The Chronicles of Namaacha

I am compiling some stories and adventures from my first four weeks at training that did not make a blog so far. Enjoy!

Crime and Punishment.

I woke up at 5:00 to the sound of my mom shuffling in her room getting ready to leave for work. Like clockwork, at 5:15 my mom shouted at my "tudo bom?" ("Is it all good?"), "tudo bem" (it is good), I responded. That marked the start of a bad day. She woke my sister up and left for work.

I carried on with my usual routine; I made my bed, cleaned my room and the dining room, and took a bucket bath. Upon returning from my bath I realized that the house was abnormally quiet- the television was not blasting American music and there were no screaming children in sight (turns out that my sister decided she did not want to wake up that morning). So I sat at the table and watched the minutes pass by until 6:40 rolled around. I was desperate- there was no food in sight, I searched high and low until I came across an old thing of bread. I covered it in peanut butter, inhaled it, and finished getting ready for school. At 6:50 my sister decided to wake up, turn on the television, and proceed to act like she did not do anything wrong (although she is responsible for making my breakfast and buying the bread every morning). I finally had had enough! I was so sick of not getting the food I wanted when I wanted it and I decided that I was going to rebel. I walked over to the freezer, took the last yogurt out, and left for class. My sister had an expression on her face that looked like I had just taken 1000 MT from her wallet. I walked to school with a bounce in my step.

As I have been taught, every action has a consequence. I thought I had done the time for my crime when my sister refused to talk to me during lunch (the silent treatment was devastating). I was wrong, Zaida had planned to fight back until the end. The next day, I had to take my lunch to the IFP because we had Peace Corps sessions the entire day. She packed my lunch with a smirk and wished me a good day. At 13:00 I realized why she had a smirk on her face- she had given me chicken feet and pasta for lunch! She placed the feet so that the claws were reaching out at me when I took the top off of the tuperware. GROSS.

Two points Zaida. One point Anna.

Cookie Monster.

I am changing my name from Anna to Cookie Monster. Since being in Namaacha, I have been dreaming of cookies. Cookies and cakes are always on my mind.

I have gone cookie crazy- I even have an intricate trading pattern set up. I trade my "agua e sal" cookies (the equivalent to saltines sans the salt) with Dylan because he gets fancy cookies every day and is getting sick of them. I trade my juice box with Mary because she gets "Marias" (shortbread cookies) because she does not like them and her family insists on giving them to her because her name is Maria in Portuguese. Every once in a while I get "agua e sal" from Maria and use those to trade with Dylan or other volunteers desperate for the blandness of "agua e sal" crackers. I am hoping that there are no trade embargos in the near future...

Cookies and cakes have become the focal point of my life in Namaacha. I am not looking forward to seeing my reflection in a mirror larger than one inch in diameter.

Paternity Test Requested!

My siblings finally got bold enough to ask about the "spots" all over my body (do not worry I have not picked up a deadly disease... In English we would call these spots freckles). I explained what freckles were and that my mom also has freckles. "What? You mean your father does not have freckles?" They frantically asked in disbelief. I calmly explained that not everyone has freckles, and that my father is among the many people whom do not have freckles. Somehow for them that translated into my father not being my actual father... maybe I will need a Paternity test to prove that Gary (sans freckles) is actually my father.

Leaky Roof.

A few nights ago I woke up soaking wet from my knees down. I was startled and in disbelief- I thought I had outgrown peeing myself in the middle of the night. When my brain finally turned on, I realized that I had not peed myself- the roof was leaking! (Come to think of it, I'm not sure which scenario is better). I sat and watched the rain slowly, but steadily drip from the crack in my tin roof. I decided there was nothing I could do, scooted to the other half of my bed, and went back to sleep. When I woke up, I verified that it was actually rain coming down from my roof and got to thinking of the possible solutions. Solution 1- try to explain to my mom that there is a hole in the roof. Solution 2- move my bed a foot and a half towards the wall. I struggled between the two solutions all day- on one hand I did not want to explain to my mom that there was a hole because looking up all of the words necessary to express the problem would take way too long. On the other hand, moving my bed a foot and a half might lead to the discovery of cockroaches or worse, a colony of mice that might be living under my bed.

I sat on the two solutions all day. When I got home, I closed my eyes and pressed against my bed. I did not discover cockroaches or mice and, I have stayed dry the last few nights it rained! Difficult Portuguese words averted until next time...

I am spoiling everyone- two blogs in one week! This will most likely be my last blog for a week or two, because I am heading out for site visits on Saturday and will not return to Namaacha until Thursday. Upon returning, life will be a whirl-wind of interviews and preparation for model school.

Ate logo!