bucket and place it nicely on my head. It’s a bit heavy so I needed two hands to hold it up... Yeah, so I start walking back to my house, which honestly isn’t too far away, and I felt my shirt slipping. Nobody was around so I figured I could walk fast enough before I showed a bit too much... I was wrong. People turned the corner when I was only 20 feet from my front door. I had two options: drop the bucket and fix my top, or let it go. I’m lazy and I really didn’t want to have to pump another 20 litres. I’m in Africa, right?! Yeah, I’m glad I haven’t seen any of those neighbors again since... I think they got a little more of a show than they were prepared for.

Feb 7th

I feel like life at site is finally getting back to normal. At least getting back to what I feel comfortable with. I’m teaching on a regular basis, lesson planning almost constantly, drawing with the neighbour kids, cooking at least one meal a day, feeling like I actually have time to sit if that’s all I want to do... My classes are getting a little more comfortable; I’m starting to figure out about how fast each class can move so I’m able to pace myself.
On Friday I decided that not only my students but I also needed a bit of a break. I taught them the lyrics to “Hello, Goodbye” by The Beatles. It was fantastic!! They got so into it. We’ve been learning greetings in class, so when they heard them used in a song they got so excited. “Again Teacher, again!” When I would leave and start teaching another class, students would come stand at the windows and sing while the other kids were learning. It was refreshing to have to much classroom participation and enthusiasm for once this year. Also, today, when I came to school I heard students singing the song, without any prompting from me. It sounded like not only they’d remembered the lyrics but had actually practiced! Now, my mission is to come up with an entire year’s curriculum teaching solely through song. Genius! So, your homework as good blog readers, think of songs that have basic vocabulary and are relatively easy to understand, and email me!!!
This weekend was a pretty great weekend. Even though I missed a few volunteer birthday parties, the superbowl get together, and a REDES exchange up in Inhanbane, I relaxed, played, talked, planned, and got creative. I bought a bed (FINALLY!!). It’s not actually that great but it beats sleeping on a straw mat stretched over metal springs. I got a few neighbor boys together and collected sticks to make a shoe rack. They were more than confused on what was going on, sticks being held together with dental floss (no, they have no idea what dental floss actually is), but in the end they saw the whole picture. A heard a few of them say they were going to try and recreate it at their house. I planned three weeks worth of English lessons, which for me, Miss Procrastination, is a HUGE help. I met some amazing Zimbabweans who I look forward to seeing again in the future.
And I talked to one of my counterparts, Prof Silvino, about how Peace Corps has impacted his life. We were talking about what he was suppose to be teaching; Idols. He said “you mean singers?” I explained what an Idol was, and asked him who his was. His answer was Dillon, from Boston. He was a Peace Corps Volunteer at a teaching school in Xai Xai a few years back. Silvino said the way he taught, how he connected to his students, how confident he was, and how generous he was really made an impression. I spoke to another one of my students, Moises, about how Peace Corps has affected his life. He had a teacher Emily, also in Xai Xai, who helped him apply for the American Leadership Academy. He was one of the 100 finalists in all of Africa. He was so proud; it showed him that if he really tried he could accomplish a lot. I don’t know Dillon or Emily, but if I did, I’d tell them even though you may not have noticed the impact you had on a community, I can see it, and you have changed lives. Thank you. Hopefully I’m making a difference for at least a few people also.

Jan 18th

Sometimes all it takes are a few smiles and hugs and I can have one of the best days I can remember.
I started school this morning, and to my surprise we actually started- there were students when the bell rang at 7:00! Typically on the first day nobody really shows up- students or teachers. Today was different. I taught 5 classes and in all but one of them I had at least 15 students. At first everyone was pretty quiet, probably a mixture of it being the first day and them not understanding a word I was saying, but they got into it after awhile. We sang the alphabet and almost everyone was totally into it. I think I’m really going to like this teaching-younger-kids thing.
I was done by noon so that felt fantastic. I spent the afternoon on my veranda, talking with kids that came by to play and making friends with one of the puppies that’s been afraid of me. Lote and Rafito, the brother-sister duo who lives next door, have become part of my daily life. They come over, come inside to say hi, chit chat (granted I still can’t understand a word either of them says except ‘Mana Ana!’) and play around on the veranda. I helped Lote eat her bag of ice which she was spilling all over herself, and then she and I took a walk around the neighborhood. I went back to their house and sat outside on a mattress and joked around, let them climb all over me, and just laughed. I don’t know how to describe it- usually the kids play around me not really with me, but today I was right in the middle of it all. It felt nice to have them run up to me and not want to let go, or to crawl into my lap, throw their arms around my neck and lay their head on my chest. It really feels like I’m part of something here, not so much an outsider anymore. Granted I’m saying that after spending an afternoon with children no older than 8, none of whom can speak English or Portuguese, but still, it was nice.

Jan 17th

Feels good to be back in the swing of things. School opening was today- it was a pretty typical ceremony- long, hot, somewhat confusing, and conducted in several languages- but it was enjoyable. It was nice to be back with the other teachers, to see some of my old students, and to be recognized rather than stared at. The jarring part of today came when I was told I’d be teaching 8th and 9th grade in the mornings, rather than 12th grade in the afternoon as I’d expected. I was pretty frazzled at first- I was prepared for the 12th graders, their enthusiasm, their knowledge base, their (relative) maturity- and I was all ready to use lesson plans from last year I’ve been compiling. However, in the last 8 hours I’ve become pretty excited about the little guys- I’ve already planned my first 9 lessons and I have the first trimester laid out. I get to teach the alphabet, ‘to be’, colors, body parts, greetings, all the basic stuff, and I can dance around and sing songs and even if they think I’m weird and crazy, they’re young enough they won’t be too cool to join in. I guess one downside is that I’m teaching 30 hours, everyday from 7:00 til 12:00, but at least I have my afternoons and nights free.
I’m not sure how to backtrack and get through what’s happened in the last 2 months... Classes finished, I controlled tests, graded said tests, said goodbye to students, met the new PCVs who arrived in country in October, threw a beach party for the new volunteers, took over complete control of REDES (yikes!), went to South Africa to pick up Will who happened to get stuck in London, spent Christmas with my new family, spent New Years with Will (finally) at the beautiful beach, saw 4 of the big 5 in Kruger, took several hot showers and ate home cooked American food, and... well, started year 2 of being a volunteer.
The last few months have been anything but dull and have taught me a lot about how far I’ve come in the last year. When my brother was here, I was about to show him around, to let him into my life here in Africa. It was fantastic when he met my adoptive families, when he saw my house and my school, walked through the market with me, met my friends, and saw the beautiful country I live in. It felt somewhat like two worlds colliding at moments- I kept having to remember my little brother was actually visiting me in Africa!- but absolutely wonderful. The holidays definitely made me miss home, but coming out the other side and starting school is helping with the homesickness.
Kruger was great!! I didn’t take but one picture, but my brother took at least 2,000 while he was here so I’ll find a way to link you to them if you’re interested in looking. The first few moments in the park we drove upon zebras, impala, water buffalo, and elephants. A few minutes later we ran into giraffes and a rhino. It was crazy!!! And so many monkeys! I’m so glad I finally made it there and I had the best time with Will. It was so hard to leave him at the airport- I wanted to jump on the plane with him.
This year is going to be so different from what I’ve been used to. My teaching schedule is completely different, I’m in charge of one of the biggest secondary projects in the country, it’s the 50th anniversary of Peace Corps and I’m on the planning committee, I can finally speak Portuguese and will be learning Changana, I have friends and family, and I’m for the most part comfortable here. I still have my moments of thinking “what the hell did I get myself into here!” but not as many as before. I promise, now that I’m back in school and FINALLY on a schedule, I’ll start writing more blogs and try to keep you up to date.
Oh, one thing- when I came home I found 5 puppies in my backyard. They’re still somewhat scared of me but I think I’m going to get the best of them- I don’t have to feed them or take care of them but they watch over my house and I get company when I want it. I’m kinda scared to name them because they have the potential to get stolen but we’ll see.

Passing

When I arrived home after Katie and Michael’s trip I received news that Dona Joana, a woman who worked at my school and had been teaching me Changana, passed away on Sunday morning. She’d been sick in the hospital for about a week, but I’m not sure what she had. The funeral is scheduled for tomorrow, but today I went with two other women from my school, Dona Alda and Dona Augusta, to Dona Joana’s house to pay our respects. Although I have seen many of these gatherings, I’ve never participated. It was quite an experience. When we arrived it sat in complete silence for about 45 minutes. All the women were sitting on straw mats on the ground on one side of the yard and all the men were in chairs on the other side of the yard. After awhile, women started to sing. It was all in Changana but I did catch some words. Dona Joana’s daughters, whom I know, and several other women were laying down in the middle of the group. At one point a woman started crying and wailing and screaming. A bit later, an older woman, started to sob right next to me. It broke my heart- I believe it was her mother. A few minutes later all the daughters started to cry and started yelling “Mama! Mama!” Everyone started cry then. It was so hard to sit there and listen to these women’s pain. After I was there for about 2 ½ hours I excused myself and came home. I was very happy to be there, to experience it and to show my support, but my heart was breaking. Apparently just after I left her body was brought to the house to be cleaned and prepared for tomorrow. I don’t know if I was ready for that. Also, as strange as this may sound, I was somewhat relieved (reassured?) to see so many women showing emotions in public. After the death of my student, when I saw not one tear or bit of emotion, I was a bit befuddled.
Another bit of unsettling news I learned on Sunday, Christine, Eloite and Rafito’s mom also my empregada, is sick in the hospital in Chokwe. She’s been there for over a week now, and I don’t know much about her condition, except she’s not coming home anytime soon. I go over to her house and visit the women that are there taking care of her children and I’m planning on going to Chokwe as soon as I can to try and visit her. At this moment, I can admit that I’m honestly scared that she won’t make it through, but I’m channeling all my good and healthy thoughts her way.

Michael and Kaite

Their trip was absolutely fantastic! We got to do so many things, see so many people, they were able to see me teach, meet my friends, see my village, and experience just about everything possible in Moz. We stayed in Maputo for a few days, seeing the city and letting them adjust a bit to the jet lag/ time change. Then we came back to my town for a few days. I had to teach, but luckily they were able to come in and watch both a 9th grade lesson and an 8th grade lesson. The kids did particularly well those days- I think they all really loved having some visitors. After a few days in my town we went to the beach, for a night and had a fabulous time- soaking up sun, enjoying one of the best meals I’ve ever had, and catching up. After the beach it was back to my town for a few days, to play with the kids, teach them frisbee, drawing, passearing, and a long afternoon lunch with my family here. Michael killed a chicken (I helped!), Katie ralered and pillared a bit, and we say and looked at each other for a good four hours. Because they don’t share a common language there was a lot of dead air time if I wasn’t standing there, but I think everyone enjoyed themselves. We went back to Maputo on our way out to Kruger. The park was a blast! We didn’t see as many animals as we’d hoped- the grass is a bit overgrown right now- but we did see elephants up close, several times, and lions laying RIGHT on the side of the road next to us. After a few days at the park it was a few days in Pretoria and then goodbye. So hard to leave them!! I wanted to go back to California with them, no question. All in all a fantastic trip, one a few minor hiccups but all were resolved quickly and relatively smoothly. Highlights- Chicken killing, seeing the look on Eloite’s face when we gave her a new dress, dinner at the beach, and getting all the hugs and family love I wanted. Thank you both! Amazing trip and I miss you already.

Photos

Struggles

I've been trying to find the right words for this blog post, to try and explain what I've been feeling the last few days. It's a mixture of sadness, grief, regret, guilt, and confusion.

Monday morning during my 2nd class, all teaching was put on hold because one of our students, a 14year old 9th grade boy, was missing. He'd been swimming in the river a few km from my town the day before and never returned home. We got together, about 30 of us, to set out lookng for him. Right before we left, as I was putting on my poncho, I was told the women were going to stay behind- I couldn't go. I told them I too had eyes to help look and I was going.
We went out into the bush along the path to the river. Because of all the rain, the river has formed little pools that people like to 'tomar banho' or to go swimming in. When we reached the pool we saw his clothes in a neat pile-my heart dropped. Several boys jumped in the water to look for him. After about 20 mins his body was found a bit down the river. He was removed from the water, placed in blankets, and carried the 3km back to my town.

One thing that's been hard to handle in the last two days, besides seeing one of my students being pulled from the river, is the lack of emotion surrounding the whole situation. On Monday, the only glimmer of emotion I saw was when Comiche- one of my students from last year- saw the boy in the water for the first time. Naturally, he yelled and swam away, but then went back. There was no crying, no apparent signs of grief or distress, except classes were cancelled for the rest of the day. I guess the lack of emotion comes from self preservation- so much death and loss occurs here that they can't let each incident sink in all the way. I guess this is all part of living in a third world country.

Integration

Sometimes all it takes are a few smiles and hugs and I can have one of the best days I can remember.
I started school this morning, and to my surprise we actually started- there were students when the bell rang at 7:00! Typically on the first day nobody really shows up- students or teachers. Today was different. I taught 5 classes and in all but one of them I had at least 15 students. At first everyone was pretty quiet, probably a mixture of it being the first day and them not understanding a word I was saying, but they got into it after awhile. We sang the alphabet and almost everyone was totally into it. I think I’m really going to like this teaching-younger-kids thing.
I was done by noon so that felt fantastic. I spent the afternoon on my veranda, talking with kids that came by to play and making friends with one of the puppies that’s been afraid of me. Lote and Rafito, the brother-sister duo who lives next door, have become part of my daily life. They come over, come inside to say hi, chit chat (granted I still can’t understand a word either of them says except ‘Mana Ana!’) and play around on the veranda. I helped Lote eat her bag of ice which she was spilling all over herself, and then she and I took a walk around the neighborhood. I went back to their house and sat outside on a mattress and joked around, let them climb all over me, and just laughed. I don’t know how to describe it- usually the kids play around me not really with me, but today I was right in the middle of it all. It felt nice to have them run up to me and not want to let go, or to crawl into my lap, throw their arms around my neck and lay their head on my chest. It really feels like I’m part of something here, not so much an outsider anymore. Granted I’m saying that after spending an afternoon with children no older than 8, none of whom can speak English or Portuguese, but still, it was nice.

A New Year

Feels good to be back in the swing of things. School opening was today- it was a pretty typical ceremony- long, hot, somewhat confusing, and conducted in several languages- but it was enjoyable. It was nice to be back with the other teachers, to see some of my old students, and to be recognized rather than stared at. The jarring part of today came when I was told I’d be teaching 8th and 9th grade in the mornings, rather than 12th grade in the afternoon as I’d expected. I was pretty frazzled at first- I was prepared for the 12th graders, their enthusiasm, their knowledge base, their (relative) maturity- and I was all ready to use lesson plans from last year I’ve been compiling. However, in the last 8 hours I’ve become pretty excited about the little guys- I’ve already planned my first 9 lessons and I have the first trimester laid out. I get to teach the alphabet, ‘to be’, colors, body parts, greetings, all the basic stuff, and I can dance around and sing songs and even if they think I’m weird and crazy, they’re young enough they won’t be too cool to join in. I guess one downside is that I’m teaching 30 hours, everyday from 7:00 til 12:00, but at least I have my afternoons and nights free.
I’m not sure how to backtrack and get through what’s happened in the last 2 months... Classes finished, I controlled tests, graded said tests, said goodbye to students, met the new PCVs who arrived in country in October, threw a beach party for the new volunteers, took over complete control of REDES (yikes!), went to South Africa to pick up Will who happened to get stuck in London, spent Christmas with my new family, spent New Years with Will (finally) at the beautiful beach, saw 4 of the big 5 in Kruger, took several hot showers and ate home cooked American food, and... well, started year 2 of being a volunteer.
The last few months have been anything but dull and have taught me a lot about how far I’ve come in the last year. When my brother was here, I was about to show him around, to let him into my life here in Africa. It was fantastic when he met my adoptive families, when he saw my house and my school, walked through the market with me, met my friends, and saw the beautiful country I live in. It felt somewhat like two worlds colliding at moments- I kept having to remember my little brother was actually visiting me in Africa!- but absolutely wonderful. The holidays definitely made me miss home, but coming out the other side and starting school is helping with the homesickness.
Kruger was great!! I didn’t take but one picture, but my brother took at least 2,000 while he was here so I’ll find a way to link you to them if you’re interested in looking. The first few moments in the park we drove upon zebras, impala, water buffalo, and elephants. A few minutes later we ran into giraffes and a rhino. It was crazy!!! And so many monkeys! I’m so glad I finally made it there and I had the best time with Will. It was so hard to leave him at the airport- I wanted to jump on the plane with him.
This year is going to be so different from what I’ve been used to. My teaching schedule is completely different, I’m in charge of one of the biggest secondary projects in the country, it’s the 50th anniversary of Peace Corps and I’m on the planning committee, I can finally speak Portuguese and will be learning Changana, I have friends and family, and I’m for the most part comfortable here. I still have my moments of thinking “what the hell did I get myself into here!” but not as many as before. I promise, now that I’m back in school and FINALLY on a schedule, I’ll start writing more blogs and try to keep you up to date.
Oh, one thing- when I came home I found 5 puppies in my backyard. They’re still somewhat scared of me but I think I’m going to get the best of them- I don’t have to feed them or take care of them but they watch over my house and I get company when I want it. I’m kinda scared to name them because they have the potential to get stolen but we’ll see.