This was by far the best week I’ve had since I’ve gotten here! It probably has to do with getting my 2 care packages from my mom but it’s been a good week all around. Had more language classes and talked about Halloween and Christmas in Portuguese for an hour during tutoring. Trying to get prepared for our LPI test this next week.
We learned about perma gardening this week (just a different type of permanent garden that is easy to do here in MOZ). On Friday and Saturday we built our own garden and compost pile. We planted a lot of different veggies: sweet potatoes, corn, tomatoes, beans, lettuce, couve (Cabbage), pumpkins and mandioca. It was really fun and I’m hoping once I get to site to have a little garden to plant the broccoli & pumpkin seeds I brought from home.
Nothing new happened this week…it was mostly language classes and learning how to garden. We did have our Halloween party yesterday. I dressed up like an m&m with another volunteer, Anna. I even brought some of the m&m’s my mom sent to the party with me—and everyone loved them! (Thanks mom!) This week was also one of my host sister’s birthday. My host family had a birthday party for her yesterday. They made 2 cakes, lots of cookies and a whole lot of other food for the party!
Went running this week in the morning before classes with 2 of my friends, Jamie & Marin, in the English group and it’s been really beautiful out. Not many people are out walking around at 5:30am and it’s been foggy lately so the view is amazing of the mountains. We even ran to the bakery this week and bought some sweets—they were so good! We bought a piece of bread with a glaze on it (kind of like a doughnut) and a roll with a streusel like topping and shared them. It was really good and didn’t cost much at all. This week we’re going to have a “Starbucks” date and buy pastries at the bakery Tuesday morning and Wednesday (aka HALLOWEEN!) we’re going to the hotel to eat them with coffee/pop after HUB day.
On Wednesday we find out where we’re going for site visits next weekend. It’s going to be so fun. I heard that while we’re at site visits we are going to have another Halloween party! We have started planning our Thanksgiving dinner—we are making lots of good things: pumpkin pie, apple crisp, mashed potatoes, stuffing, turkey, green bean casserole, sweet potato casserole and chocolate chip cookies! I’m helping bake some of the desserts and get the fruit ready. I’m so glad we can all celebrate Thanksgiving together and have some good American food J The only thing that is missing will be pumpkin pudding and black Friday shopping.
I can’t believe it’s already been one month and we’re halfway through PST (Pre service training). I have been getting better at Portuguese and my host family has been helping me a lot.
I was literally the happiest I have ever been when I opened my care packages this last week! I saw their was a jar of peanut butter and a nutty bar and started jumping up and down and screaming. I’m sure my neighbors were wondering what I was doing but I was so excited I couldn’t help it! It was like Christmas morning seeing all the American candy, Peanut butter, chocolate, hand sanitizers, a pillow, Halloween jewelry and bingo and much more! Thank you to the most amazing mom in the world for being so thoughtful and caring to send me the packages! I’m trying to ration the candy and nutty bars so they last me at least a few weeks…but sometimes it’s just too hard not to eat them.
Quote of the week:
“Just lift up your face, feel the wind in your hair. That’s me, my sweet baby, my love is right there.” ~From a children’s book: Wherever You Are my love will find you
Updates:
-Site visits start on Saturday and we stay there until the following Thursday! (so no blog post next Sunday)
-I’m halfway done with training!
-Will not take toilet paper for granted ever again.
-I really hope it stops raining long enough for me to do laundry and for it to actually dry…I’m running out of towels.
-Time here is very different than time in America...if something is going to start at noon in the US it would...here noon means three or four...I really need to try and get used to it but everytime I think it will change, haha
-Happy early birthday Mom!! :)
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Monday, October 22, 2012
Chicken Killing, Lots of Eating and “Ngoma” Time
Yes you read that right…this was the week where I “killed” a chicken. I don’t think I can say I did it 100% though…and here’s why. On Tuesday during language class we got together with all of our “maes” (host moms) to learn how to cook Mozambican food and teach them some American food. We decided to make pasta and garlic bread (which was really good) and our host moms made couve, coconut chicken, rice and xima. We had a LOT for lunch that day
Cooking chicken for dinner is nothing like how you would cook it in the states. Back home I would go to the grocery store and buy a package of already cut chicken (and be grossed out when I had to touch it to put it on the grill). Here you go and buy a live chicken from the market, bring it home, kill it, take all of it’s feathers off, wash it and cut it up into smaller pieces to cook/eat (that includes the chicken feet and head…). No one else in my group really wanted to kill the chicken so I volunteered. Cutting off the chicken’s head is a little harder than you would think-well or it could have been that I had a very dull knife, which made it harder. I don’t want to gross anyone out too much but you have to step on the chicken’s feet and wings and hold it’s head all while you’re trying to cut it off. I couldn’t do this by myself because I got too grossed out when the head kept moving so I had to have my host mom hold the head for me. Let’s just say after halfway doing the job my “mae” took over and finished for me. It was not a pretty sight. And it actually is really hard to eat the chicken a few hours later knowing you killed it. But of course I still did and it tasted pretty good. However, if that is the only way to make chicken while I’m here I definitely will not be eating much of it. I don’t think I could kill it and pluck it’s feathers every time I wanted to have some chicken. I’ll settle for a peanut butter sandwich.
Okay now for less gross information. This week during our HUB day (where all the volunteers are together for our medical sessions, teaching info, etc) we had “Ngoma” time which means drum time. It’s an hour where we get to share cultural experiences from America as well as see some from Mozambique. Our language teachers performed a song/dance, we had cultural dancers, and some volunteers performed funny skits in Portuguese. It was a really fun way to get to know some of the cultural dances and songs as well as for us to share some fun talents we might have.
This week I actually got up early and ran with two other volunteers and it was beautiful! We ran on the main road and the view was foggy but of beautiful mountains. I promise to take pictures and get them up here soon. I actually don’t even need to set an alarm anymore because the roosters get me up at 3am and since I go to bed so early my body automatically wakes me up at 5am. It is nice thought because not many people are out so only a few people stare at you for running (which is a weird American workout/habit that no one over here does).
One of the current volunteers who visited this week showed us the German bakery they have here in Namaacha that sells cake and cinnamon rolls! Last week one of our icebreaker activities was a “cinnamon roll” hug and every since that I have been thinking about Summer Kitchen’s/Farmhouse’s cinnamon rolls! YUM. We tried to go on Thursday but it was closed—I’m going to try and go again and hopefully they will have cinnamon rolls still there.
We had a whole day off on Saturday (Which was so nice!). I was able to get my laundry done, chores and go to Shoprite (a bigger market) with some friends. It was a really good day! I even splurged and bought cookies and a chocolate bar at the gas station…it was so good! I feel bad admitting this but I actually paid 5 meticais today to use the bathroom at the gas station…here’s why. I went out to use the latrine today after lunch and a swarm of flies came out of it so I stood with the curtain open and tried to shoo them out. After I thought all of them were out I tried to go to the restroom just to have another swarm come up while I was going to the bathroom. I looked like a crazy person trying to hold the curtain open and shoo them out. Finally I had enough and decided I would just pay to use the bathroom at the gas station. It was heavenly (no flies, a flushing toilet and running water with SOAP!)
We also went to a birthday party on Sunday for 5 kids (it was more like a whole day event!). It looked like a wedding reception when I first got there. People were dressed in their nicest outfits, there was a TON of food and 5 cakes and at least 100-200 people. It was crazy but really fun because there were some other volunteers there with their families too. My host sister, Deolinda, and I bonded on the way home screaming and running from all the bugs and frogs while eating some bolaches (cookies) from the market. Then she helped me pour ashes and bug spray down the latrine hoping to get rid of all the flies. Thank goodness for her or else I’d be lost! Enjoying the end of the weekend eating some Cadbury chocolate and watching an episode of Modern Family (thanks to my brother and sister-in-law for putting all these shows on my hard drive)! It’s a great day! :)
Updates:
-I’m pretty sure mice are living in my room because every night when I turn the lights off I hear squeaking.
-If any more flies come up out of my pit latrine I’m going to go crazy! (It freaks me out and I look like a fool holding the curtain open and trying to shoo them out of the latrine)
-Found my first cockroach in my room this weekend…thankfully it had somehow gotten on it’s back so it wasn’t moving and was easy to kill.
-In our PC cookbook I just found recipes for monkey bread, french toast, peanut butter cookies and apple cider! I REALLY want to make them but don’t know how to try and ask my host family that in Portuguese.
-I’m getting a little better at Portuguese and can finally get my point across (about certain things) like not taking a bath when it’s cold and dark outside
-This week there were 3 days where I only had to take ONE bath the whole day! Okay I know this might sound odd to you but when it’s dark/rainy and cold at night it’s not all that fun taking a bath so when I told my host family I didn’t want to they laughed at me (probably because I said I didn’t want to take a bath because it was dark) haha but they didn’t make me so it was worth it J
-It’s almost Halloween! The volunteers are all having a party and it’s the same day as my sister’s birthday party so next Saturday is going to be a crazy day!
-In 2 weeks we get to go on site visits and then the week after that we should get our own site placements!
-Made cookies with my host family (which were more like little pieces of fried bread—but they were good). Unfortunately since I said I like the cookies and the cake from last week they have been giving that to me for breakfast and snack everyday. Don’t get me wrong it’s good but not too healthy, haha but I add a little peanut butter to it so I’m getting my protein in :)
Cooking chicken for dinner is nothing like how you would cook it in the states. Back home I would go to the grocery store and buy a package of already cut chicken (and be grossed out when I had to touch it to put it on the grill). Here you go and buy a live chicken from the market, bring it home, kill it, take all of it’s feathers off, wash it and cut it up into smaller pieces to cook/eat (that includes the chicken feet and head…). No one else in my group really wanted to kill the chicken so I volunteered. Cutting off the chicken’s head is a little harder than you would think-well or it could have been that I had a very dull knife, which made it harder. I don’t want to gross anyone out too much but you have to step on the chicken’s feet and wings and hold it’s head all while you’re trying to cut it off. I couldn’t do this by myself because I got too grossed out when the head kept moving so I had to have my host mom hold the head for me. Let’s just say after halfway doing the job my “mae” took over and finished for me. It was not a pretty sight. And it actually is really hard to eat the chicken a few hours later knowing you killed it. But of course I still did and it tasted pretty good. However, if that is the only way to make chicken while I’m here I definitely will not be eating much of it. I don’t think I could kill it and pluck it’s feathers every time I wanted to have some chicken. I’ll settle for a peanut butter sandwich.
Okay now for less gross information. This week during our HUB day (where all the volunteers are together for our medical sessions, teaching info, etc) we had “Ngoma” time which means drum time. It’s an hour where we get to share cultural experiences from America as well as see some from Mozambique. Our language teachers performed a song/dance, we had cultural dancers, and some volunteers performed funny skits in Portuguese. It was a really fun way to get to know some of the cultural dances and songs as well as for us to share some fun talents we might have.
This week I actually got up early and ran with two other volunteers and it was beautiful! We ran on the main road and the view was foggy but of beautiful mountains. I promise to take pictures and get them up here soon. I actually don’t even need to set an alarm anymore because the roosters get me up at 3am and since I go to bed so early my body automatically wakes me up at 5am. It is nice thought because not many people are out so only a few people stare at you for running (which is a weird American workout/habit that no one over here does).
One of the current volunteers who visited this week showed us the German bakery they have here in Namaacha that sells cake and cinnamon rolls! Last week one of our icebreaker activities was a “cinnamon roll” hug and every since that I have been thinking about Summer Kitchen’s/Farmhouse’s cinnamon rolls! YUM. We tried to go on Thursday but it was closed—I’m going to try and go again and hopefully they will have cinnamon rolls still there.
We had a whole day off on Saturday (Which was so nice!). I was able to get my laundry done, chores and go to Shoprite (a bigger market) with some friends. It was a really good day! I even splurged and bought cookies and a chocolate bar at the gas station…it was so good! I feel bad admitting this but I actually paid 5 meticais today to use the bathroom at the gas station…here’s why. I went out to use the latrine today after lunch and a swarm of flies came out of it so I stood with the curtain open and tried to shoo them out. After I thought all of them were out I tried to go to the restroom just to have another swarm come up while I was going to the bathroom. I looked like a crazy person trying to hold the curtain open and shoo them out. Finally I had enough and decided I would just pay to use the bathroom at the gas station. It was heavenly (no flies, a flushing toilet and running water with SOAP!)
We also went to a birthday party on Sunday for 5 kids (it was more like a whole day event!). It looked like a wedding reception when I first got there. People were dressed in their nicest outfits, there was a TON of food and 5 cakes and at least 100-200 people. It was crazy but really fun because there were some other volunteers there with their families too. My host sister, Deolinda, and I bonded on the way home screaming and running from all the bugs and frogs while eating some bolaches (cookies) from the market. Then she helped me pour ashes and bug spray down the latrine hoping to get rid of all the flies. Thank goodness for her or else I’d be lost! Enjoying the end of the weekend eating some Cadbury chocolate and watching an episode of Modern Family (thanks to my brother and sister-in-law for putting all these shows on my hard drive)! It’s a great day! :)
Updates:
-I’m pretty sure mice are living in my room because every night when I turn the lights off I hear squeaking.
-If any more flies come up out of my pit latrine I’m going to go crazy! (It freaks me out and I look like a fool holding the curtain open and trying to shoo them out of the latrine)
-Found my first cockroach in my room this weekend…thankfully it had somehow gotten on it’s back so it wasn’t moving and was easy to kill.
-In our PC cookbook I just found recipes for monkey bread, french toast, peanut butter cookies and apple cider! I REALLY want to make them but don’t know how to try and ask my host family that in Portuguese.
-I’m getting a little better at Portuguese and can finally get my point across (about certain things) like not taking a bath when it’s cold and dark outside
-This week there were 3 days where I only had to take ONE bath the whole day! Okay I know this might sound odd to you but when it’s dark/rainy and cold at night it’s not all that fun taking a bath so when I told my host family I didn’t want to they laughed at me (probably because I said I didn’t want to take a bath because it was dark) haha but they didn’t make me so it was worth it J
-It’s almost Halloween! The volunteers are all having a party and it’s the same day as my sister’s birthday party so next Saturday is going to be a crazy day!
-In 2 weeks we get to go on site visits and then the week after that we should get our own site placements!
-Made cookies with my host family (which were more like little pieces of fried bread—but they were good). Unfortunately since I said I like the cookies and the cake from last week they have been giving that to me for breakfast and snack everyday. Don’t get me wrong it’s good but not too healthy, haha but I add a little peanut butter to it so I’m getting my protein in :)
Sunday, October 14, 2012
Chapa Rides, Black Cat & a new fam!
Week 2:
This week was pretty crazy and went really fast. I actually moved to a different host family on Tuesday since the mom in my first one wasn’t coming back for a few weeks and I wasn’t learning as much as I needed to about cooking, chores, language, etc. My new family is awesome though! There is a mom, dad, two teenage sisters (19 and 14) and a 10 year old brother. The first night I got to my new house my family gave me a capulana (a piece of fabric they use to wrap around their waist like a skirt) and had me helping make dinner right when I walked in the door. It has been nice to learn how to make some Mozambican foods but I’m not sure if I’ll be able to cook some of these things once I get to site. I don’t have the patience to make some of the food here.
My 14-year-old sister, Deolinda, has been helping me out with a lot! She helped me with my homework all week and taught me a lot of new Portuguese words. My new house doesn’t have the nice indoor toilet like the first one but I’m actually getting used to the pit latrine. It’s not too bad! However, it was raining quite a bit this week and taking showers in the cold/rainy/muddy weather isn’t too fun.
The food this week has been amazing! We had fried chicken and xima one day (which looks like mashed potatoes but doesn’t taste like anything from America). On Friday after training we actually made a bolo (CAKE!) and it was sooo good! First time I’ve really had dessert since I’ve been here and it was really good. I am amazed at how they can make such a yummy cake without a recipe or measuring anything. We literally just poured flour, sugar, eggs and butter and mixed it all up…it tasted great though!
The other night at dinner my sister told me she had a surprise for me and to close my eyes….when I opened them she had peanut butter (it`s called Black Cat here) on the table and said it was for me! I was sooo excited! I had some the next morning for breakfast on pao (bread) and it was heavenly!
This week in language classes we had to practice riding on “chapas” (like a mini-bus) using our Portuguese skills. Our teacher gave us all different stops and we had to make it to our stop and then take another chapa back to the shop-rite (the big market) where we could all meet up. Turned out I didn’t know where my stop was so I had to take another chapa for practice. That one was just a pickup truck where people piled into the back until it was full and then it would drive to wherever you needed to go. I thought I had already told the driver I wanted to go to the market but when we flew by it going fast I realized they weren’t going to stop. In my poor Portuguese skills I then had to ask someone to tell them to stop the car so I could get off. I probably need to work more on my chapa riding skills so next time I can actually get dropped off at my stop.
Yesterday we went to Maputo for the day with our language groups and it was pretty fun. The chapa ride was only an hour so it wasn’t too bad…boy can they really squeeze a lot of people into very small cars. It was a tight squeeze but we fit 4 people to a seat (which is the norm here). We were able to have pizza and ice cream so that was a nice surprise! :) We saw some of the tourist spots and were able to just hangout and have fun outside of Namaacha so it was a fun day. Washed my clothes again today and then it started raining while we were hanging them up to dry...thankfully it stopped raining just as quickly as it started. Tonight we are making matapa for dinner (which is a long process...but it tastes yummy!).
This Tuesday in our language groups we are making American food with our host mothers and they are teaching us some Mozambican food recipes—so that will be a fun class! I want to share a quote with you that one of my friends from home gave me in a letter this week:
“We gain strength, and courage and confidence in each experience in which we really stop and look fear in the face…we must do that which we think cannot.” ~Eleanor Roosevelt
Updates:
-Outdoor latrines really aren’t bad…I’ve gotten used to mine (well except when I’m sick and have to go out there all night long…that can get a little freaky in the dark but it’s really not bad!)
-Haven´t seen too many weird or unusual bugs yet (which has been nice!)
-The rainy season has officially started…it rained nonstop for 2 days this week but thankfully I haven’t wiped out on the muddy hills yet :)
-I just realized I’m going to miss Black Friday shopping with my family this year and I’m bummed.
-Pepto bismol is my new friend
-17 days until Halloween!!
Better go study for our first test tomorrow! Have a great week!!
This week was pretty crazy and went really fast. I actually moved to a different host family on Tuesday since the mom in my first one wasn’t coming back for a few weeks and I wasn’t learning as much as I needed to about cooking, chores, language, etc. My new family is awesome though! There is a mom, dad, two teenage sisters (19 and 14) and a 10 year old brother. The first night I got to my new house my family gave me a capulana (a piece of fabric they use to wrap around their waist like a skirt) and had me helping make dinner right when I walked in the door. It has been nice to learn how to make some Mozambican foods but I’m not sure if I’ll be able to cook some of these things once I get to site. I don’t have the patience to make some of the food here.
My 14-year-old sister, Deolinda, has been helping me out with a lot! She helped me with my homework all week and taught me a lot of new Portuguese words. My new house doesn’t have the nice indoor toilet like the first one but I’m actually getting used to the pit latrine. It’s not too bad! However, it was raining quite a bit this week and taking showers in the cold/rainy/muddy weather isn’t too fun.
The food this week has been amazing! We had fried chicken and xima one day (which looks like mashed potatoes but doesn’t taste like anything from America). On Friday after training we actually made a bolo (CAKE!) and it was sooo good! First time I’ve really had dessert since I’ve been here and it was really good. I am amazed at how they can make such a yummy cake without a recipe or measuring anything. We literally just poured flour, sugar, eggs and butter and mixed it all up…it tasted great though!
The other night at dinner my sister told me she had a surprise for me and to close my eyes….when I opened them she had peanut butter (it`s called Black Cat here) on the table and said it was for me! I was sooo excited! I had some the next morning for breakfast on pao (bread) and it was heavenly!
This week in language classes we had to practice riding on “chapas” (like a mini-bus) using our Portuguese skills. Our teacher gave us all different stops and we had to make it to our stop and then take another chapa back to the shop-rite (the big market) where we could all meet up. Turned out I didn’t know where my stop was so I had to take another chapa for practice. That one was just a pickup truck where people piled into the back until it was full and then it would drive to wherever you needed to go. I thought I had already told the driver I wanted to go to the market but when we flew by it going fast I realized they weren’t going to stop. In my poor Portuguese skills I then had to ask someone to tell them to stop the car so I could get off. I probably need to work more on my chapa riding skills so next time I can actually get dropped off at my stop.
Yesterday we went to Maputo for the day with our language groups and it was pretty fun. The chapa ride was only an hour so it wasn’t too bad…boy can they really squeeze a lot of people into very small cars. It was a tight squeeze but we fit 4 people to a seat (which is the norm here). We were able to have pizza and ice cream so that was a nice surprise! :) We saw some of the tourist spots and were able to just hangout and have fun outside of Namaacha so it was a fun day. Washed my clothes again today and then it started raining while we were hanging them up to dry...thankfully it stopped raining just as quickly as it started. Tonight we are making matapa for dinner (which is a long process...but it tastes yummy!).
This Tuesday in our language groups we are making American food with our host mothers and they are teaching us some Mozambican food recipes—so that will be a fun class! I want to share a quote with you that one of my friends from home gave me in a letter this week:
“We gain strength, and courage and confidence in each experience in which we really stop and look fear in the face…we must do that which we think cannot.” ~Eleanor Roosevelt
Updates:
-Outdoor latrines really aren’t bad…I’ve gotten used to mine (well except when I’m sick and have to go out there all night long…that can get a little freaky in the dark but it’s really not bad!)
-Haven´t seen too many weird or unusual bugs yet (which has been nice!)
-The rainy season has officially started…it rained nonstop for 2 days this week but thankfully I haven’t wiped out on the muddy hills yet :)
-I just realized I’m going to miss Black Friday shopping with my family this year and I’m bummed.
-Pepto bismol is my new friend
-17 days until Halloween!!
Better go study for our first test tomorrow! Have a great week!!
Sunday, October 7, 2012
Hoya-Hoya
Hoya-Hoya!
Week 1: complete! A week ago we were greeted with this phrase “hoya-hoya” (which means welcome!) and a crowd of Mozambican families singing to us. It was such an amazing feeling to be welcomed into their community with open arms and smiling faces. It has been a whirlwind of a week with language classes and adapting to life in Africa. I can’t believe it’s already Sunday! Let me give you a run down of the week…
So far we’ve had three all day language classes and I think I’m getting better “pouco a pouco” (little by little). There are only 5 people in our language group and our instructor is really nice. We had a little outing to the market on Friday to practice buying things and asking for discounts. That was a fun experience!
My host family is nice and their house is really modern and nicer compared to some other house around here. There are two older sisters (in their 20s) and their 3 kids who are my nephews (10, 5, and 1). The 10 year old and I do homework together and he also helped me practice my flashcards! We have an indoor toilet and bathtub but not always running water. The toilet doesn’t flush unless you pour a bucket of water down it (but I’m not complaining because I could be using a latrine). I actually have gotten used to taking 2 bucket baths a day (Shocker, I know!) but it’s actually not bad. Plus it has already gotten pretty hot here so by the end of the day you really need another bath. I can’t imagine what summer will feel like when it has already gotten into the high 90s and it’s their spring!
This week has been full of learning experiences. I washed my laundry yesterday for the first time. It wasn’t too hard just took a lot longer than if you had a washing machine. I was really glad my host irm„ (sister) and her friend helped me do it. I’ll put a picture up too so you can see how they dry. I have eaten lots of new food…and even tried the Ketchup they have here…it’s definitely not Heinz J The food has been pretty good-I helped cut up some vegetable today that grows on trees and tasted kind of like potatoes…I can’t remember the name but it was really good! In class this week we learned how to ask for prices of items and how to ask for discounts. I also have been trying to get used to hearing the roosters crow at 3am and going all day. It is definitely my alarm clock most mornings.
All of the other PCVs (peace corps volunteers) are really nice and helpful…and so are the Mozambicans! The second night I was here I went walking around with some other PCVs and could not find my way back home…we practically walked over to Swaziland looking for it. That was by far my most embarrassing moment so far. Thankfully a Mozambican walked me home once we figured out where I lived. Haha, oh boy directions here are VERY different than back home.
The view here is amazing…Namaacha is in the mountains and on the way to my house you can see the Swaziland border. Apparently there are some waterfalls here too..I think maybe next weekend we’ll all go out and find them. It gets dark here by 6pm and there are no lights so the stars and moon are amazing. I’ve never seen a clearer sky-it’s beautiful!
I have a phone here and was able to talk to my mom and sister this last week which was really nice! I didn’t think I’d have Internet here so it’s nice that there is a place that has one working computer and it only cost 1 mets (metacais) per minute. To get a feel for how much American money that would be 28 mets is equal to $1. I won’t be using the internet that much but hopefully I can go at least once a week to keep posting for everyone to see!
This week we start having our “tech” sessions (About how to teach, the Mozambican school systems, etc) and of course more language sessions. We are meeting the country director this Thursday-that will be exciting! Next weekend we’re going to Maputo for the day with our language classes to help with our Portuguese.
P.S. I just wanted to tell my family and friends thank you for all the cards and pictures that you sent with me! I look at them everyday and I love being able to have a part of you all here with me. Miss you!!
Counting the weeks down until I’ve successfully completed PST…8 more Sundays!
Random tidbits/Portuguese phrases I have learned:
-I saw a girl carrying a dead chicken as I was leaving my house and I’m pretty sure that is the chicken we ate for dinner that night.
-did my laundry for the first time yesterday…it went pretty well actually (well thanks to my host family helping me)
-Really miss using napkins at meals
-Ice water is a luxury I miss at times
-I’m excited to get some mail soon with my Peanut Butter and hand sanitizer! (Some of the families over here don’t use soap much at all in their houses so I’m definitely going to be jumping up and down when I get some hand sanitizer!)
-I just noticed the other day that I have random cuts on my legs…I think I must be walking by some sharp plants or something. My host sister keeps asking what I’ve been doing but I honestly have no idea.
-Posso ajudar? Can I help?
-Tenho que estudar. I have to study.
-Como se diz…? How do you say…?
-Estou confuso. I’m confused.
-Nao sei. I don’t know.
Week 1: complete! A week ago we were greeted with this phrase “hoya-hoya” (which means welcome!) and a crowd of Mozambican families singing to us. It was such an amazing feeling to be welcomed into their community with open arms and smiling faces. It has been a whirlwind of a week with language classes and adapting to life in Africa. I can’t believe it’s already Sunday! Let me give you a run down of the week…
So far we’ve had three all day language classes and I think I’m getting better “pouco a pouco” (little by little). There are only 5 people in our language group and our instructor is really nice. We had a little outing to the market on Friday to practice buying things and asking for discounts. That was a fun experience!
My host family is nice and their house is really modern and nicer compared to some other house around here. There are two older sisters (in their 20s) and their 3 kids who are my nephews (10, 5, and 1). The 10 year old and I do homework together and he also helped me practice my flashcards! We have an indoor toilet and bathtub but not always running water. The toilet doesn’t flush unless you pour a bucket of water down it (but I’m not complaining because I could be using a latrine). I actually have gotten used to taking 2 bucket baths a day (Shocker, I know!) but it’s actually not bad. Plus it has already gotten pretty hot here so by the end of the day you really need another bath. I can’t imagine what summer will feel like when it has already gotten into the high 90s and it’s their spring!
This week has been full of learning experiences. I washed my laundry yesterday for the first time. It wasn’t too hard just took a lot longer than if you had a washing machine. I was really glad my host irm„ (sister) and her friend helped me do it. I’ll put a picture up too so you can see how they dry. I have eaten lots of new food…and even tried the Ketchup they have here…it’s definitely not Heinz J The food has been pretty good-I helped cut up some vegetable today that grows on trees and tasted kind of like potatoes…I can’t remember the name but it was really good! In class this week we learned how to ask for prices of items and how to ask for discounts. I also have been trying to get used to hearing the roosters crow at 3am and going all day. It is definitely my alarm clock most mornings.
All of the other PCVs (peace corps volunteers) are really nice and helpful…and so are the Mozambicans! The second night I was here I went walking around with some other PCVs and could not find my way back home…we practically walked over to Swaziland looking for it. That was by far my most embarrassing moment so far. Thankfully a Mozambican walked me home once we figured out where I lived. Haha, oh boy directions here are VERY different than back home.
The view here is amazing…Namaacha is in the mountains and on the way to my house you can see the Swaziland border. Apparently there are some waterfalls here too..I think maybe next weekend we’ll all go out and find them. It gets dark here by 6pm and there are no lights so the stars and moon are amazing. I’ve never seen a clearer sky-it’s beautiful!
I have a phone here and was able to talk to my mom and sister this last week which was really nice! I didn’t think I’d have Internet here so it’s nice that there is a place that has one working computer and it only cost 1 mets (metacais) per minute. To get a feel for how much American money that would be 28 mets is equal to $1. I won’t be using the internet that much but hopefully I can go at least once a week to keep posting for everyone to see!
This week we start having our “tech” sessions (About how to teach, the Mozambican school systems, etc) and of course more language sessions. We are meeting the country director this Thursday-that will be exciting! Next weekend we’re going to Maputo for the day with our language classes to help with our Portuguese.
P.S. I just wanted to tell my family and friends thank you for all the cards and pictures that you sent with me! I look at them everyday and I love being able to have a part of you all here with me. Miss you!!
Counting the weeks down until I’ve successfully completed PST…8 more Sundays!
Random tidbits/Portuguese phrases I have learned:
-I saw a girl carrying a dead chicken as I was leaving my house and I’m pretty sure that is the chicken we ate for dinner that night.
-did my laundry for the first time yesterday…it went pretty well actually (well thanks to my host family helping me)
-Really miss using napkins at meals
-Ice water is a luxury I miss at times
-I’m excited to get some mail soon with my Peanut Butter and hand sanitizer! (Some of the families over here don’t use soap much at all in their houses so I’m definitely going to be jumping up and down when I get some hand sanitizer!)
-I just noticed the other day that I have random cuts on my legs…I think I must be walking by some sharp plants or something. My host sister keeps asking what I’ve been doing but I honestly have no idea.
-Posso ajudar? Can I help?
-Tenho que estudar. I have to study.
-Como se diz…? How do you say…?
-Estou confuso. I’m confused.
-Nao sei. I don’t know.
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