sojo and wendy's going away party at akisha's

Pictures (I'm working my way backwards from the flight home to the beginning)

I am going to slowly upload all of my many photos from my trip. I'll post each week or so.
ENJOY
BJS
:-)

Safe and sound!

I am back in Manhattan. In many ways it's almost as if I never left. It's so funny how everything moves forward with such great momentum- always. It's strange how in the blink of an eye you can be transported from one time, one place, one reality to a completely different one. I have had almost no time to process anything. Yesterday Tamika and I kept blinking at each other on the subway saying how we couldn't believe we were actually in New York, when only a few (ok like 48) hours ago we were riding a rusty, rickety chapa.

I am happy to be back. I'm taking it slowly. I'm finishing up my final round of interviews this week. Then I'm heading for Maryland/D.C. and then Rochester then I'll be back to Manhattan to go through the process of re-settling (eeeh...).

I miss Mozambique very much and have decided to enroll in a formal Portuguese language course here so that I can become fluent and then I'll go back to Mozie (vacation style). I'll always go back to Mozie, the love bug bit me the moment I stepped of the chapa.

Tamika and I had quite an adventure making it back home to the states. We left for Maputo at 4:30 am and arrived at 11:30. This was on a Monday and we were supposed to fly out of Joburg on Tuesday evening. Two weeks earlier, we contacted the ADPP headquarters in Maputo telling them that we were leaving and that we needed our bus tickets to Joburg (our organization is supposed to cover our expenses to the airport, etc.). Sure, no problem, we were told.
When we got off of the chapa, we called the office to let them know that we would be in Machava in a few hours to pick up our tickets for later that day (we were supposed to leave on a bus at 7pm- we just wanted to drop our bags off at our friend Jesse's apartment so that we wouldn't have to lug them around the city). When we called, we were informed that they hadn't purchased any tickets for us and that the bus that we were supposed to take was full.
Enraged, Tamika and I showed up at a particular man's office demanding tickets. We were told that it wasn't possible to get a bus in time to catch our plane and that they didn't know we were leaving. I was literally told and I quote "this is not my problem, this is your problem". This was one of the most frustrating things about living and working in Mozambique, nobody wants to take accountability for anything, nobody is ever on top of anything, there are no systems in place to check or balance anything, it is so easy to get screwed over because you can't depend on anyone and people don't do anything unless you are lighting a fire beneath their you know what.
We were so angry. We argued with this man and argued with him and with his little buddies in the office. Finally, since there were no buses and we needed to be in Joburg by 7pm the next day, he decided to give us the money and told us to take a chapa. This would have been uncomfortable and fine if there weren't violent conflicts at the border and people being killed. I couldn't believe that ADPP had so little concern for our personal welfare that they would send us, two females, on a rickety chopa with Mozambique plates over the border in the middle of a conflict zone where Mozambicans were being targeted and attacked. We took the money and left. We had no other options. The only bus company that we were aware of was booked solid.
Luckily, two hours before we almost took a chapa, my friend Lynne called to let us know that there were two tickets available on the Pantera Azul bus that would leave in the morning at 7am getting us to Joburg by 3pm. It would be a close call but it was our best chance. We spent the night in Maputo and left in the morning with no problems. Luckily my friends are wonderful, amazing, supportive people without which I would never have survived this journey or my experience in Mozambique. That last clash with my organization made me so happy that I was leaving early. I cannot stress enough, the importance of doing your homework before you take a contract abroad.
Anyhow, about an hour away from Joburg, around 2:30, the bus blows a flat tire. Tamika and I were horrified. We just wanted to get to the airport so that we could go home. We were so close. The driver and his little first mate hopped out and worked on the tire for about 30 minutes and we slowly puttered towards the bus station. We finally made it to Joburg. We were about an hour late but we were there. The brother of one of the guys we knew in Mozie came to pick us up at the station and took us to the airport. We made it just in the nick of time. We were even able to spend our last rands and mets at the airport mall before boarding. The flight was great. Tamika and I had two seats each. I caught up on my movies. The amarula and wine flowed freely. We had a surprise stop in Senegal? but 17and a half hours later, we made it to New York and boarded the subway and bam...we were back in the game.

My Mozambique- ADPP chapter is now closed. I am working on a book about my experiences. There were so many things that happened that I couldn't really write about in this blog that I am recording now. I'll post my introduction as well as blurbs at a later point. I can write what I want now that I'm no longer under a contract ;-)

Thanks for reading!

There is nothing like a good hot shower. Thank god for my benevolent friends in town with running water and indoor plumbing.
So fresh and so clean clean!

Yesterday I said goodbye to Akisha. She left for South Africa for a well deserved month long vacation shortly after hosting our Friday the 13th pow wow. I'll miss you akish-kish. C'ya in New York in December.

One of my favorite things about traveling is the fact that you encounter some of the most amazing people. I have met some of my favorite people while traveling. Many of the travelers I have encountered on my sojourns are such open genuine caring and adventurous people, I appreciate that very much. I will really miss my circle here. It's one of those things I didn't think much about until I had to begin my goodbyes.

I gave a lecture at the Eduardo Mondlane University for Hotel Tourism. It was a very memorable experience. I spoke to a class of second year students about recycling everyday materials to create useful items that can be used in restaurants and hotels. It went over really well. The students were so creative. It looks as though I have inadvertently started a campus recycling club. I can't wait to see what the students come up with. They promise to email and keep me posted.

I spent a good portion of my morning running around the city filming. I want to show everyone what Inhambane looks like because I am certain that this city or town, depending on your perspective, will defy all stereotypes of what a town in Mozambique, in Africa, looks like. I also got some great bush footage.

I regret that I will be a very long time, years, before I see another full moon over the savannah. I am saddened that the milky way won't be a part of my everyday ambiance any longer. I will not however, miss the insects.

Signing off. Preparing for a girls night out in Tofo- second to last night!

ah a connection!

I am falling apart.
I don't know how it began.
All I know is one morning I woke up with a wooden splinter lodged beneath my right eye.
Another day I developed a cold that has now turned into a rage filled hacking cough.
We have no more gas at our house and our organization has refused to pay for more. This means we have no drinking water and we can not prepare food at home at all.
The water in our well out back is so low, all we have are pools of thick muddy water.
We are all afraid to bathe. I look at the water and I think cholera and typhoid.
Times are getting interesting.

Happy friday the 13th. To celebrate, we gathered at Akisha's and watched the Spanish film "Orphanage". Kids are so creepy.

I said goodbye to my students today :-(
I will miss them. They were so cute.
Oh, for those of you who I have not told, I have decided to end my contract with human a month early and will be returning to New York on Tuesday en route to D.C. en route to New York again. I have many reasons for this decision. None of which I have time to get into now.
I will post a copy of my scathing resignation letter later.

I have to go. This computer is needed for a round of karaoke.

Crisis!

Things are boiling right now here in Mozambique. Within the past week or two close to 50,000 migrants from Mozambique and Zimbabwe (mostly) have crossed over the border from South Africa into Mozambique through Maputo. The situation is desperate.
These migrant workers are leaving South Africa where they have endured brutal attacks as a result of xenophobia and fears that they were taking jobs from South Africans. People have been beaten, have been set on fire and over 40 people have lost their lives recently. The situation is beyond the control of the South African government.
The atmosphere here is tense. People are worried about crime which has increased in Maputo due to all of the traffic. The conditions in these refugee camps are deplorable.
Is this even on the news in the US?

More madness (more moments in one act)

ACT I.
(In the teachers office. Sojourner, Tamika and Gierdre have just returned from breakfast)

Teacher: Oh did you forget
Sojo: Forget what?
Teacher: You don't want to give the exams
Sojo: What? Am I supposed to be giving an exam???
Teacher: You don't want to?
Sojo: Want to what? Nobody told me that I was supposed to give an exam
(The other girls agree)
Teacher: (Laughs)
Yes well it's very important, you must give, we must hurry
Sojo: Wait what exam am I giving, to what students, what are the instructions, how much time do they have?
Teacher: Ah, did you forget?
Sojo: Forget? Nobody told me anything. Did you forget?
Teacher: Come girls we must hurry the exam has started
Sojo: If it's started how are we going to give it?
TEacher: Yes, but...
(His phone rings, he looks to see who it is)
Ok wait!
(He goes to the doorway)
Yes, hello my friend, how are you? No I'm not doing anything. Yes, yes, things are good and you?
(Laughter)
(He walks away from the building, leaving the Development Instructors annoyed in the middle of the room)
Sojo: Why?

Waiter (yet another tale in one act)

ACT I.
(At a cafe)

Waiter: Boa Tarde
Sojo: Boa Tarde, I would like the Italian pizza
Waiter: Yes, Italian pizza
Sojo: Yes, but could I have that without the sausage
Waiter: (looks confused) Italian pizza, it comes with sausage
Sojo: Yes, I know, but can I have mine without
Waiter: It's not possible
Sojo: Why? You make the pizzas in the kitchen. Just don't add any sausage to mine
Waiter: It's not possible, it comes with sausage
Sojo: Yes, I realize that, but I don't eat meat and I would like everything that comes with the Italian pizza, I just don't want the sausage
Waiter: ok
Sojo: Thank you, so you will bring me an Italian pizza without the sausage
Waiter: No, it's not possible
Sojo: You can't just give me the pizza without the sausage
Waiter: It's not possible
Sojo: I'll have a Margharita pizza
Waiter: Yes, Margharita pizza

TWIDLWNIWNM ( Another tale in one act)

Act I.
(The teachers office ADPP)

Teacher who I don't like whose name I will not mention: Ah, Sojo, my big boss, how goes it?
Sojo: Hi
TWIDLWNIWNM: Sojo, yah, I need something
Sojo: yes
TWIDLWNIWNM: I don't know what we will do
Sojo: what?
TWIDLWNIWNM: On the computer, I must make a message to teacher Tracy
Sojo: ok
TWIDLWNIWNM: Well you can do it
Sojo: what
TWIDLWNIWNM: yah!
sojo: What do you want me to do?
TWIDLWNIWNM: I need you to make an email
Sojo: Ok, so what do you want me to do????
TWIDLWNIWNM: Yah, well you can write it
Sojo: What! no! you can write your own email
TWIDLWNIWNM: No I haven't the know how
Sojo: You don't know how?
TWIDLWNIWNM: Yes, No, Yes, it's very difficult
Sojo: Do you want me to show you how so that it won't be difficult anymore?
TWIDLWNIWNM: No you see it's difficult
Sojo: No, I'll show you
TWIDLWNIWNM: No you will write it
Sojo: You need to learn how
TWIDLWNIWNM: No not today
Sojo: You realize I'm going baack to New York soon adn then what will you do?
TWIDLWNIWNM: (crazy laughter)
Sojo: (stone faced silence)
TWIDLWNIWNM: Ok so write
Sojo: write what, you're not making any sense
TWIDLWNIWNM: (more crazy laughter)
Sojo: TWIDLWNIWNM, I'm going to count to three and if you can't tell me exactly what you want I'm walking away...1...2..
TWIDLWNIWNM: Oh Sojo my big boss, come sit, tell teacher Tracy I need some papers
Sojo: What papers? You need to be specific. You want me to email Tracy who is back home in Westchester about "some" papers. I don't think she's going to know what you're talking about
TWIDLWNIWNM: (even more crazy laughter)
Sojo: (eyes become slits)
TWIDLWNIWNM: Oh Sojo (pets her on the head as if she is a stupid dog who can't be trained) Yes

RAK-47 WO (A tale in one act)

It's the blind leading the blind. For the life of me, I can't figure out how anything functions.

ACT I.
(It's a sunny afternoon. Sojourner is walking down a street past a police station.)

Random AK-47 Wielding Police Officer: You can't pass here
Sojo: What?
RAK-47 WPO: You can't pass here (he points to the other side of the stret)
Sojo: I can't walk on this side of the street?
RAK-47 WPO: No, other
Sojo: Why?
RAK-47 WPO: (Points across the street)
Sojo: (Begins to cross over to the opposite side of the street)
RAK-47 WPO: No! you have to go back
Sojo: What!
RAK-47 WPO: (Points to the end of the street many yards away)
Sojo: (Stares down RAK-47 WO accessing him. He is small, perhaps 5'2" and 90 lbs, she thinks she could take him, then re-considers remembering the large assult riffle which probably wasn't actually loaded, but if it were, RAK-47WPO would probably be happy to play target practice with the irritated American. She stares him down and gives in, but first offers up the nastiest snarl she could muster. Pivoting on her heels, she makes her way to the end of the street, crosses over and re-works her way down the street, this time on the opposite side of the police station)

Tuesday

Finally I have internet. The server has been on and off for so long.

This morning I saw my breath as I was drawing water for my bucket bath from the well. Itºs really getting cold. Weºre full on into our winter season. I have to wrap myself up like a mummy at night in capolanas so that I can sleep because itºs so chilly and of course I didnºt bring enough warm clothes because when I was told Iºd be in Mozambique during the winter I grunted and rolled my eyes thinking, yeah, sure, eighty five degrees instead of one hundred.
Whatºs that thing they say about hindsight

I am really letting myself go here. Iºm barely recognizable. Iºve begun to do strange things that I wouldnºt have ever done before. A few days ago, I drank water with ants, twigs and debris in it, I figured it was all boiled so it couldnºt harm me. Yesterday, I drank my coffee even though there was a fly in it. I just couldnºt be bothered with boiling another pot of water and waiting, waiting, waiting, so I just drank my coffee, I didnºt even remove the fly. Iºve become extremely comfortable with roaches, they donºt phase me at all anymore. A few days ago, I swatted one away with my hand because it was crawling too close. Ordinarially, I wouldnºt get closer than ten feet to one of those creatures, ordinarially I always drank bottled water or boiled my tap water, but now, here,Iºve just let myself go, for better or for worse.
Who knows how my re'integration into American society will go. I can see myelf now, my hooves, because that is what has become of my feet, will be clickity clacking down the terminal at JFK, my hair will be wild, Iºll be dressed in mis matched capolanas and everyone at the arrivals gate will wince in horror as I trot through and inevitably get detained at immigration.
Hmmmmm...

I have seen so many rainbows lately. The cool air has created lots of fog which has created lots of rainbows that seem to link one palm tree to another across the horizon. I try to photograph these rainbows, but they never come out very well so Iªve given up and Iºm taking it all in.

Yesterday, I had my first day back at work since my investigation. It is nice to be back to my regular schedule. Iºve been busy fine tuning my pre school curriculum which is turning out really nicely.
The students have exams all week so my classes are cancelled. I hate when my classes are cancelled, I have so many things to do and since I only teach twice a week, I really look forward to my time in the classroom.

I had the best week end. A few of us rented a bungalow on Morungulu beach, a few hours North of Inhambane. It was beautiful and secluded. We had the beach to ourselves and we had the resort to ourselves. I was in heaven. The water was so warm, I was swimming and being tossed around by waves. I collected so many shells, I can now add clam shells to my collection, large hand sized ones for holding jewelry and sage. I wrote poetry, that Iºll be kind enough not to share with you and worked on my book. I spent hours meditating and sleeping in the sun. The resort was so amazing, Iºm definitely going to re visit for my honeymoon. It works out perfectly that our American summer is the off season for the South African tourists who usually occupy the resort. Ha ha ha ...

RATOs

Last night's Manchester victory, I felt like I was there.
My three roomates and I, along with Akisha, Lynne and Wendy went to a local bar, a new one, it was very cute, but that's not the point. The game was on and the atmosphere was wild.
The energy was so infectuous.
We were the only women in the establishment. We were the only non-Mozambicans in the establishment. We were up-front and center, elbow to elbow in anticipation.
It was a good game. I didn't watch all of it because I'm a little ADD, especially when it comes to sports, but I had fun.
My roomates and I walked home. During our hour long walk down that old familiar moonlit path we would hear screams and hollers as men all over Inhambane cheered or cursed. These screams seemed to come from the bush and from the dark savannah-like expanses around us. We couldn't even see the places these voices hailed from, but they would cry out in unison every fifteen minutes or so. Every once in a while we'd hear glass breaking and shouting.
It was great!

Today, Tamika and I strolled around town. We visited the museum here that I always pass by and have always been curious about. It turns out that Inhambane has the sweetest little history museum, simply titled: museu.
Inside the history of Inhambane was chronicled through drawings, photographs and artifacts. It really was fascinating. I feel very connected to this place.
There was a whole section of the museum dedicated to the practices of the local traditional healers. I really want to visit a traditional healer before I leave. I have no particular ailments. I've actually been in perfect health. I just want to talk to a traditional healer and learn about the traditions and the methodology.

I purchased a batik print at the market today. It was purple and brown and depicted elephants crossing through the savannah. I bargained that sucker down to an astonishing 125mts for a good twenty minutes. I've become a haggler. I know too much now. I've learned the local prices and I won't settle for anything else.

We visited APOPO today, a non-profit next door to ADPP that specializes in training rats to detect land mines. My friend Tamika put it best when she said "they are training rats to save people from people". These rats are truly performing an invaluable service. They are also being trained to detect TB as well as search and rescue. NO MORE RAT POISON! We need these creatures.
These rats were Giant Tanzanian Bush Rats and they averaged 20 pounds. New Yorkers, put this into perspective!
They were cute though. I got to pet one. I'd actually like to have a rat for a pet, one day...
Movie night at my place anyone?

Voyage to Inhambane

Tamika and I had to take the chapa back to Inhambane. We left Machava, the headquarters of ADPP- Maputo around seven thirty am and waited for 30 minutes to catch a chapa to take us to the Junta chopa station. While in the chopa heading towards Junta, the chapa decides that it isn't going to Junta after all. We have of course paid. We of course have tons of luggage. We are dropped off about thirty minutes by foot outside of the Junta station. We have no choice but to walk.
We get to the Junta station and it's a chaotic mess. Buss fumes, people, vendors, goats, everything and anything. Immediately, because we are bogged down with luggage and because Tamika is wearing sunglasses, we get hastled. Men surround us and ask us where we're going, I tell them Inhambane. We are led towards the Inhambane chapa. We get on.

FYI: A ride from Maputo to Inhambane costs 300 mtc

The man insisted that we pay 475 each. We said no way and threatened to leave, finally he goes down to 375 and we have no choice so we pay.

MORE FYI: My friend Lynne was in Maputo on a business trip that same week-end and was leaving on the same day. We were going to leave together, but I told her we'd go ahead because we wanted to make it home before dark.

OK...

So Tamika and I are sitting on this nearly empty chapa. Slowly it began to fill. An hour passes, two hours pass, three hours pass and we're still sitting. We can't get out because the station is dangerous and people are all around waiting to rob foreigners like ourselves. We couldn't even go to the bathroom because well there was none and we couldn't leave our bags unattended. So we wait and wait.
Suddenly I look up and there's Lynne. It was completely crazy that I was still sitting in a station in Maputo. I was happy to see her though. We waited for two more hours before the bus pulled out. That means, Tamika and I waited for five hours in a hot chapa. By the time we rolled out, I had to go to the bathroom.
The ride was bumpy and crazy. We almost got into a few accidents and about an hour before we reached Inhambane, the chapa broke down. This was around 9:30, and we all had to pile out of the chapa and onto the pitch black streets in God knows where to navigate our own way home.
Luckily I was able to hitch a ride and we made it back to Lynnes in one piece.
I swear I will never ever ever rely on transportation across Mozambique. It is so extremely tedious and frustrating. I handled it very well. I have become extremely patient and flexible. I have had no choice.
For these reasons however, Tamika and I have decided not to risk our sanity again to travel up north even further to Chimoio and Namantanda, instead we will stay put.
Home sweet Inhambane home!

Maputo

Today is my three month anniversary. Time is really really flying.
Technically, I am on my investigation.
Friday I went to Maputo to visit Tamika and to explore the city and the ADPP project there.

I have a new respect for Maputo. I was able to have a good time there, unlike when I first arrived.
Maputo really is a city of extremes. In the Maputo Shopping Center, the prices were so high, I couldn't afford to purchase anything. If I were living in America, with the same prices, I wouldn't be able to purchase anything. Clothing at some stores retailed for over two hundred American dollars, jewelry in the thousands. Who were these stores catering to? The stores were basically empty.

Maputo was as dirty and crowded as I remembered, but it also has charm. The Jardim Tunduro, or their botanical garden, was like New York's Central Park, a little oasis of calm and green in the midst of a chaotic pulsing city. The architecture was adorable and there was quite the variety of exotic flora.
The National Museum of Art was breathtaking. Mozambique is home to some extraordinary artists. Many of the sculptures and paintings chilled me to the bone as they were the artists response to either colonization or the brutal civil war that followed. I almost expected some of the sculptures to scream out in anguish at any moment shattering the windows and walls.

There were Kentucky Fried Chicken's and Domino's Pizza's in Maputo. The KFCs in Maputo were far nicer and cleaner than any KFCs I've ever seen in America.
The restaurant scene in Maputo deserves mention. I am a self-proclaimed foodie and there were several delicious dining venues. Tons of Indian, Chinese, Arabic and Italian food. I will say this and I will swear by in Mozambican food is delicious and there are so many opportunities in Maputo to sample the local cuisine.

The nightlife in Maputo was great as well. We went out with some friends (Maputo locals) who took us to Gil Vissants, a night-club, lounge, live music venue. A local jazz band played and they were absolutely fantastic. I felt like I was back in New York, the people, the scene, I loved it.

We arrived in Inhambane on Wednesday. Tamika came back with me and is now transferring from the ADPP in Maputo to the one here in Inhambane. The chapa ride back was an adventure, but I don't have time to chronicle it right now since I have a job interview over gmail chat which I will also explain at a later time.

Main Idea: The first part of my investigation period in Maputo went well. The city is lovely and deserves mention and a visit from any of you daring enough to venture to Mozambique!

Rabies

Last night, a bunch of us got together for dinner at Sem Ceremonias. We were eating and having a good time when Wendy, out of nowhere declared that there had been a recent rabies outbreak in Inhambane province. We scoffed at this news and made jokes. "No, ten people have died already, many dogs have been put down", she was very serious.

After dinner, Lynne, Tamika and I walked through the quiet calm streets of Inhambane towards Lynne's house. It was a beautiful evening, almost a full moon, every pebble on the ground was illuminated. Magnolia blossoms lightly fragranced the cool breezy air, everything was perfect.

Then out of nowhere we hear barking. We stop dead in our tracks and look up to see (I kid you not) a pack of about eight dogs barking and running towards us.

I froze, Tamika froze, Lynne began to run, then I began to run.
"Into the truck!" Lynne ordered and jumped into the bed of a pick-up truck that was parked on the side of the street. I needed no convincing and I leaped in as limber as a pole vaulter. Tamika was the last one in. Everyone on the street turned to watch the scene. Three girls screaming, being chased by a pack of dogs, clamoring into the back of a parked truck and the dogs as if they didn't even know we were there ran by leaving us petrified and looking like fools in the back of someones truck.

sun

Goodbye!!!!!

Today we said goodbye to Tracy.

Now I live with Mar and Geirdre. They are nice, sure, but itºs just not the same!

flashes beneath the tropic of capricorn

Here, the lightning takes stage a good two hours before the rain and thunder. The sky is illuminated in bright flashes of pink, purple and yellow. It's a silent show that will stop you in your tracks. Perhaps this is always how it is, maybe I have never noticed since I can not remember at any point in my life seeing such a great expanse of sky. Either way, the sky over Mozambique is brilliant.

We've had powerful thunder and lightning storms for the last two nights. The power has come and gone several times during the evening hours. We light our house by sticking candles in Lemon Twist bottles. The wax melts over the bottle and creates volcanic art pieces.

Tomorrow Tracy leaves. I can't believe it. The house will not be the same. Later this afternoon, we will get a new Development Instructor from Spain. Our little house is filling up. On Friday, I'm leaving for my two week investigation and when I return Tamika will also join me in Inhambane. It will be a nice IICD-Massachusetts reunion.

I'm teaching another yoga class this Thursday!

I haven't seen any disturbing insects in weeks. I hope I don't curse myself. Last night I did fall asleep with a mosquito trapped inside of my net. Talk about irritating. It kept buzzing in my ear but I wasn't fast enough to kill it. I'm not bitten though, so I don't know what happened to it. Somehow between the thunder and mosquito buzzing I fell asleep.

We've almost caught up with our LOST episodes. We've got three more episodes to watch and we'll be at pace with the rest of the world. I'm completely caught up with 30 Rock (my new favorite show).

It's the little things. It really is the little things that make all the difference!

books

Today a shipment of books arrived from our headquarters in Maputo.
We are arranging a library for the students as I write. This brings me back to the days of organizing my classroom library, the most exciting part of starting a new school year.
I LOVE BOOKS!

Island of the Pigs

The days have been flying by. I can't believe it's May. Soon I will be celebrating my third month here. When I arrived, it was hot and humid, now, it's chilly and dry. There have been so many changes.
When I arrived I was afraid of giant cockroaches, now I ignore them. When I arrived, Tracy was here, having just celebrated her third month anniversary, on Wednesday she will return to New York.

We have a new Development Instructor, a girl named Gierdre from Lithuania. She's nice. I think she's disappointed with the project as we all were when we first arrived. Hopefully she'll have a better experience here than the rest of us (as far as the project goes). We took her around and introduced her to all of our friends and have shown her the beach and the city. She's off to a good start.

I published a travel narrative on the Pilot Guides website about my experience in Ghana at the Cape Coast Castle. The article is located at: www.pilotguides.com/community/travel_writers/ghana_door_no_return.php

We no longer have Nutella. Nutella ran away one day after she was kicked out of the teacher's office by one of the other teachers. After we took her outside, she tried to jump in through the window, but there were bars seperating it into five small squares. She almost hung herself. We walked her through the ADPP gates and left her on the side of the road thinking she would go home and that was the last we saw of her. Oh Nutella, wherever you are we miss you!

Yesterday, Tracy, Geirdre, Akisha, Lynne, Wendy and I took a trip to Pig Island with a bunch of Akisha's students. It turned out to be a great day. It started off rocky. The students didn't plan well and by the time we went to the dock where we were supposed to catch our sail boat that was hired to transport us to the island, the tide was so low the boat couldn't sail. We had to walk for an hour in muddy knee deep water, over sharp stones and shells to the mainland where we had to trek across sand and then through water again to reach the boat that finally took us in. The island was beautiful though. It housed a small traditional village. It almost seemed empty. We were the only tourists. We met the Mayor of the village who welcomed us and offered us the most amazing coconuts from his palm trees. We spent the rest of the day relaxing and picnicking on the breezy beach. I collected two cowry shells (a rare find). My shell collection is really growing nicely.

My classes are progressing slowly. Classes were cancelled last week. I did have a student approach me from one of the other classes because he wanted to learn my lengthy version of "Head/Shoulders/Knees and Toes" so that he could teach it to his first graders. I was happy to be of service. Tracy and I put in a proposal for a community literacy program but as with most things it's been brushed to the bottom of the pile. I am really sick of dealing with some of my male colleagues who have clearly never had to work with women before because they can 't stand it when they are challenged or put in their place. These things drive me crazy and cause me to imagine slamming glass Fanta bottles across their heads, but I try to maintain my composure. Women are definitely second class citizens here and intelligent women with opinions who refuse to take other peoples BS, seem to make everyone very nervous. Luckily I will be going on my two week investigation beginning on Friday and I won't have to think about ADPP for two glorious weeks, three if I can push it.

Last night we watched the movie "27 Dresses". I was not very impressed but it was nice to see Manhattan, if only for an hour and a half.

I HAVE A DOG!!!!!

Things seem to happen so quickly sometimes and with little warning. Yesterday, Tracy and I got a dog, or rather it happened upon us, or maybe it was fate.
We were preparing to go out. I opened the door to go to the well to fetch a bucket of water to wash up with. I came back into our house and there was a large pit bull staring at me with the cutest little face. She walked up to me and I pet her and I called Tracy out and we both began to pet her. Her fur was so velvety and she had a pink and black speckled nose. Who doesnºt love a pink and black speckled nose. Iºm a sucker and I fell in love in about twenty seconds. She was wearing a collar but had no tags. Clearly she didnºt belong in the bush. Most of our rural neighbors are terrified of dogs because the Portuguese used to sick their dogs on the Mozambicans to intimidate them. So we let her stay in our kitchen while we put on our make up and prepared to go out.

note i can not use punctuation because this computer is set on a portuguese setting and the english punctuation marks that im used to are no where to be found
these things happen...

We leave our house dog in tow figuring that sheºd find her way back to wherever she came from. We walk the main road holding our thumbs up trying to get a lift into the city and she follows. Sheºs got the cutest walk, but anyway. We finally get a lift and before we can get into the truck, she jumps in. The guys were like, ok, so we were like, um... ok...and so began the story of Sojourner, Tracy and Nutella. Yes, Nutella. We named her Nutella because sheºs brown and white and she sort of if you squint looks like nutella and we really miss chocolate so it just worked for us. We get off in the city and head toward our friend Lynneºs house and she follows. We get to Lynneºs house and she hangs out there with our group. Everyone took to her because sheºs so darn cute.

A few hours later we headed to a BBQ and she of course followed and was very popular. Iºm a veggie, so it worked out that I could pile my plate with sausages and give them to her without taking food from the other guests. Then she followed us to the after party at the Bahaka next to Lynnes. It was only natural at that point that she hop into the car with us as our friends gave us a lift back to our place.

Today after work Tracy and I are going to put up flyers in town announcing that there is a missing dog. But sheºs soooooo cuuuutttteeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

She is here at work with us as I write, curled into a ball under Tracyºs desk sleeping. Sheºs the best dog! If I canºt find a home for her, Iºm going to bring her back to the states with me which might mean that I will soon be homeless, but sheºs sooooo cuuuuteeeee!.

All in all things have been going really really well here. Socially and aesthetically I love Inhambane. There is a beautiful energy here.
Weºve got a new D.I. coming tomorrow for sure so there will be three in the house, I mean four with Nutella, so weºve got a lot of adventures and fun times to look forward to.

Muito Frio

It's gotten so cold. Yes, cold, I realize is relative, but it's cold compared to the burning inferno I first encountered in February. Last night I was freezing. I should have brought a blanket with me.

Yesterday I taught a yoga class. It was so nice to get back on the mat and move through a series of asanas. It was a Vinyasa flow class (at least my non-certified version). I'm definitely heading east to an ashram when I'm finished with this project.

I had the best English class. I was teaching the parts of the body and after we identified all of the body parts we sang "Head Shoulders Knees and Toes". My students loved it. I added on seven new verses so that each vocabulary word was covered and I made them sing it and go through the motions quickly and slowly. Their assignment was to create their own song in Portuguese (which they would translate also into English) that they could use to teach the children in their classes the parts of the body. Then they each took a turn sharing their songs with the class. It was so much fun! Their homework is to create movements or a dance to go along with their songs for the kinesthetic learners. Good times! I wish I taught more English classes.

Magnolia Blossoms

Was sick this week-end. I had some sort of a stomach bug that has been going around.
I've lost so much weight since I've arrived, my clothes are all too big. It's ridiculous. Even my underwear are baggy. I have to buy new clothes, pants in particular.

Sunday was a full moon and we went to a full moon party on the beach at DINO's (one of the resorts in Tofo). They have a full moon party every full moon. It was so much fun. It's full tourist season right now so there were so many new people to meet, not just the "regulars".
I had fun! A lot of fun!!!

The weather is freezing. I say this because I've grown accustomed to 90 degrees and it is currently 60-70 during the day and 50ish at night. Winter season is here and it's really blustery. Last night, I heard the cyclone warning horns in the distance, but the scary thing is that unless someone tells me that we are about to have a cyclone, I'd never know. Nor do I know what to do in the event that we do get one, so, let's hope that doesn't happen.

A magnolia bush is flourishing in our backyard. It smells sooooo nice. Tracy and I have been walking around with the flowers and buds in our hair. We get a lot of odd looks here. I'm also pressing and drying the flowers and using them to decorate my recycled books. I've been creating various notebooks using recycled cardboard and paper. I love crafts and am having a good time. Soon I'll lead a workshop. Have also made candle holders using recycled coconut shell and plastic bottles. Wish I had more tools, like wire pliers, so that I could manipulate aluminum cans into beads.
Next time!

Bubble-Bubble-Toil and Trouble!!!!

HAPPY TWO MONTH ANNIVERSARY TO ME!

Our dinner party last night was a success. Matapa always goes over well. Matapa is my favorite local dish. It's a leaf from a tree that is everywhere. The leaves are boiled and sautteed in a coconut milk and peanut sauce curry and it's served over coconut rice. Delicious!!!!!!
Our empragada (housekeeper) makes the best Matapa on this side of the Indian Ocean. We're lucky to have her.

Breakfast for the students was slightly chaotic. My oatmeal was a little on the salty side. I'm not sure what happened but my pinch turned into a cup. I'm not used to making oatmeal by the couldrin full. I felt like I was enacting the first scene of Macbeth. The students liked their breakfast. It was so funny to see them eating western-ish food for the first time. They didn't know what oatmeal was or what, french toast was. They thought something was wrong with the bread until they tasted it. The fruit salad was familiar.

I'm off to sort the garbage!

Call me the garbage lady!

Last night we made fudge in preparation for a dinner party we're throwing tonight.
We're forcing our cozy ex-pat friends who reside in the city to join us for a night in the bush. A night without indoor plumbing or running water. Akisha's already taken the challenge, now we've got three new guests on our roster.
The bush will either make you or break you.
I haven't yet decided what it's doing to me. Only time will tell...

We're making an elaborate breakfast for the students on Thursday to thank them for all of their hard work on the machamba (farm). The agriculture project we've all been slaving away at is finally taking off. We've just solidified the budget. The students eat bread and butter for breakfast day in and day out. Tomorrow we will make them oatmeal (with butter, brown sugar, heavy cream, ginger, cinnamon, cardamom and a pinch of salt), fruit salad (with papayas, bananas, oranges, apples, pineapples and passion fruit juice), and french toast. I've got to get up around 4:30 am to make all of this stuff, but I like to cook so I'm not complaining. Our overnight dinner guests will also attend our breakfast and meet our students and project leaders so it should be a good time. We're having them meet our project leaders because they are convinced that Tracy and I have boyfriends in the city. Whenever they see us head towards the city the shoot accusing looks our way. We have been told point blank "I know you're sleeping with men in the city". It's really offensive. In the US, that would be sexual harassment. We keep telling them that we have friends in the city, a group of American, Canadian and British girls that we hang out with and they don't believe us. So tomorrow morning they will see. And the rumors can stop flying. Big brother is always watching here. Most people don't have televisions or books or much to do, so they spend their time talking about the two mazungos who live in the pink and turquoise house smack dab in the middle of the bush. Drives me crazy!

I am now in charge of the garbage and recycling program. I just got my list of students. Most of them are my Intermediate English students. There are twelve in total and we are going to separate the garbage into bins for paper, plastic, aluminum, ash, compost and pig feed. We will also canvass the campus and do garbage pick-ups once a week and we'll be in charge of feeding the three enormous 250 lb hogs that are kept in a pen behind the kitchen. I spend the majority of my time working in the field or working with garbage which is funny, because my job description is "Professor". But I'm just going to go with the flow. I do feel strongly about recycling and I'm sick of smelling the stench of burned garbage so if this is where I'm needed, this is where I'll put my best foot forward.

sweet agriculture!

It's working. Our agriculture project is actually producing results. All of our trenches have been filled. The earth is being watered regularly so that the soil will decompose and rot to provide healthy fertile earth.
Today in one of our test patches there were sweet potato plants. The little green leaves broke through the earth in stubborn winding clusters.
There is a delicious dish that is made using sweet potato leaves. I hope we will be able to harvest the crops within the month so they can serve the dish in the cafeteria.
I'm not sure what it's called, and I'm not sure what they do, but they do it well, and the result is a creamy coconut flavored, spicy creamed spinach-like meal that is eaten over rice. It's so good. I'm going to learn how to make it so that I can replicate it when I get home. I appreciate the fact that every part of the plants and vegetables are utilized. I had no idea sweet potato leaves could be eaten. I had no idea that they were so tasty.

so letºs add scorpions to list while weºre at it!

I saw my first scorpion today.
Yuck!
Itºs coloring was odd, bright yellow which means it was full of venom.
It was roughly the size of my hand and luckily for me was dead as a doorknob.
I found it in the sand on my way to lunch. I would of course spot it, I can spot an insect in a darkened movie theatre. I made Tracy come over to confirm that I did indeed have my first scorpion sighting and it was confirmed.
I was told that there were no scorpions in Inhambane. I was lied to.
Iºve been happily walking around in the bush in the dark in flip flops because I was assured that there were no scorpions.
Iºve been lucky but itºs time to change my habbits.
First, I need to trade in my flip flops for a pair of actual shoes.

Toads in my bedroom

Living at large in the world can be such a roller-coaster.
Right now, at this moment, all is well.
Everything is done in the moment.

Yesterday, walking through the streets of Inhambane, watching the sun slowly set as it cast an ethereal golden glow over the city, I realized that Inhambane is my city. It is what New York was to me, it's my home. Yes, I live in the bush an hour away by foot, but I identify with Inhambane City. Walking to Akisha's house with Tracy, we passed by shops that I know so well, shop owners that we know waved and called out to us, I have memories here. I am comfortable and familiar with the environment. I know that when I walk in front of the Frelimo building there is a dip where one of the bricks in the ground is missing and that I need to step around or leap over it to avoid tripping (as i've done in the past). When I enter the Mercado Central, I know exactly where to go to get what I want and I know how to haggle and bargain until I get the local price. I know shop women and vendors. What was once foreign is familiar. I have a group of friends in the city which has made a world of a difference. Whether we are meeting for brownies and a movie or are gathering to do a yoga dvd, I feel very much at home and at peace in Inhambane.
Life happens, no matter where you are. No matter where you go, there are friends to be made, relationships to be had, experiences to grow from. When I left for Mozambique, in a strange way I thought I'd be putting my life on hold for a year to have this "experience". Yes, professionally I'm putting my life on hold for a year, but that's as far as it goes.

My Portuguese is getting worse, if that is at all possible. Everyone is speaking to me in English. It's so annoying and now, I've gotten used to speaking in English. One of my Mozambican friends Gilson is supposed to be teaching me Portuguese, I think I need to hurry up and arrange for our first session, pronto.

There was a toad in my bedroom last night, a cute little guy, very noisy, I let him stay.

Brownie Time!

We have a rat in our house
I have braids in my hair
Something bit my right hand and it's swollen
But all is well
because we are going to have a brownie party tonight with Akisha and Lynne and co.
;0)
We've made four different types of brownies that we will sample
and share
yum...yum.. yum...

Cooking with Sojo!

Mosquitoes are steadily feeding on my flesh.
In the past we didn't have a problem. When I arrived, towards the end of the summer/rainy season, I was told the mosquitoes would be at their peak. I was rarely bitten, barely saw them.
Now that it's winter and a cool breezy seventy degrees they are everywhere. It's really bizarre. They're in our house, they're by the well and worse of all, they hang out in our bath hut.
I shower around six am, peak mosquito hour and they are everywhere. Someone is leaving water, stagnant water in the bucket overnight so by the time I arrive, they are swarming and hungry. And what can I do? It's not like I can shower with my clothes on. I am going to bring lemongrass incense with me tomorrow morning, the pesky buggers hate smoke and they hate lemongrass or so I've been told. I hope it works because I have to bathe and I really don't want malaria.
I'm not taking any preventive medication (personal choice) and would like to leave Mozie without any unfortunate incidents.

Yesterday was pay day!!!!!! Our money was eight days late, but that's how people roll here, what can I do?
Tracy and I went to the Mercado Central and purchased so much food we could barely waddle home. Akisha has been a positive influence on us. Every time we go to her house we cook and now we're going to cook more often. It is difficult because we don't actually have an oven, only a tiny burner, but creativity will get you far. Last night we ate tuna salad, with hard boiled eggs and a weird crepe/cracker/omelet creation (Tracy's idea) made out of oatmeal, salt and eggs. It was a good dinner actually and this morning, I woke up early to fix a steaming pot of delicious oatmeal. Not to brag, but my oatmeal is amazing, and it's tri-doshic. I should have my own cooking show. It was so good! The butter and milk here aren't pasteurized and contain no nasty hormones or chemicals like the dairy at home. Everything tastes so much better.

I am also a fashion designer! After watching a season of Project Runway, I sketched (albeit badly) some designs for shirts and pants and bags. Yesterday, I went to a seamstress and gave her my designs and some capalanas and she's going to bring my sketches to life. I get my goods on Friday. So excited!

Mozambican Women's Day!

Yesterday was Mozambican Women's Day!
It's a national holiday.
Everything was closed and there was no school.
This is such a great concept. Not only do the people in Mozambique celebrate a Women's Day, but a Mozambican Women's Day as well.
We need this in the US.
The only women who are celebrated are mothers. Mothers are great, but every woman is not a mother and a woman doesn't have to be a mother to be a WOMAN or to be noteworthy. Some of the most noteworthy women that I know are not mothers.
Come on US, catch up to Mozambique and adapt this holiday!
Tracy, Akisha and I got dressed up in our capolanas and joined the women of Inhambane at their rally. It was nice. It was also unusually hot. We didn't last more than an hour. But it was a beautiful gesture. There was music, dancing, speeches were given by heads of the government. Children danced for the women and handed out flowers. It was really beautiful.

It was a nice long week-end. It was really great. Now I am back in my favorite place, the teachers office. And yes, it is just as loud and annoying as ever!
Good times...
Things would be even better if we could get our pay checks. As usual, they are late. We're supposed to get paid the first of every month. Needless to say I've never once been paid on time. Nothing happens on time here. It's so backwards.

We were up at five to work on our agriculture project. We're making so much progress. We've filled in all but one trench and are watering the compost waiting for it to rot and decompose into fertile soil so that we can finally begin to plant.
Our aim- vegetables

The flies here are crazy. They buzz around your body in swarms of three to five. They dive bomb your eyes, nose, ears and mouth. The flies will follow you for miles. I've never seen or experienced anything like it. They swarm and dive bomb. I have to squint and close my mouth because they try to get inside. American house flies are just annoying, but they don't cling to people. They usually stick to windows and fly in angry circles around a room once they realize they've been trapped. These flies, have so much open space and what do they want to do, they want to hover around and become a part of you, it's parasitic. A few always cling to your clothes for a free windless ride. Usually they position themselves on the shoulder blade or back and hold on until you reach their stop. I feel like a whale with barnacles. But there is nothing that I can do and at least they are not bees or wasps or...

Week-End!

Am at an internet cafe on a friends computer and am in a hurry
will recount events in bullet format

ciao ciao


FRIDAY
-Margarita Pizzas in Town
-Akisha sleeps over - Slumber Party like ten year old girls!
-Hard core UNO and TABOO gaming

SATURDAY
- Screening of "Ratitulle"- Such a cute movie
- Screening of "Weeds" season one
- Lunch on Tofo beach
-Drinks in town with our friends
- First concert at a dance club ZOOM to see Stuwart Sukuma (a popular Mozambican singer)
- First time dancing the Pasada (Mozambican salsa-esque dance)
- Winning second place in a Pasada concert while being the only non-Mozambican on stage out of 12 Mozambican women and having only learned the dance two hours prior ( ;o) - I'm good! )

SUNDAY
- Going to bed after sunrise- Sleeping in
- Screening of "Weeds" season two
- Diner with friends at Sem Ceramonia in town

EXCELLENT WEEK-END!
tomorrow is Mozambican Women's Day!!!!
No work
;0)
More later...

...

Tracy came back!
It was so exciting to have another human being around, a kindred spirit, who speaks my language. Woa!
She came with stories and books and South African magazines. As shallow as it may sound, I was so happy to get up to date with the ªlatestª this that and the other thing.
Itºs been a long two months!

It is officially winter. The temperature is perfect around 65 to 80 degrees depending on the time of day. Itºs so nice to not break a sweat. We walked into the city today and it was so comfortable... finally!

Weºre having a slumber party tomorrow. Our friend Akisha is coming over as well as Priscilla another D.I. from a project in Chimoio.

Iºm still sleeping in the pantry. Still fearfull of another spider attack. I have to move out by tomorrow though and tonight, Iºm going to examine every corner of my room with Tracy to make sure that nothing is living or hiding inside.

The Night Shift

I have no idea how I am going to sleep. I am making myself crazy!!!! I've been sitting here (since I have so much to do...) researching and identifying all of the nasty bugs that I've seen. It turns out the giant tropical centipede that I found in my room last week is poisonous and can inflict a sometimes paralyzing bite. One was in the bath hut with me this morning too. Isn't that fantastic!

Furthermore, the lovely tarantula-cousin spider that paid me a visit last night is a nocturnal hunter with a painful bite considering that their fangs are very strong. So in two hours, when night falls I will be paralyzed with fear underneath my mosquito tent praying that I won't have to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night. Praying for a miracle, to be knocked out completely from six in the evening to six in the morning so that I see nothing and have no more bad experiences.

I'm one step away from an early plane ticket home!

TRACY IF YOU ARE READING THIS
HURRY HOME NOW!!!!!!!

I went home quickly to get my student's songs that they wrote, so that I could grade them. I left in such a frenzy this morning I left them behind.
My flip-flops were gone.
Someone stole my flip-flops!

Surprise spider attack!

I am sitting in the teacher's office with a pulsating headache. My headache has many levels and came into existence in a very unique yet acute way.

Reason one for early morning headache, the teachers are screaming and arguing with each other yet again. It is all they do. Every thirty minutes or so a loud, long screaming match erupts. I just can't understand it. This is supposed to be a "professional" environment- if they only knew. I don't know why the directors don't do something about this, they hear the teachers arguing through the walls, their shouts and screams echo all around and make their way into the classrooms, it's so pitiful.
Today a pair actually exchanged a few shoves. And I sit at my desk, shooting disgusted looks in their direction, typing away, reminding myself over and over why exactly it is that I am here.

Reason two, for early morning headache, a spider. Last night after my English class, I came home, went into my room and immediately noticed something out of place. There was a black furry rug along the wall where it met the floor. No wait! It wasn't a rug, silly me, it was a spider, the size of a small dog hanging out in my room. I felt my eyes widen in horror, I covered my mouth so that I wouldn't scream, my entire body began to shake. This was literally the largest spider I had ever seen. This includes large scary spiders behind glass at the zoo. Naively, I ran into the kitchen to grab my can of Baygonne which works on spiders the size of my hand and smaller. Silly, silly, me, when I sprayed this thing, I only made it angry. Spiders here come with the strangest feature. They lay flat, in what I assume is a resting position, but when they are roused, they literally inflate and double in size and girth. Now I was staring at a full fledged enormous tarantula. ENORMOUS! It ran and scurried, I sprayed at it again and it hid behind my night stand.

I ran into the kitchen and just stood there with my mouth open for a good ten minutes. I think I was actually in shock. I was out of my league. I had no idea what to do. I was all alone in this bug infested house in this country where nobody speaks my language. Creatures like this don't just pass by, they enter and take over a space. It was so big and so fast. Baygonne just wasn't going to work. It was like trying to kill a pet cat with Raid. Think Sojourner...think, think, think..... I paced the floor in the kitchen.
The spider, as a way of giving me the finger I'm sure, began to crawl along my door frame peering out at me. It was soooooo big. I couldn't believe what I was dealing with. I gave in. I heard a television somewhere in the distance. I crept next door to see if I could find my neighbor Belleview, but of course when I'm looking for him, I can't find him, when I don't want him around he's everywhere. I did find two servants that work for the family though. In my broken Portuguese, I explained that I needed help because there was a large spider in my room that needed to be killed. One of the men followed me. I handed him a broom and he entered my room. He couldn't find it. After summoning up my courage, I entered the room with him and I couldn't see it either. How could I not see a small dog in a sparsely furnished room. Then, the servant, a man, a Mozambican man, actually screamed. You know it's bad when a local person who is used to all sorts of creepy crawly disgusting creatures screams in shock. This thing was sooooo big!

The spider was backed into a corner. He faught with it using the broom. I'm in the kitchen at this point, all he needed to do was scream and jump back and that did it for me. They battle for a good five minutes. "Is it dead?" I asked. "No" he said reluctantly. "Where is it?" I said "I don't know?" he said reluctantly. How could he not know? What was going on? Who was this super spider? He was such a sweet man, he could tell I was distressed and was trying to be nice. He brought me in the room and we checked every corner and crevice and just like that, the spider was nowhere to be seen.

I grabbed my mosquito net tent and evacuated. I would never be able to look at my room in the same way. I didn't trust that the spider was gone, I knew it was in there hiding, waiting to catch me alone and defenseless.

I thanked the man who happily went back to his room to finish watching his novella. I set up camp in our pantry/turned spare bedroom. It was the most fitful and uncomfortable sleep that I have had yet. I was shaking for an hour afterwards.

This morning, I woke at 5:00 because I had to work on my agriculture project and present a lecture to the students about composting. I got up, climbed out of my mosquito netting and made my way towards my room. I froze, the events were too raw. I couldn't convince my feet to bring me inside. I took the tablecloth off of the table, wrapped it myself, grabbed my lecture and my bag and took off.

When I returned around 6:30, it was completely light out. I would need to get into my room because all of my shower materials and clothes were in there. It took me fifteen minutes to convince my legs to enter the room. Another ten to gather my items one by one. I didn't see the spider, but I don't feel safe either.

I don't know how much of this I can take. Tracy isn't back yet, she is taking an extra long investigation. Between the bugs and the teachers that I am forced to share a space with, mentally I am ready to leave.

Bonita Cidade Inhambane!

Culture Shock!

I have gotten to the point (and I think a lot of this has to do with the fact that my American side kick Tracy is still at large on her investigation) where everyone annoys me. I am trying to find positive aspects to Mozambican customs and manners, but at times it is incredibly difficult. I spend the majority of my day in the teachers office observing behavior that in my country, in accordance with my Western system of manners is so vulgar and offensive. Yes I realize I'm not home and yes of course people everywhere act differently, but I've had enough.

Customs And Manners That Drive Me Crazy: (a list of dislikes by: Sojourner Walker)
1. Nose Picking
2. Deep guttural grunting (usually during or after a loud argument)
3. Loud arguments where desks are slammed with the palms of hands
4. A loud squealing "eeeh" sound that usually follows a loud argument (of the type that happen every freaking thirty minutes)
5. Really loud talking
6. Really loud off key singing to bad Western music where the singer is not actually capable of pronouncing the words and is always one beat behind the music
7. The loud sound of snorting mucus back into the nasal passages
8. Hacking sounds as if trying to expel phlegm from the body, without actually doing so
9. Loud hand claps to emphasize a point, during a conversation
10. Sneezing or coughing violently without covering the mouth
11. No personal space! Why do people feel the need to stand right on top of me, to bump into me when they've got other desks and other space in which to work? Why??
12. People reaching directly over you almost knocking you in the head with arms and items
13. The need that men have to touch women as they speak to them. Hands should not be on my hands, on my back, on my arms, on my bra strap. Someone is going to be knocked out with my elbow very very soon.
14. The fact that people do not smile and conduct themselves in a very severe and harsh manner
15. The need that everyone has, to know exactly where I'm going, where I've been and what I'm about to do at all times during the day. I have learned to ignore these questions and just go on about my business blocking out the speakers shouts
16. The loud hissing "TTTSSSSSKKK!!!!!" that is used to get my attention. I also ignore this sound and am constantly being asked why I am not responding to people. I ignore this question as well
17. There are others..... but alas, I've got "work" to do!

intruder!

It's hard to believe that I've been here for almost two months already. At times it feels like I've been here a much longer time and then there are others when I feel as if I've only just arrived.

I spent a lot of time walking into the city this week-end. The walk from my rural-esque outpost to the city centre is more or less an hour. I did this on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. People think that it's crazy that I'm walking. I can't comprehend this. It strikes me as completely ironic considering that I'm an American and Americans have this terrible reputation as being lazy sloth-like overindulged creatures. Yet Mozambicans will go out of their way to avoid walking. When I tell people that I walk into the city, their eyes grow wide. No, you can't it's too far. Too far? It's only an hour. People will pay money to cram themselves into tiny trucks or cargo vans where they have no air to breathe and barely a place to put their bottoms just to avoid walking, it's absurd. The whole time I'm walking down the main road people are pulling over screaming "Senora, senora, boleya?" No thank you I say, I like to walk. This is usually followed by a grunt or a series of snickers.
I never noticed this before because with Tracy we hitchhiked all the time and are always picked up right away unless it's dark.

I have finally learned my way around the city. It's such a liberating feeling to have your bearings in a completely foreign place. It has taken me a while since there are no street signs (at least very few) and many of the buildings look similar. But I can now confidently say that I can get around on my own to almost any location.

Yesterday afternoon as I was coming home from the city, I noticed the gate to my house and the front door were open. At first I thought Tracy was home. As I got closer, I saw a pair of flip-flops that I didn't recognize.
"Ola! Ola!" I said walking into my house. The dining room was clear, the living room was clear, spare bedroom one was clear, my door was locked, Tracy's door was locked, that left spare bedroom number two. "Ola!" I pushed the door open and flipped on the light. The door bounced back. Someone was behind the door. My heart started to leap out of my chest. "Ola! Ola!" I pushed on the door again, I could see the faint outline of a figure in the crack in the door. "Saida!" I exclaimed. The person stepped out. It was one of the neighbor kids. The one that stares but never speaks. He looked frightened. I was so confused yet relieved that it wasn't a rapist or a mass murderer. What are you doing here? I asked in French since I forgot how to say it in Portuguese. The boy, who is probably 14 and probably slow, said something about a cat and ran out. His cat story made no sense considering my door was closed and last I checked cat's didn't possess the thumbs necessary to open doors. I walked around the house to check if anything was missing. We've had problems with people walking in and taking our food. I guess the perception is that the Americans can afford to buy more food, so let's just help ourselves to whatever they've got. It's so annoying, but our door doesn't lock and there is nothing we can do.
Making my rounds, I noticed that the guitar we keep in the corner of the living room was missing. It's case was wide open. I went back into the spare bedroom and tucked away behind the door was the guitar. I wasn't sure what to do. Our next door neighbors don't speak English. They own the house we live in. Their son broke into my house and was either playing the guitar or planning on stealing the guitar. I didn't have the language skills to explain the situation, so I am going to wait to speak to my project leader today to see if he can speak to the family next door. So strange!

We really need a lock. Only our bedrooms lock. People are constantly walking in, taking our broom, our coffee, our tea, our matches and our food when we're not home. People just walk in when we are home, they come in for visits and quite frankly after spending my day in the teachers office with my "colleagues" the last thing I want to do is have a visitor whose native language is not English, who doesn't observe the same cultural customs that I do. It's too frustrating for me to deal with at this stage of my own culture shock. At first I used to feel bad kicking people out. I used to give in and tell people that I'd give them English lessons. "What would happen if you just said no?" Akisha asked one day. I was taken aback. Duh! Just say no. And now I do. People may think that I'm rude, so let it be, I've got peace of mind. "I want you to teach me English and I will teach you Portuguese"- "No!" "Ugh?" "Good night!"

eight legs and eight eyes, just a bit off-putting!

I am not a chemical spray kind of a person. I feel they are dangerous and unnecessarily toxic. I do not use Raid or Aerosol or even hairspray for that matter.
Today after work I am going to buy Baygonne (or however it is spelled). It is basically Raid.
The reason for this uncharacteristic purchase is that this afternoon while I was eating my lunch and sprucing up my resume, an enormous spider the size of my hand sped into my living room. Immediately I jumped up and ran next door (like a freak!) to get someone to kill it. One of my neighbors was outside sweeping the sand (I'll never understand why they do this) and she came to my rescue only by the time we got back into the house it was gone. I feel the spider sensed that I was trying to kill it and it conveniently ducked into the shadows, waiting for the moment that I will be alone to strike.
NOT GOING TO HAPPEN!
I'm arming myself
and it's warfare.
I've got to survive three more days before Tracy returns and I finally have some back-up. Or a bug killer.

working

The wheels in my brain are cranking in overdrive this morning. I just finished translating a forty minute speech that I have to present this afternoon regarding the importance of using Drama as an educational tool for people in rural communities. This will be my longest Portuguese speech yet. I hope it goes over well. I hope I am understood because my Portuguese accent always sounds French thanks to over ten years of studying French. Whenever I attempt to speak any of the romance languages they all sound French. But what can I do?

My students were so cute last night. Finally, I feel a wall has come down. I'm used to joking around with my students and interacting with them. I ruled my classrooms with an iron fist, but I always found time to bop one or two students in the head with my New York Times or poke a few in the ears with pencils. Teaching should be fun! Here it is almost impossible because everyone and everything is so serious. Last night, however, I made my students laugh, I made them crack-up. I poked fun at a few and they understood that I was teasing them and they couldn't stop laughing. VICTORY for Senora Sojo! or Mamma Sojo as I am sometimes called.

Last Thursday, our English lesson was about temperature and weather. Last night we reviewed some of our key concepts and vocab words and I proceeded to teach two songs. One song was an old Broadway tune, a Gershwin standard I believe "Oh the rain, goes a pitter-patter, and I'd like to be safe in bed...", the other one was the good old Christmas favorite "Let it snow, let it snow , let it snow". So I taught these songs and we dissected the meaning, then I broke them into four groups and gave each group a weather phenomenon to write a song in English about. One group had cyclones, another wind, another floods and another the sun. They loved the assignment and had so much fun composing. Some of the songs were really good. My students are very musical. Next Monday, each group will take a turn teaching their song to the class and they have to come up with a dance to go along with their song that conveys the meaning. It was so fun! I'm recording their performances.

My work here is really picking up. I'm so happy. I've been busy doing actual things that are useful. My field observations with the student teachers are going well. I've seen some amazing progressive teaching. I've also seen some scary things. I have started to set up meetings with the teachers and I am able to provide feedback and suggestions. I also get time to demonstrate techniques to them. It's great. I'm mentoring.

I've also been given the task of creating a pre-school curriculum for children in the community. I'm working on that right now. I'm making sure to address all of the learning modalities to provide the teachers with a good firm example of diversified lesson planning. I'm going to observe some local pre-schools to get a better understanding of how they run and what types of curriculum's they use. There are several pre-schools in the city that cater to the children of ex-pats and they are excellent models of what every child here in Mozambique should have access to. They will actually establish a pre-school here at the EPF school in the coming months. I hope I'm here to help set up.

Long story short. I've been very enthusiastic about my work lately.

frog prince!

Can somebody please tell me why this was necessary?
I was rounding the corner to enter through the ADPP gate about five minutes ago
for my evening class.
One of the usually shy guards pops out
and pulls me in for a Brazilian, right cheeked kiss.
Oh, I thought, we're going for a Brazilian, he.. he.. nervous laughter.
Then he whips around for an Italian kiss on the left.
This time I step back.
Then he pulls me into him
and plants his hot crusty lips on mine.
I jumped back.
He said something in Portuguese.
I was disturbed and had no words to communicate my disgust in Portuguese and hurriedly slid through the gate.
Why?
Why was that necessary??
I still have to walk home in the dark past the same guard station!

Happy Easter!

The sky just opened up and expelled bucketloads of rain. This lasted for an hour straight. I haven't seen rain like that here. It's so nice and cool outside. It feels like early Spring in the States (er-rather the North Eastern part).

My Easter week-end was fantastic. I spent my time in the city with Akisha and her former Peace Corps buddies. It was so nice. I got to catch up on LOST. I'm completely up to date now. Can't wait to see what happens next. Caught up on some movies as well.

We had Mexican night on Saturday. I love Mexican food. Everything was made from scratch and was so good. I hadn't been that full in a long long time. We topped everything off with passion fruit cocktails and good conversation. It was really nice.

Akisha also has indoor plumbing and running water, so I fully enjoyed myself. I actually cringed this morning when I had to face yet another cold bucket bath. One week-end and I was spoiled.

On Easter Sunday, we made our way out to Barra beach. It's the other major beach here in Inhambane. It's much classier if you will than Tofo and is more family oriented/summer home oriented. Tofo is still more my speed. The crowd is younger and completely free-spirited. The Barra crowd is older and loaded. It was nice though. We had dinner at Flamingo Bay, a Conde Naste resort. It was beautiful. The resort was on stilts overlooking a bay of flamingos. The food was fantastic. Unfortunately, we could only afford to eat dinner, since the rooms started at $595.00/night. Ah, one day! But it was lovely and we even ate Cadburry chocolate bars in honor of Easter.

Akisha and I ate our Good Friday meal in the Central Market. There is a wonderful little vegetarian-esque resteraunt frequented by locals right in the center of the market. The food is so good and so cheap and the women that run the resteraunt are a riot. We dined on coconut curried sweet potato leaves and manioch and fried potato. Since it was Good Friday and everyone was is a jovial mood, we were given complimentary cups of Palm Wine (which we were forced to drink, it was absolutely disgusting and smelled rancid). We were also given a fish to eat. Which we were forced to consume. It is extremely rude here to leave anything at all on your plate. Our fish was staring back at us, literally and we had to swallow it down, minus the head and vertibre. It was gross. But the women got a kick out of us and posed for some pictures with us. It was a good time. I'll be going back to their resteraunt quite often.

On my own....

Alas, I am officially alone. It started yesterday morning when Tina left. And I've been alone ever since. I have been just fine though.
Last night I tutored Belview my neighbor so I had company, albeit he's a stubborn pupil at times, and getting him to focus can be like pulling teeth, but he was welcome company.
I've also been blasting my I-pod music now that I have speakers and I've been writing. I've been a writing fiend. I can't stop.
I also can't stop eating passion fruit. It's my new favorite. Mango season has left me and last Sunday while I was watching movies in town at Akisha's house, she introduced me to the sweet, savory, succulent passion fruit. They are gifts from the heavens. I can't get enough.
I also can't get enough tea. I don't know what's gotten into me. I have about four cups of tea a day. Black tea with milk, no sugar. I've become British. I even take biscuits with my tea. Lately I've been partial to the Maria biscuit. It's a classic, very subtle, yet elegant. There are around twenty or so different varieties of Mozambican produced biscuits. Each with its own unique flavor and nuance.
I will stop talking about food.

Our cat La Linia aka. Freaky, had babies. She gave birth to two tiny squirming kitties. At first I couldn't find them. I would hear them cry and I'd run around trying to follow the sound of their squeaky little cries. Finally, last night, I located the litter, between the refrigerator and the oven. Not the best location, I realize, but we never use the oven, so they should be fine. The kittens are so tiny. I would guess they are three days old or so. They can't even open their little eyes yet. Both fit in the palm of my hand. They are just the cutest little things ever. It's very exciting for me as I've been slightly bored and will grow even more bored and restless as the days go by until Tracy returns.

I have great plans however. There is a guitar in our living room. I decided this morning that I will teach myself how to play it. I've never taken lessons. I've never even held a guitar before, but I'm confident I'll be able to strum a little tune in two weeks time.

I've also decided that I will paint a series of self-portraits. I've got my mirror. I've got drawing paper, pencils, pens, and paints. What can I say, narcissism never killed anyone.

Ok, back to work. Today is a half day. I would hate to waste it online ;)

More random photographs!

Our house is a very very very fine house!

our house
our pregnant cat freaky eating dinner
our porch
my bedroom
etc...

MAPUTO

These pictures were taken on day two when we spent the day in Maputo, the capitol of Mozambique. Look how fresh faced Tamika, Sergio and I looked back then.

Why are Celine Dion and Brian Adams so popular here?

I locked myself out of my room first thing this morning. It was crazy! I'm usually so together and never lose things or lock myself out of places, but not this morning. As soon as the door slammed behind me my heart sank. I was on my way to the shower at 5:30am, wearing only and I emphasize ONLY my capolana (thin sarong-like patterned piece of fabric). Tracy left last night for her two week investigation period. Tina was out jogging. I panicked. I tried to pick the lock with a bobby pin, I tried to pick the lock with a match stick (don't ask), I tried to pick the lock with a knife from the kitchen table and slam my weight against the door. Nothing worked, it was secure and I have no breaking and entering skills. I was forced to do what I didn't want to do. I went next door, knocked on my neighbors window to ask if they had a spare key. Only, I didn't know the word for key in Portuguese, nor did I have my speech prepared and I stood there sputtering and muttering like a nervous idiot. I was miming and the man looked at me like I was completely out of my mind. I convinced him to follow me into my house so I could show him my problem and he said something rapidly in Portuguese and left. I was so afraid that I would have to go to work in my capolana. Then one of the little servant children came over with a key, a key that fit perfectly into my key hole and just like that, my life was back on track.

As of tomorrow I will be alone :0(
I'm already alone at work. Tracy has gone on a two week investigation period. Tina leaves tomorrow morning for Maputo. I don't want to be all alone in my house. It's so difficult because we hitchhike everywhere which is fine if you are two or three, very safe and common, but very stupid if you are one. The chapas don't run after six so I can't really go anywhere. Walking late at night I love and it's fine if you are two or three, but completely stupid once again if you are one. I am one!
And I have no idea what I will do if a bug enters our house. Lately all has been well. The weather has been so cool and breezy compliments of the cyclone. I'm wearing a sweatshirt right now because it's around 65 degrees. So I haven't seen as many bugs which I'm thankful for. It's just lonely being in the teacher's room alone. I did have conversations with the teachers this morning in Portuguese so on the up side maybe my Portuguese will improve.

My work load has picked up. I am actually working. It's not bad. On Tuesday and Thursday mornings I work on the machamba (farm). I spend my mornings planning lessons and correcting papers or to be perfectly honest reading. I just finished "The Omnivores Dilemma" by: Michael Pollen, very good. Now I'm reading "Notes from a Small Island" by: Bill Bryson. It's so funny, I can't stop laughing aloud. On Monday evenings I lead an English club. My students are learning and analyzing Bob Marley's "Three Little Birds" It's really fun. I run around directing them with a pencil.
On Thursday mornings I hold a formal English class. The students are very attentive in the mornings, I just wish they'd ask more questions and have stronger personalities. But this really isn't about me, so I'll let it go. In the afternoons Monday through Thursday, I follow the students into the rural villages to watch them student teach and I give them pedagogical notes. I also got my drama club. We meet sporadically in the evenings. The students are putting on an educational drama about child abuse which demonstrates how to effectively deal with the problem. It's good. It is of course in Portuguese and I can't give them their notes until the next day because I have to go home and translate my acting critiques but it's good. I am actually reminded of how much I love directing and I miss my old students (the ambitious actor wanna-be ones). It was such a pleasure to direct them and help them to realize their potential. A lot of what I say here gets lost in translation, I don't feel the same connection. I don't feel as though I'm a part of organic creation. I feel more like an observer than a participant. Hopefully things will change. We have entered a competition which will take place in two weeks that may qualify us for a national theatre festival. Cross your fingers for us. We're trying to get there.

Otherwise all is well. No illness, no injuries, well except for the puncture wound I took to the toe yesterday while working on the agriculture project. I had to perform minor surgery on myself to remove a large thorn from my toe with my eyebrow tweezers. It broke in half so half is still impaled in my big toe. I'm hoping it will work itself out like a splinter. Luckily I came prepared with a large first aid kit, so I'm keeping it clean and covered.

I'm just going a little crazy here because everywhere I go for some bizarre reason people are blasting the worst Western music ever. Celine Dion, Brian Adams, The Backstreet Boys, they are all so popular here. I have no idea why. It's like they imported all of the crappy music nobody in the West will listen to anymore and decided that it should be idolized. Everywhere I go, one of these ill fated musicians follows me. I'm in the teachers office right now and they are playing some awful Celine Dion ballad. The worst is when people decide to sing along really loudly but they don't really know the words so they are muttering and grunting to the already awful song. Moments like that make me wish I were the pistol carrying type. But alas, I take a deep breath, I channel my inner ohm and try my best to tune everything and everyone out.

Photos from our early morning agriculture project

Tofo Beach Photos

Tofo Beach!

I'm trying to upload more pictures but it's taking forever.
More soon, I promise!

Bella Mocambique!

Here are some pictures of mine uploaded from Tracy's computer.

The weather alert is calling for a cyclone.
Hmmmmm... I'm not sure what that is exactly. Is that a tornado over water?
It's supposed to touch down this afternoon, so I guess I'll soon find out.

We were up at five again this morning to work the garden. We are now in the process of fertilizing our sandy soil by filling our trenches with dead grass and leaves. It's no fun gathering the stuff because it scratches your arms up. Then, once we've filled the trenches we have to stomp on the dead leaves and grass "I Love Lucy" style to pack it down for the next layer of compost. That part is fun.

We've got a new house mate for a week. It's nice to have another person in the house. There are two of us sharing a four bedroom so it's kind of empty. Tina is from the ADPP project in Maputo and she's on her investigation period where she's investigating another project in Mozambique.

I taught my first class last Monday. It went well. My classes are an hour so they're not too terribly difficult to manage at all. My students are intermediate English speakers and they're really sweet. I need to break them out of the habit of mumbling and speaking softly. I can never hear them and I don't know how a classroom full of kiddies will ever hear them. The women are especially shy and passive, it's so sad to see. They must think I'm crazy because my theatre major lungs can project and I'm always engaging them and asking them questions and making them get up to play games or do activities. I teach again in about twenty minutes, the same group. I'm finding ways to sneak pedagogical studies into my lessons. Today they will be learning "Three Little Birds" in round. Yep, in round! Along with how to tell the time and a number review.

I know, I know, It's almost too exciting to handle,
but I will manage.

Eu Estou Bem!

I am better now!
I had some sort of a flu strain from South Africa or so. It wasn't fun but we have recovered.
Tracy and I made a new friend!!!!!
:0)
Her name is Akeisha and she's an American from North Carolina. She teaches at the Eduardo Mondlane University (she's a former Peace Corps gal). It's so nice to have another American to click with in this crazy place. We just came back from a really nice dinner at a fancy restaurant in town where we met Akeisha's British friend Wendy, also very nice.
It looks as though we are now a group. It's so nice to once again have a group.

Muito Doente!

Sickness is common here and happens often. The teachers and the students are always sick. This morning, we got word that our cleaning lady was sick with Malaria. Tracy was sick yesterday and still is. This morning, I woke up feeling really groggy and by noon I had a fever and a sore throat. It is no fun to be sick here. It is so hot and I've been feverish and uncomfortable all day. I'll break into a cold sweat and then a fever sweat and then I'll be exhausted or so thirsty. It is hard to take care of yourself without running water, let alone if you're sick. I have to walk to the well, fill my bucket with water, carry it home, boil the water, wait for it to cool then drink and all I really want to pass out. We're going to get tested for Malaria tomorrow but I don't think we have it. Something is going around that feels like strep, I'll know tomorrow.
These bugs are also driving me completely crazy. Last night I was in the dining room writing and I saw something move out of the corner of my eye. I looked up to see an enormous spider the size of my hand. The spider was flat to the ground and as soon as I jumped on my chair, it literally inflated before my horrified eyes and began to sprint in erratic circles and zig zags across the floor. Tracy was in bed sick so she couldn't help me (she's not afraid of spiders). I jumped across the room and locked myself in my bedroom for the night. It was 7:30 pm and I wasn't tired and I had to go to the bathroom but I wasn't going back out there, so I hid beneath my mosquito net and fought off the images of spiders feasting on my sleeping body.
It was one of those "why am I here?" moments. Moments that come and go, but when they come, it's difficult to pick up and move on.
And now I'm sick and sweating out all of my fluids, despite the fact that this is one of the coolest and breeziest nights we've had so far.
This is the rhythm of life here. The key is to appreciate the upswings, the well days to your fullest. This is something the people here seem to do very well.

I am very frustrated because I havenºt taught any classes yet. I was supposed to teach on Thursday but it didnºt work out.
I have been productive working on the garden project however. Yesterday we were up at five and it had rained during the night so the earth was so cool and moist and fragrant. Thereºs something so relaxing about getting down on your hands and knees and working with the earth as the sun rises. It was like an active meditation. I truly appreciate the instant gratification that goes along with manual labor.
Other than that, Iºve been doing the usual.
I have mastered the art of hacking into a coconut with a machete and Iºm now addicted to coconuts. They are my new favorite.
I still canºt fetch water at the well very effectively. My bucket is always an eighth full. Iºm not catching on to this art form at all, but Iºm hopefull that soon I will be able to fetch water like an old pro.
Lunch time.
Ciao!

PICTURES!

Iºve developed an incredible rotating rash. I have no idea what my problem is. I just got over my sprained foot and am walking upright like a homo erect us once again. Now I have this weird rash on both of my wrists and shoulders. Sometimes itºs there and sometimes itºs not. Sometimes itºs on one wrist and sometimes itºs on both. I donºt know if Iºm allergic to something or if itºs heat related. It doesnºt itch, Iªm just falling apart.
ç')

Oh, I almost forgot. Mozambicans tend to be very short and thin. They're so tiny. I'm only 5'6" and I feel like a tree stump sometimes in the U.S. but here, I am the height of an average man, or a little bit taller. It's like being in Thailand where everyone is tiny tiny tiny. That's why I get so claustrophobic in my bathroom shower hut because the thatched roof is only three inches from the top of my head and it's teeming with giant spiders and roaches. Way too close for comfort. I'm a girl who needs wide open space!

Oh and Freddy, and anyone else who would like to visit. F.Y.I., yes, there are direct flights from Johannesburg to Inhambane. They are about $130.00 U.S. round-trip.

Boa Tarde!

Observations on a Tuesday!

There are days when I feel like I am making great progress and I understand Portuguese then there are days when it seems I am taking two giant leaps backwards and I can't understand anything. Language is so frustrating. Today, I actually understood what Clara my native Spanish speaker, Portuguese as a second language assistant project leader said. I will consider that progress.

Things are going well. I now have a teaching assignment. I will teach a level two (intermediate) English class twice a week. I now will teach on Thursday mornings and Monday evenings. I've been planning my courses all morning. It's nice to be working towards something productive.

Speaking of productive, we were up at 5:15 this morning because we are helping out with an agricultural project. We were out in the fields digging 40cm x40cm trenches and weeding. It wasn't bad because it's really pleasant in the mornings temperature-wise. Waking up early is not a problem because the sun rises here at around 4:45am and my room faces the rising sun so when the sun makes and appearance, so do I.

I had papaya and plain yogurt for breakfast. It's my new favorite breakfast combination. I love the fruit here it's so much better than the fruit in the United States, and I'm not just talking about standard pesticide enriched grocery store produce, it's so much better than the "organic farm fresh" fruit in the United States. Eating fruit is like using your taste buds for the first time. So so so good!

Yesterday we went to Maxixe. (We, meaning Tracy and myself). Maxixe is a town on the mainland that has cheap goods because it is not nearly as touristy as Inhambane. To get to Maxixe we had to take a 30 minute ferry. Our ferry literally looked and felt ( I imagine) like a refugee boat of the sort that wash up on the coast of Florida. I've never seen so many people crammed into a tiny wobbly boat. The ride though, was beautiful. Maxixe is very Mediterranean in it's aesthetics. There were very few tourists here and the central market was crazy. There were so many twists and turns and items to choose from. Someone stole my sunglasses, but they were only a dollar so I'm over it. I purchased two capolana's (large pieces of colorful printed fabric). I'm going to have one turned into a bag so I don't have to carry my backpack and get robbed.

We spent the entire day there. I was happy to bop back across the Indian Ocean to my beautiful Inhambane though. Inhambane is much more beautiful than Maxixe and it's definitely beginning to feel like home sweet home.

The night sky here is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. I can literally see the milky way and constellations and so many stars and it goes on forever. There are no tall buildings to block the landscape, everything is open. One of my favorite modes of transportation is in the back of a truck at night, cruising the open road, staring into the sky.

Someone asked me about the people here. The people here are interesting. Upon first meeting, you think wow, Mozambicans are the friendliest people ever and they are friendly. There are some interesting characteristics though that can get to be annoying. There is no personal space here. Some people (not all) will literally talk to you one inch from your face and as a westerner, I find it so off-putting. It is perfectly acceptable to publicly pick your nose. And I don't mean pick, I mean dig. Some men feel as though they can flirt openly with Western women and have no problem just grabbing your hand or touching you. I can't even count how many sweaty hands i've wriggled my hand out of and how many men i've almost kneed in the you know what for touching me. It is however, not everyone. The men from the city have this train more commonly than the villagers. Mozambicans who live in touristy areas, don't seem to have this trait at all. Everyone talks about everyone, people know who I am and where I'm from and my name and I've never even been introduced to them or seen them before. It was nice at first but it gets annoying because I'm trying to get from point a to point b (such a horrible western mentality, I know, but I am after all a New Yorker!) and people will want to talk and I don't know them and then there's a group and I just need to continue on my way and I can't even have a real conversation because I don't speak Portuguese well and they don't speak English and inevitably they ask for money which I'm not dolling out so it gets weird. Also, the teachers at ADPP aren't very friendly, especially the women. We smile and greet everyone and they just look at us, it's very awkward at times. One of the project leaders said that it could be a result of the Civil War. During the war, people between 20-50 were targeted and killed, that left the very young and the very old to fend for themselves. This being said, there was not a lot of time for conversation and pleasantries, so the people who are now 20-30, were children then and they are not particularly friendly. I don't know if this truly is the case, but it's a good consideration. Many of the teachers are also very intimidated by us. We try to make suggestions and we are laughed at or ignored. It's frustrating,but they don't want to change from what they know. The professors here basically have only had a seventh grade education, have completed the teacher training college for two and a half years and then have taught for a year and now they can teach other teachers to teach. That of course would never fly in the West and it's off-putting for them i'm sure to have these people come over who have taught for several years, who have master's degrees, and tell them how to change what they've been taught to do. Teachers will literally get upset if a student asks a question that they don't know the answer to because it makes them look bad, but the problem with that is you're limiting the curiosity of the students. Students are being conditioned not to ask questions and there are so many things that the teachers actually don't know because they are basically asking their students to memorize things that they themselves had been trained to memorize but could never explain. I'm sure we seem like a bunch of progressive freaks when we suggest group work or having students sit in circles or in clusters. So bottom line, there is a culture clash and it's difficult to penetrate especially when the language skills are not there. But I will do what I can to demonstrate and serve as an example. It's like pulling teeth sometimes to get the students to admit that they don't know something. Unlike their Mozambican teachers, I'm always asking them if they have any questions. If I can give another example, If I can demonstrate something differently. So hopefully they will learn to do the same with their young pupils.
And the male teachers here talk down to us which drives me crazy because I can't take any of them seriously as teachers because they don't do anything so I'm sure they think I have an attitude problem because they are not at all used to assertive women and I have no problem letting them know that I do not agree with them. So the crazy dance goes...

People here are very trusting which is refreshing. The village people are extremely sweet and always return greetings. People from the city are different, which is the case all over the world it seems.

Mozambique is very diverse. There are many Indians (brought in to work the railroads), Chinese (brought in to work the railroads), Portuguese (old colonial families)and South Africans- Afrikaans (business owners/beach front property owners). It's interesting. Many Mozambicans are still being taken advantage of in their country which I guess I already knew because if they weren't I wouldn't need to be here. It's is one thing to know, but it's another thing entirely to experience. The white South Africans for the most part are so disrespectful towards the native Mozambicans. They will set up businesses in their country, buy property in their country and will refuse to do business with the locals and will do everything in their power to price out the locals (which isn't difficult), the white South African mentality is in my opinion absolutely disgusting. I'm waiting to encounter one that will change my opinion. It hasn't happened yet but I'm open.
The Chinese keep to themselves as they do in many other countries and seem to work in construction.
Indian families also keep to themselves and like in most other countries, they own most of the shops and businesses and here they tend to be pretty well off.
The old colonial Portuguese families are very proud of being Mozambican and will say, I am Mozambican, my family has been here for seven generations. They seem to be the wealthiest and they are mostly in the large cities. They own businesses, and basically seem to run things still, even though "technically" the power has been handed over to the hands of the Mozambican people.
I said Mozambique was diverse, I didn't say it was integrated. This is one of the most segregated places I've seen. It's very similar to South Africa in that way. In fact, many South Africans will make comments to the extent of "Wow, Mozambique is amazing, it's like how South Africa used to be!"- Meaning, pre-apartheid. Gotta love em!

Despite all of the problems, I believe progress is being made. Slowly, progress is being made. There are many wealthy native Mozambicans who are doing well. I think tourism is going to pick up in the next few years and the economy should boom as a result. I just hope the people, the actual Mozambicans, get to reap some of the benefits of their land and resources. Time will only tell...

Portuguese, nao problema!

My presentation this evening was a smashing success (my opinion)!
Really, it wasn't bad. I think i've got the hang of this Portuguese language as long as I have a paper in front of me that I've pre-planned. I'm actually surprisingly good at writing in Portuguese, it's the act of speaking and understanding that stumps me.
The students laughed at my jokes and I was able to put my goofy personality on display. At the end there was a question and answer segment and of course all they asked was how old i was and if i was single. It was funny. Two students even came up to me afterwards to see if they could read some of my writing; too bad I left the book I published at home along with my article and all of the drafts of my fiction pieces. So I guess I'll have to write some new things.
Also, as a result of my presentation, my project leader asked if I would be interested in forming a drama/theatare group. OF COURSE!!!!!! That's exactly what I wanted to do in the first place. I just wish my Portuguese were oh let's say 100 times better so that I could be more effective. I could get by at first I suppose by writing my lessons and reading them and getting the students who speak English well to help me to translate the other student's questions.
I'm so excited. It looks like there will be lights, cameras and social-action in Mozambique after all!

Bring on the bugs!

RED ALERT:
It's gigantic hairy spider season!
Really!

They all congregate in our outdoor bathroom hut. We have no running water or plumbing for that matter and so everytime I have to go to the bathroom (usually at night) I see them. Tarantulas, and giant stick-like spiders. It's horrifying. I just don't know what to say. I seriously have bathroom-a-phobia. I'm probably going to get a bladder infection because now, I won't even go to the bathroom after dark. My only saving grace is if I am in town or at the beach and I can use one of the nice bathrooms at a restaurant.
Not only are there spiders but there are enormous flying cockroaches/waterbugs whatever you want to call them, they are there and they fly at you.

To further complicate matters, I have a huge hornets nest outside of my window and everyday there are hornets in my room. Only my room. I hate it. I absolutely abhor this situation. I loathe...with a capitol L! I can't get a moments peace from these bugs. I keep coaxing my poor neighbor to kill my hornets with a broom. I do this in exchange for 30 minute English lessons. Yes, my desperation has gotten to this point.

Today, we had an assembly as we do every Friday morning. It was horrible. The assembly is in a large hut and hornets were flying in through the open windows. There were like ten hornets dancing in front of my face. It took every inch of restraint in my body not to scream or twitch. I did twitch though. The students were singing the Mozambican national anthem (which is the longest anthem, I am convinced in the world...)and I was twitching and batting away bees.

I just don't know...


Anyhow, I am almost finished with my first full week at work. Our week-day is Monday through Saturday ;0(
Things have gotten better. In many ways I feel as though they want to micro-manage our days and that is just not going to happen. I substitute taught for one of the teachers yesterday. I taught an English class where we learned about domestic vs. wild animals. I taught the students "Old MacDonald Had A Farm" and they really got into it and I encouraged them to use the same song with their young students that they will be teaching as a way to introduce domestic farm animals.
It looks like I may, if i'm lucky get my own English class next week.
I have a presentation to give about myself tonight in Portuguese. I'm so nervous to speak in Portuguese about myself for 30 minutes. I keep confusing my verb tenses and my conjugation is skewed. I've got the basic vocabulary but everything else is lost in many ways.


Well I've got to go, it's lunch time. More later.

Melting

It is so hot in the teacher's office where I am resigned to spend my entire day. I spent my morning preparing a 30 minute presentation about myself and my educational background that I am to present to the staff and other teachers on Friday evening.
I am somewhat disappointed. They really don't have anything for me to do here right now. I'm just at a desk studying my Portuguese. The school runs very well and all of the students are in class with their teachers. Tracy and I have absolutely nothing to do and we're not allowed to go anywhere. I was supposed to have a meeting a few hours ago, but the person never appeared, or maybe according to Mozambican time, just hasn't shown up yet.
Two more hours and my shift is up. Hopefully tomorrow will be (I'd say more productive, but let's just call it what it is) productive.

I think iºm gonna like it here!

I LOVE INHAMBANE!

I arrived in Inhambane on Thursday and it is one of the most beautiful places in the world. Iºve been fortunate enough to have seen a lot of beautiful places in this world, and I know this is completely subjective, but Inhambane is truly a very magical place.
Iºm right on the Indian Ocean here. It is warm but not humid. The malaria risk is very low. The landscape is just breathtaking. I need to figure out a way to upload my pictures. There are the most amazing plants which are the most astonishing colors. Iºll see pine trees, next to flowering cactus plants, next to exotic waxy leaved plants, itºs so random and beautiful. The beach is soooooooooooooooooo amazing! The water is warm, and clear and the beach is so clean and nice. There are many tourists on the beach strip but itºs not overdone, the natural beauty is completely perserved. Most of the tourists come from South AFrica. We have access to an excellent night life and wonderful resteraunts as a result. Today, we went to the beach and I had lemon sugar crepes for breakfast with guava juice and for lunch, curried sweet potato and shrimp in a coconut sauce. So cheap and so fresh.
Yeah, yeah, thatºs great but what about your project

Well I havenºt started working yet. I begin tomorrow, so up until now this has been a vacation and iºve soaked in every second.
I went to ADPP on Saturday to tour the facility and meet the staff. Everyone seems nice. The teacher training college is a beautiful one. Itºs brand new and was only built in 2006. The studentºs dorm rooms are immaculate and the bathrooms pristine. Much better conditions than I had on the Mountain in Massachusetts.
One of the students even took me on a tour of Inhambane City, which is small and charming. He was very patient with my Portuguese, I hope all the students are this patient. Many of the people here actually speak English to my dissapointement because they want to practice and once they hear my accent they try to speak to me in English
but I need to practice my Portuguese so they are speaking to me in broken English and Iºm speaking to them in broken Portuguese and somehow we communicate.

Letºs see, my living conditions.
I live in a four bedroom house with one other Development Instructor, my lovely friend Tracy. Iºm so glad we were placed together because we both trained on the mountain in Massachusetts, we get along really well and have a lot in common, such as spontaniously breaking out into songs from broadway musicals.
Our house is simple but nice. I have my own room obviously with a bed, dresser and desk. We have a kitchen and a living room and a porch with chairs. Weºve got a crazy cat named freaky who is the loudest cat iºve ever heard. She screams all day long, but sheºs cute so we keep her around. Only drawback, no running water and bathrooms outside. Iºve already seen my first tarantula in our outhouse. We have a hole in the ground with two posts for the feet and you just stand there and let it rip!
We have a seperate hut that is our shower hut. You have to retrieve water from the well, pour it into the bucket and ladel yourself clean. Itºs not bad actually and itºs easy. I shower like three times a day and Iºve already gotten used to it. The best is showering outside late at night. There is nothing like the sky over Inhambane, itºs just beautiful. There are so many stars here on a moon free night.

We have a really sweet cleaning lady and cook named Jaqueline who does our laundry everyday, keeps us with a steady supply of pure water, cooks our dinners and cleans our house. It was weird at first to have someone clean and do things for me, but sheºs very insistant and Tracy and I have no clue how to prepare food here or how to effectively hand wash our clothes so it really is all for the best and sheºs getting paid really well.

Speaking of preparing food. I went to the market to buy Mangos yesterday and it took me almost thirty minutes to get into my mango. I was cutting and slicing. In the end it looked like a drunk tic tac toe board. I started prying the pieces apart with my pocket knife. Iºm surprised I didnºt lose a finger.
The fruit here is sooooooooooooooo good. We have papaya and mango and guava and banannas and much more as well as vegetables of all kinds. The land is very fertile.
Then there are the gifts from the sea.

Ok, Iºm sure this is long and Iºve got so much to say, but iºve got to wrap it up. Before I go I would like to tell of my harrowing journey from Maputo to Inhambane.

Sergio, another Development Instructor and I, were told to be ready for a cab to pick us up at the gates in Maputo at 430 am. We didnºt get any sleep the night before because there was no point. We got ready, and we were on the porch by 415am waiting. Somehow we managed to lock ourselves out of the house but we figured it didnºt matter because weºd be catching a taxi. So we wait and we wait and we wait. Mosquitos are eating us alive, bats are swirling overhead, frogs are singing in the tall grass. We see the sun rise and we see people wake up. The stupid taxi doesnºt arrive until 7am. We were both so mad. Sergio missed his bus and couldnºt go so I had to go with the taxi driver alone because I still had time to catch mine. Mind you I donºt speak Portuguese well and the driver didnºt speak English well either. I told him to take me to the bus station, but he took me to the chapa station. I of course didnºt know this at the time. If you remember, chapaºs are the cargo vans converted into sardine cans full of people and are in terrible working condition. So we get out of the taxi in the busy chapa station and right away two men come up to the driver who was carrying my huge 70 plus pound suitcase and began to pull it away from him. I join my driver and grab on and weºre all pulling and tugging. I couldnºt believe they were trying to rob me. I was so angry. I started screaming at them in English which caused more chaos. Iºm not sure what happened next but the two men who where trying to steal my bag started fighting with each other. My driver began to run with my bag on his head and I followed. He passed my bag to another man who carried it on his head and loaded it somehow into a crowded chapa. I thanked my driver and got on the chapa. It was full. There were like eleven people plus bags and livestock and crates. I had to sit in the seat on the hump of the wheel so my knees were to my chin. I had to balance my 30 plus pounds of carry on luggage in my lap. Behind me was a crate of fish that smelled so bad. I was so upset, I was ready to kill someone. We would drive and stop and let more people on. I couldnºt believe it. People were on top of each other. Some were standing and crouching with their butts in peoples faces. It was horrible. Everytime we stopped, children and women selling things would come to the windows, open them from the outside and cram merchandice in my face while sweaty arms reached over me to pay for good. It was a living hell!
I didnºt go to the bathroom, eat or drink all day.
All I could do was sleep and stare out of the window.
Eventually though, as we got farther away from the city, my view became more and more beautiful. By the time I was in Inhambane, ten hours later, I was calm and excited. I was also extremely hungry and thirsty and tired and in need of a shower and in need of a bed. But everything, clearly worked out in the end!

Muito Quente

I am in Mozambique now. We arrived yesterday morning after a long, long, long journey. For me, my travels began on Sunday, Feb 17th at 6:30 am, when I left my friend Krista´s Manhattan apartment dragging almost 90 pounds of luggage onto the subway. I met Makiko at JFK airport, where we waited for our slightly delaid flight and flew to Dellas in Washington, DC. In Washington D.C., after a six hour layover, we met Tamika and flew 16 hours to Johannesburg. The flight was sooooooooo long and I was already tired and exhausted. Somehow, I managed to sprain my foot and iºm still walking with a limp. We were not seated next to each other. I spent 16 hous squashed against the window, next to a large ex-marine who karate chopped me while he was asleep. I did however, get to watch two movies that I had missed while living on the mountain, ATTONMENT and DARJEELING UNLIMITED, both very good!
South Africa was fantastic once we finally landed. We had a 10 hour wait before our bus ride to Maputo. We met up with Rodrigo and Sergio here and took shifts watching each others bags so that we could explore the city in groups. IICD instilled the fear of God into us when talking about Johannesburg. All we heard on the mountain was "Now be careful, itºs the most dangerous city in the world!", " Development Instructors have been robbed of all of their possessions in Johannesburg, be careful and donºt leave the airport".
After sitting on a plane for hours and hours and waiting for hours, I wasnºt about to do it again in a stuffy airport, so I left and everything was fine. The city is beautiful and warm. It was so familiar, very western. There were times I forgot I was in South Africa until iºd look out the taxi window to see a palm tree or a baobob tree dotting the median in the highway. We did almost get run down in the middle of the street, because they drive on the left side of the street, very confusing to curious Americans.
Anyhow, after exploring and eating, we were off. We took a bus from Johannesburg to Maputo. This was truly the worst ride of my life. The moment we entered the double decker bus, the humidity weighed down upon us. We were the last people to enter the bus (late due to our exploring) and we couldn´t sit together. I was stuck sitting next to a Euopean backpacker who smelled like he hadn´t showered in months. This guy had the longest legs ever and took up 3/4´s of the seat. It was agony. The ride began at 10pm, so it was dark and I was straining to make out the shadows of mountains and rivers but I couldnºt see anything concrete. The bus also didnºt stop. Not once! We did stop around 5am at the Mozambican border only to learn that it was closed until 6am. So we sat and we simmered and we festered and this was how I caught my first Mozambican sunrise. It was beautiful . An hour later at six we were herded off the bus in the most disorganized fashion possible. We went through customs, paid our visa taxes and before we could get back on the bus we had to wait for an hour outside in the blazing heat, half delerious as the customs people went through our bags one by one. Once this was over, we were back on the bus for two more hours. When we reached Maputo, we jumped off, grabbed a pick-up truck cab, rode in the back hatch with our luggage and saw the city for the first time.
Maputo is the capital of Mozambique and it´s enormous. There are areas that are extremely wealthy and beautiful and there are areas of extreme poverty. We had a thirty minute ride. Nobody fell out of the truck and we arrived at ADPP Mozambique unharmed.

~( GOT TO GO, AM RUNNING OUT OF TIME AT THE INTERNET CAFE- MORE LATER)

I'm Published!

An article that I wrote about my experiences working at an orphanage in Ghana has been published in About Time magazine this month.
I've got three whole pages and two pictures.

;0)

www.abouttimemag.com

Silver Spring

Reporting live from the Panera Bread in Silver Spring Maryland. I'm off the mountain. My training is over. I'm in Maryland for the next few days before I go to New York and then take off.
Here are some pictures from our going away party last Friday. Also pictures of my hair. Last night, I took some scissors from my mom's sewing kit and hacked my hair off.
No comment!

I've finally received my exact placement. I'm of to Inhambana, Mozambique.
I'm so excited!
It's the area in Mozambique that I wanted to go to. I'll be right on the beach and I'll be able to work on theatre projects with the kiddies.
I'm so excited!
Tonight is our going away party. Tamika and I are also leaving tonight after the going away party.

I'm uploading some pics:

- greylock, the little grey monster (i'll miss that little guy!)
- my new mozambican hairstyle (compliments of tara)

Sail Away

Pictures from our pre-going away party yesterday. One of our team members, Rodrigo is leaving for Brazil today so we said goodbye last night.
We will meet him again at the airport in Joburg.

Two steps from the door

We had a big meeting today. Sunday will be the August Teams last day on the mountain. We leave for Mozambique on the 17th of February.
I was very excited because we usually fly British Airways and have a layover in Heathrow, but of course, they just switched carriers and we're flying South African airlines with a layover in Senegal and then onto our destination in Johannesburg.
Pooh!
From Johannesburg, South Africa we take a bus to Maputo, Mozambique (12 hours- the scenic route).
We're literally wrapping up by finishing courses and having lots and lots of meetings.
On Thursday, I have a Portuguese language test that I must pass in order to go.
MERDE!!!!!! (At least I know all of the curse words!)
Saturday night we have our going away party!
Then, ate logo mountain!
ciao, ciao, ciao...

Flood waters are rising!

Mozambique is under water !?!...

Snakes, Scorpions and Spiders

I've been in the library studying Portuguese for the past two hours, and I just can't shake the image of tarantulas feasting on my sleeping body.
I will explain.
Last night, after watching Hostel II. (which is another story altogether), a group of us (girls only) headed up to the lodge for a candid discussion of what it would be like to be a female in Angola and or Mozambique. Three volunteers just returned from their posts in Mozambique and we sat around the fireplace snacking and listening to their cautionary tales. I have made a list of things to watch out for in Mozambique.

SOJOURNER'S FEAR LIST:
1) Poisonous snakes (referred to in Portuguese as cobras- not helpful)
2) Tarantulas (yes- Mozambique is literally home to giant hairy tarantulas that enter our huts through the cracks between the mud walls and the thatched roof).
3) Poisonous spiders (Not only do I apparently have to fear tarantulas, there are a host of poisonous and deadly spiders just waiting to feast on my sleeping body).
4) Scorpions (If a scorpion bites you, you've got a few hours to get to the hospital or else...)
5) Centipedes (Apparently centipedes like to hide out in peoples socks)
6) Flying cockroaches (Not only do they fly, but they are enormous, the size of birds)
7) Getting into a chappa accident (Chappas are large vans aka. public busses, that are overcrowded and in terrible condition. Chappa accidents are very common as the drivers apparently soar at astronomical speeds. A few Development Instructors have been injured. We just got news this morning that one of the Project Leaders in Angola was killed when she flew through the windshield of one of these lovely vehicles.)

That is my fear list. Those of you that know me, know how crazy I get when I see a regular sized roach/spider/centipede.
For the next six months, I will be facing my fears head on, literally.
eeeeehhhhhhhhhh...

Rock the vote 08'

Bom Dia! If you are an American and a voter, and you are interested to see how the presidential candidates feel regarding issues of global poverty and how they plan to work towards the Millineum Development Goals check out www.ONEVote08.org/ontherecord.

These issues are important and are often lost in discussions about other crucial issues such as the war in Iraq and the economy. At www.ONEVote08.org/ontherecord major presidential candidates from John McCain to Hillary Clinton speak out about their plans (or lack there of) to eradicate global poverty.

WHY SHOULD YOU CARE?

One of Africa’s many folk tales is the story of the mouse who tried to mobilize his fellow animals- the chicken, the goat, and the cow- to remove a mousetrap. Well, they did not care about the mousetrap, since it posed no danger to them. But then it happened that a very dangerous snake got caught in the mousetrap and when the farmer wanted to take it out, he was bitten. Now, when bit by a snake you immediately have to wash the bite with blood from a chicken, so the chicken was slaughtered.
As the farmer became more ill and unable to work, the family had to slaughter the goat to have enough food to eat. And alas, when the farmer died from the bite, the family had to slaughter the cow to have food enough for all the people coming to the funeral.

Moral: Don’t turn your back on the problems of your fellow human beings, because they will end up being your problems as well.
Empower yourselves and make good decisions!

I just held my first morning course and it went very well.
;0)

I talked about pedagogy and learning styles and how to effectively teach teachers to be better educators.

Yesterday I went to the Salvation Army and held an art workshop with troubled youth. My specialization tasks are flying by.

I am so ready to go...go....go......to (and i'm still adjusting to this notion) Mozambique!

Mozambique!

I am now going to be re-routed to Mozambique. I don't know which city which is crucial, but I will have the same project so all is not lost.

Oi!
I'm back on the mountain after my fifth fundraising trip.
AND WE'RE FINISHED!
NO MORE FUNDRAISING!!!!!!

Thanks so much to my good friend Liza who held a benefit concert in Rochester on behalf of the August Team.

As excited as I am to be finished with my fundraising, I'm having a series of small heart attacks. I will not be able to go to Benguela. No Angola for me!
We are having too many worries when it comes to our VISA situation.
Now I must chose between Malawi and Mozambique. I know nothing about the placements in these countries yet I've got to make a decision by tomorrow.
Aaaaaggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!

DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY IDEAS???????????

It's still warm and pleasant outside. The snow has almost completely melted. Let's hear it for global warming!
We got our vaccinations today. I actually was already up to date on all of my shots thanks to Ghana so I got my malaria pills and dysentary pills from the Travel Clinic and laughed at my teammates who had sore arms.
Tonight we will sign our contracts with Humana People to People and it will be official. We will be Development Instructors. We have survived the training! (almost...)

The weather is warm!
It's finally warm, really warm (60 degrees more or less).
The sun is out, the snow is melting, we're about to re-apply for our VISA's to Angola. Hopefully everything will work out. I've decided to give myself until March. If I don't have my VISA by March I will opt to go to Mozambique.
I have also decided to do my camp future (follow-up period) in New Delhi India as opposed to my original idea of Brazil and then my secondary idea of South Africa.
Things are slowly coming together.
I will go to Maryland next week to finish my fundraising. I've got about $700.00 dollars left or to fundraise and it's completely possible.

problem!!!!!!!!!!!!

So there is a problem now. It looks like our VISA applications to Angola are not going to go through. I may have to change my plans and go to Mozambique instead.
;0(
pooh!

I'm Back!!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I arrived back on the mountain last night and it's COLD!
We're having the coldest day of the year today (- something or other).

Late last night when I was about to go to bed I discovered a present. Mouse droppings!
Lots and lots of mouse droppings all over my bed!
Yes, not only was my room freezing to the extent that I could see my breath, but a mouse, or mice or rats or who knows decided to use my duvet as a latrine.

So I spent the night curled in a ball wearing layers and layers of clothes with no sheets or comforter.

At least I can say things are pretty much getting back to normal!

THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE WAS WRITTEN ABOUT BENGUELA ANGOLA, A PLACE I WILL SOON CALL HOME!

Article by: Brendan Sainsbury, May 2007

I'm sitting, mosquito repellent in hand, on a near-empty beach in coastal Benguela, Angola's second largest city. I watch two sinewy youths practicing the Brazilian martial art of capoeira, their fluid movements and acrobatic high-kicks blending like a sort of African ballet against the rugged and dramatic backdrop.
Benguela Station

Angola - a country more famous for its landmines than its tourist drawcards - is experiencing something of a cultural renaissance. The national football team is competing for the first time in the World Cup Finals in Germany, the economy is looking up, and the chance of having a safe and memorable adventure in this former cauldron of chaos is now a distinct possibility.

Scarred by years of debilitating warfare, Angola is an isolated and oft-misunderstood traveller's destination, with few outsiders privy to its jaw-dropping scenery and vast cultural riches. But the recent cessation of a three-decade-long civil conflict has ushered in a new era of peace and reconciliation. The country's fledgling tourist industry, coupled with the pioneering efforts of its battling national football team, could soon put the country back on the traveller's map.

Places like Restaurante Escondidinho buzz with young locals practicing the kizombe, Angola's romantic and highly sensuous national dance.

Benguela sits 700 km south of the Angolan capital of Luanda. It was founded by the Portuguese in 1617 and is a former slave port and the erstwhile terminus of the cross-continental Benguela Railway. Spared the worst of a bloody civil war that reduced other inland towns to piles of smouldering rubble, Angola's second city and self-appointed cultural capital is a charming muddle of low-rise apartment blocks and sputtering motorcycles that weave deftly between Benguela's famous crimson acacia trees.

African traditions are strong in Benguela, and the sense of history is palpable, but the real highlight of this diminutive regional capital is not its paint-peeled colonial architecture nor its spectacular beaches but, rather, the Benguelans themselves. They are open and gregarious, with an infectious spirit. Their continued survival in the face of crushing adversity is nothing short of remarkable.
It's not all landmines - a brand new resort hotel near Benguela, Angola

I head slowly north from my spontaneous capoeira-fest towards a sprawling and haphazard fishing village that gives out onto the blustery Atlantic. Swinging inland momentarily I encounter the well-tilled Cavaco River valley, an oasis of green in an otherwise parched and arid desert, and the proverbial bread basket upon which this heavily populated coastal strip so desperately relies.

Cavaco is characterised by patchwork banana plantations and mud-bricked homesteads that nestle like chocolate boxes beneath tall palm trees. It is quintessential Africa at its best, an unending cavalcade of waving children, braying goats and sturdy women in floral wraps who walk to market with bowls of maize balanced on their heads.

The recent cessation of a three-decade-long civil conflict has ushered in a new era of peace and reconciliation.

In town, the attractions are notably less bucolic. Benguela is barely set up for tourism in the modern sense, but nevertheless boasts a handful of reasonable guesthouses, some decent Brazilian-run restaurants and a nascent nightlife. Places like Restaurante Escondidinho buzz with young locals practicing the kizombe, Angola's romantic and highly sensuous national dance.

Festivals are common and religious processions are almost weekly occurrences, but one of the best ways to experience the whole kaleidoscopic panorama of this region is to catch the legendary train from Benguela to its twin port town of Lobito. Rusty old cattle trucks have been hollowed out to accommodate a more lucrative human cargo, and the 30-km journey is a living microcosm of the country at large. It's a disorganised scrum of screaming babies, adolescents hanging nonchalantly from the doorways, and posses of impassive gun-wielding guards snaking their way through the passengers like imposters at a wedding.
The Benguela-Lobito train sometimes resembles a travelling market

update

So I've survived fundraising trip number four!
Barely...
Unfortunately this is not our final trip because we are approx $17,000 dollars below goal. So joy of all joys, it seems as though we'll be back out on the icy pavement in January.
I can't wait!
Truly I can't think of anything I'd love to do more.

Today is VISA preparation day. I'm in North Adams at a coffee shop waiting for a physical so that I can get a letter declaring that I am in good health. The Angolan visa is so difficult. It's taken so long to schedule all of our tests and paper work. At least Tamika and I were able to get our criminal record reports earlier today, so hopefully we're on the right track and will be saying tcau to the US very very very soon.

Our final day of fundraising in Boston was a bust. Tons of people were on the streets but nobody felt the need to stop or donate any money. Shopping was first and foremost in every ones mind. The people in both Boston and Cambridge were extremely rude and snotty. I think we made only $60 dollars on Saturday there. Yep,, it sucked.

Yesterday, on a up note was fantastic. We had yet another winter storm which dumped snow on our mountain to the extent that we couldn't fundraise or do anything so Tamika and I stayed in our warm little room and watched movies all day.
Our film festival included :
St. Elimo's Fire
Children of a Lesser God
Bridget Jones' Diary
and
A Fish Called Wanda

Yes, our choices are somewhat limited considering we have an old VCR player and can only chose movies from the IICD video library. This afternoon and into the evening we will resume our film festivities.

Ok, it's cold!

BLIZZARD!!!!!!!!!!!

The snow won't stop falling.
It really won't stop!

Let's recap the day...

We began with a team meeting at 9am in the Bella Vista common room. After a long discussion regarding an impending storm we decide not to go to Boston because a severe snow advisory had be posted. Our supervisor walks in and asks us why we're not going to Boston, we explain that going to Boston today would be risky. After getting a lecture about the importance of fundraising we are told that we must go out today. We decided to go to Albany again since that city only had a snow advisory, not a severe snow advisory.

So according to the national weather service, the snow was supposed to fall by noon and would be heaviest between four and six. We decided we would head into Albany (40 mins) and then leave Albany by 3pm to be back on the mountain before the severe snow. Our supervisor was not happy that we were cutting fundraising short, but that was the plan because clearly we were the only people looking after our own best interests and well being.

We head out. All is well. The roads are clear, we are talking and making plans, then suddenly and without warning, the sky turns dark and snow begins to blow everywhere. The wind is getting crazy, the snow is accumulating and it isn't even eleven am. By the time we skid into Albany, there is already a few inches of snow. The snow is falling steadily. Not a good start!

We break off into teams and begin our door to door/ business to business work. After a few minutes we are all covered in snow. I had snow accumulation on my eyebrows, above my lip, on my eyelashes and I was soaking wet. I had on two shirts, two sweatshirts and a coat and I was wet. I had on a pair of pajama pants, a pair of sweat pants and some jeans and I was wet. We were all soaked and we couldn't figure out what was going on.

Finally, after all of the stores started closing (about an hour into our fundraising and only fifteen dollars later) we decided to head home. At this point there is about a foot of accumulation and beneath the snow, was ice, lots and lots and lots of ice. Cars were spinning out around us, the sky was dark, there was fog, the wind was blowing and we couldn't see, I'm talking zero visibility. All around us cars are pulled off to the side of the road, trucks are stuck, buses are stuck, it's chaos. Then we slide of of the road and get stuck.

Tamika is driving and the rest of us get out to push. It takes so long because we have no tread, we are pushing a van on ice. It's terrible. But miracle of miracles the van gets unstuck and we get back in and continue on our fateful journey.

We are on interstate 90, and as we drive underneath an overpass a huge avalanche of snow from a plow above comes down. This causes a white out which causes people to swerve and panic. A nasty accident unfolds directly in front of us. Two cars, collide and fall off of the side of the road onto a shoulder, but we couldn't stop because we'd get stuck so we kept on going.

A few moments later, rounding a steep curve (we are going maybe 15 mph) we spin out and we are just twirling and zig zagging and luckily we stay on the road and there were no other cars around us. So we continue.

By now, we have driven for about three hours and we're still in New York and the windshield wipers are frozen and our windshield is frozen and Tamika has her head out the window as we drive and I've got my hand out the window trying to de-snow and de-ice the windshield. It's just too much and we decided we can't handle it anymore.

We pull into a gas station and call our supervisor to see if we can get a ride. We are told no and that we would get a call back. We wait ten minutes, nobody has called, we call again and we are told that they are unable to make it down the driveway of the mountain to get us. We're all fuming, but have no choice but to continue on our unsafe path.

We get back on the road, we're driving extremely slowly and it takes us about thirty more minutes to get back to the base of the mountain. As soon as we pull off of route 43 onto the driveway we spin into a snow bank and get stuck. So out we go again, pushing and pulling and heaving and hoeing and nothing. We give up. Once again the car would be abandoned for the morning.

Eventually, after three out of five of us call consecutively to request assistance, we are picked up at the bottom of the mountain and driven to the top and are asked "oh, it's not really that bad out there is it?"
We were fuming.

This place is getting too crazy for me. I can't wait to break for Christmas. Three more days of fundraising left, three more days!
Just put my ticket to Angola in my hands and let me be off!!!!!!

prrrrrrrrrrrr....

We have the most beautiful starry night today. Walking up the cold mountainside, it was hard to be bitter because the sky was so beautiful. I even caught a glimpse of a shooting star.

We were trail blazers today! So sick of inching up the icy mountainside we created our own path through the woods. It was dark, it was cold, there was a stream that we almost fell into, but we made it and we didn't slip or fall.

And now, I am in a warm lodge with a cat purring on my lap
;0)
bliss....

um hum...

Day number two of internet on the mountain :0)
Day number two of taking an ice cold shower first thing in the morning ;0(

With every victory comes defeat!

Today we will go to Albany, New York to fundraise door to door. First we are all scheduled to receive hiv/aids tests at a free clinic outside of Albany so that we may apply for our visas to Angola. Angolan visas are very difficult to obtain. We have a long list of things that we must do in order to be able to apply.

We are still in the middle of a massive ice storm. Last night, we pulled our white van approx one foot up the 1/2 mile mountain driveway expanse before it gave out and began spinning back onto the street. We were all so tired from fundraising that we just got out and left it. It took us so long to work our way up the mountain. The path was pure ice. Imagine walking on ice in slippers at a 90 degree incline, that's what it was like. We were all holding hands. I was the first to fall. I took two steps outside of the van and landed flat on my face in the snow and ice, it was fantastic!
We called for back-up to see if anyone with four wheel drive could drive down to get us and no-one could make it down the mountain. So we were left to our own devices, or left for dead depending on your perspective. Luckily, after twenty minutes of inching forward, arms linked in a human chain, with hail striking at us like missiles from the sky, our director pulled up in her jeep and was able to drive us the rest of the way up the mountain.
Everyday is a new adventure!
Today, who knows?

After the traumatizing events of last night, I had a dream. I hardly ever remember my dreams, but this one was vivid. Tamika, Makiko and I were in an unspecified country in Africa. Somehow we were all together without any luggage in a massive airport terminal where nobody spoke English, Portuguese or Japanese and there were no signs so none of us could communicate. Then we were outside on this long dusty road. It was hot and windy, red dust was everywhere. We didn't know what to do so we walked and walked and walked. Finally a person tells us to turn right at the bush and we're like what bush? Then there is an enormous tumbleweed-like biblical bush and we turn right. Right in front of us is a small hut. We enter and a lady is inside, she welcomes us to our project and takes us to a tiny dark room with one window and two cots and says this is where you'll be staying and disappears. We all look at each other and she leaves. Makiko and Tamika claim the two cots as I stand staring at the window that has no screen. What about me? I ask and they say, oh you'll sleep on the floor. What! There are scorpions, I'm not sleeping on the floor in the bush! So they push the rickety, dusty cots together and the three of us hop on and stare at each other. There is no screen in the window, we're going to die of malaria Tamika states matter of factly and then the dream was over.
Yep!
Good times!!!!!!

stormy weather, just can't get my poor self together....

I woke up this morning to the sweet smell of sewage
the septic tank (located near my door)
has had a malfunction.
I'm not sure how much more free-spirited humor is left in my frozen system.
Once again, we are in the midst of an ice-storm. The dogs were sliding all over the place this morning.
We'll head into Bennington Vermont today, Albany tomorrow and then Boston for the week-end. That is if the weather permits. We've got a new plan. Hopefully one that will bring in enough money to sustain our projects in Africa.

is this hell is this hell is this hell is this hell that i'm feelin???

My fingers are stiff purple sticks as I type this. It’s FREEZING! Really.
I just finished my six hour shift standing in the freezing cold on North street in Pittsfeild Mass.
Nope, I didn’t make goal today. None of us did or even came close for that matter.
We are in the middle of an ice storm.
I opened my front door today, took a step and slid right off of my porch about three feet and came to a natural slow halt.
It then took me 15 minutes to make it about twenty feet to the dining hall.
Where I could, I walked over icy snow that cracked beneath my steps. The dogs were sliding all over the place. Everything was frozen. I literally had to crawl on my hands and knees over one particularly icy patch. All this just to get breakfast.
After breakfast we slid down our half mile long driveway, narrowly missing trees, and headed into Pittsfeild to have a questionable day of street fundraising.
There were like five people out and about today and there were four of us standing on the street trying to collect money. You can do the math.
Once again, I had encounters with outpatients from the mental health clinic across the street from where I was attempting to fundraise. We were all just standing out there chatting it up. Me because, well, I had no other place to go and couldn’t get away, and they, well, who knows why the chose to yammer on and on at me?
I am so sick of fundraising.
Five days left to go until this is all over (theoretically), I hope we make it!

bom dia

bom dia
is it???
freezing cold today
woke up
did my yoga
tried to take a shower
the pipes were frozen
i took an ice cold shower
in a bathroom with no heat
just to go outside into the 15 degree air
i am ready for fundraising to be over
i am ready to go home for christmas
A.S.A.P.!

no money blues!

It's freezing cold. We're in a cafe in Pittsfeild MA. Fundraising is not going well today. We spent the entire day going business to business and door to door and we haven't even made one hundred dollars. It is so difficult fundraising during the holiday season; almost everyone says they don't have the money to contribute, as if we are asking for hundreds of dollars. If everyone just gave a dollar or a quarter, how much better things would be.
Even pennies are magical.

Ribit!

Today was a much better fundraising day. We hit Northampton again and I must admit I like the town. The people are super friendly and approachable. And wonder of all wonders, my can was full of MONEY!!!!!
I did encounter some crazies though (of course). On the up side, they kept me company on the freezing street corner so it wasn't too bad.
One guy swore he knew me from a bar in Williamstown circa 1979. I kept telling him that I was born in 1979 but it did no good. The man was convinced he knew me from "back in the day"????
Another man kept calling me Kermit, as in the frog???? What could I do, Kermit it was, Kermit I am.
Rrrriiiiibbbbbiiiiittttt!

loca loca

LOCA LOCA

YESTERDAY WAS ONE OF THOSE DAYS THAT WAS TOO CRAZY TO EVEN SEEM REAL. BUT IT WAS. AND I AM SO TIRED. BUT I WILL TELL THE STORY.

SO YESTERDAY WAS OUR FIRST OFFICIAL DAY OF FUNDRAISING. IT BEGAN SIMPLY ENOUGH. MAKIKO, ALEXANDRE, ANSELMO, TAMIKA AND I HAD A PLAN. THE PLAN WAS SIMPLE. WE WERE TO GO TO WILLIAMSTOWN FOR A FEW HOURS TO FUNDRAISE DOOR-TO-DOOR AND BUSINESS TO BUSINESS. WE HAD A PERMIT, BUT WE HAD TO STOP IN AND VERIFY OUR PERMIT WITH THE POLICE DEPARTMENT. WE WERE TOLD THAT WE COULDN'T INDEED FUNDRAISE IN WILLIAMSTOWN AND THAT WE NEEDED TO COME BACK ON MONDAY TO SPEAK WITH THE SECRETARY WHO WOULD FINGERPRINT US, TAKE OUR PICTURES AND DO A FULL CRIMINAL HISTORY BACKGROUND CHECK SO THAT WE COULD FUNDRAISE. CRESTFALLEN WE HAD TO COME UP WITH ANOTHER PLAN.

WE DECIDED TO DRIVE AND HOUR AND A HALF INTO MASS TOWARDS NORTHAMPTON WHERE WE FUNDRAISED BRIEFLY THE DAY BEFORE ON WORLD AIDS DAY. SO WE ARE DRIVING AND WE DON’T HAVE A COPY OF THE DIRECTIONS BECAUSE WE WEREN’T PLANNING TO GO THERE AND WE THOUGHT WE REMEMBERED THE WAY BUT TWO HOURS LATER WE WERE IN CONNECTICUT. WE TRY AGAIN, IT IS ANNOUNCED ON THE RADIO THAT THERE IS A SNOW ADVISORY IN EFFECT. WE BECOME NERVOUS.

WE CONTINUE TO DRIVE, I AM HUNGRY, I HAVE TO GO TO THE BATHROOM, THE GAS IS LOW. THERE ARE NO GAS STATIONS. WE ARE DRIVING THROUGH SMALL TOWN AFTER EVEN SMALLER TOWN ON A SUNDAY AND ALL OF THE RINKY DINK GAS STATIONS ARE CLOSED. THE GAS LIGHT BEGINS TO BLINK AND MAKE AN OMINOUS NOISE. WE ARE ALL PANICKING. I REALLY HAVE TO GO TO THE BATHROOM AND JUST AS THE CAR BEGINS TO PUTTER, WE SEE A CITGO AND WE ARE SAVED FOR THE MOMENT.

WE GET GAS, WE PEE, WE GRAB SNACKS AND WE ARE ON OUR WAY. WE MAKE IT INTO NORTHAMPTON IN TIME TO FUNDRAISE FOR TWENTY MINUTES BECAUSE IT’S A SUNDAY AND EVERYTHING CLOSES EARLY. AFTER FUNDRAISING FOR TWENTY MINUTES AND MAKING TWO DOLLARS WE DECIDED TO TRY TO FUNDRAISE SOME FOOD BEFORE HEADING BACK HOME. WE GO FROM SHOP TO SHOP AND WE ARE DENIED FREE FOOD. WE GET TO A CHINESE RESTAURANT. I SAY THE SPIEL, THE MAN LISTENS INTENTLY. I THINK I’VE MADE A CONNECTION, WE ARE ALL ANTICIPATING THE BIG YES, WHEN SUDDENLY THE MAN BEGINS TO SCREAM. “WHAT WHAT WHAT YOU WANT???” TAMIKA COMES UP TO HELP ME FOR BACK UP. WE TRY TO EXPLAIN THAT WE ARE WITH A NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION AND THAT WE WANT FREE DINER BECAUSE WE DON’T HAVE A FOOD BUDGET AND THAT WE WILL GIVE THEM A TAX-DEDUCTIBLE RECEIPT IN EXCHANGE FOR A MEAL. THE MAN GRUNTS AND HANDS US A TEN DOLLAR GIFT RECEIPT. WE ARE CONFUSED, THERE ARE FIVE OF US, BUT WE THANK HIM AND STEP OUTSIDE TO VIEW THE MENU TO SEE WHAT TEN DOLLARS WOULD GET FIVE PEOPLE…
EGGROLLS.
WE COULD GET FIVE EGGROLLS. WE GO BACK IN AND ORDER FIVE EGGROLLS, TWO VEGETARIAN AND THREE REGULAR. A LADY FILLS OUR ORDER AND WE WAIT FOR OUR FOOD. THEN THE MANAGER RETURNS. “CAN I HELP YOU??” “OH WE JUST CAME TO USE OUR GIFT RECEIPT” I TRY TO EXPLAIN. THE MAN BEGINS TO SCREAM ONCE AGAIN AND IS CAUSING A SCENE. CUSTOMERS BEGIN TO LOOK AT US. “WHAT I THOUGHT YOU WERE A NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION, YOU ARE USING THE CARD, I THOUGHT IT WAS FOR YOUR ORGANIZATION,” EVERYONE IN THE RESTAURANT IS LOOKING AT US LIKE WE’RE CROOKS. TAMIKA TRIES TO EXPLAIN AND THE MAN BECOMES EVEN MORE IRATE. “WE CAME IN TO ASK FOR A FOOD DONATION FOR US, SO WE COULD EAT DINNER” I KEPT REPEATING. FINALLY HE GOT IT. CALMED DOWN. AND TOLD US OUR ORDER WOULD BE OUT IN A MOMENT. EVERYONE IN THE SMALL RESTAURANT CONTINUED TO STARE AT US. WE GET OUR EGGROLLS AND BOUNCE!

WE ARE DRIVING AND IT BEGINS TO SNOW. THE ROAD IS SLICK. WE ARE SLIDING. I’M DRIVING A RENTAL CAR. I CAN’T FIGURE OUT HOW TO HEAT THE WINDSHIELD. ICE IS FORMING ON THE WINDSHIELD. I CAN’T SEE PROPERLY. WE ARE SLIPPING. THE WINTER STORM ADVISORY IS ON EVERY STATION. I FINALLY FIGURE OUT HOW TO USE THE BRIGHTS AND TAMIKA FIGURES OUT HOW TO DEFROST THE WINDSHIELD. WE ARE DRIVING. GOOD MUSIC IS PLAYING. WE ARE SINGING AND LAUGHING AND JOKING.

I NARROWLY MISS HITTING A SMALL UNIDENTIFIABLE ANIMAL. BUT ALL IS WELL. AS WE GET CLOSER TO OUR MOUNTAIN, WE DECIDE THAT WE WILL DRIVE THE CAR 1/2 MILE UP THE HILL (AS WE HAVE BEEN ADVISED NOT TO DO IN THE SNOW) BECAUSE WE ALL WANTED TO GRAB OUR LAPTOPS AND GO INTO TOWN TO CHECK THE INTERNET. IT TAKES 20 MINUTES TO WALK UP AND DOWN THE MOUNTAIN. THE CAR WAS HANDLING WELL. IT SOUNDED LIKE A GOOD IDEA. I BEGIN TO DRIVE UP THE SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN. ALL IS WELL. SUDDENLY AS SOON AS I ANNOUNCE THAT DRIVING UP THE MOUNTAIN IS EASY THE CAR SPINS OUT.
PANIC!!!!!!
THE CAR, THE RENTAL CAR WITH THE FIVE OF US IN IT IS SLIDING BACKWARDS DOWN A VERY STEEP AND WINDY MOUNTAIN SIDE. IT SPUN OUT AND STOPPED. WE WERE ALL SILENT. I TRIED TO DRIVE BACK UP BUT I WAS STUCK.
EVERYONE JUMPS OUT EXCEPT ME. MIND YOU OUR TWO MEN WERE FROM BRAZIL AND MOZAMBIQUE AND HAD NO EXPERIENCE DRIVING IN THE SNOW, YET THEY WERE MEN, AND MEN ALWAYS THINK THEY KNOW WHAT TO DO IN THESE SITUATIONS. SO THUS BEGAN THE TWO-HOUR TANGO THAT BECAME OUR STRUGGLE UP AND DOWN THE MOUNTAIN.

OUR FIRST TACTIC WAS TO GET THE CAR UP. I TRIED NEUTRAL, I TRIED ONE AND TWO. NOTHING! PEOPLE WERE SCREAMING IN PORTUGUESE AND ENGLISH AND I WAS BEHIND THE WHEEL PANICKING. I WAS TOLD TO TURN MY WHEELS TO THE RIGHT AND TO THE LEFT BUT THE BACK WHEELS WEREN’T WORKING AT ALL.

NEW TACTIC.
DOWN THE HILL. TAMIKA BEGAN TO CONTROL THE SITUATION. THE MEN WERE MAKING NO SENSE. I PUT THE CAR IN REVERSE AS DIRECTED AND BEGAN TO BACK THE CAR SLOWLY. ANSELMO AND ALEXANDRE GUIDED THE BACK OF THE CAR. PROGRESS WAS GAINED AND THEN LOST. THE WHEELS SPUN AND SCREECHED. THEN, ANSELMO, HAD THE BRIGHT IDEA TO GATHER TALL WEEDS FROM THE FOREST TO PUT UNDER ALL FOUR WHEELS TO PROVIDE TRACTION. EVERYONE LEAVES ME AND RUNS INTO THE WOODS TO GATHER WEEDS.

THE TIRES HAVE BEEN SURROUNDED BY WEEDS AND STILL THEY DON’T WORK. SUDDENLY I HEAR TAMIKA SAY. WE CAN’T HAVE HER DRIVE ANYMORE BECAUSE THE CAR WILL SLIDE DOWN THE MOUNTAIN. WHAT I SAY?? ARE YOU ALL TRYING TO KILL ME? I’M IN THE CAR, YOU’RE GOING TO HAVE ME SLIDE DOWN THE SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN.
NO DON’T WORRY THEY ALL SAY. WE’LL SUPPORT THE CAR, JUST CUT THE WHEELS THIS WAY AND BACK UP SLOWLY AND WE’LL DIRECT THE CAR. I REFUSE.
I’M THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN DRIVE THOUGH SO EVENTUALLY I HAD NO CHOICE BUT TO COMPLY WITH THEIR PLAN.
WE TANGO, UP AND DOWN, BACK AND FORTH AND FINALLY. I AM ABLE TO GET UNSTUCK AND TOGETHER, I AM DRIVING AS EVERYONE IS PUSHING THE CAR. WE MAKE IT DOWN THE HILL AND PARK THE HEINOUS VEHICLE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE ROAD OFF OF ROUTE 43.

NOW WE HAVE THE FUN TASK OF CLIMBING BACK UP THE SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN. IN THE SNOW AND ICE. WE ARE ALL COMPLETELY EXHAUSTED.

WE MAKE IT THOUGH AND HEAD TO THE CAFETERIA FOR DINNER. DINNER AT EIGHT! WE TAKE OUT THE EGGROLLS THAT WE WERE ABLE TO FUNDRAISE AND IT TURNS OUT THERE WERE NO VEGETARIAN ROLLS AT ALL. I FOUND THIS OUT AS I BIT INTO MINE. THE FIRST FEW BITES WERE FINE. THEN SUDDENLY I HIT PORK. PINK NASTY PORK, A VEGETARIANS NIGHTMARE. SO THE WORST PART COMES NEXT. WE HAVE A WOMAN ON THE MOUNTAIN WHOM I WILL REFER TO AS C SHE’S OUR RESIDENT CRAZY AND SHE’S ALSO A STRICT VEGETARIAN. SHE WANDERS OVER TO OUR TABLE. “OH YOU HAVE FOOD”. YES BUT THERE IS MEAT IN IT I SAY. SHE DOESN’T HEAR OR UNDERSTAND ME AND TAKES ONE. “NO C, THERE IS MEAT IN THE EGGROLL, DON’T …” I’TS TOO LATE SHE HAS TAKEN A BITE AND TO MY HORROR SHE CLOSES HER EYES, SWAYS FROM RIGHT TO LEFT AND SAYS MMMMMM…
IT’S TOO MUCH; I CAN’T CONTAIN MYSELF AND BEGIN TO SQUEAL AND SHRIEK WITH LAUGHTER. MAKIKO AND TAMIKA ARE KICKING ME FROM UNDER THE TABLE. IT’S NO USE. I AM OUT OF CONTROL.
“WHAT IS IT? WHAT’S THE MATTER?? IT’S THE MOON YOU ARE CRAZY BECAUSE OF THE MOON,” SHE SAYS BEFORE GRABBING ANOTHER EGGROLL.

I REMOVED MYSELF FROM THE ROOM QUICKLY BEFORE I WET MY PANTS AND STUMBLED HOME IN THE SNOW, COLD, WET, HUNGRY AND EXTREMELY AMUSED.

fundraising IV.

Happy be-lated World AIDS Day!
on December 1st, we took to the streets of Northampton, Massachusetts and sold red ribbons. It was pretty successful actually. It was also extremely cold.

Yesterday and today, we haven't had as much luck. We are in the middle of a blizzard in Western Massachusetts. We are driving through ice and snow and slush. Last night, our vehicle got stuck going up the mountain.
This is however, our last fundraising trip and it will be successful, we will make goal!