On Sunday, October 16 we got our first glimpse of a secondary school. As part of the Peace Corps 50th Anniversary celebration, the trainees and a member of their family cleaned the Secondary School of Namaacha. My assignment was to sweep the classrooms. I feel terrible and am ashamed that I ever complained about the old lecture halls in the chemistry building at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. These classrooms were litered with candy wrappers, bags of chips, and balls of paper. Some rooms were covered in layers of dust and dirt so thick that with every stroke of the broom a cloud of dust would shoot up and sufficate the room. I took some pictures because I do not think my words will do justice to the terrible conditions of these classrooms. (As I mentioned before, I will post pictures when I am in a city).
Many of the classrooms had no more than twenty desks or tables, but as we have heard time and time again, these classrooms sometimes seat over 100 students. (Students are forced to sit on the floor and others stand outside and listen to class through the windows). I can already tell that I will have a difficult time adjusting to this new school setting. I am fortunate enough to have attended schools that foster learning, creativity, and a community that supports every student and family. If all of the schools in Mozambique are as cold as the Secondary School of Namaacha it is no surprise that children skip school regularly and even drop out.
I am currently in the midst of cooking for my family and wished I would have selected another recipe. I am cooking chili, but so far my beans are overcooked and I am probably lacking some serious flavor. Luckily, I started cooking at 13:00 and have until 18:00 to finish the dish. That is five hours of flavor development!
As promised I have been writing down recipes. Over the course of the next few days I will work on converting measurements such as one pretty teacup of flour into meaningful measurements for people without the same pretty teacups as us. In regards to food and recipes, add bok choy to soup! We add bok choy to every dish and it ceases to amaze me. Also, add a little salt and chicken stock (approximately one cube) to the water while cooking rice.
Ate logo!
P.S. I finished making and eating dinner before posting this blog and I am proud to say dinner was a success!! My chili was such a hit that everyone took seconds and there are no leftovers (which is a bummer because I really wanted chili for lunch tomorrow). Looks like I will be cooking "American" food every weekend!
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Adjusting
Life in Mozambique is different than life in the United States. 51 of us have been thrown into houses in Namaacha and asked to adopt a different lifestyle than our own. Being here for nearly two weeks has given me time to adjust and reflect.
Business Casual?:
Business casual in the United States generally means skirts or dress pants with a nice blouse for women and either khakis or dress pants with a polo for men. In Mozambique, business casual clothing follows different rules. Sandals are business casual for women if they have a form of BLING attached (bling = shiney object)! The bling rule continues to confuse me daily. I had to change shoes today because I
wore my strapy Tevas to language class. Days earlier my language teacher, Sonia, wore sandals that were on their last leg. According to Mozambique dress code rules, her sandals were acceptable because she had bling. Someone please send me a beadazzler so I can bling my shoes!
I should also mention that if you dare test the waters and wear sandals to class, your feet need to be spotless. Just a hint of dirt and you're no longer business casual. The catch is that Namaacha is famous for its red dirt. I scrubbed my feet with a rock for ten minutes today and my feet are still stained!
Water:
My family has no running water- not even a single pipe in their house. My sister fetches water at least twice a week and carriers a 45 pound jug on her head and a 15 pound jug in her hands each trip. On average, she takes three trips each time she restocks our water buckets. Last weekend I decided to make the trip for water with her. After filling our jugs she insisted that I carry the jug on my head, but I refused.
I was so scared that my neck would break with all of that weight. I carried a 45 pound jug in one hand and a 15 pound jug in the other. Long story short- I'm doing pushups every day in preparation for my
next trip to the water station.
Uncontrolled Burns:
People in my village are constantly burning their "gardens". My mom burns our garden at least once a week after sweeping our "lawn". For those of you without a bachelor of science in biological aspects of conservation I will explain the science behind burns (I need to practice my teaching skills before standing in front of classes of 100 students). The people here plant a root vegetable (in Costa Rica they refer to a similar plant as "the poor man's potato). The problem with planting the same crop in the same place year after year is that the crop drains the soil of the nutrients the crop needs to grow. By burning the surrounding area, the people are trying to replenish the nutrients without giving the soil a year to rest. The science behind the burn method is supported- burning successfully replenishes some of the nutrients the soil is lacking. The problem here is that the people have uncontrolled burns in severe heat. My neighbors started a fire and left (for reference, this fire was bigger than a typical Steve Macejkovic fire). The nearby houses are made of dried plant leaves. Smart idea? In my opinion, uncontrolled burns are a terrible idea no matter where you are, but maybe the people here know better than myself! Adjusting to clouds of smoke is on my list of things to do.
Greetings:
Similar to in the United States, greetings can be either formal or informal. Unlike in the United States, formal greetings get complicated here. From the time you wake up until 12, noon, you can say bom dia (good day). From 12, noon, until you go to bed you can say boa tarde (good afternoon). When you go to bed (and only when you are going to bed) you can say boa noite (good evening). Rumor has it, kids stare at clocks waiting for seconds to pass after 12, noon, so they can switch their greeting from bom dia to boa tarde!
Another custom in Mozambique is that you greet everyone you pass, even if you don't know them. When walking to class, I always give myself an few extra minutes because the neighbors are usually waiting outside their houses to greet me.
Life is going very well here. I was getting frustrated with what seemed like no progress in language class, but my language teacher had nothing but positive things to say about my progress. During tutoring I interviewed Sonia and then she interviewed me. The last question she asked was something along the line of, "how are your studies going?". I told her that learning Portuguese is much more difficult than I imagined and having a ten week deadline makes learning a language even more stressful. She stopped me in the middle of my sentence and said, "Anna, we are having a conversation in Portuguese and we haven't spoken a single word in English during this interview. That is amazing progress. In a week and a half you are able to have a conversation with someone entirely in Portuguese". While Sonia's obsevation was quite basic, it hit the spot. I realized that I really do know enough Portuguese to survive in Mozambique. I am excited to continue my studies and continue my steady progress! (I also just got a 99% on my paper about my family in the United States. I am so proud I am going to post it online because my family in Mozambique doesn't have a refrigerator to post it on).
Ate logo (until later)!
Business Casual?:
Business casual in the United States generally means skirts or dress pants with a nice blouse for women and either khakis or dress pants with a polo for men. In Mozambique, business casual clothing follows different rules. Sandals are business casual for women if they have a form of BLING attached (bling = shiney object)! The bling rule continues to confuse me daily. I had to change shoes today because I
wore my strapy Tevas to language class. Days earlier my language teacher, Sonia, wore sandals that were on their last leg. According to Mozambique dress code rules, her sandals were acceptable because she had bling. Someone please send me a beadazzler so I can bling my shoes!
I should also mention that if you dare test the waters and wear sandals to class, your feet need to be spotless. Just a hint of dirt and you're no longer business casual. The catch is that Namaacha is famous for its red dirt. I scrubbed my feet with a rock for ten minutes today and my feet are still stained!
Water:
My family has no running water- not even a single pipe in their house. My sister fetches water at least twice a week and carriers a 45 pound jug on her head and a 15 pound jug in her hands each trip. On average, she takes three trips each time she restocks our water buckets. Last weekend I decided to make the trip for water with her. After filling our jugs she insisted that I carry the jug on my head, but I refused.
I was so scared that my neck would break with all of that weight. I carried a 45 pound jug in one hand and a 15 pound jug in the other. Long story short- I'm doing pushups every day in preparation for my
next trip to the water station.
Uncontrolled Burns:
People in my village are constantly burning their "gardens". My mom burns our garden at least once a week after sweeping our "lawn". For those of you without a bachelor of science in biological aspects of conservation I will explain the science behind burns (I need to practice my teaching skills before standing in front of classes of 100 students). The people here plant a root vegetable (in Costa Rica they refer to a similar plant as "the poor man's potato). The problem with planting the same crop in the same place year after year is that the crop drains the soil of the nutrients the crop needs to grow. By burning the surrounding area, the people are trying to replenish the nutrients without giving the soil a year to rest. The science behind the burn method is supported- burning successfully replenishes some of the nutrients the soil is lacking. The problem here is that the people have uncontrolled burns in severe heat. My neighbors started a fire and left (for reference, this fire was bigger than a typical Steve Macejkovic fire). The nearby houses are made of dried plant leaves. Smart idea? In my opinion, uncontrolled burns are a terrible idea no matter where you are, but maybe the people here know better than myself! Adjusting to clouds of smoke is on my list of things to do.
Greetings:
Similar to in the United States, greetings can be either formal or informal. Unlike in the United States, formal greetings get complicated here. From the time you wake up until 12, noon, you can say bom dia (good day). From 12, noon, until you go to bed you can say boa tarde (good afternoon). When you go to bed (and only when you are going to bed) you can say boa noite (good evening). Rumor has it, kids stare at clocks waiting for seconds to pass after 12, noon, so they can switch their greeting from bom dia to boa tarde!
Another custom in Mozambique is that you greet everyone you pass, even if you don't know them. When walking to class, I always give myself an few extra minutes because the neighbors are usually waiting outside their houses to greet me.
Life is going very well here. I was getting frustrated with what seemed like no progress in language class, but my language teacher had nothing but positive things to say about my progress. During tutoring I interviewed Sonia and then she interviewed me. The last question she asked was something along the line of, "how are your studies going?". I told her that learning Portuguese is much more difficult than I imagined and having a ten week deadline makes learning a language even more stressful. She stopped me in the middle of my sentence and said, "Anna, we are having a conversation in Portuguese and we haven't spoken a single word in English during this interview. That is amazing progress. In a week and a half you are able to have a conversation with someone entirely in Portuguese". While Sonia's obsevation was quite basic, it hit the spot. I realized that I really do know enough Portuguese to survive in Mozambique. I am excited to continue my studies and continue my steady progress! (I also just got a 99% on my paper about my family in the United States. I am so proud I am going to post it online because my family in Mozambique doesn't have a refrigerator to post it on).
Ate logo (until later)!
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Greeting from Namaacha!
Hello! I am happy to announce that I am loving life in Namaacha.
I am currently living with a host family. I have a mother, Suzana, two brothers, Fernando and Ricardo, and one sister, Zaida. My mother is the first of two wives, so the father of my siblings is never here. It is fairly common for men to have two wives- especially in Namaacha because many of the men from the village work in the mines in South Africa. The men will have two families- one in each country!
We live in a cement house and I have my own room with electricity (aka one lightbulb and no outlets). Across from our house we have three more buildings- a kitchen, a bathroom, and a shower. Our kitchen has a "two-burner" charcoal grill that my mom does all of the cooking and baking on (she even baked a cake and biscots on it this week).
I usually wake up by 5 am (our neighbors start blasting their stereos at 5:30- so if the roosters and chickens haven't already waken me, the stereo will). Every other day I sweep and mop my room, the hallway, and the kitchen before showering. (Showering in Mozambiqur consists of filling a bucket with a mix of boiling water and regular water and pouring that over your body. I take two bucket showers a day and don't mind them at all). After my shower I eat and either go to class or to Peace Corps informational sessions. I am learning Portuguese pouco a pouco (little by little). Having a background in Spanish has made it much easier to understand Portuguese, but spekaing is a different
story!
My first week in Namaacha has been full of new experiences and adventures. On my first night with my host family, I watched my brother kill a chicken (the experience was rather gross). After watching him kill a chicken I was handed the knife and asked to kill the other one. To my surprise, I managed to gather the courage to kill the chicken with a knife no sharper than a butter knife. The job did not stop there- I also had to de-feather the chicken and slice him into pieces. My mom used every last piece of the chicken and made a braid from the intestines (the intestines were probably my dinner later that week). I also ate a chicken foot my first week in Namaacha. To be honest, I had no clue I was eating a chicken foot until I got to the toes.
I am learning tons from my family! I help my mother cook every night and have been picking up small tricks here and there. I will try to post a curry recipe soon, but translating is very difficult becuase my mother knows the names for ingredients in Shangana (the local language) and not in Portuguese. If anyone can tell me what mandioquiera is I will be one step closer to an amazing curry recipe.
The weather here is great, but very unpredictable. One day it is cold, the next day it pours, and then the day after that it is scorching hot. We are moving into the rainy season which means hot days and tons of bugs. I have made peace with the mystery bugs that hang out in my room, but the second they move from the window to the ground they are dead meat! This morning I was greeted by a lizard in the bathroom. I seriously thought about making him a house pet because lizards=less
bugs.
Please forgive any spelling errors- I am writing this blog on my phone.
PS I should have the internet on my phone for one month so I will try to post as often as possible. Sadly, the internet here is very slow so posting pictures will have to wait until I go to a city.
Ate logo (until later)!
I am currently living with a host family. I have a mother, Suzana, two brothers, Fernando and Ricardo, and one sister, Zaida. My mother is the first of two wives, so the father of my siblings is never here. It is fairly common for men to have two wives- especially in Namaacha because many of the men from the village work in the mines in South Africa. The men will have two families- one in each country!
We live in a cement house and I have my own room with electricity (aka one lightbulb and no outlets). Across from our house we have three more buildings- a kitchen, a bathroom, and a shower. Our kitchen has a "two-burner" charcoal grill that my mom does all of the cooking and baking on (she even baked a cake and biscots on it this week).
I usually wake up by 5 am (our neighbors start blasting their stereos at 5:30- so if the roosters and chickens haven't already waken me, the stereo will). Every other day I sweep and mop my room, the hallway, and the kitchen before showering. (Showering in Mozambiqur consists of filling a bucket with a mix of boiling water and regular water and pouring that over your body. I take two bucket showers a day and don't mind them at all). After my shower I eat and either go to class or to Peace Corps informational sessions. I am learning Portuguese pouco a pouco (little by little). Having a background in Spanish has made it much easier to understand Portuguese, but spekaing is a different
story!
My first week in Namaacha has been full of new experiences and adventures. On my first night with my host family, I watched my brother kill a chicken (the experience was rather gross). After watching him kill a chicken I was handed the knife and asked to kill the other one. To my surprise, I managed to gather the courage to kill the chicken with a knife no sharper than a butter knife. The job did not stop there- I also had to de-feather the chicken and slice him into pieces. My mom used every last piece of the chicken and made a braid from the intestines (the intestines were probably my dinner later that week). I also ate a chicken foot my first week in Namaacha. To be honest, I had no clue I was eating a chicken foot until I got to the toes.
I am learning tons from my family! I help my mother cook every night and have been picking up small tricks here and there. I will try to post a curry recipe soon, but translating is very difficult becuase my mother knows the names for ingredients in Shangana (the local language) and not in Portuguese. If anyone can tell me what mandioquiera is I will be one step closer to an amazing curry recipe.
The weather here is great, but very unpredictable. One day it is cold, the next day it pours, and then the day after that it is scorching hot. We are moving into the rainy season which means hot days and tons of bugs. I have made peace with the mystery bugs that hang out in my room, but the second they move from the window to the ground they are dead meat! This morning I was greeted by a lizard in the bathroom. I seriously thought about making him a house pet because lizards=less
bugs.
Please forgive any spelling errors- I am writing this blog on my phone.
PS I should have the internet on my phone for one month so I will try to post as often as possible. Sadly, the internet here is very slow so posting pictures will have to wait until I go to a city.
Ate logo (until later)!
Monday, October 10, 2011
The life in Mozambique
 |
| This is the view from our hotel in Maputo, Mozambique. Off to the right along the coast is downtown Maputo which looks very similar to New York's busy downtown with tons of buildings |
 |
| Loading my luggage into the car the night before I left for Mozambique. Please don't be fooled by the picture- the luggage was very HEAVY. |
 |
| The packing room before organizing my clothes into piles of "love it", "like it", and "hate it". Thanks to my mom, the fashionista, packing went smoother than expected. Thank you mom! |
 |
| Another view from the hotel in Mozambique. |
 |
| The 17th group of peace corps Mozambique. |
Friday, September 30, 2011
The Art of Not Sleeping
Goodmorning! It is currently 5:20 am and I cannot sleep. I have been up since 2 am tossing and turning hoping that eventually I would drift off. No luck so far. Today we will be traveling an hour and a half to Namaacha to meet our host families. I will be living in neighborhood A with the other science teachers. I am very excited to meet my family, but quite nervous. My family does not speak English and I speak very little Portuguese, but this is the best way to learn- diving in with both feet.
We were warned yesterday that life would be very different while staying in Namaacha. Our families will be awake and the village will be alive by 4:30 in the morning. We are expected to help with household chores and will be tested on our skills during week 5. My mother will cook my breakfast, lunch, and dinner and will pack me a morning snack for school. According to Abby, a third year volunteer in Mozambique, the people in Namaacha will take at least two, maybe even three baths a day.
For the next ten weeks, my days will be packed with training. Language class starts at 7:30 most mornings and after four hours of language, cultural, and technical training, I will head home to spend time with my family.
Next weekend we will travel back to Maputo with our language teacher to apply what we have learned in our lessons. Our language teachers will take us to a cell phone store and help us buy phones. We will be responsible for doing the talking and buying- they are there only as guides. I am crossing my fingers hoping that my phone will work in Mozambique- if not, I will buy a new one next weekend.
Yesterday we had the privilege and honor to meet the U.S. Ambassador to Mozambique. She mentioned one program that is beginning in Mozambique that truly inspired me. Officials in Mozambique have selected some of the most promising high school students from the southern regions of Mozambique and are helping them prepare for college in the United States. Officials are registering the students for the ACT and SAT as well as finding scholarships which will make school much more affordable. I hope that I will be able to work with the ambassador on this program over the next two years.
I will try to update my blog as much as possible during training, but as mentioned before I will be extremely busy studying and adopting a new lifestyle.
For now, tchau (goodbye)!
We were warned yesterday that life would be very different while staying in Namaacha. Our families will be awake and the village will be alive by 4:30 in the morning. We are expected to help with household chores and will be tested on our skills during week 5. My mother will cook my breakfast, lunch, and dinner and will pack me a morning snack for school. According to Abby, a third year volunteer in Mozambique, the people in Namaacha will take at least two, maybe even three baths a day.
For the next ten weeks, my days will be packed with training. Language class starts at 7:30 most mornings and after four hours of language, cultural, and technical training, I will head home to spend time with my family.
Next weekend we will travel back to Maputo with our language teacher to apply what we have learned in our lessons. Our language teachers will take us to a cell phone store and help us buy phones. We will be responsible for doing the talking and buying- they are there only as guides. I am crossing my fingers hoping that my phone will work in Mozambique- if not, I will buy a new one next weekend.
Yesterday we had the privilege and honor to meet the U.S. Ambassador to Mozambique. She mentioned one program that is beginning in Mozambique that truly inspired me. Officials in Mozambique have selected some of the most promising high school students from the southern regions of Mozambique and are helping them prepare for college in the United States. Officials are registering the students for the ACT and SAT as well as finding scholarships which will make school much more affordable. I hope that I will be able to work with the ambassador on this program over the next two years.
I will try to update my blog as much as possible during training, but as mentioned before I will be extremely busy studying and adopting a new lifestyle.
For now, tchau (goodbye)!
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Finally On Solid Ground
I arrived in Maputo, Mozambique this morning after nearly 20 hours of EXHAUSTING travels. Mozambique is BEAUTIFUL (I am trying to upload a few pictures I took from the hotel, but my internet is now in Portuguese and I'm afraid my two weeks in Portuguese class has not prepared me for this). After arriving this morning, we were sent to medical interviews and a vaccination session. Sadly, I got three shots and I believe I have at least one more coming tomorrow. After finishing with our Peace Corps business, most of us sat outside and enjoyed the breathtaking view of downtown Maputo.
Just before dinner I got a present delivered to the hotel- my bag arrived! It turns out that my bag was left in Johannesburg and was sent on the afternoon flight to Maputo.
Tomorrow we have a busy day of training sessions starting at 7 am. In addition to our training sessions, we must also give the Peace Corps one of our bags to keep at the office. This bag will be a little reward after ten weeks of extensive language and cultural training. On Saturday we take an hour and a half ride out to Namaacha to move into our home-stay families' houses. I cannot wait to meet my family and start my Portuguese training.
Sadly I will not be able to update my blog as often as I would like in Namaacha, because there are only two computers at the Peace Corps office.
Just before dinner I got a present delivered to the hotel- my bag arrived! It turns out that my bag was left in Johannesburg and was sent on the afternoon flight to Maputo.
Tomorrow we have a busy day of training sessions starting at 7 am. In addition to our training sessions, we must also give the Peace Corps one of our bags to keep at the office. This bag will be a little reward after ten weeks of extensive language and cultural training. On Saturday we take an hour and a half ride out to Namaacha to move into our home-stay families' houses. I cannot wait to meet my family and start my Portuguese training.
Sadly I will not be able to update my blog as often as I would like in Namaacha, because there are only two computers at the Peace Corps office.
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
On The Road Again
These first few days might be some of the most demanding days. Yesterday, I left Milwaukee for Philadelphia on a 7:40 am flight. As a result of delays and air traffic problems at the Philadelphia airport, I arrived late to the Peace Corps Staging Conference. The conference was very motivational and the leader, BJ, did a great job of reminding us why we signed up for the Peace Corps. One of my goals as a volunteer is to help promote mutual understanding among Americans and people from other cultures.
After dinner, repacking, and a two hour nap, I checked out of the hotel and boarded the bus for JFK. I made it through security and for now will sit in anticipation for the 15 hour flight to Johannesburg. I will write again when I get settled in Mozambique.
After dinner, repacking, and a two hour nap, I checked out of the hotel and boarded the bus for JFK. I made it through security and for now will sit in anticipation for the 15 hour flight to Johannesburg. I will write again when I get settled in Mozambique.
Sunday, September 25, 2011
The Art of Packing for the Peace Corps
If I was interviewed and asked about the hardest part of joining the Peace Corps, I would say that the greatest challenge has been packing! Forget the 12-month application process, the multiple mini-applications, and the much anticipated interview- packing has been the greatest challenge thus far.
For all of my readers that are not and have not been Peace Corps volunteers, I will give you a brief guideline of the packing rules and regulations.
I am only allowed TWO checked bags with a total of 80 pounds. (Neither piece of luggage can weigh more than 50 pounds). If I am traveling via a domestic airline in Mozambique, each bag must be under 45 pounds. (The catch? I will not know if I am traveling via a domestic airline until 3 months into my service). The total dimension of my bags must not exceed 107 inches. The most difficult guideline: I can keep ONLY ONE of my bags for the first three months of service.
Packing gets a little more complicated, because Mozambique has a tropical climate with two seasons, a wet season from October to March and a dry season from April to September. I am arriving in September and will only have one piece of luggage until December, during which the temperatures will range anywhere from 45 degrees to 80+ degrees!
Packing was quite a challenge, but with the help of my mom we got it done in a week! My advice for future Peace Corps volunteers- start packing early.
For all of my readers that are not and have not been Peace Corps volunteers, I will give you a brief guideline of the packing rules and regulations.
I am only allowed TWO checked bags with a total of 80 pounds. (Neither piece of luggage can weigh more than 50 pounds). If I am traveling via a domestic airline in Mozambique, each bag must be under 45 pounds. (The catch? I will not know if I am traveling via a domestic airline until 3 months into my service). The total dimension of my bags must not exceed 107 inches. The most difficult guideline: I can keep ONLY ONE of my bags for the first three months of service.
Packing gets a little more complicated, because Mozambique has a tropical climate with two seasons, a wet season from October to March and a dry season from April to September. I am arriving in September and will only have one piece of luggage until December, during which the temperatures will range anywhere from 45 degrees to 80+ degrees!
Packing was quite a challenge, but with the help of my mom we got it done in a week! My advice for future Peace Corps volunteers- start packing early.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)