How to make a lasting impression…

Macanhelas, a rural site in Niassa, was a wonderful stop on my trip. I was immediately surprised at how many bikes were in the town. It’s like the Holland of Mozambique. Anyways, aside from dodging bikes and seeing infants on motorcycles (seriously, if your kid is in a diaper, just walk), I was able to meet and talk to people from all three of the organizations Vicente works with, talk to his JUNTOS counterpart, and spend an afternoon with a group of crianças from the Clube Infantil. The club meets every Friday and invites orphans and vulnerable children throughout the town. They sing songs about healthy living and respecting others, learn about things like nutrition and malaria, and get a free meal at the end of the meeting. Vicente gave a presentation about malaria transmission and prevention, and I was able to help out, dressing up in a mosquito net (things NOT to do with a net) and quizzing the kids on malaria.


My lasting impression, however, did not come from my dynamic presentation or my charismatic personality. It came from being a clutz. During my morning run, when I was about 10 paces past the market (where the ENTIRE town likes to gather in the morning), I tripped on a rock and went flying. Not just a little fall- I was picking rocks out of myself for days. From behind me I hear, ‘OOOOOOHHHH!!!!” and “EEEEEEEPPPPPPPAAAAAAAA!” I couldn’t stay down so I jumped up, through my hands above my head, yelling “I’m good!” and then took off running again. (Scooter likes to point out that had she been with me, she would’ve been in stitches laughing, rolling around on the ground. I believe that’s a true statement.) Anyways, embarrassment’s not over yet. Later that afternoon I walked into one of Vicente’s organizations and right away his coworker yells out, “Oh, I saw you this morning! You fell down!” Yep. It’s not over. The next day I took a 2+hour chapa ride to visit another PCV. We get to the town and a person there comes up to our chapa to talk to our driver, sees me and says, “Oh, it’s you!!! I saw you running yesterday, and then you fell. Wow!” Looks like I made an impression not only in the town but in surrounding towns as well. I preemptive sorry to any Makunhas that visit Macanhelas- the community will most likely think you are me, the clumsy Makunha who can’t run.

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

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

"Who Run The World? GIRLS!"

"Boy you know you love it

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

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

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

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

(Pictures coming soon!)

A perfect start

My first plane ride in Mozambique! That’s what I get for living 3 years on the south. I landed and immediately jumped into the Moz 17ers PDM conference (Project Design and Management). I was able to talk to all the PCVs and their counterparts about project ideas, how to apply for grants, and catch up on what they’ve been doing since I’d seen them last (which for most was November 2011 when we were all living in Namaacha). After taking care of business at the conference, we all went out to the National Cultural Festival, which happened to be taking place that weekend. We saw art and crafts from each province, dancing and musical presentations, and, my favorite, tried food from each province. We literally ate our way through the country  My favs were this yogurt-like fruity dessert from Manica, and the Indian style curry from Nampula. Delicious timing on my trip!


I was only in Nampula two nights, then off on site visits. First was Carapira. It’s a tiny little town located on the main highway (like are most towns), but if you weren’t looking for it you would pass by without thinking twice. When I stopped at the one and only road, I was struck by the site of a church. From almost a mile away, you can see this enormous, beautiful church. The one road leads right to it, pulling focus towards it.

I was only in Carapira for one night, but I talked to three PCVs about their projects, bounced around some ideas, and got hugs from one of my favorite people.

Liz's Visit photos





North, here I come!!

The last two weeks has flown by!! Liz visited all the way from Alaska, and it was an amazing experience. She was able to see Namaacha, play with my neighbor kids, wander around Maputo, meet my friends and colleagues, visit the beach, see all sorts of animals in Kruger, and cuddle up with lion cubs. It was a whirlwind of a trip, and I loved it. I was so happy to be able to share my life here with her, and let her really feel how it is to be here. Plus she had a refreshing set of eyes to see the beauty in what I do, and give me the encouragement I so greatly needing to continue. THANK YOU LIZ!!!!




Now, I’m off to northern Mozambique!! Just like the trip I took in May through central, I’ll be traveling throughout the 4 most northern provinces, attending workshop and trainings, visiting with volunteers, talking to project participants and counterparts, documenting as much as I can along the way.

Farewell to Ambassador Rowe

PCV representatives

Monday was a despidida (going away party) for US Ambassador Leslie Rowe.  She has been here just over two years, and in that time has shown so much support for volunteers and our projects.  She herself was never a Peace Corps Volunteer, yet she has an amazing understanding of what we go through here and how valuable our service is.  She went out of her way to visit volunteers at site, to attend and speak at volunteer functions, like the 2011 REDES conference, and invited volunteers into her home to make us feel supported and comfortable.  I was fortunate enough to be asked to attend her despidida and say a few words on behalf of Mozambique PCVs and our various projects (JUNTOS, REDES, Science Fair, etc.)  She has done so much for us volunteers and our endeavors, her presence will be missed.

Out of the Ordinary

Scooter, Liz and I were in a bus this afternoon on our way into the city. Liz was sitting in the back and I was standing in the aisle just in front of here. I looked over and saw a boy looking at his phone, pointed in Liz’s direction, and then hear the “click” of the camera. I grabbed at his phone- “You can’t take a picture of my friend! What, is she the first white person you’ve ever seen? You’ve got to be kidding me, delete the picture.” He (obviously) wouldn’t give me his phone, but then from the other side of Liz an older woman said, “What do you think you’re doing? You don’t take pictures of people you don’t know. That’s not right. Delete it.” The young girl sitting between Liz and the boy watched as he deleted the picture, the whole time saying, “Why would you do that? You’re an idiot, taking a picture of someone you don’t know.” Meanwhile, a man standing next to me turns to everyone else on the bus and point out what this boy did. “He took a picture f this girl he doesn’t know. He’s obviously not educated. Why would someone do that? This isn’t a zoo, he’s an idiot. Can you believe him?” Everyone on the bus started shaking their heads and agreeing that the boy is an idiot. I could hear their side conversations also, about why would he do that and he really needs to learn respect and get an education. Next thing I know the boy called for a the next bus stop- I’m not sure if he actually wanted to get off at that stop or just wanted to get off the bus as fast as humanly possible before he was humiliated even more.


I was so thankful and impressed by how everyone on the bus stood up for us and reprimanded this boy (he was about 16 or 17 years old). People in this country are very nice, but typically will not stand up for other people, much less themselves. I am very impressed by how the situation was handled. Oh, and just after the boy got off and the man who was standing next to me sat down, a woman carrying a baby got on the bus and the man got up and offered her seat. Again, this is NOT typical. Very impressive and inspiring day.

Little Victory

While walking in downtown Maputo this afternoon, I watched a group of eight 2nd and 3rd graders run into traffic two different times, narrowly missing getting run over. I caught up to them and told them how dangerous these roads are and they need to make sure to look both ways before running into the streets, as they’d been doing. To my complete surprise, after running off ahead of me, I see them stop and look both ways before jumping out into the next intersection. I was so proud. Baby steps…


Also, I am fully aware of the comical relationship between this post and Small Scare

To Anonymous

In reply to your comment to the post Small Scare, “you seem to drink as much as the men in this country so therefore you got what you deserved”- you can go f*** yourself. I have the right to drink as much as I want, but nobody has the right to treat me like trash or to HIT me with their car. Nobody has the right to make me think that what happened last weekend was my fault. And considering YOU wrote “this country,” I’m only assuming you are also in Mozambique. People like you, whoever you are, are the reason I second guess why I’m over here in the first place and if the last 2.5 years of my life have been worth the fight.


Please stop reading my blog if you’re only going to post hateful and offensive things.

Small scare this weekend

I want to preface this post by saying NOBODY was physically injured, I promise. Scooter is OK.

So this weekend Scooter and I went to the city on Friday to get some work done at the office and spend some time with Jenna before she went back to the states. We went out to Teacher’s Bar, our spot in the city, and had a few drinks with other PCVs and some visiting RPCVs and friends. At about 10:30pm, Scooter, Gracey, and I (Gracey was Moz 13 and the National REDES coordinator before me, now here doing an internship with USAID for the summer) got a cab back home. We went to the taxi “stand” out in front of the hotel we were next to, where it’s super easy to get a cab but you always have to fight to get the right price. After arguing a bit with one driver, who refused to give us the correct price, another driver walked up and said “150mets, yes, that’s fine. Let’s go.” We agreed on 150mets to drop us in two locations that are on the same street, only about 1km away from each other. When we dropped Gracey off, the driver decided he wanted more money, and he wouldn’t take Scoot and I home until we agree to pay more. So we got out of the car to walk home (it was a well lit street and no more than a 10 minute walk). The driver jumped out of the car, “Women don’t slam doors!” We argued for what seemed like a few minutes about the price. I think what upset him the most was the fact that two women were standing up to him. Well, Scoot tossed the money into the car, “Fine, we’ll walk. We’re done with you.” As we walk away, I had a weird feeling. I was on the sidewalk (which is virtually nonexistent) and Scoot was barely in the road. All of the sudden, Scoot was on her back at my feet. The driver had HIT HER WITH HIS CAR! (Again I will take this opportunity to say Scooter is fine, she was not hurt by the car). Of course he sped off and I was not able to get the license plate number (yes it would’ve been helpful but I was a bit more focused on Scoot on the ground.) After he sped off and Scoot was on her feet, not bleeding or hurting, we stopped and thought about what had just happened. Did he actually do that? How could he do that? Yes, we were pissed at him and clearly he was upset with us, but to run us over with his car? Well, we called our Safety and Security Officer to explain the situation. The next day we went to track him down (we didn’t have his name, number, or license plate number) but we found out who he was and when he’d be working next. Scoot and I had to come back home, but the SSO is working to clear up the situation.

The driver hit Scooter perfectly, in a sense that it terrified her (and me), knocked her down, but did not hurt her. I don’t want to say I go around pissing people off, but I am a strong woman in a male dominant society. I’ve never thought something like this (or more extreme) could happen, especially over something as trivial as the price of a 2 minute cab ride. Again, Scoot is fine, but the event has shaken us up a little. And lowered (if that was even possible) my opinion of men in this country.

JUNTOS Workshop

This weekend I went up to Gaza province, my old province, for a JUNTOS workshop. It was a last minute discussion but I'm so thankful I was able to go! It was two full days of activities and sessions, involving 41 students, 5 Mozambican facilitators, and 5 PCVs. Most of the conference was very enjoyable, but a few events or conversations stand out in my mind.



Sex Words.

There was an activity where students went around the room and wrote slang terms for words like penis, vagina, breasts, and sex. First off, what a great activity to get kids saying words that they are normally to shy to say. I was very surprised to learn that there is not much trepidation when using these terms in Portuguese, yet they virtually never use the words in Changana, their local language. Apparently there is a distinct heaviness to the words which makes them taboo and creates discomfort. This creates a barrier of communication: older generations will not use the words, therefore they will not talk about sex with their children, and since sexual education does not exist in schools, young people are left with no manner to learn about sex or receive accurate information. Well, this session was great to watch and listen to. After writing all the words we asked the session facilitator to repeat the words in front of the group, lightening up the mood and showing that it's ok to use these words. He was SO uncomfortable!! For a minute I thought he wasn't going to repeat them out loud. He eventually did, with extreme difficulty and embarrassment. The kids laughed and laughed, which is to be expected, but at least they became a bit more comfortable with it all. Also, I was surprised at their lack of slang terms. While all this was happening, in the back of the room the Americans were creating a list of our own. Out of 10 words, we came up with over 100 slang terms. Impressive.



Gender Roles

Gender roles are very prominent here in Moz. Women clean, cook, stay at home, raise the kids, and are submissive while men drink, build houses, drive cars, and go to school. The facilitator asked if women were able to go out into the pastier with the cows. A girl exclaimed “No! That's for men.” I stood, “Ok, it's a job mostly men do. But if I wanted, am I capable?” “No. You're a woman.” “So, just because I don't have a penis and I have breasts, I'm not capable of doing the same work as men? Just because a man has a penis it means he can drive but can't help clean the house?” This definitely made her stop and think (FINALLY!). I tried to direct the conversation to abilities rather than traditions. Yes, culturally men leave the house to work and women stay behind, but does that mean women are not capable? Anyone who knows me knows I get very emotional and involved in conversations like this, because so often women don't know how capable they are.

About 30 minutes later, when the session was about the relationship between man and wife, the same girl exclaimed “It's ok with a man cheats on his wife. A woman is for one man but a man is for everyone.” Are you kidding me?!?! “That's just how it is,” was her response. It's so hard to to comprehend their thought process; how conditioned they are to forcefully stand up for abusive, drunks and cheating husbands and stand down to equal rights for women. I know I've grown up in a different culture, in a time where men and women are equal and we have (compared to here) the same rights and opportunities. I will never get used to or become comfortable with women saying the things this girl was saying.

Her worst comment, the “gem” of the conference, was when we were talking about being pressured or pressuring someone into sex. She stands and says, “Yes, girls always say no, no, I don't want to. But behind every No is really a Yes.” SERIOUSLY!?!? I think the worst part of it all, besides the fact that she actually believes when she says, is that all the boys in the room broke out into clapping and cheering after she said it. Some days I feel like my work here is going nowhere, but I refuse to give up.



Small Groups

Many of the conference participants are in their late teens and quite vocal. However some are early teens, lack a lot of information about sex, and typically keep their mouths shut and not ask questions. We decided to break into groups of about 5 people and discuss tough issues in detail, giving the younger ones a chance to ask questions without a room full of people listening. I think I got the youngest girls. A few didn't know what sex was or what it involved. I dove right in to explaining as much as a could in an hour (turned out to be a lot, actually). I was so thankful to be able to give these girls real, concrete information. And because none of them are girls I will see again, they felt comfortable to ask me things they would be embarrassed to ask the PCV in their town.

Personal highlight from the weekend: One of the girls from my small group stood up at the end of the conference and said, “I've learned so much this weekend, and I'm very thankful for the experience. The thing I'm most thankful for is learning how to satisfy myself, so I don't have to rely on a man in my life.” Apparently she was taking notes when I was talking about masturbation. Good for her!!

Our psychotic dog

The last few days Amenduim has been acting insane- constantly crying, yelping, trying to run away, and being all out annoying. We attribute his ridiculous behavior to a female dog that’s in heat close by. Well, last night after hours and hours of making noise, all of the sudden nothing. Like a small child, I knew his lack of fussing meant he was up to something. I ran outside- he’d jumped over the 6 foot cement wall next to our house, and was still chained to the house. I couldn’t tell at first, but thankfully the extra long chain he has allowed him to land on the other side of the wall without hanging himself. Scoot jumped the wall and rescued him, which did not make him at all happy. A few minutes later we heard another dog on the other side of the wall and Amenduim’s cries were heart wrenching. Maybe we broke up his puppy love.

Anyways, he is not a big dog and our wall is high. AND he knew he was still attached to the house. Let’s hope this ridiculous dog behavior passes soon.

Drunk men = chega

On our way back from Xipamenine, a GIANT outside market where Scoot and I like to buy used clothes, jackets, shoes, etc, we got into a chapa who's cobrador was belligerently drunk. The corbrador is the person in charge of opening the door, taking money from passengers, calling for stops, etc. When the chapa would stop, he would stand there confused as to what was happening. Someone would give him money and he would just stare at it. Several times Scoot and I got worried (is that the right word?) he was going to fall out of the chapa or slam his head in the door. Finally, a man who was standing at the front of the chapa made a comment- “How can you come to work like this? It’s a disgrace. You should go home, be ashamed of yourself.” The drunk man attempted to defend himself but without being able to form sentences it was difficult.


This situation made me think of several things. Firstly, I am so over the drunk men in this country! No matter what time of day it is, no matter where you are, you WILL run into a drunk man. Many times they keep to themselves, but all too often they do not.

Next, why did it take 15 minutes for anyone to speak up about what an embarrassment this man is? And once the man who spoke up got off the chapa, nobody else made mention. This behavior is just accepted here. The woman sitting next to me just said, “Oh he just likes to drink” and she rolled her eyes.

Maybe I’m blowing this out of proportion- maybe being publicly intoxicated and drunk on the job is not that big of an issue. But alcohol abuse has so many negative consequences. Ignorance to this leads to a hyper tolerance of this behavior and fails to stop preventable accidents. Although I have not blogged about it, as I still have no words to describe my feelings and heartbreak, two of my fellow PCVs were killed by a drunk driver last December while three more were injured and evacuated from the country. This tragic accident could have been prevented, with education on the effects of alcohol and its negative consequences. Here in Mozambique, there is no education on the effect of alcohol. Many times people tell me they drink while driving to keep them from feeling tired.

Alcohol is a topic that not only is a daily annoyance in this country, but one that has the potential to ruin lives. I and several other PCVs are working to incorporate alcohol education into the school system and/or any other medium of education transmission. Hopefully we can make some sort of difference in how Mozambicans view alcohol and its effects.

Who needs lanes!

The main highway in this country is one lane each direction, typically with no shoulder.  On our way back to Namaacha yesterday we hit some traffic.  The one lane turned into three, with people driving half sideways on the non-existent shoulder and speeding the wrong way into oncoming traffic.   I think I should’ve been a bit more concerned about my or others’ safety, instead I was just annoyed that people were cutting us off. Have I been here too long?

A guide to understanding your PCV

So anyone who's talked to me in the last 2.5 years has personal experience of not being able to understand half of what I say.  Here's a blog post that a fellow Moz PCV wrote which I find hilarious, and maybe it will help understand me a bit ;)

The Pale Blue Dot: 4/24/12 – A Peace Corps Mozambique Phrasebook: A G...:        Do you have a Moz (R)PCV in your life who won’t stop falaring about that chapa to the mato that was maningue demorrared? Did you no...

Learn to ask WHY

At an exchange I attended several weeks back, there was an information session and discussion about malaria.  A nurse came to answer any and all questions students had about malaria.  Great idea! In my opinion, there is no such thing as a stupid question.  If it helps you understand, why not ask it.  Other people did not feel the same way.  After several questions like "How can you get malaria from mosquitoes but not HIV?" and "How long is a mosquito's life cycle?", one of the group facilitators, the person all these students are looking up to, stood up and said “These are stupid questions.  The details don’t matter.  You just need to know to sleep under a mosquito net and clean up dirt.”  I was appalled!! Not surprised, but upset.  This teacher is telling his kids not to be inquisitive, to not question what they are learning, and just learn how to regurgitate information, but not Why.  Why is the most important part!!!  I continued to talk to the students during lunch that day, trying to encourage any bit of curiosity and investigation.  All too often kids here are cut down and discouraged from learning.  I can only hope that little by little we can change that and promote inquisition.

Farewell

Today I said goodbye to three fellow PCVs that arrived back in September 2009 with me. Donna and Luis, who lived in Inhambane, and Jenna, who lived very close to me in Guija. They extended, like me, but only for 6 months, to finish up projects they were working on at site. It's hard to say goodbye, seeing as these people are my family.


I arrived in country with 68 other PCVs and after December 2011, only 9 of us were left (because we were crazy enough to ask to stay behind). Now, we're down to 6, only 2 of which are within 1,000km of me. Thankfully I have Scooter with me :)

Bushfire Festival!

Swaziland hosts an international music festival each year at the end of May.  I went in 2010 and this year I was able to go back.  There were about 25 PCVs from all over Moz who came (in addition to over 17,000 other people from all over southern Africa), and we listened to bands from Moz, South Africa, Swazi, Japan, and the US while lounging in the sun, drinking beer, wandering through the craft stations, and eating as much food as humanly possible.  There were fire dancers who stood on the roof of the stage, giant dancing puppets wandering through the lawn, a silent orchestra for the kids, interpretive dancing, jazz musicians, rappers, and oh so many other interesting performances.  The highlight of the festival for me (besides the people and food, of course) was Jeremy Loops, a South African One-Man Band.  Very interesting guy with a great sound.  Look him up if you get a chance!

JUNTOS!

Jovens Unidos No Trabalho para Oportunidade e Successo (Young people working together for opportunities and successes) 

Kids even watching from the trees



This is the (longwinded yet fantastic) name of a youth project run by PCVs. It was started in 2006 and has grown tremendously over the last several years. It is a coed club, unlike REDES which is just for young girls, that uses different forms of communication to transmit information to students and communities. Projects involve journalism, photo journalism, music, art, and/or theater. Participants use these medium to talk about things like HIV/AIDS, malaria, gender equality, the importance of school, and many other important issues.

On May 20th, the Estaquinha JUNTOS group hosted an exchange involving over 50 students from 3 towns. In the morning, after introductions and ice breakers, a nurse from the local health center came to talk about malaria and how we can best protect ourselves. He was able to answer any and all questions that participants had. After lunch, the many theater pieces and music presentations began. All participants were normal JUNTOS kids, yet they were not the only beneficiaries of the exchange. As the presentations were being held on the school grounds (and the town in extremely small to begin with), people started pouring in from all over. Young kids, other non-JUNTOS students, teachers, and community members gathered around to watch the different events, including a skit about the negative effects of drugs and alcohol, a poem about the dangers of malaria, songs about JUNTOS, and a skit about domestic abuse. The skits were presented in a mixture of Portuguese and Endow (the local language), and by the end of the afternoon, several hundred people had gathered.



Get to know you songs



Dancing



It was awesome to see so many people getting into the skits, laughing, exclaiming, and (hopefully) learning something. An amazingly successful exchange!








Nurse, presenting about malaria


Ian, PCV Mangunde, getting a little help with his keyboarding





Kids gathered to watch



Movie Night

Friday and Saturday nights in Estaquinha are pretty special- movie nights!! Because the majority of the students live on campus (the mission), there's really not a lot to do at night but braid each other's hair, study (yeah, right), or just sit.  So Dylan and David created movie night.  Using the school's projector (I wish I had one of those for my house!), Friday night they go to the girl's cafeteria and Saturday night they set up outside the boys dorm.  The movies are most often in English with Portuguese subtitles, and Saturday I got to sit outside with the boys (+100 of them) and watch Avatar.  It was fun to watch their reactions to the movie, considering the most likely didn’t understand anything that was happening, but they were so happy anyway! So happy to have something entertaining (and maybe educational?) to do. 

Back in Chimoio

I’m so exhausted!!! I’ve been on the road for almost a month, and although I’m having an awesome time, I feel like every day I’m off to a new place, new people, new things to see and do, but there’s never enough time. Although I can’t complain too much- last night I met up with Sean, Joanna, and Val and we all went out for beer and Indian food. Delicious. Tomorrow, off to Estaquinha, Sofala province, for a JUNTOS exchange. Then back home!


I’ll try to accumulate some picture to post- I have seen SO many amazing sites, I really want to chare them all.

Angonia

After Tete, off to Angonia. Even more beautiful! A pain in the rear to get to, but that's almost all Peace Corps sites.  Again, the rolling hills, lush ground, big yellow flowers all over the place, and cool temperature. I visited two PCVs that live on the IFP (teacher training school) campus, and as I walked in, I did not feel like I was in Africa. Each house had a stone walkway lined with flowery bushes and archways, and a big garden out back.

I walked through town while the girls were teaching and ended up in an ENORMOUS open market. Supposedly it’s a Wednesday and Saturday market, but even on a Tuesday it was hoppin'. I found my way through rows and rows of shoes, blankets, buckets, handmade furniture, capulanas, fish, veggies, goats, and anything else you might want. And surprisingly, I didn’t get harassed the entire time I was there!! I love Angonia :)

Also, just outside their house there is a water pump, and a little boy was trying to carry water. Typical- children really don’t like to wear pants. This picture makes me laugh every time I see it!

Malawi!

My first stop in Tete was Zobwe, a relatively small town on the border with Malawi. Like the rest of the province, I fell in love with the site. I walked with Dan, one of the two PCVs in Zobwe, through the town, winding on narrow paths, through people’s yards, and passing hundreds of giant yellow flowers. This spot was not only beautiful but really felt like a community and a Peace Corps site. Of course, as we go out for a dinner of PB and nutella sandwiches, beer, goldfish, and skittles (they just got a care package), the power went out. Now that’s Peace Corps.

In the morning as Lisa had class, Dan showed me around a bit. We hiked about 15min north of their house, passed through several corn fields, houses, and rivers, and landed in Malawi! The border is marked by two white flags planted at the top of two mountains, but there is literally no other marker. You can just wander over.

We did cross the actual border a bit later in the morning, (got my passport stamped and everything!) to meet up with a PC response volunteer and another American (well, Canadian, but close) for lunch. Lisa and I wandered around and did a little thrift shopping while the boys waited for food. Now I have clothes from Malawi!

I just loved Zobwe. The school is small, the town feels like a community, and when you need to get out, there is a city in Malawi only about 2 hours away (with a movie theater!!). Definitely could come back here.

Tete

What a beautiful province!! Looking at a map of Moz, it's the north western chunk of the country.  It's known for its heat in the summers, and I remember during training they joked around with me, saying they send all the Alaskans to Tete, to watch them suffer (Amanda, a friend of mine from AK, did PC Moz in Tete several years back).   The drive up was beautiful, with so many mountains and rolling hills.  At times the land got really dry and barren, reminding me of Arizona.  The summers do get insanely hot (up to 50 celsius- just over 120 fahrenheit), but up in the mountains where I was visiting, it actually gets pretty chilly. Gaza province is flat and boring, I love Inhambane province, with all the beaches and coconut trees, but if I had to choose anywhere in the country to live, it would be Tete (pics to come.  Damn not having a camera!)