SAOW Part 2

It's that time of year again folks: the Superfluous Amounts of Water are back!

Pop quiz: is this a photo of a:

a. Sea wall

b. Cinder-block walk (boards just don't cut it)

c. The only bridge over the Rio Molocue for 5 miles in either direction

d. Retaining wall for the worlds largest glass of chocolate milk

If you answered a or b, I'm sorry but your wrong. If you answered d, you're also wrong, but I like your hopeful creativity. No the correct answer was c folks. With all the rain we've been getting these past few weeks, Molocue's infrastructure has taken a beating. But collapsed houses, cracking bridges, eroded roadways, and unpredictable power cuts are only part of the story. Much in town has ground to a halt from the countless people who are either very late or just completely fail to show up to work. Classes are stopped for hours at a time  because the tin roofs turn every drop into a waterfall (Coldplay was't being melodramatic on this one) . Market prices have jumped from 1mt to 1.5mts a tomato, 40mts/kg to 60mts/kg of feijao mantega (butter beans), 60mts to 100mts for a bag of carvao (charcoal), and 320mts to 420mts for a bag of cemento (I think you can figure that one out). Travel plans have been cancelled because bridges are not where they used to be. Volunteers have been evacuated and relocated because their houses aren't where they used to be. Thousands of Mozambiqueans have become weather refugees. Rainy season here is no joke, much more so this year than the last.

Sure, there are a few upsides: effortlessly collecting all my water off the roof, lower temperatures and refreshing winds, early in the season cana (sugar cane) being particularly sweat, and cuddle parties during thunderstorms with my dog Sticky (Coco's race tolerant and less aggressive offspring). But these don't make up for 2-3 months of forced, vigorous baths. Mozambqiue is clean, chega! (enough). Unfortunately, the rain gods have seen fit to keep it up for at least a bit longer, with not one, but two cyclones on Mozambique's radar. Thankfully, they seem to be passing on both sides of Zambezia, but my heart goes out those who are in their path.

Cyclone 1 passed over Nampula and into Malawi,
while Cyclone 2 is headed straight for Chimoio

Stay dry everyone.

Impregnating Papaya Trees?

Pop Quiz: How does one ensure that their Papaya tree bears fruit?

Answer: By having a cord-cob impregnate it of course!

Tojo and I each planted trees at the same time
as a race for the first fruit

This is the little nugget of wisdom I received from Tojo upon return form my week long trip to Maputo for Mid-Service Conference. Held approximately half way through your service, MSC is a chance to swap challenges, successes, anxieties, and aspirations with the other volunteers from your training group after your first year of service. Though I have seen many of the Moz 17ers  in the past year, particularly those which live in the North, there were several which I hadn't seen since the last time we were in Maputo together. Hanging out in the capital city and taking advantage of the wide variety of food choices, shopping opportunities, freely flowing beer, and air conditioned hotel rooms with them was fantastic. The real reason for the conference's existence though is to have the Peace Corps Medical Office check in on each volunteers health. In years past, this had meant a battery of diagnostic tests, extensive dental exams, and the ever famous stool samples. Much to my dismay, PCMO had determined that having volunteers poop in a cup three times during the week and sending said cups to a lab for analysis was an expensive way to find out very little. So the stool samples got cut in the most recent budget cycle and none of us had the opportunity to win the Toblerone chocolate bar traditionally given to the volunteer who was first able to complete a hat-trick.

The tree I planted. Before this intervention,
my tree was about 4 in taller than his

Instead, we had a boring simple physical and dental check, with blood tests and other exams tailored to each PCVs specific medical needs. Of course, there was a big group discussion about safe sex practices and the status of HIV/AIDS in Mozambique (11.5% of the population, which is much lower than what I had told many during my trip home). Following that vein, I was welcomed back to my house by the sight of two young papaya trees having been impaled by cord cobs. Hoping to figure out what sort of crazy shenanigans Tojo had been up to in my absence, I asked him why was he stabbing my trees with food waste. He promptly reminded me that a week earlier we had talked about the possibility of the trees being male, and therefore not giving fruit. Knowing nothing about fruit trees, I deferred to his better judgement and asked him what we should do about it. The solution he told me was to force a sex change by cutting a hole in the tree. Since I thought that he was joking, I told him to go right ahead and perform the papaya tree right of passage.


Well here is the result, a tennis ball sized hole in each tree with a corn-cob phallus stabbed through the middle.  Beyond the insanely obvious symbolism, I can't see any way that this could help the tree's give fruit, but perhaps someone more agriculturally inclined could prove me wrong. The question I ask now is, will the trees start growing hair in weird places and break out in zits?





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On another note, I saw my second ever chameleon today on my way to the mercado and snapped a picture of it. Eric and I stopped and watched it for a while just to see if it would change colors, but it seemed to think that if it just froze in place we wouldn't see it, so no color change was necessary. Since being first greeted to Alto Molocue by a chameleon  I have come to see it as a role model for a PCV: adjust to local conditions, move slowly but deliberately, and keep your eyes on a swivel for any opportunities of threats.

Back to Class, Kinda

So I’d like to think that now that I’m a seasoned second year PCV, I know a thing or two about Mozambique. Don’t buy the bread on the top of the pile at the market. Don’t use your left hand to wave hi to people. Don’t accuse vendors of being racist when they try to make you pay more. Don’t convince yourself that you’re a surgeon and the PC doctor shouldn’t see you finger. And don’t stress out about how long it takes for full classes to actually start.

Now for all you new or aspiring PCV’s out there, this is not a recommendation to skip the first days of class. When I first got to Alto Molocue last year and found out that classes were starting, I was super excited to get into the meat of my service. Of course, I was incredibly disappointed by the lack of attendance and kept kicking myself for being the sucker who actually showed up. Between students who didn’t know that classes had actually started and a majority of my colleagues who weren’t back from vacation yet, teaching an actual lesson was impossible. Though this made me incredibly frustrated and antsy to get to work, I learned a lot about how the school operated and was eased into teaching gently. Eventually classes did start, and by that point I was already well on my way to becoming the jaded and skeptical professor I am today.

Louisa, Allison, and our local guides after we reached the top

Well this year I was determined to learn from history (and not be doomed to repeat it). When I was informed that classes would be started on the upcoming Monday (January 21^st), I was automatically suspicious. “Aulas para verdade vao commencar?” (Classes are going to start for real?) “Sim, Sim, segunda feira vamos estudar bem forte” (Monday we will be studying very hard) my director responded. But how could that be possible? I knew that more than half the students had yet to be assigned to a class. I also knew from an informal survey of the teachers that very few were in town. Juvencio, no. Analucia, no. Gafar, no. Mabunda, no. Silvia, no. Though ‘classes’ would start on Monday, only a few students would show up, much fewer teachers would come to school to sign the attendance books, and then everyone would go home early blaming the others for the lack of class. Having already been through that pointless exercise once before, I decided to demonstrate my cultural integration by skipping. Instead of going to class, I would do what I love most and go hike a nearby mountain with fellow PCVs Louisa and Allison.

Myself, Eunice, Euclides, and Argentina at the meeting

Well I didn’t miss much. Eric Wilburn, my new sitemate, attended all of his classes and told me that there were 0 students on the 1st day, 5 on the 2^nd, and 12 on the 3^rd. No exactly a critical mass for 80 person classes. Sure, the honorable volunteer would have tried to lead by example and gone to class even though nobody else was. But as far as I’m concerned, if no one is there to see your good example, those who most need to be led aren’t ready to go anywhere. After coming back from the hike on Wednesday, I went to school on Thursday to present myself to the students. Over 3 hours, I stopped in each of the 9 turmas of 10^th grade that I will be teaching French to this year and introduced myself, went through a brief review of the previous year, and informed them that French classes would start in 2 weeks because I would be away for midserice conference. Content to have met the probably 15 best students in each class, some of which I already knew from Science Fair, English Theater, JEAM, and Escuteiros, I went home and satisfied my dragon addiction with the end of Game of Thrones Book 5.

Saturday was an equally relaxed

Eric, Dylan, and I with the mosquito netting team

 but productive day. We held the first scout meeting of the year, which was attended by about half of our troop, a satisfying turnout considering school attendance. Beyond discussing what we each did over break and what are plans for this year would be, I also announced that our camping equipment would be arriving shortly, which everyone was very excited about.  Afterwards, I went with several of the scouts to the secondary school where Dylan was working on the long planned replacement of the mosquito netting of the schools classrooms. While Eric and I helped out, students replaced old and torn netting and planted lemon grass which is a natural mosquito deterrent. Though not fully done with the work, we broke for lunch and then took the afternoon off for Dylan's 26th birthday. After welcoming frequent visitor Steph Newton to Alto, we celebrated with beers and a dinner of super subs (cheddar cheese, BBQ sauce, pineapple salsa, pulled chicken, salami, and pickles) bringing the week to a delicious close.

Though it was not the incredibly productive first week of school I had hoped for, I was happy to have used my time effectively and avoid the disappointments of last year. Here’s to a wise and wasteless 2013!

Goodbye

Today I said goodbye to a very dear friend. For the past year she has been a huge part of my life  and her absence will be deeply felt. Alto Molocue will not be the same without you.

All she asks from me is the food to give her strength 

All she ever needs is love and that she knows she'll get 

-Cat Stevens

Visit to Americaland, by the Numbers

21 days in Americaland
19 gifts distributed, didn't bring nearly enough
17 miles (approx) driven in one of two manual Volkswagen Passats
15 candles lit for Hanukkah (7th and 8th nights)
13 bowls of cereal with milk
12 Homeland Season 2 episodes watched
8 nights slept in my own bed
7 airports between there and back
6 movies seen in theaters (Argo, The Hobbit, Skyfall, Les Miserable, the Intouchables, Zero Dark Thirty)

Bar-Harris' with our matching capulanas from my host family

6 days spent in Boston
5 PCVs and RPCVs met
5 trips to the one and only NYC
4 Burritos (both authentic and inspired)
3 Towne Deli Subs
2 Pizza Deliveries, yay laziness
2 Thai Food meals
2 Japanese Food meals
2 Chinese Food meals
2 mini snow storms, I love snow!!
2 "Mt Baldy to Mt Rupi: The Scouts of Alto Molocue" presentations
1 amazing way to recharge my batteries and refocus for a sure to be phenomenal second year!
-------------------------------Update------------------------------------------
While I was on  the plane to Belgium I met 3 more PCVs (seated to the left, right, and behind me). Once I was in Brussels, I saw one more movie in theaters (Life of Pi) and ate two delicious Belgian food meals.

My Peace Corps Partnership Program

As many of you may know, I am currently back in the US of A. Though the majority of my time has been spent giving and receiving life updates, eating, drinking, shopping, and catching up on pop culture, there have been a few moments where I have done work. Principally, this has been in the form of sharing the story of the Escuteiros de Alto Molocue with friends, family, Troop 67, and pretty much anyone else who would listen. Beyond the intrinsic value of talking about something that I am proud to have been a part of, it has also been my hope to raise money for my new troop's camping expenditures. To that end, I have been working on a Peace Corps Partnership Plan over the past few months that would allow anyone to make a tax deductible donation. After a long wait and technical issues, my project has finally been posted on the Peace Corps website at https://donate.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=donate.contribute.projDetail&projdesc=13-640-004.

Once our funding goals have been met, the money will be sent to my Mozambican bank account and used to purchase tents, backpacks, and other pieces of camping equipment for the scouts. Like with all PCPP, this money will only cover 75% of the cost to run our first camping trip. The other 25% will come in the form of community donations of material, land, and labor ensuring that they are invested in the project. Since the cost of this project is relatively low, I hope to be able to announce the accomplishment of our funding goals very soon.

1 Year as a PCV

Since I had some time to kill before my ridiculous series of flights home start (Nampula, Maputo, Johannesburg  Frankfurt, and finally Newark) I decided to make a collage celebrating my 1 year anniversary of being a Peace Corps Volunteer.

 Hopefully that'll hold all of you over until you get to see my beautiful face in a few days. Ate ja!