Almost a year under my belt...

Wow. So, I've been away from home for almost 14 months now, but I've only been at site for about 11 months. And I know I haven't been writing in my blog very religiously, so I guess it'd be nice of me to write a brief update of the past year.

Well...honestly, most of the stuff I've been doing here has just been getting over the culture shock. After having spent my entire life in California and then arriving in my tiny, impoverished village and being surrounded by strange languages and cultural practices...it did take a while for me to just start to comprehend the situation in which the locals live.

That being said, the local community based organization (CBO) that I work with finally recieved their legalization document this past month. I spent a lot of time trying to get that done with the limited resources which we have in our village, so it was a major relief when we finally got it. The local "capoeira" group has lost interest in capoeira and now practice karate. For some reason they've made me the grandmaster, even though I hardly ever come and I haven't practiced martial arts in over 13 years. They have a local (he's originally from the city 3 hours away, but studying at the highschool in my village) master who teaches them on a regular basis. Sometimes I practice capoeira in my yard, but I'm usually busy doing other stuff.

I have a new site mate who's pretty cool. He's a few years older than me, and he's actually a peace corps response volunteer (he already served his two year term about 8 years ago) who is working a 9 month agriculture project in my village. He's been helping me out with my guitar playing, so that's been fun. It totally changes the feel of my site too, knowing that I'm not the only American here. I definitely feel more comfortable in my skin. I have no idea how I survived last year all by myself, with no one to speak English to or who understood what life is like back in the states. There's just a huge gap in the type of stuff that we think about...you're probably wondering "like what?"

Well...for example, on a daily basis in the states we might think stuff like "oh, today I need to go buy milk at the supermarket after work, then drop by my buddy's house to play some video games, and then plan out my schedule for the month." On a daily basis in my village, it kind of goes like "Desejo que vai chover amanha, eu preciso de isso para minha machamba produzir muitas vegetais. Talvez eu vou pilar amendoim, ralar coco e vervir isso para ter leite de coco, e depois apanhar algums folhas de mandioca para fazer matapa para a comida nossas hoje (translation: I hope it rains tomorrow so that my farm will produce many vegetables. Maybe I'll pound some peanuts then shave a coconut and boil it to make some coconut milk and then light a some coals (using a plastic bag to start the fire) to cook that mixture with some leaves from my yard to make today's meal for my family)". I remember when I was learning how to make matapa, it took about four hours to make.

I could write more stuff about that, but I'm getting lazy.

Most of the kids/highschoolers that I work with are on vacation now (their Summer break is from November to January) so I'm working more with my CBO this month and next instead of with the students.

I've been eating a lot of coconuts recently. I'm getting better at choosing which coconuts are better to eat (sweeter and more tender) and at opening them with my knife (hacking at it to open it up and drink the juice then hacking it in half to be able to scoop out the meat). Melissa doesn't have lanhas at her site, so I'm suffering right now. Oh yeah, I should've mentioned, I'm at Melissa's site because she's having her despedida (going away party) today. I can't believe she's going to cos in less than two weeks.

Alright, gotta go, tchau tchau.

Oh yeah...

So...work is picking up. It's nice. I have lot of sweet little projects: have a journalism group at the secondary school, a music group with kids 13-15 (a bunch of them are orphans), a capoira group that wants to do theatre plays and shows in the community, I helped my local CBO (community based organization) restructure their leadership and am still currently helping them develop, and I'm trying help a bunch of orphans get registered so that they can receive financial aid. I think I might start a permaculture project in the near future too...maybe little income generating project with orphans or with the cbo too...we'll see...yeah...life is getting better.

Ok. Nao ha mais coisas para dizer. Ou talvez tenho, mais aqui nao e um bom sitio para falar.

Tchau. =)

A return to reality?

So...I know I haven't written an entry in a really long time...but I seriously just didn't have the time or the patience before.

So...updates:

...

On second thought, I don't really feel like making anything that's happened public to the world back there. I'll just keep it as PC Moz fofoca. Sorry ya'all...

Well, maybe I can share that I can finally do an aerial (thank you mr. Mau Mau and the other capoeristas).

Ok...done.

Oh wait, I would like to say that I a couple days ago I hitch-hiked by myself for about 12 hours. Heading back to site tomorrow.

Ok...maybe I'm not done.

Summer is coming back! Starting to get hot again.

I'm trying to decide what to do about my hair. Cut it, braid it, or just leave it...decisions decisions...

Beach day was glorious...

Ok...now I'm done.

Chance encounter...

One day, I was coerced into attending a parade in my village. At the town square, while people paid their respects to a famous dead woman, a group of boys approached me. They said that they would teach me what they knew of capoeira if I would teach them what I knew of martial arts. Apparently, I "looked like" I knew how to fight...I'm not sure if that's because of the way I walked (which is actually quite awkward) or because I'm asian. Either way, sadly, they were kinda right...even though I stopped studying martial arts 13 years ago.

So...I started trying out capoeira. And then I realized something very obvious...I'm not as flexible as I was 13 years ago.

But it's still fun.

Peanuts?

Back at Home

Okay, imagine everything you know about the possible evolution of dinosaurs into modern day birds...got it? Okay, now imagine that all that happened to me in the past three months.

Yes, I now have wings, feathers, and can lay eggs. Sweet, right?

Ha, just kidding.

That is what I feel like, though. I seriously can't believe the stuff that's been happening to me...and it just comes non-stop, every day. Well, something big happens at least once a week.

Like, for example, a few days ago I was in a major city for a conference and a bunch of PCV's were robbed. I was walking back with an amigo and an amiga from a...place of dancing (which happened to be less than a block away from our hotel)...when four dudes jumped us. One had a knife, another had a broken bottle, and a third had...a coconut. The dude with the coconut was the one closest to me. The fourth thug grabbed my amiga and took some stuff from her. Just when things were looking very bleak, a car pulled up and the four ladrões jumped over a wall and sped off into the night. My buddy thanked the car and we hurried off to our hotel.

After the conference I was heading back home with a boleia, and the tire blew out. Of course, we were in the middle of nowhere, so we had to wait four hours for our driver to catch a boleia himself and fix the spare in the closest town. Not a big deal really. Kinda lame, thinking about it now, but I guess I'll just leave that there.

So...after a month filled with lots of viagems, I'm finally back at site. I have lots of ideas and lots of things to accomplish, but first I'm going to go for a run with my kids, cut my buddy's hair, and watch my clothes hang dry.

My computer.

I am...so...not in the mood to write an entry now.

So...I shall...not write one. Kinda.

All I can say is...I think I need a time out.

Payce.

Innocent...dancing...?

So...I was eating dinner with my buddy and a couple of friends that we knew at the hospital came over. They were going to the discoteca and asked us to join them. "Sure, why not?" I thought.

After a couple beers, I started dancing. I'm not sure who was raping who, but a lot of guys started taking turns battling me...very closely...as if I was a girl...I'm not sure how I feel about that. Well, I'm pretty sure I raped them.

I danced some more, until a girl asked me to dance with her. We talked for a bit, danced a lot, and then...she started to lick my ear. "WTF," I thought...So, when a girl came over and distracted her, I left the dance floor.

I talked with my buddy, and he said that I had been dancing with a hooker. He had seen her around the other barracas and had noticed her odd behavior.

I need to go shower. I sweated a lot. And...I don't want any STD's in my ear.

Aw yeah...

Can you imagine going from extreme sadness to extreme happiness in less than 24 hours?

Well, that has just happened to me, and as a result I'm extremely hyper at the moment. I won't explain in details what's happened...actually, I won't explain at all since it's all very private and this is a public blog...but...mew. Muahaha.

Sooooo...what's new in my world?

I have some RPCV's from Namibia coming to visit next week, I'm trying to score some funds for one of the local HIV stigma groups (all of them are HIV positive, but they are freaking awesome and happy people), I have a couple of orphans next door who I'm quickly becoming a father-figure to, and...I just have to straight up say this (sorry to all the peeps at home)...all the people I've met here in Moçambique (especially the expats and PCV's) are the most amazing individuals I've met in my life. I could not have asked for a better country placement...and I'm loving this province as well...

Okay, enough of that shiz.

So, interesting stories...I visited a hospital in a comunidade several km away, and they had a trash pit where they threw the placentas and biohazardous stuff (to be burned later), but it was placed directly next to a corn field. The nearest corn plant was seriously within 2 feet of the pit. Yummy!

People here love to dance. It's freaking awesome. Sometimes I'll walk behind the central mercado and people will be dancing in the fruit aisles. Oh yeah, I had a lanya (baby coconut) yesterday and I had a pineapple today. It was a nice change from my bread and peanut butter breakfast.

I 'm planning on starting my garden soon...maybe tomorrow after I find some corn seeds...I'm going to have peanuts, beans, onions, tomatoes, corn...and a couple other things...I don't have time to make any compost and I'm kinda lazy to find some ash, so I'll see what I can do with just pure digging...hopefully my yard has some nice nutrients...but whatevs.

There's more that I'd like to say but I seriously can't tell you...I just can't.

Peace out yo!

A nice little trip...

It all started off with frogs mating.

I was itchy from bug bites and what not, and my bed was uncomfortable...so I wasn't sleeping very well. Then, when the loud music from the local barraca (which is normal and I can normally sleep through) finally stopped at 10pm, the mating frogs started up. Now, all you people in the states might think you've heard frogs before, but some of these frogs sounded like they were being murdered or something. High pitched squeals emanated between the barotone croaks. Then a cat screeched at my dog. Then a dog growled at my dog, causing Vaca to whine to me...begging to be let in the house. I drifted in and out of restless sleep until 4am, when the Mosque's call to prayer told me that the sun would be up soon and I would no longer score any more z's.

So, I spent the next night at my buddy's house (and by buddy, I mean my Mozambican-doctor-mulatto buddy...there are no other Americans in my town...the only one I know of in the whole district, besides me, lives out in the boonies and I only see her a couple days every month or so).

I woke up at 5am, pretty well rested...used his comp to upload a few pix...watched the new version of Ninja Turtles dubbed in Portuguese...took a three hour trip over a bumpy road to a beach 50km away...tomar'ed banho in my undies with four other mozambican dudes in the ocean (they were better prepared and had speedos on)...caught a few waves, with my underwear threatening to wash out to sea (I hope the crabs and clams got a good look)...had some lobster which was pretty dry and unsatisfying, but only $5 US...fries and rice included...then listened to classical rock on the way back home: "What is love? Baby, don't hurt me...don't hurt me...no more..." Our driver speaks only a little English, but he loves listening to American jams. I waved to kids who randomly waved at us on the bumpy roads. I started pondering whether or not I like my new life here...a leaf from a coconut tree falling as I contemplated if I'm still in awe at being in Africa.

Not so much in awe anymore...it's more like...an awakening for me. I am here...I've been wanting to be here for a long time, and there are many things I am planning to accomplish...and I am finally here to do it.

If you don't leave the safety and comforts that you're used to...if you just follow the ebb and flow of the society you've been caught in...you'll never discover what it is that your heart really desires...well, at least for people like me, that is.

I've always felt something missing, and I think I've finally found it. It took me a couple years and a trip to the opposite side of the world...and some intensive classes and social adjustments...but I feel pretty damn lucky to live the life that I have and be the person that I am. Crazy, neh?

Randomness

Since I'm so far behind in updating my blog, I'll just start writing random stuff.

Today at the market:
Dude (to me): Chinese man!
Me (to dude): American man!
Ingrid (to me): Sorry man.

Did you know that the quickest way to get from one moment to another is to pesada until time stops? Yes, it is quite true. (Pesada is a popular method of dancing here)

I lost count of the number of times I've been called "china" and the number of times people have asked me why I don't have a woman yet. I guess I get the china thing more, but they're both a little annoying.

My puppy is named Vaca de Plastico. He likes to play with plastic. And he's really cute. I feed him xima mixed with dried fish. Xima is kinda like mashed potatoes except it doesn't have butter and it's made with corn. It's more popular than rice here.

Ummmm....oh yeah, Vaca is cow, and Cao is dog, so...that's why he's named Vaca.

I ate some of the xima with dried fish that I made the other day before feeding it to Vaca, and then as I was spooning it out to give to him, I found some insect larvae. I thought the mixture tasted a little bitter. Oh well, more protein.

I was walking in the rain yesterday and a girl asked me if I wanted to share her umbrella with her. I told her that I was fine, but she said I would get a fever if I didn't. I said it was still very hot and so I was good...but yeah, anyway, a friend later told me that she was trying to hit on me. Did I ever mention that I met a girl at a discoteca, exchanged numbers, and then never called her? Yeah, I see her around town a lot, and it's a little awkward. Maybe I'll just say hi next time. But whatevs.

Dudes here are really touchy. And open...did I mention that...*content omitted...I'll tell you when I get back to the states*

Uh...I saw a huge snail today. They make me laugh.

Vaca likes to bark and pounce on insects. There are a lot of insects in my house. A lot of times, I'll get home and find a bunch of dead insects in my house. I don't know why they die...they just die in the middle of my floor for no apparent reason.

Ah, the insects here are crazy. I'd like to start a bug collection, but I don't have any pins or a case to stick them in.

The rainy season has started. It's very pleasant. Lalalalaa...

Uh...Did I talk about new year's yet? Well, Christmas sucked...I just stayed in my house alone. But new years was freaking awesome. Have you ever heard of Hankey Bannister? Cheap, but good. Ah...the stories I have to tell but can't...so sad, so sad...

Yesterday a gang of kids came to my house and started playing with Vaca. Then we all started dancing and they started clapping to my beat. It was pretty cool.

Okay, here's a soap box moment: I am here doing exactly what I wanted to do for a long time and I am the happiest I have ever been in my life. Life here is super tough, I lost a lot of amenities, and I'm getting paid nothing, but there is nothing I would rather be doing right now. If you never take a leap into the great beyond and search for your own true calling, you will never find out what heights you may reach.

Okay, that's done with.

Ummmmm....I've become somewhat of a celebrity here. I am the only person in town with glasses, and the kids have started making makeshift glasses out of wire and other trash...

Dude...I have no idea when I'll be able to write another post, but it's tough to think about things I haven't written yet...and can write about...uh...

Okay, I guess that's it for now. Chao-der! Miss all ya fools back in the states! Eat some fast food for me! I'm getting skinny again. The market has lots of dried fish though. Yum. With worms. Double yum. (Don't worry though, it's just the off season. Vegetables and other goodies will come back in Feb.)