collecting conches in the morning

September 27, 2009

I have started to run in Machanga. Saturday and Sunday, 5 am, I led the whole group of bare-foot girls running around the district of Machanga. Mid-run we stop in the soccer campus to stretch, do yoga and other aerobic and anaerobic exercises. No one here has yoga mats to keep their bums clean, we are pretty much rolling around in the dirt and welcome that bucket shower with open arms when we return.

Yesterday was a day of WAITING. The church had a party to celebrate the end of the week party is just had (they have any excuse to party). Party is usually revolved around the food. There defiantly was a lot of food; I just had to wait until 4:30 pm to have lunch. It was a lot to prepare, and I got right in the kitchen-hut to see the action, and got some good photos and video of chicken slaughterings. I ate some pretty good duck too.

There are little quarks and cultural differences that I am picking up on. Expressions such as, “chEE!” and “Ai-bahhhhh”. When we ran past smelly cow-dung everyone spat on the ground in disgust. Also, in Machanga, everyone is “EE-way”. Direct translation – YOU.

Today I held a birthday party for the girls who have a birthday in September. We went out to buy ingredients then spent the whole afternoon making 2 cakes. One girl took over claiming she knows best. She wouldn't even let me crack my own eggs that I bought! Nonetheless, the cakes turned out. Since it was cloudy the solar panels did not get very much sun to turn to energy so we had our party by carocene lamplight. I showed photos of Canada, which they found VERY interesting.

September 30, 2009

People constantly talk about how Machanga “talks”, or gossips if you will. One can’t walk out of their house without being asked “Onde via?” (Where are you going?), and later that afternoon the whole district knows what you were up to. It doesn't help that I am the only white girl here and since I speak a little Ndau, they love to greet me then ask where I am going in Ndau. They get a kick out of it every time. I have befriended many people, and some of the best cooks, I have gone for lunch three times with this Indian woman, Zianabu, and had delicious food. Its good to change up my palate a little. Madinia, the large, friendly woman at another shop loves to sit with me. They were selling apples and I had to get one (even though one apple was over 50 cents), and she brought me out a fresh piece of cake and a coke with it. A bit of a contrast from a healthy fruit, but it was nonetheless delish cake. I am known now as the runner, and countless people know I am training the girls ‘gymnastica’, sports, capoeira etc, and have asked me to train them (guys included). Madinia is one of them. She gave me a capolanah that she said she used to fit, but is no use to her now. Tia Casilda seemed a little jealous that I have only been here less then 2 months and have received a free capulanah and she never has. Then she went ahead and asked for my other one. I said no. She has MANY; I think it was one of her little tests. She keeps mentioning how she has no money, and I go in to a shop with my friend Alberto and there she is with Tia Amelia having a coke, with a new capulanah in hand. She and Alberto then bickered on who was going to buy me a refresco. Cant say I don't feel loved ☺

Everyday is such an adventure with the girls. I love that I teach them; I never thought I would love sharing things so much, I know that I love learning, but really giving is so much better then receiving when you get the responses that these girls give. I know that my language is really coming along when I can have deep conversations with the girls, and during our English lesson on Monday some of the girls stayed after and we got to talk about boys: their favorite subject.

Paulina, what a gem. She is one of the smaller and younger girls (15) but defiantly one of the brightest. Like Tia Casilda says she has a “cabeza fresca”, a fresh mind. She has loads of creativity and catches onto ideas faster than anyone, and does everything without difficultly. I had given her half a coconut one day and she continuously comes to my room to hand me a little toffee or hard candy. A family from Manitoba is coming down to the center to see it and donate money, and so I said the girls should put on a show. So we have been working on making some theater, and Paulina has written a script all herself, and got me to translate parts of it in English. They are using my stuffed lamb as a baby, and I let her sleep with it that night. The next day she carried it around with her in a capulanah all day like a baby.

Last night I joined in on the dancing in the misty rain in the dark night with the girls. Hip-hop and rap they sung and clapped and I was pushed in the middle. It was so energizing, these sort of moments you cannot take a picture of, only have them stored in your heart.

October 5, 2009 – Vilanculos

Friday I headed out to the beautiful area of Vilanculos with Richard and Lee the two white guys living here in Machanga with Peace Corps. Our adventure began after leaving early in the morning, crossing the river on a canoe, waiting for a chapa to drop us off at the main highway #1, then waiting to a balaia> “hitchhike”. We didn't wait terribly long until we got into the back of a giant semi. We three sat behind the driver and his colleague on the mattress. Plenty of space, comfy ride and free.

We arrived in Vilanculos and I was warned by many not to be too jealous or compare lives with Machanga. It sure is different. It was my first time seeing an ocean that crystal clear and sand so fine. The girls we stayed with had the sweetest house made out of bamboo. We got the guest house, also amazing, witch is directly on the ocean, so I woke up in the morning to a sun rise and a sun set directly behind me; windows strategically placed so I can enjoy both from the king-sized bed in the loft of the house.

Since it is quite a touristy area, people can speak more English, and try to practice it with you WAY more then Machanga. I don't know how much more I could take it if I lived there.

I made a rookie mistake and put my trust in an area I was not familiar with. I left my beautiful gladiator sandals 10 meters away from where I was collecting conch-shells on the beach, 2 people walked past, I returned and they were gone. Robbers are plenty, and it is not as small of a community like Machanga, where I can walk around the market and see who has new sandals. I looked for them in the market but had no luck.

Peace core is a great organization. There are volunteers all over the world doing pretty much the same thing as I am. Richard and Lee have tones of other colleagues there and all over Mozambique. We had a get together and I got to meet a group of awesome people who have experienced Mozambique for a year and some people 2 years. It was so great to talk with them and see that this is a place they love and know very well. I now have connections all the way down to Maputo.

Our plan was to leave Sunday morning, but the chapa never ended up coming, and Sundays are hard day to hitchhike out of Vilanculos, so we decided to go out for pizza, lay on the beach, buy some local art and stay the extra day. It was not a hard decision and a well spent extra day ‘stuck’ in Vilanculos.