So here I am in beautiful Monapo in the Nampula province of Mozambique. Man, I’m loving it here! It’s ripe with potential, the people are so welcoming, and the sunsets are to die for. I’ve already made a few friends here, so they’re helping me out in the market so I don’t get the “stupid melungue (white person) price” – that’s a technical term. It’s kind of hard times here right now though. Water is hard to come by, and the only food in the market is fish, onions, and bread. Although I salivate at the thought of the bomb sandwich I can make and how excellent my breath would smell after- I’ve been having fat kid dreams of lasagna, pizza, and nachos …. mmmmm! It’s really fine though. They have the most incredible mangos here that I excessively over eat – which isn’t good because I seem to have an allergic reaction every time where my lips swell up like Angelina Jolie’s. I can’t stop though, it’s an addiction, and besides, that look is so in right now.
It is nice to be in a place where the clock doesn’t rule people’s lives … which is how I like to live my life. Organization is usually out of the question too. The other day, I had to go to the closest city 2 hours away to get a fan, because it is so incredibly hot, and sleep was hard to come by when I was trying to do so in a pool of my own sweat. So on the way back, we caught a Chapa – the popular mode of transportation I talked about before. So picture this: It’s a hundred degrees, the chapa is well over capacity like always, I have one standing fan and one regular fan on my lap, I’m drenched in sweat, I smell, my lips are swollen and I started developing a rash on my face and arms from the mangos, and I’m smooshed in between one dude on my left who has 4 squawking chickens that I would by accidentally hit with my fan, and a dude to my right who was proposing marriage to me and trying to impress me with his elementary broken engligh- “I like too much to speak English!”. Despite the fact that my left butt cheek was asleep and deodorant isn’t a popular product here for people (even on the hottest days), I had a moment of loving my life. Where else would that happen?! It’s great.
The kids here are my favorite, though. There is one that sits outside of my house on the cashew tree at the same time of day, everyday, and calls my name until I go out and talk to him. As soon as I go out and start talking to him- kids start to seep out from every nook, cranny, crack, and crevice of town until I’m completely surrounded. Recently, they have been trying to teach me the local language of Nampula - Emakhuwa. It’s really difficult because the sounds that I have to make are so foreign and it just seems impossible. I do know about three phrases now though:
Miyo Kookhala – I am fine.
Nsina nanyu tani? – What is your name?
Mpakha nihiku nikina- See you later
I hope to learn more because it’s important for integration into the community. A lot of people don’t speak Portuguese yet because they don’t learn it until they go to school, and there are a lot who don’t ever go. But I would like to master Portuguese first though. I think I’ll be a better assistance to the community if I can speak more fluently. There is a girls group that I’ve been thinking about starting in my town. It would definitely be more beneficial if I can communicate well with the girls. I also have been getting really interested in AIDS awareness. Where I was living before, 25% of the population was living HIV positive, and that’s where my interest started. When I would go to church with my family, it would hit me that one out of every four people around me was HIV positive. Unbelievable. Where I’m living now, it’s about a 10% rate, which is lower, but still 10% too high. It doesn’t help that this is a polygamist culture here as well. The majority of men have more than one wife and one family, as well as‘pitas’ on the side- and condoms aren’t usually their first thought. That has been a really difficult concept to wrap my hands around and accept. Although it’s their culture and we are not here to change them, it’s a hard line to walk knowing that this aspect of their culture is causative to the spread of AIDS.
It’s a constant learning and accepting process here. Even thus far, this has been the greatest learning experience for me. I’m constantly challenged, and I’m finding more and more about myself and the world. It’s incredible, because I haven’t even started my work yet … so I can already tell there is a lot in store. I’m so grateful for this opportunity and even though times get hard – I admit, harder than I ever expected – I realize that this is a once in a lifetime opportunity, the reasons I am here aren’t all for me, and I’m lucky to be doing this and working with such great people.
Christmas is coming up soon. All the Peace Corps volunteers in the northern regions are going to Angoche to spend Christmas together on the beach. It’s not your traditional white Christmas, but I’ll settle for a white sand Christmas. We’ll probably ring in the New Year on an island just off the coast. I’ll be thinking of you all- like I always do. I hope you have happy and safe holidays and you enjoy the company of friends and family. All my love in the world XOXO Nia
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
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