Quick Update

I may not have posted a blog for quite a long time, but it doesn't mean I haven't been writing some! I've just posted the ones from the last few months. AND we got all the funding for the pre-school, so THANK YOU to everyone that donated, we really appreciate it. They're stockpiling the materials now and I'll post some photos when they start building :)

Trip of a Lifetime!

It’s July which means that it’s time for my last school break. I’ve traveled a lot since living here. I had visited (and stayed the night in) all 10 provinces in Moçambique. I also took my big Tanzania trip over Christmas and now that our visas have been figured out I’ve been able to visit Malawi a few times. I knew that this would be my last break and I was still missing out on traveling to Ilha de Moçambique (Mozambique Island) as well as Victoria Falls on the border of Zambia and Zimbabwe. Ilha is in the northern part of Moz, and Vic Falls is also a long trip but I decided that it would be possible to check both off my list with one big loop over our 2 week break, and luckily I had a few friends crazy enough to join me. To start off the vacation, my friend Emily was throwing a July 4th party for our region at her site (affectionately called “The Dombe”). She’s a 4 hour drive through the mountains to a site where she doesn’t have electricity. The real Peace Corps experience, for sure. After the open back chapa ride through the mountains (and 4 hours to go about 85km) I finally made it just in time for a BBQ complete with onion rings, beef cheeseburgers, hotdogs and beer. It was a great time. From there we made the trek up north. We hitch-hiked from Chimoio to Nampula city all in 1 day (15 hours and over 1,000km) for a total of 55 mts ($2) which really helped my budget. Then after one of the worst minibus rides of my time here (a woman leaned on me the entire way. My face was squished against her boob. And Emily was sitting about 4 feet away from me and I couldn’t see her even once for all the people that were on there) I finally made it to Ilha. Ilha is kind of a mini-Zanzibar and it was really fun. There are a lot of white stone buildings and big expanses of turquoise water. We stayed at a Ruby’s backpackers which had a beautiful rooftop lounge to hang out on. The island is about 3 km long and no more than 1 km wide so our first afternoon we walked around and got oriented, concluding the evening with crab gnocchi on an amazing rooftop restaurant. Then the next day it was all the tourist things—visiting the big fort at the Northern end of the island as well as the 1st church in Moz that the fort was built around; A heaping plate of fried calamari for lunch; concluding with a free bike tour of the entire island. I learned that the island was the first place to be called Mozambique, and is in fact where the name originated from. From there it was 4 days long travel days to reach Vic Falls. Day 1: Nampula to Mandimba via the train and a chapa at the end. Day 2: Mandimba to Lilongwe, Malawi (120km from my house). Day 3: Lilongwe to Lusaka, Zambia. Day 4: Lusaka to Livingstone, Zambia where the falls are located. It was exhausting, but totally worth it. At the falls the first day we just walked around the trails at the falls in wonder of all the water all around. The water hits the bottom with so much force that it literally rains up at you and you get soaked. AMAZING. Then Emily got accosted by a baboon that ripped (literally) through her purse (in hindsight hysterical—at the time terrifying) and we decided to take a little walk on the bridge that is the border of Zambia and Zimbabwe. Because of political instability, P.C. volunteers are forbidden from traveling into Zimbabwe except to view the falls. The extra visa costs were not in our budget, but they do let you go out to the bridge for free. Emily bungee-jumped and I documented the entire thing. No way was I doing that! Then it was back to Livingstone for 2 for 1 margaritas at a legit Mexican restaurant. My stomach has never been so happy . The next day I got up early for a game drive. There weren’t a lot of animals, but the ones we did see were very active and fun to watch. Then we ended the day with a sunset (booze) cruise along the Zambezi river that feeds the falls. All you can eat and drink with hippos all around, a great time. Then it was back to Lusaka where we watched a movie in a theater (with popcorn!) and found Dr. Pepper as well as legit tortilla chips for sale. PS, all after eating at Subway. It was glorious. Then back to Lilongwe for a night and back to my house the next. We stopped at Dedza pottery (on the border of Malawi 40km from my site) for cheesecake just to make the culinary experience complete. It was great, and now I’m looking forward to finishing up my year here and coming home in December. See you in about 4 months‼

Chefe Syndrome

There is a well-known phenomenon here in Moz that I would like to discuss: Chefe (chief/boss) Syndrome. And yes, that’s with a capital C and a capital S. This happens to some Mozambicans when they get into a position of power: simply put, they let whatever control they have (big or small) go to their heads and make people under their control do ridiculous things. This can happen to teachers, border guards, policemen, or even (unfortunately) our school directors. My favorite example is the head guard at the Teacher Training institute where we live. His name is Manuel, not-so-affectionately referred to as “drunk guard” by my roommate and I (for obvious reasons). The classrooms, dorm buildings and teacher houses are all inside of a fence. This fence has only one gate where people can enter/exit. For “security purposes” the guards get to question anyone entering and ask where they’re going and what they’re going to do there. This is of course to avoid letting thieves in to rob the houses and the school. Never mind that the fence surrounding the entire place is only 6 feet tall, therefore any thief would simply need to jump the fence like all the neighborhood kids do. And there is ample fence to jump well out of site of the guard at the front gate. Manuel still feels the need to stop people at whim and refuse them entry. For example when my secondary students try to come to my house for help. He holds them at the gate and has someone bring me a message at my house and then I have to go to the gate and escort them. Right, Manuel, I’m sure that this young kid in a school uniform carrying only their English book is coming through the front gate to rob a house. That makes complete sense, grrrr. As much as it frustrates me, I have realized that in my second year of teaching I have a little Chefe Syndrome that comes out when I’m at school. At the end of every trimester they do the final test, and different professors are in charge of different rooms full of students taking the test (generally not the professor of that subject with that class of kids to avoid them “helping” the students). The job of the professor in the room is to make sure no one is cheating or using cheat sheets. The effectiveness of this system is questionable since there are some professors that don’t really care and let the kids cheat anyways. I, however, am a cheating nazi—and this is where my Chefe Syndrome rears its ugly head. I hate cheating here….and I do my darndest to stop it. They are ridiculous—it’s not just looking at other papers, it’s cheat sheets and passing notes as well. And they aren’t very good at hiding it, and a lot of the time they are cheating off someone else who doesn’t know the answer. One rule is if they have a scratch paper (and I don’t always let them) they must have an entire sheet. If not they will rip of small pieces to pass the answers along to their friends. I find myself randomly confiscating scratch paper that I believe was passed to them by a friend. I make kids get up and move and sit on the floor. I do this even suspecting that they are cheating…with Chefe syndrome there is no need of proof. If I think you’re cheating it’s probably because you are. If I do catch you with a cheat sheet I get out my big red pen and write “FRAUDE” all over your paper so that the professor will give them a 0. Then I laugh at you and say that you can leave the classroom now, it’s no use finishing your test. I could not have imagined acting this way when I arrived, but that’s how it must be done. One sign of weakness and you’re done for. Give in an inch, give in a mile was never more true. I will have to get this under control going back to America.

New Norms

So, living here for such a long time, I eventually got used to the funny (to me) things happening around me in my new culture. I eventually didn’t even know what to blog about nor did I continue writing in my diary. Now, with my COS (Close of Service) date coming quickly, I’ve started to notice things with nostalgia that I forgot I used to find weird: • Small children (like 2 years old) riding in front of the adult driving a motorcycle. • Giant spider webs with all sorts of furry and crazy colored spiders, many times a group of 20 spiders or so in a giant network of webs up in the tree branches • Shaming people into treating me fairly by any means necessary. I have literally argued with a conductor (the guy who charges for rides in public transport) in Malawi about how much he was charging me. In the argument I called him a racist as well as a thief. I feel like in the states I could really offend someone • My beers come in half liter bottles • Young children (like, just learning to walk children) wandering freely down the street. Not only wandering, but chewing on plastic bags and/or playing with giant knives. To quote a friend “there is nothing that defines ‘freedom’ like an African child” • An uncanny ability to make kids start crying or shocking crying kids into silence just by my appearance (why is her hair yellow and her skin white!?!?!!!) • Water is a major stressor in my life—how are we going to flush the toilet today? • All of my TV viewing (a major part of my life in the states) is done via downloads and is entirely dependent on other’s abilities to get it for me • I only talk to my family every 2 weeks • This is as close as I’ll get to being famous. Everyone knows who I am, and little children shout my name in the streets, random people want pictures with me, etc. • I can tell my students to do anything and they’ll do it without question. “Hey! Here’s the money, go get me some cookies” and they do it with pleasure. As well as carrying my bags at anytime, offering me a banana, etc. • It is possible to live without running water • I am completely dependent on public transport or the goodwill of people that will give me a ride (I’ve grown to prefer hitchhiking) And all of this happens on the left side of the road. • I walk about 2 miles a day. • I can full on ignore people without giving anything away. Any shout of “hey baby!!” or “Muzungo! (white person!)” and it looks like you’re yelling at a deaf and blind person. If you’re right beside me at a bar or something I literally move my head to avoid any eye contact. • Cranes frequent my yard. Like those big white cranes that you see on Nat Geo • I love the ridiculous questions trainees ask. “Do they have fridges in Africa?” Yes, yes they do. • Meat and dairy products are a luxury usually to be had at large group gatherings or special events (like a birthday) • Public breastfeeding. Even in my classroom…um hm • Livestock on public transport. Chickens, roosters, goats, and once even a pig

COS-ing

I have an end date….there is a light at the end of this tunnel (although without the connotation of it being a bad experience). It’s strange to suddenly be at the end of my service. I COS (close of service) on December the 6th, one of the last of my group and almost 2 years to the day of swearing in to become a volunteer. I’m starting to notice all of those little things that fascinated or alarmed me when I first arrived—the music, the dancing, even xima (a not-very-appetizing corn flour paste). I’m trying to take in the everyday little things that I’ll miss. What I will miss the most is definitely my kids (students). They have been such a blessing and I really enjoy them. I didn’t think that I would get so attached. Recently, one was killed in a freak accident (he got hit by a car just walking down the main street in town) and I was a wreck for 2 days. For all of the corruption and dumb politics that I see in this country that are harming it, they give me a hope for the future.

Help!

Alright, I know that I've become seriously lazy in posting blogs, but I just get busy. This post is to ask for your help in leaving our mark here in Africa. The previous volunteer that my roommate replaced got a grant to help start a pre-school which is rare in Africa) and now Arielle (my roommate) has written another grant to help that preschool expand. Please follow the link bellow and read the description, then donate. Every little bit is appreciated. The deadline to get the money is September 6th, and if we get it before then I can see the buildings go up while I'm still here. Please help with whatever you can, and spread the word!! And any concerns or questions please feel free to contact me (mandy_moore_13@yahoo.com) The website is: https://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=donate.contribute.projDetail&projdesc=640-032 Or, you can find the project on www.peacecorps.gov/donate and search project number 640-032

Rage in the ATM line...

Even if I lived in Africa for 5 years, I don’t think that I will ever get used to the incompetence I see at the ATM. First of all, my villa recently removed my banks ATM, which means that there is only 1 usable ATM in the entire town. Fabulous. This means ONE ATM for probably around 10,000 people (honestly not sure, just a guestimate). And all these people get paid around the same time every month, myself included. Imagine arriving at the ATM with about 10 people in front of you. In Africa this would mean about 2 hours of waiting. They are big believers in “hold my spot” so that even if there are 10 people in front of you, there could be 10 more technically in front of you, only at the moment they are sitting in the shade or running to the bakery. Ugh. Then people that don’t want to wait give their cards and PINs to other people in front of you. So each of the 20 people in front of you in line are using 2-3 cards each. It’s a nightmare. Plus, they’re not as advanced in technology as the U.S. which means, at times, massive confusion. I have experienced around 3 or 4 times where everyone is just standing in line waiting for the machine to be loaded with more money. Turns out the machine isn’t out of money, the person who said that actually had no money in their account so they think that the machine is out when really they are the ones out of luck. Ugh. This is not an ideal situation, especially right before the weekend and you want to have a birthday party. Just had to get it out there.

New School Year

The new school year is now in full swing. Classes started January 17th, and I started teaching February 2nd. Normally it takes about a week for word to get out to all the students that classes have started seriously, so the first week is a wash. Then I had my mid-service conference in Maputo the 2nd week of classes. Then the (officially) 3rd week of classes, after I returned, the room wasn’t ready yet so I had to organize it for a few days before beginning teaching.
I guess I should mention that this year my only subject that I am teaching is TICs (Technologias de Informação e Comunicação) a.k.a. Computers for super beginners. I am actually really excited to just focus on one subject. Also, since we need computers to have class, the students come to me and I stay in one room instead of moving around like all the other subjects that just require a chalkboard. AND I got to make my own schedule, so I have year of 3 day weekends ahead of me which is convenient for my travel desires. TICs meets once a week for 2 hours for each class, meaning that I only have to develop 1 lesson plan each week and just teach it 10 to 20 times. Some may hate the thought of repeating so often, but I really love that I have to put minimal planning into each week. I have the entire 12th and 10th grades to teach this year, for a grand total of 10 classes of students (each with about 60 students therefore, a grand total of ~600 students).
I have written a previous entry last year about teaching computers to complete beginners, but I think that this year things will be much better. Last year I was unprepared for the difficulty in explaining how to move a mouse or click on an icon, much less in a second language. This year I have a co-teacher that is teaching all the 11th grade classes and he knows how to format the computers so now they all look the same and have the same programs. Also this year my language is at a higher level so it is much easier to run a class in Portuguese, plus way easier to discipline the classroom and keep everyone on track. It seems that the teaching part this year should fly by.

For Mom :)

I was on vacation a few months ago, staying with a friend in her beachside apartment (she´s also a volunteer, not all sites are made equal  ). I mentioned to my mom in a skype call that I was staying in a super nice beach apartment and she jokingly said “Does it have a flushing toilet!?”( I´ve been here long enough that she know what a luxury flushing toilets here are. ) I then proceeded to explain to her all the different levels of toilets here in Moz, and she thought it was hysterical, so I am going to explain it to you all now—
The worst is just grass matting up and you pee right on the ground. You have a little privacy, but depending on the strength of your pee you can end up splashing yourself if you’re not careful.
Another step up would be a latrine with a dug out hole. You still squat over the ground, but there is a hole that you’re aiming for (like a long drop toilet while camping). Most likely there is no cover, leaving an inviting place for all sorts of creepy crawly bugs and creatures. NOT fun to do at night, especially with a cockroach phobia.
The next would be still an outdoor latrine style, but there is a toilet built over the hole instead of just the open hole. Although most of the time the toilet is too gross to sit on, it seems cleaner than the open hole style latrine. Downside is squatting over the toilet bowl is way more taxing to the muscles than squatting over a hole flush with the ground (It is best to squat over the ground or sit on a seat. That conclusion is undebatable). Plus you have to pour water in to flush it. It takes a special talent to get all the contents down with the least amount of water used.
Yet another step up is the same idea except it’s inside the house. A pour down toilet that doesn’t have a tank on top, or the tank is not functional. Some may argue that this is a step down because it tends to smell a bit, so maybe it’s on the same level as the previous outdoor pour down toilet. Either way, it’s debatable. (This just so happens to be the situation that the beach view apartment I was staying in had. So not horrible, but still not the premium level).
The second best situation is what I have in my house. A toilet with a functioning tank on top where you can pour in water (because there’s no water running to it) and still get the flushing action of the toilet.
Finally, the best of the best is a toilet with a tank on top connected to running water that automatically fills so you can flush it whenever you want. Which is what 98% of Americans are used to (I just made up that statistic, please don’t take it too seriously).

PS—Soon after making up this list I experienced another kind of toilet in Tanzania, which is a porcelain flushing floor toilet, common in the Arabic world is my guess. I have no idea where to fit that into the list. Maybe right after the outdoor toilet covered latrine.

Holiday Travels

So, this year for Christmas vacation, instead of traveling back home to visit friends and family I decided to take the opportunity to travel around Africa some more and see things that I have never seen. My trip started out on November 17th. I traveled across Malawi to get to Lichinga in northern Mozambique for a Thanksgiving celebration, then took a train to get out to the coast and enjoy some shrimp and beach time. Then it was off to Tanzania where I went on a 5 day safari and logged some hours on the beaches of Zanzibar. Then another cut back down to Malawi to get back to my house here in Mozambique. That’s the short version of things, and if you want the full details, continue below….

Zanzibar

Amazing beaches, amazing food and no giant buses, oh my!
Zanzibar was a paradise---literally and mentally. After our bus accident, we still had to take 2 10-hour bus rides to and from our safari starting point. It was such a relief to finally be beyond our buses, and onto a ferry ride. We stayed at a lodge on the eastern side of the island which felt like our own island paradise far away from the tourists. We spent 1 day on the beach, did the Jozani Forest tour to see the only-on-Zanzibar Red Colubus monkeys, and then did a spice tour combined with a tour of Stonetown. We got some amazing seafood with some very westernized cooking styles that were delicious, and really cheap when compared to being a tourist in Mozambique. In the forest we got to see the monkeys up close and personal. They literally hit us jumping from branch to branch. Then we saw a red mahogany forest as well as a mangrove forest. Also we visited some sea turtles! Stonetown is the old part of Zanzibar from back in the sultan days and all the buildings are made out of limestone. We watched the sunset at the big central park and ate seafood fresh off the grill that they had hauled in that day. A great and relaxing end to a somewhat stressful trip.

SAFARI!!

What time spent in Africa could be complete without a safari?! I, along with 2 fellow volunteers, booked a 4 night/5 day camping safari and it was fabulous. We spent 1 day in Tarangire National Park, 2 days in the Serengeti and 1 day in Ngorongoro Crater national park. In the Serengeti and the crater we actually camped in the park. There was giant elephant poo outside our campsite in the Serengeti and you couldn’t leave your tent at night because there were hyenas. That I did not expect. It was great fun. The safari vehicle has a pop top so you can stand up and see the animals really well from the vehicle, but still close it in case it rains (which it did a little). They also took care of all our meals for us, and we had our own personal driver and cook for the week. Highlights were: A giant family of elephants crossing the road 10 feet away from us in Tarangire and just sitting there watching them for 45 minutes; having to be careful to not hit the giraffes that run across the road between parks; A lion popping her head up just as I took a picture so that she didn’t just look like a rock; talking our driver into being the first people to arrive at the crater and feeling like we had it to ourselves for an hour; a momma cheetah sunning herself on a rock while her 4 cubs played in the grass around her; being in the middle of the great migration and having wildebeest, gazelles and zebras as far as the eye can see. I am so glad that I am here and had the opportunity to experience the Africa that everyone envisions.

Pole Sana

The first language of Tanzania is Swahili. Pole Sana is Swahili for So Sorry. Unfortunately this was the first phrase we learned in this new language. Continue reading….

Tanzania is an entirely different world. It’s really remarkable that just a few days travel away is a giant city (Dar Es Salaam) filled with tons of people and modern development. However, to get to this developed city, you must cross the undeveloped part of northern Mozambique and southern Tanzania. My trip started out with a 3 am open back chapa ride to the border. This road was very undeveloped and bumpy, and I was sitting on some sort of spare car part. Needless to say the next day my butt and back were pretty sore. The border is the Rovuma river which is an important landmark in Moz. When talking about the country of Mozambique, the saying is “from Rovuma to Maputo”; it’s even part of the national anthem. (Rovuma River is the northern border and Maputo province is in the southern border). We arrived in Mtwara, which is the first big town in Tanzania after the border. We stayed there for the night, and bought some bus tickets to head out in the morning. The main form of transport, we discovered, are giant greyhound-esque buses. However, they are generally painted crazy colors and have a personalized horn. What we didn’t realize is how dangerous some of these companies could be.

Our bus was scheduled to leave at 6 a.m., and we almost missed it. For some reason, Tanzania and Mozambique have 1 hour of time difference (who’d a thunk since they lie north and south of each other). But we were still in Africa so of course they didn’t leave on time and we made it. Little did we know that it was not our lucky day to catch it. The roads in southern Tanzania are still being paved so it was all pretty much one giant construction zone, with you driving on a dirt road running parallel to the in-progress paved road. These buses travel pretty fast, and sure enough, on one of the dirt turns our bus lost control and we shot out into the countryside, bumping along all the way. We were in the second to last row and got bounced around pretty good. Luckily the bus didn’t tip over, and there were only slight injuries, the worst being my friend cutting his forehead and needing stitches. We got to the hospital surprisingly fast for Africa standards. We also got in contact with Peace Corps Tanzania and their medical officer drove down to meet us and check us out personally that night. We got a nice ride into the capital (we only made it about half way when the bus crashed) and were set up to stay with an American family living in Dar Es Salaam while doing D.C.-mandated tests at the hospital there. I repeat, everything turned out fine. I just have an ugly black eye in all my vacation photos to help me remember. Like I could forget…

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving this year was one of the most true to the spirit Thanksgivings I have ever been involved in. Volunteers up north in Lichinga teamed up with the local Doctors Without Borders to put on a joint American-Mozambican Thanksgiving and it was amazing. Thanks to packages from the states, we had tons of Thanksgiving window stickers, table confetti, table cloths, wooden ornaments and home-made hand turkeys straight from your Kindergarten craft days. Plus Indian and Pilgrim headwear for our 5 minute play explaining the first Thanksgiving. We gathered everyone, served some drinks, and then put on our play. Goal 2 of the Peace Corps is sharing America’s culture with the host country, and that is just what we did. It was a super-cheesy Kindergarten play that we put on for all the Mozambicans to help explain how the tradition started for our country. There were Indians with headdresses, Pilgrims on a Mayflower and “Paulo the Peru” (the Portuguese way of saying “Tom the Turkey”). I, of course, was a pilgrim since according to my genealogy-loving grandmother I actually had a relative that came over to the Americas on the Mayflower. Then it was time for the food. We had 2 turkeys, mashed potatoes and gravy (shout-out to my dad for the gravy), cranberries (canned from a care package), green bean casserole, 2 versions of stuffing, sweet potatoes, Canadian maple-syrup (from fellow ex-pats) glazed carrots and bread. THEN for desserts there was apple pie, sweet potato pie, pecan pie and pumpkin pie. I have never hurt that bad from overeating EVER. It was a great Thanksgiving.