The JLP PCTPLTDD

Pop quiz: what do the following questions have in common?

Do bears shit in the woods?

What rock band plays the song with the sickest base line of all time?

What was the first word of the Obama campaign’s rallying cry?

Is Thanksgivings Sam’s favorite holiday?

If you said that they all have the same answer, your right! Pat yourself on the back. Ok stop patting, it was an easy quiz. Yes, bears shit in the woods. Yes plays the song with the sickest base line of all time, aka Roundabout. “Yes We Can!” was the rallying cry for the Obama presidential campaign. And yes, I love Thanksgivings. No other holiday combines large quantities of delicious food, the broadest possible inclusivity (you’re thankful for something), and awesome hand shaped decorations to the same level of effectiveness. That is just a plain fact. So when I found out, almost 7 months ago that I was heading to the far side of the world for my Peace Corps service, my mind went immediately to thanksgiving. Having never spent a T-day away from home, I wanted to be sure that whatever was done to replace it would meet my exceptionally high standards.

It was during my site visit in Macia that I began the serious planning. In between talking about the awesome 70 year old female education volunteer from Moz 15 and our experiences killing chickens, the conversation turned to Turkey. Not just any turkey, but the delicious bakery oven cooked turkeys that Moz 15 had for their Namaacha thanksgivings day party. This got the gears turning and come the next hub day I had taken it upon myself to purchase, kill, clean, season, cook, and deliver the birds for our Peace Corps Trainee Pot Luck Thanksgivings Day Dinner (PCTPLTDD for short).

The first thing you need to know about killing a turkey in Mozambique is that it’s not called turkey. Though it’s still named after an exotic and distant land, it can no longer be called the Istanbul Bird. No, turkeys are known as perus in Portuguese, for reasons which I imagine are quite similar to why we call them Turkeys. The second thing you need to know is that in order to kill a turkey, you should get it drunk.  Say should because we didn’t and paid the price because, as we found out, Turkeys are fast, Turkeys are small, and Turkeys are agile. So instead of just grabbing the neck of a sleeping bird, we had to chase the two chosen perus around the yard of the Casa des Dois (CdD) compound, grab them by the legs and wings, and pin them down against a brick. Then, with knife in hand, I had the most authentic start to Thanksgivings I’ve ever had. Just like the pilgrims (JLP), we caught, killed, and cooked our dinner without a mechanical separator or refrigerated supermarket in between, though the lack of buckles on our hats was unfortunate.

Rosa and Clancy were then de-feathered, gutted, and cleaned by the CdD staff, after which we stuck them in an Italian seasoning brine till T-day. After 3 days, I retrieved them for cooking, but found out that the CdD’s version of an oven is really a 3000 Watt microwave, not exactly a JLP device. Plan B was the who-knows-how-many-degrees-but-its-definitely-hot bakery oven owned by one of the trainee’s host-father. So we stuck the birds (2 turkeys and 4 beer chickens at this point) in alongside someone else’s roast pig, and waited. Come time for the PCTPLTDD, the birds were loaded into a Peace Corps car and driven to the Peace Corps house in town where we were having our party.

To say that there was a lot of food would be an understatement. Though I had done my best to ensure that no one went hungry (the pot luck instructions were to cook for 10), there was no way I could have expected the quantity of food that 50 trainees and several volunteers would bring together. Besides the birds which I had personally attended to, there were 3 types of mashed potatoes, 4 different salads, a couple different casseroles, breads, 120 fish samosas, several types of salsa, hummus, donuts, a wide variety of pies, brownies, fudge, sweet potatoes, and one exceedingly delicious apple crisp. Upon seeing all this food, I went through the 4 stages of a Thanksgiving mental breakdown in quick succession: excitement, indecision, fear, and acceptance. First, you’re excited to begin chowing down on all the delectable treats that have been brought in front of you. Then you freeze, realizing that you don’t know where to start or how to organize your plate(s). This brings on a fear that no matter how carefully you dole out only a small amount of each dish, you will never be able to try every item on the table. Finally, you accept that this is thanksgiving and that all you can do is to eat as much as possible, then a little bit more, without throwing up. Needless to say, the JLP PCTPLTDD was a wonderful party and I walked home with my empty turkey pans, full stomach, and a very comfortable buzz.

Hope you all had an equally great thanksgiving!

Food, glorious food,

What wouldn't we give for

That extra bit more,

That's all that we live for

Why should we be fated,

To do nothing but brude,

Oh food, magical, food, wonderful, food, marvellous, food,

Fabulous, food, beautiful, food, glorious food! 

Oliver, The Musical

I’m Going to Alto Molokwe (or Alto Molocue if you prefer)

(Note: sorry for the weird formatting but blogger was giving me problems and this is the only way the text would show)

Last Wednesday was a big day for Moz 17: Site Placements!

After an excruciatingly long Hub day where we all came together to attend classes/lectures on Mozambiquean birth, initiation, marriage, and death rituals, the legal environment in Mozambique, and the dangers of landmines + cyclones (quite a fearsome combination), we gathered in the gym of the Instituto a Formacao des Professores for the site placement ceremony. 

Standing around the outside edge of the basketball court, upon which a giant map of Mozambique had been drawn in yellow, black, and white chalk, each trainee was given a white, full paged envelope with our name written on it. Once everyone had their envelope in hand, and we had all read the letter from the Peace Corps staff discussing how the selections were made, we tore open the envelopes and began reading the contents.

Inside was a list of trainees and where they were heading, as well as a map of each of our regions of the country with our site location highlighted. It was at this moment that I found out that the next two years of my life will be spent in Alto Molokwe in Zambezia Province. Zambezia is in northern part of the country and is considered the breadbasket of Mozambique, yet Alto Molokwe is in the mountainous region of the province. Seasonal monsoons bring a large amount of rain which provides for fertile soil, but also increased rates of Malaria. Alto Molokwe is a transit town between the regional capitals of Quelimane and Nampula, and therefore has all manner of vegetables, grains, consumer goods, and raw materials available. This also means that there are frequently South African tourists in town, so my status as a volunteer might not be as well-known as it would be in other towns. The Escola Secundaria de Alto Molokwe, where I will be teaching either French and/or Physics, is very close to where I will be living but also very close to the town’s holding cells. It is also quite large, based off the fact that turmas (a class of between 50 and 100 students) are each assigned a letter, and at ESAM they run into the double letter. 

My site placement letter, map, and Moz 17 list

Though some trainnees received information about their site in their placement packet, I did not get more than a location and an assignment. Luckily, I was able to quickly get in contact with Chris, a Moz 15 education volunteer who I will be living with, and Dylan, a Moz 16 health volunteer who lives about 5 min away. Having them there as a source of knowledge and support will be extremely helpful and I look forward to getting to know them. Luckily, Moz 17 has a large number of volunteers heading north to Nampula, Cabo Delgado, and Niassa, so I should be able to see many of my friends from training on a regular basis.

In honor of this important moment in my Peace Corps career, I have written a piece, in the style of my fourth grade mother’s day poem from which I’m quite sure comes my affinity for acronyms (ie S.A.M.T.E.C.H.), describing my feelings at this moment.

	Although I’ve been
	Living in Mozambique for 7 weeks
	The “real peace corps” experience,
	Or whatever you’d like to call it,
	Mandates an integration that includes losing
	Oneself within another culture.
	Likening the past few weeks to being lost is like saying that eating
	Oreos in Times Square is to have
	Knowledge of American life.
	While I’m going to miss training, I’m excited to begin what I came here to do,
	Education.

Hope you enjoyed reading that as much as I enjoyed writing that.

Another highlight of this week was my first bout of travelers sickness, aka diarrhea. I think the culprit was a questionable padjia (fried bean patty) that I ate at 9 on Saturday night, or maybe it was the fish samosa that I had at 3 that day, or the piece of bread the day before, or.... well you get the idea. The result was all the same, 36 hours of stomach pains and bathroom dashes followed by sips of rehydration salts infused water all with the background noise of "The West Wing" episodes. Luckily, it passed in a day and a half, and I didn't have to miss any of the lessons I am teaching at model school this week, more on that latter. So the lesson learned here wasn't to be more careful about what I eat, cause that would have lasted until the delicious fish samosas I just devoured, but that you should always have some un-watched episodes of a good TV show on hand and several of your favorite movies ready to go for the day that nature calls.

So I'm packing my bags for the Misty Mountains
where the spirits go now,
over the hills where the spirits fly.
I really don't know.

Led Zepplin- Misty Mountain Hop

Going to Mabalane

Last week, for the first time since we arrived in Mozambique, Moz 17 was let loose on the country. For 5 days we travelled in groups of 2 or more around various regions of this vast land without schedules, chaperons, or drivers. Much to my enjoyment, all we had from the Peace Corps was a name, phone number, and location for the volunteer we were to visit and a nice chuck of change to get us there. What ensued were 5 days of chapa rides, hitchhiking on pickup trucks, sleeping on various surfaces, eating a wide variety of selfcooked and restaurant meals,  visiting several schools, and in general learning a bit more about Mozambique.

Myself and another trainee name Nick aimed to visit James, an education volunteer just finishing his first year, north of Maputo (really the only choice) in Gaza province. Though I have no clue why it happens to have the same name as the conflict ridden zone on the Mediterranean sea, I can promise you that it is nothing like it. To start our trip out, we caught a ride in a Peace Corps car out of Namachaa to Maputo with several other trainnees. Upon arrival at the Peace Corps Office, we met up with a few volunteers from the Maputo area who led us to a fantastic fish market (sorry no pictures) where we ate lunch. After that we jumped onto a chapa and headed to Macia. A chapa, for those who do not know, is kind of like the 15 passenger vans that you may have used for club sports or camp, except smaller, and with 18 people. Since they are the most common method of transportation in Mozambique, we were briefed on what to expect and dealt with it quite well. After 3 hours in the back of the bus, we all hoped off and made the short walk to Mark and Peggy’s house, the volunteers on whos couches we’d be spending the night.

The next morning came with a bright and early visit of the school, devoid of students since it was a Saturday. Built by the Poirtugese government only a year earlier, the 7Macia secondary school is, for lack of a better word, perfect. Clean, equipped, and enclosed classrooms are surrounded by athletic facilities, water collection systems, a library, and other educational amenities. AS Mark said, his site wasn’t the Peace Corps, but the Posh Corps. Later in the morning, James, the volunteer who Nick and I were visitng, met up with us and we hoped in another chapa for Chokwe. We arrived in the bustling farming town after a few hours and quickly caught a break with a boleia (hitchhike) on the back of an empty charcoal truck. This is by far the best way to get anywhere. Spacious, cool, and cheap, it gets you where you need to go in the most varied way possible. The advantage of a pickup truck is that you can take the shelter behind the cab if you’re getting cold, or you can ride standing up with the wind blowing in your face and the view unfolding before you, as I did.

3 hours later we arrived in Mabalane, a pretty dry and matu (bush) site. James lives at a house right next to the school, so we hiked over and unpacked, while cooking dinner for the next few hours. Being it had been an exhausting day of travelling, sleep was in order and we all retired to our respective beds (mine being a few grass mats stacked on top of each other on the floor). For the next 3 days we visited the town and surrounding area which includes a train station, market, secondary school, primary school, health clinic, prison (anchor point for the town), and a couple barracas. In the down time, and when James had to proctor exams, we played chess, read, and worked out. From this aspect the visit was very similar to what I've heard Peace Corps life is like, in that you have a lot of free time and become very good at amusing yourself without TV or the internet. This is definitely something I am looking forward to as I have a huge mental list of classics I need to read and can always get in better shape.

After a few days of visiting Mabalane, it was about time to start the journey back towards Namachaa. Again we had amazing boleia karma and caught a ride in the back of a skynet delivery truck as soon as we were ready to leave town. After a hour on the very rough roads out of Mabalane, we ran into a Land Cruiser which seemed to be having some problems. Due to reasons that were not yet apparent, the driver had blown out a tire and was looking for a little help to get back on the road. Being the good guys that we are, Nick and I assisted in changing the tire with no thoughts to our own desires. It was never on pour mind that this lovely car had air conditioning, comfortable seats, and 6 cylinder 4 wheel drive engine with amazing suspension. As a result, it came as a great surprise to us that he would offer us a ride to Chokwe after the tire was changed. Let this be a cautionary tale: if a driver has blown out a tire, it’s probably not the Michelin Man’s fault. The next 20 min were some of the scariest moments of my life. Rolling at 90 kph down rocky dirt roads in a car driven by a beer drinking Mozambiquean is not at all comfortable. Sure we did in 20 min what would have normally taken 2 hours, but I would never do it again. Arriving in Chokwe was accompanied with one great sigh of relief. That night we slept at the lovely house of Valerie and Clancy, two PCV’s finishing up their second years and getting ready to go home.

On the last day of our trip, we took a chapa back to Maputo (3 hours), then went to buy western delicacies at a supermarket (1 hour) ate thai food (2 hours, yummy!) then got another chapa back to Namachaa (a very hot 2 hours). Dirty, exhausted, and a little sick, I made it back to my fantastic host family and took a great nap. Travel is fun, but in Mozambique, it really takes it out of you.

Sorry, no music quote

I ran out of battery while I wrote,

I hope the poem will satisfy you

Unitl I get a clue

Perma-gardening aka Moz 17 Gets Dirty

One of the events of training I was most looking forward to was the perma-gardening. Having never had a garden growing up, nor the space to have one at school, gardening was a skill I lacked. In a similar vein to how I took pride I having killed, gutted, and cleaned a chicken myself, growing my own vegetables seemed very appealing. Luck for me that the only organized project we did during training was to setup a highly efficient and systematic mini-farm.

Perma-gardening is taught to PCT’s (Peace Corps Trainees) as a unit in our extensive HIV/AIDS education. Since proper nutrition is an important, controllable, and relatively cheap component of the treatment of HIV/AIDS, it is a high priority for PCV’s. Once at site, volunteers have few resources and only what support they van get from the community, so we’re always on the lookout for low hanging fruit. By developing a way to maximize the nutritional content yields from a small parcel of land (most perma-gardens are no larger than 100m^2), Peace Corps is giving volunteers a very simple yet effective tool for promoting community development and health.

After a quick training session on Friday covering the basics about perma-gardens, myself and the 15 other PCT’s met early on Saturday and Sunday mornings to do the actual work. Though I won’t go into all the details, perma-gardening has 5 main components: composting, water management, soil preparation, planting diverse crops, and maintenance. As anyone in my family can tell you, I have always loved to build sandcastles, so the water management segment was more fun than work for me. The idea is, using the natural tendencies of rain water, to accomplish the 4 S’s of water management: stop, slow, spread, and sink (very different from the 5’s of organization I learned in IE).

• Stop: Using berms that surround the outside of the garden, block the natural downward path of water so that during rainstorms your fertile topsoil isn’t washed away
• Slow: Dig collection pools so that where water does flow in, it does so at a slow pace; further protecting the soil and storing some water for latter
• Spread: By placing ditches between  all the vegetable beds and ensuring that they are downhill from the collection pools, water can flow and enter every area of the garden
• Sink: Using a technique known as double digging, soil is opened up and aerated to a relatively deep level for a garden, allowing more water to be absorbed and more nutrients to be cycled.

Though this technique can require a lot of work to set up a garden, the yields are 2 to 3 times better than just simply planting crops. In addition, the variety of food stuffs produced (our garden has tomatoes, corn, lemon grass, sweet potatoes, bananas, and lettuce) adds a lot to the average Mozambican diet of xima (grits) and amendoin (peanuts).Having now learned a very efficient (woooo efficiency) and effective way to setup a garden, I’m sure I’ll put all those seeds in my Maputo bag to good use. Also, after seeing the camaraderie and cooperation that developed in my group through the work we had to complete (on a 34C/100F day), it became obvious why these types of community projects are such an important part of most volunteers Peace Corps service.

Glad you made it

Welcome to the farm

Who’s your daddy?

I’m your daddy now

I’m here seeking only what I need

In your mind I’ll plant my seed

It’s for sure

Guster- Airport Song