Lets try this again.....

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I am going to try with the photos again...

Ok, so my last couple entries, or I should say my attempts at entries, have been a bit of a letdown. I am also having quite a bit of trouble getting photos up for you all to see. The good news is that I know it is possible because there are other volunteers who have successfully posted some photos, and I will have opportunities to use the internet tomorrow and Sunday if necessary, so stick with me because I am definitely going to give this photo situation my best shot.

I am now at the end of week seven, which means only three more weeks of training to go. Next week we are supposed to find out where our permanent site placement is going to be after training. Also next weekend, my host parents are getting married after an engagement of seven years. I guess the husband was having a minor case of cold feet. Actually, at least in this part of Mozambique, people will get engaged around the time that they have their first child, but will remain engaged until they have enough money to be financially secure. Anyway, this should definitely be an exciting event, and I have been invited to attend, so I will have a good chance to witness how this cultural event takes place in this part of the world. Although there are a number of things to look forward to at this point in training, getting through each day is becoming more and more difficult because of a number of different factors, not the least of which is the fact that we are now entering the Mozambican summer, which may not be as mild as the summers I am used to experiencing in the Midwest. The last few days in a row have been about 100 degrees and this really is only the beginning. The other day was a monumental day for me, for two reasons, both directly related to the heat. First of all, you must know that the average Mozambican takes 2 to 3 bucket baths per day, one in the morning, one during lunch, and one by candlelight at night. Until the other day, I have been steadfast in my conviction that one bucket bath per day is plenty enough for me. I really saw it as more of a hassle than anything to pour water on myself that many times in a day. However, when I walked back to my house from school the other day, I was sweating so much that I finally gave in, and took my first lunch time bano. I sort of tried to hide it at first, but one of my family members saw me coming out of the bano area, and there was no hiding it anymore. We had a small congratulatory dinner that night where my host parents gave me an extra helping of whatever the hell animal we were eating that night, I still don’t know. The other note worthy event of that day was that I had my first up-close and personal encounter with a poisonous snake! During the hot months, snakes will try to slither into peoples homes to find some cool shade. I was standing in our kitchen when I felt something slimy going over the top of my foot, and when I looked down I saw this snake. While I kept staring, my host mom snatched a broom and began beating the snake to a pulp, and then showed him the door. Pretty cool stuff.

Last week, all the Peace Corps trainees went on site visits, which meant that we all went to stay with different current Peace Corps volunteers throughout the country. This was supposed to give us a chance to see different kinds of organizations that volunteers end up working with and maybe more importantly to see how they have been able to make homes in locations and housing that is extremely varied. I went to stay with a volunteer in the province of Manica, which many Mozambicans will claim is the most beautiful province in Mozambique. I stayed in the capital city, so not only was I within a reasonable distance of all the beautiful mountains, but I was also within walking distance of many stores that carry products that you can find in only a handful of other places in this country. Specifically, food. They have a grocery store there that is an actual grocery stores. Until you have lived in rural Mozambique for seven weeks, you have no idea what the sight of a real grocery store can do to a person. Before I give the last of all the foods I ate during the week, let me preface to the all the people who might be reading this who have never met me before. I really am not an obese person, I really am not the stereotypical obese American. With that being said, I do like to eat a lot and the foods that I have been deprived of here have made it difficult to see that point of living sometimes. Without further ado, the following is a list of things that went into my body during that week:
Pizza, mint chocolate ice cream, milk chocolate bars, yogurt, milk, honey, strawberry jam, peanut butter, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, corn flakes, Gatorade, steak, potato chips, cheese crackers, ice cream (Neapolitan and chocolate fudge), whipped cream, pancakes, syrup, and a small piece of cake.
Ok, so I had to pay an extra fee at the airport since my body took up two seats, no big deal. Actually, you might be thinking that I was sick all week, but that didn’t happen until the last night. We bought these tubs of ice cream that really wasn’t frozen, so it was really easy to scoop out of the tub. For some reason, this made it seem like I wasn’t eating as much ice cream, and I ended up eating nearly one whole tub by myself. Opps. Also, my volunteer has 24 access to internet, so that wasn’t bad either. Whoever said that Peace Corps would be the toughest job I would ever love must have been living in the capital of Manica.

The volunteer that I stayed with works with a NGO that runs out of Washington called Africare. The work of my volunteer was focused on home based care, which means that he is working on a community based level, as opposed to the other parts of Africare which may focus on larger sweeping projects that affect many communities at once. The main part of his work is dealing with people hired by his organization to become Activistas. An activista, who is always a person that is well respected in their community, receives training from Africare on how to properly wash fruits and vegetables, clean their homes, deal with sicknesses, treat water, and basically how to lead a safe and sanitary life. The hope is that other community members will take note of the way this person is living, and then will ask questions and follow their example. The activista is also expected to identify to Africare 10 members of their community who are sick and need help connecting to health services that might be able to aide them. It is a pretty cool program that is being used by many different organizations, not just Africare. With my volunteer and other members of Africare, we spent most of our time driving to communities where activistas were present and checking up on the clients that they were working with. . It was extremely interesting to see how differently people live even within the same community. Some people were very aware of how to live healthily, while others did not, or were unable to because of various reasons.I should mention though that one day when we were driving around, we had to stop the car in the middle of the road for about 5 minutes while we waited for a herd of small baboons to cross the road, no joke. I think that was my ‘first I guess I really am in Africa moment.

Lastly, I feel it necessary to briefly mention a guest speaker that our health group listened to a couple weeks ago. We heard the story of a woman who is openly living with AIDS, a woman from the same town we are living in actually. Although it was pretty difficult to listen to some of her story, it was definitely necessary in order to get a realistic idea of what life can be like with AIDS. The next couple sentences may be difficult to read for some people, so skip ahead if you feel like you may be one of those people. She told us how her husband had been working in South Africa, as many men around here do, and that he had been having affairs during the entirety of his absence. Shortly after he returned, she contracted HIV, which has recently developed into AIDS. When she told him that she was HIV positive, he beat her so badly that she had to go to the hospital to be treated for numerous broken bones. While she was in the hospital, he left her and their 3 children for a neighboring town, where he now lives with a new wife. I think one thing that I realized from her story and that so often when a person has this disease, there is a heartbreaking story that is behind it. Many people lose friends, lose jobs, lose family support, or lose their husbands. Living with HIV is a challenge that is beyond what most of us could never comprehend, but this woman is dealing with a broken heart on top of that. She never seemed to become emotional when talking about her disease, but it was clearly painful for her to talk about her husband. I think that support for these issues is one thing that HIV/AIDS groups are lacking. Infected people certainly need assistance living with this disease, but they also need someone to talk with about the painful stories that almost always are present as well.

So I am learning, and this is good. The Portuguese is coming along much better actually. I am communicating, as far as I know, with my family and I feel like we are actually developing some sort of a relationship. I have already obtained the necessary level of Portuguese that is required to graduate from training, so as long as I don’t get stupider within the next few weeks, I should be allowed to leave this town. To be honest, the training has been tough. I have been enjoying how much I have been able to learn over this period, but a lot of days are difficult. I guess it is just having to deal with many problems that I never had to encounter back in the states, or maybe they are just showing up in different forms. It is just easy sometimes to feel like you are in this all by yourself, even though you really aren’t. I am beginning to find ways to relieve the pressure and stress, and I think that really is one of the biggest challenges here. It isn’t just that you have problems, it is figuring out ways to feel better in a situation that you are completely unfamiliar with. With all that being said, I am currently feeling strong, feeling like I am ready to work especially hard here for the last few weeks. Once again, I want to thank everyone who has sent me letters, e-mails, and messages, that stuff really does mean a lot out here, every single message. I also helps to hear about everyone else’s life, because I know I am not the only one with stuff going on, so feel free to talk about yourselves every once in a while!

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Photos

Me and my Uncle
My host uncle hard at work and me returning from school

Shaving
My host siblings are fascinated with my electric shaver

Where's Waldo??
Can you spot me??? This is the team that I play with, plus a whole heard of my fans

There it is....
I have only missed a few times

Class
THE peace corps picture

Nighttime bano
This is where I clean myself at night

Water
To get water, people go to the nearest river and fill these containers with water and then cart it back to their homes

My backyard....
and also the town soccer field

Manica in the bachground
some other trainees and myself standing on the porch of a pcv's house

A hike
Those hills in the distance are Zimbabwe

An example....
of a typical house

Comments

[arya]

i think ive commented in every entry youve made but i dont know if you see these or not!! we miss you here, jimmy. its sweet that you're learning so much and having a good time!