Moving On Up

As I am getting packed and ready to leave Namaacha, I have been reflecting on my last eight weeks here. I have compiled a variety of short stories highlighting some of the fun times I have had in Namaacha.

Super Dolie- Protector and Saver of the World:

When it rains in Namaacha, my sister gets up from whatever she is doing and puts a white lacy dolie on the television. Granted my Portuguese is not perfect, but the rationale I got for the dolie is that it will protect us from getting struck by lightening through the television. This is one of the many myths in Namaacha I am planning to submit to "Myth Busters".

The Day I Saw Too Much Mae:

The weather in Namaacha has this uncanny ability to change in the snap of a finger. One second it is so hot I am begging for a third bath of the day, and the next I am wearing my Uggs. In a matter of 24 hours, I went from wearing a skirt, tanktop, and sandles to wearing jeans, two tanktops, a longsleeve shirt, two coats, and my Uggs. Thank goodness for homeostasis and internal regulation!

Back to the story... It was one of those really hot days in Namaacha. Even when you were sitting perfectly still, you could not avoid dripping in sweat. I went home for lunch (as usual) and was greeted by my mom, sister, and brother. My mom had gotten out her bamboo/straw mat to sit on and was drinking a boiling hot glass of tea (tea drinking never ends, even if it is over 100 degrees). I was served lunch and was munching away when my mom shouted and demanded I turn around to face her and talk. BAM! There she was- her top half exposed for all to see. I was so embarrassed, but she sat there and acted like nothing was out of the norm. After comparing stories with Lena, I'm starting to realize that going topless is a method of cooling one's body. Why not skip the boiling hot tea? Or, why not invest in a fan?

The thought of my topless mother brings back the confusion of the Mozambican dress code. Why is it acceptable for my mother to expose herself, but I am not allowed to wear a skirt or dress that shows my knees? Understanding the dress code is one battle I will never win- I am resigning today.

Mean Teacher Face:

I am proud to admit, I have a mean teacher face! On Tuesday, I taught my first chemistry classes to Mozambican students. My lessons were well-received and for the first time in a long time, a chemistry class was engaging and exciting for these students!

My brother was so excited about chemistry, during dinner he repeated my lesson for my mother and sister. This was a huge accomplishment for me, because he didn't pass his grade this year and skipped school more times than he attended. To inspire a student to be interested in learning again was more than I expected from model school. He even went to school early on Wednesday, took tons of notes, and even asked me questions about the material he learned on Wednesday!

Despite my welcoming smile, I do have a mean teacher face. One of my eighth grade students thought he could send text messages during my class. Think again! I walked over to him and with the meanest face I could put on I told him I did not want to see his phone in my classroom ever again. He has been our best student since!

The Most Authentic Thanksgiving:

Happy Belated Thanksgiving! My mother from the United States wrote me a huge email telling me that I should stay busy on Thanksgiving to avoid getting sad and lonely. Little does she know about the most authentic Thanksgiving ever!

On Tuesday, Sam, Sean, and Derek chased, caught, killed, cleaned, and prepared our turkeys for our Thanksgiving Feast! Meanwhile, Joanna, Lena, and I started a hand turkey station and tons of volunteers had flashbacks to kindergarten when we all made hand turkeys and wrote what we were thankful for.

On Friday we has a potluck filled with some of the best foods ever. Lena, Ariel, and I made a banana bread pudding, peanut butter fudge, and apple crunch cake. Everything was delicious- I was so overwhelmed by the variety of colors and flavors of our dishes. Sorry Wisconsin, this Thanksgiving is so much more authentic (and fresh)!

PS I have so many pictures from Thanksgiving and cannot wait to post them (it is a bummer that the picture of me holding the turkey won't make it to the Kaufman Thanksgiving picture, but maybe next year?!?)

Imported Roosters:

I have a theory that the roosters in Mozambique have been imported from across the world. In books and movies, roosters only call at sunrise. In Mozambique, at least one rooster calls every hour. I justify their obnoxious calls by telling myself them must all be from different time zones- somewhere in the world it must be sunrise.

This week I will begin my brief local language training with our language teachers. I hope to pick it up fast, but my mom gave me a sample of the local language and it sounded like a bunch of random sounds stuck together. Looks like learning the local language will be harder than expected.

I am getting more and more excited to move to site next week, but I am trying to enjoy the time I have left with the Peace Corps volunteers (especially those that are going to sites up north).

Ate logo.