Good people

Tuesday 10/26/10

All of the volunteers have come here to do a service. We want to improve this world one person at a time, giving opportunities these people may otherwise never get. Coming from a modern world we all believe that every man is equal although that is not the case here. We live in a hut and just a short walk away there is a house where we do all of our planning, eat all of our meals and regroup with our project managers. In this house we have people who do our laundry daily, cook our food, do our dishes right from the table, and all outside maintenance. While we eat breakfast, some days we see a black man cut the grass with a machete, and no the yard is not small.

Although we all understand that they do not have the technology that we may have and that is what the people here are used to, it is a hard thing to watch and accept. We know that the jobs they have here are opportunities for them but we do not feel as though we should treat them inferior to us. You cannot possibly judge or belittle someone who was never given the tools or placed in an environment to excel beyond what they know.

We do feel in our house that it is encouraged that there be a large separation between us and the staff. We all try to be as warm and grateful as possible for everything they do, but when we offer to help they are insistent that we don’t. As we all discussed our feelings on this I found out that they get in trouble by our sponsors if we participate. There is a young 17 year old boy from the Netherlands here that has been here for two months already during his gap year; he likes to dry the dishes for our cook Samuelli, and every time he does he gets asked not to by our project manager.

Tonight our leaders all went out to dinner to have a meeting. We were told to behave as though we were all children and going to have a party, and so we did exactly that! We filled our plates and sat around our huge dining table and then we went and got our staff and asked them to come and join us. They were very resistant but obliged. They were worried that they would not get enough work done and so we told them to come fill their plates and we would help them when we all finished. We asked them what they normally had for dinner and it was nothing compared to what we were having, a beef stew over rice with veggies. We shared cookies and tea with them after dinner. Then we all had a blast singing and joking while we did our chores.  

It does not seem to me that making a difference one person at a time includes reminding everyone where there place in life is. We are here to give as many experiences as we get. Not everyone will get an English lesson, but knowing someone is going home at night with a full belly and a smile is just as rewarding to both them and us. 

A new week

Monday, October 25, 2010

I can say, “wow”, time is already passing fast. But I can also say, time well spent. I don’t miss actually being at home and the daily grind or as my past 2 months have been “alladays”.  However I do miss my daily communication. I just wish I could pick up the phone and share about my day and vise versa.

Things are starting to change around here already. I knew that volunteers would come and go, but I never knew I that I would like everyone here so much. They are absolutely some of the best-spirited people I have ever met. Unfortunately we shipped our Australian off today. I know I will have another amazing week and am looking forward to it but dreading next weekend, as I have to give up two of my roomies on Saturday and another on Monday. I couldn’t have been luckier to be housing (or hutting) with 5 people who mesh so well. Being American I am the butt of many jokes, I take them kindly mostly because they’re fairly true, you can’t help but laugh. Today during our planning time the joke was American’s make everything more complicated. Everyone else says horse riding, we have to say horseback riding because we’re too dumb to know where to sit if we don’t. (Not true that we are all stupid, but we certainly make it appear so). It really is fun banter all the time. 

There are most defiantly different social classes here like there are everywhere. The majority are very poor and the wealthy are not from here. The ones that moved here are people that saw opportunity, and have done well. Lots of the people we have met have been from South Africa and are just as modern as you and me. Others live what we would call a middle class life. They usually have a good appearance and are educated but are just making it. They still live in a little hut no bigger than some of our bathrooms, with no running water. Bathing and cooking with water pumped out of the community well that are placed every few miles. Probably not a penny to their name but happy just to feel like their making it. 

My first weekend

The weekend Sunday Oct 24^th

The weekend is when we have time to ourselves but our project manager also has activities set up. Saturday we had culture day, which I participated in. It started with a scavenger hunt through the market for certain items that we would use to make an authentic meal called mutapa at a friendly local's hut, who we work with at the preschool. We shaved coconut by hand and ground little beans on a bowl-shaped rock with a baseball bat shaped tool. The family we were with spoke very little English but enjoyed many good laughs at our expense. The food wasn’t something that I’m going to come home and make for you all, but the experience was invaluable.

The afternoon was spent playing at the beach and lying by the pool. The evening was even more spectacular. We were invited to a new hotel’s opening party. This place was the most beautiful piece of paradise I have ever seen. The food was an elegant three course meal, along with a picturesque view of an infinity pool overlooking the huge teal blue ocean. What did I wear, you might ask, as I only brought enough clothes for 5 days that consist of outdoorsy shorts, Old Navy tanks and Carter's promo tee shirts. I borrowed a dress from my British camp leader that she had worn in a wedding here. Who would ever have thought you could feel like Cinderella going to the ball in the middle of Africa.

On Sunday I took a dhow trip to one of the islands. There was a camp set up on the island for our lunch and also a very little bit of shade. The sun felt very intense and even though I applied sunscreen SPF 50 multiple times, it felt like my skin was constantly burning. So I only had one choice and that was to stay in the water. I loved every minute of if. When I was tired of swimming and playing in the water, I would sit or lie in the sand just where the tide would come up… until I was sitting on a jellyfish. My booty stung for a bit, but I survived. After lunch a few of my girlfriends from camp and I went for a ride on a speedboat around the island. We went tubing in the ocean and enjoyed an outstanding tour of the island and the mainland.

A simply spectacular week-end!

Edson's

Friday October 22, 2010

We made our way to town today on our extended lunch break. Our first stop was the internet shop. Ohhhhh it was so good to see there was life out there, tell everyone hello and that I’m doing fine. Our next stop was the market.  What a fun experience! It's like a maze of dealers; wherever you turn there is another person offering goods--fish lined out on boards, chickens hanging upside down, clothes strung from lines, and bags of rice and food on display in booths. The market is not only huge but finding your way out is half the challenge.

At the market I purchased a large piece of cloth, called capilana, to have a dress made. My roommate did that last week and it looks spectacular. The cloth was 100 mets and she paid 250 mets to have it made. The conversion is 37 mets to a US dollar. To say the least, things here are very inexpensive so when I can, I  enjoy supporting them. I’ll tell you how my dress turns out next week.

In the late afternoons on Tuesdays and Fridays we teach different levels of older students in a playground area. I may refer to this group as Edson's (the title of the original text that was used). We have 4 different levels of students. I have the highest level, which I love. I love that they know enough English to communicate with me. My group is made up of about 15 boys from the ages of 18 to 30. We have good discussions and are currently working on reading comprehension. I will read them a children's story and then they have to answer questions about it. We go over unfamiliar vocabulary and then correct their sentence structure. I love working with this group also because they want to learn so badly. They know that it will improve their life, so they try so hard. There are only two females in Edsons, and they are not in my group. We encourage females to come and learn, but there doesn’t seem to be any demand for it. They are very much expected to stay home and be the caretakers of the family.

My students love that I’m from America. After class I let them ask me any questions that they want. They are so curious. Today they asked about JayZ and Emenim. They wanted to know what a gangster was. Then they asked me to teach them some slang terms. On the spot I couldn’t really think of any… I still can’t. Good thing I have the weekend. 

Beach day!

Thursday 10/21/2010

Today was another absolutely fantastic day, one of the best days I can even imagine! It was beach day for the kids, so after we served them Epap, we packed them all up and took them to the beach. The beach is only about a 5 minute walk from the preschool, but it seemed as though some of the kids rarely saw the sea. Swimming suits are clearly not common here. I’ve never seen so many cute little black bums running all over the beach. It was truly a priceless moment. I wish I had more pictures, but when I was in the moment I just had to take the time to enjoy it and dive on into the water with them. They were so much fun to take in the water, to splash back and forth with, and to toss like cannon balls. We saw lots of large crabs and the kids just snatched them up and played with them like toys; some even brought them home… and might even have had them for dinner.  Who knows!

So far all the children have been really well-behaved. Whenever we ask the children to do something, they follow our directions without protest.  I was amazed that we never even had to worry about them going beyond where they were capable in the water. They stayed close to an adult all the time. When it was time to go, they got out of the water and got dressed again (no whining). In my past, arguing and whining are normal kid misbehaviors. If I figure out why or how they avoid the basic limit pushing actions, I will be sure to write a book about it and make a fortune.

The weather was beautiful, but the heat was intense today. After applying my third layer of sunscreen (MOM), we continued our day outside. We planted an orchard of lemon, lime and mango trees. Then we continued building a hut for an older woman. I’m not going to lie, this afternoon was hard work, but so rewarding in the end.

I haven’t made my mind up about the food here yet. It is definitely tolerable, better than expected, and not always bad. Some of the volunteers actually really like it.  I’m not ready to admit that yet, but it does fill the hole. Most of what we eat is very repetitive. Whatever was made for dinner is bound to be eaten for the next few meals until it is all gone. That is very understandable; nothing is wasted in a place like this. But it does remind me, once again, how much we have and unfortunately how much we waste. 

If nothing else, be thankful every day for your health, your home, and your education. No matter how bad you think you have it, there is far worse here. If you are poor, you are in a country that can afford to give you support. If you’re hungry, you probably have a stove and can cook a meal. If it rains, you have a roof over your head. You have the opportunity for public education. And if you are reading this, you have access to a computer and internet, which is far more than can be said for most people here. So next time you wish you had more, just be grateful that you have the resources to know what more is.

New friends

Wednesday 10/20/2010

I started my day once again at the preschool. It was my day to water the garden. Mind you, I had to pump the water from a well. It was a fantastic workout and when I began to tire, all the children helped out. It felt a bit like child labor, but they enjoyed it.

This afternoon was charity hand-out day for all the donations that African Impact has been given. It was like “What Not to Wear” (show), watching the kids get new clothes that fit. We also put together vitamin packets, and bags of beans and rice for their families. The kids appreciate it so, but the parents are quite subdued. Some parents didn’t even bother to show up to receive their family donations, which is quite sad. The women amazed me though; as they left, they would put their 25-kilo (which is equal to 55 lbs) of rice, maybe two depending on the family size, on their heads, and walk the trek home whereever it may be.

The crew here is unbelievable. I couldn’t have asked for a better group. I am the only American with a Portuguese married couple, an Australian, two Norwegians, a Dutch, a Canadian, and a Brit along with our two British leaders. Everyone has a great sense of humor, is easy going and hard working. We all really enjoy learning about the others' cultures and get good laughs and good ideas from one another. We compare everything from the food we eat, things we have, hobbies we do to things we say (which we rapidly pick up). The best example of the day is Americans say “period (.)” Everyone else says “full stop” at the end of a sentence.

Our accommodations are better than I could ever have expected. Our living area is very clean and tidy (thank god). We have running water in our hut (hot and cold), and the opportunity to shower daily if we want. For those that know me well, I don’t really need to or choose to shower daily anywhere, and I had been practicing up for days before I left. ;) But it is nice to know that it is there.

So far the only thing I can say that I don’t like about Africa is that I hate sand in my shoes--I always have. The sand is never going away, so I think it’s time I get used to it! Then chalk up way more goods than bads at the end of the day.

New experiences

Tuesday 10/19/2010

I arrived safely at my final destination. Wow, words cannot describe where I am, but I will do my best. Tuesday 10/19, was my first full day here in Vicanculos, Mozambique. The days start with the sun rising at 4:45 a.m. We try to push off getting up a bit, but there isn’t much point so it’s early to rise… hopefully early to bed.

We start every day with preschool in the mornings. As we drive down the road the children are scattered about on their way to school.  They have great fun  chasing the truck we are in, trying to beat us, like in a race. We park when we can no longer drive on the  deep sandy paths. It takes only seconds to be mobbed by children.  They take no time to warm up to us; they are just so excited to have someone to play with. I am amazed with their clothing, though rugged and mismatched, there are lots of name brands and some are even fashionable. I’m guessing these were donated from other countries, maybe.

The first thing I wanted to do to them was clean up their little faces and wipe their noses. I had to get over that quickly because it isn’t going to happen. It’s the way they live, and an endless battle that would not be productive. I can honestly say that these kids are the happiest kids I have ever seen, and in some ways they have more than so many other wealthy cultures. They are all satisfied with what they have and appreciate everything that you give them. There is absolutely no status difference between any of them. These kids are tough; they do things that we would cringe at if we saw our little ones do. If they fall, they get right back up and do the same thing again.

We start first thing by serving them a vitamin porridge (called EPap), which looks like slop to me, but they seem to like it. There is a mango tree in the play yard. The kids eat unripe mangos like they are candy. They will shake the tree, throw things to make the mangos fall or beg you to lift them up high enough to get one. They bite off a chunk or two and then lick them to the end like a lolly pop ("how many licks does it take";)). We play for a bit before school starts. I found very quickly they love to play with hair. The girls must learn to braid each other's hair at a very young age. All of a sudden I had 5 little girls pulling strands in all different directions, thinking it was no big deal until it really hurt. I yelped “Ouch, ouch!” Since they only speak Portuguese, they just mocked me and laughed (not having a clue what I meant). I still had to laugh until I went to put my hair back in a ponytail and I had nappy weaves in so tight that they weren’t coming out anytime soon!!!

Overall I had a great first  morning with the kids singing songs and working on the number 12, writing it, counting out 12 beads, and drawing 12 circles. Then we served them a small bowl of rice for lunch before we go for the day. When they are done, they are free to toddle off to whereever they may go….

Then we got lunch! A 3 hour lunch break… by the beach! Our little hut is right on the beach and everyone has free time to do as they like. You all know how much I hate to lie at the beach, but I will cope somehow. ;) The teal blue, 80 degree water, and soft white sand help a bit. I think life is going to be OK here.