“Good drinks, good friends, good vibrations”

I recently had to take what I am calling a “mental health break” from my school, job, and site. It was just getting to a point where I couldn’t deal with anything that was thrown at me…even the little seemingly insignificant things. That’s when I decided to go up to a place called Vilankulo in central Inhambane province. I had heard it was quite a distance from my home and I didn’t care despite knowing that. I packed up and left the next day. Since it was a holiday I didn’t miss classes that Thursday but I did skip out on my classes on Friday, no worries though – it was an extended weekend for my colleuges as well as a vast majority of the students. Well Samantha and I got a lift aka we hitched it (which is so thrilling bc in the States I would NEVER do it but here it’s become a free way to get between points A and B) and got a ride in like 3 minutes flat with someone that was going past our stop. It was an air conditioned car and the man spoke English…it was great and it only took 6 hours to get up there. The way back took 14 hours on public bus…think Greyhound but at 35 mph for 600 km.
Well we got up there and so many people from the central region were there it was just really cool. It was good to catch up and hear about how their lives have been for the past 5 months at their new found homes. I spent three nights there and it was a well needed break from the monotony of my life here in Chibuts.
As a second stress reliever I decided to throw a party at my house. Just a reason to get together, a reason to have a reunion. I also wanted people to come and see my site. We had fun cooking and just hanging out together. I believe a dance party occurred as well. We may be in the bush but we still know how to have fun. Also, I think people got a new found respect for me and the distance of my home from my actual town and school. All in all it was a good time. Now we're looking forward to the next Gaza Gathering at my friend Paul's site about 3 hours from here. Good times!
While on the theme of breaks and vacations, I am excited to say that I will be home in the USA for about a month. I'll be coming in very early December and staying until about the same time in January. At that time my parents will be coming back with me on a great vacation touring South Africa, Tanzania, Zanzibar, and Mozambique. It’s going to be a lot of fun and I know my parents are really excited to not only see the great continent of Africa but to also see and experience the place I will have called home for the past year and a half. I’m optimistically looking toward the future and it’s looking pretty damn good.


Ate o proximo!
Jon

7 Months Down.

Hello all my loyal North-American and Mozambican blog readers! I hope this reaches you well and you're enjoying the very nice, warm spring weather. As I sit here and type this it is “misting” and about 64 degrees...in Mozambican terms, its very cold. It's funny because in NY some people would be out in shorts but here people are wrapped in their winter parkas and all the winter apparel you could think of. I walked into one of my classes the other day and this very skinny boy was wearing what I can only describe as a sumo-wrestling suit. It was so hilarious I had to just walk out of class and take a breather. You had to be there.
Last week I finished what we call conselhos which are just meetings to discuss grades and where we make the “report cards.” It was an interesting time. Compared to some of the stories I have heard, mine was really easy...despite having no clue as to what to do. But then again thats a pretty standard feeling here as a PCV in Mozambique.
I love teaching here and I have a really great time with it...my students seem to really like me as do my colleagues, except when it comes to some of my students' grades. The educational epidemic in this country solely lies with the students and their choice not to study. It's that simple, the students here do not study. The rationale behind their logic is easy – they think they can cheat and pass. Well kiddies, not in my class. To mention it, not in any of my fellow American teachers classrooms either. For this we (PCV teachers) are always the epicenter of long and sometimes dramatic, escalated discussions about our students grades. Basically the other teachers and sometimes school direction tries to get us to “boost” grades to a passing score. It's pretty upsetting and morally I just can't do it. I don't.
After we finished all of the conselhos, teachers had some free time so I traveled around the Gaza province and visited the sites of Chokwe (central Gaza) and Massingir (on the S. African/Moz border). It was nice to see people and I found out that Chokwe is only like an hour from my town, which is awesome. We had a good time celebrating the birthdays of the girls in Massingir. Everyone got in a good dose practicing the Pasada (a Mozambican style dance; see also: elegant grinding) and frango assado. After I had my fill of a good weekend I had to head back home to Chibuto and prepare for school to restart the next day. So yeah, it's official I'm in the second trimester of my first year already! It's really exciting but kind of scary at how fast time goes here. Damn, I hope life isn't like this everywhere...
For the first time Gazans got a bit of taste of home vicariously through two of our fellow Moz 12-ers by having parents come and visit. It was the first parental visit of any of us here in Gaza. Emily’s parents are here in Mozambique and Jesse and Emily had a dinner party with Gazan PCVs and her parents. It was good to get a taste of home and just see some parental figures. I’m starting to get excited for when my parents come here next January!
I just started getting my Science Fair secondary project rolling this past week. It’s pretty exciting since it will be the first time something like this will be happening at my school. My students seem to be quite interested as do some of my colleagues. I’m pretty excited and I hope it will be a success!
All in all, Mozambique is a great country to live and serve in. Sure it may be insanely hot most of the year but there are some months when we are actually cold (makes the bucket baths a b*tch!). Not to mention that I am only an hours drive from the beautiful and picturesque Indian Ocean. The language is Portuguese so it's not unbearably difficult to pick up, though still hard at times. All in all I do love it here and I am having a great experience.
Thinking of where I was a year ago: not knowing where I was going in Africa, thinking Equatorial Guinea, speaking Spanish, and teaching biology to where I am today: living in Mozambique, speaking Portuguese, and teaching chemistry is astounding. I still don't really know how I got here or why I'm here. All of a sudden I was on the phone with PC Washington arranging my flight from Albany to Philly then I was saying goodbye to everyone not knowing anything about what was to happen, a real adventure. I do know that I am supposed to be here and I feel that as every day passes that feeling of belonging intensifies. I think it will be on my flight out of this country that I finally know why I was here. And I like that.
Thanks for all the support from back home. I really appreciate it and hope you appreciate hearing about my life here! Enjoy the photos!

Your Striving All-American-Mozambican,

Jon

The end (of the 1st trimester)...ja!!

Hello friends and family back home! I hope that all is well with you at home and this finds you happy. I am trying to update more frequently because intervals of two months are fun for no one. Cheers and enjoy!

First off, I hope that everyones spring has been enjoyable thus far and much more agreeable than your winter! With the seasons changing in North America, they too are changing here and quite dramatically at that. We just entered into fall here even though no one thinks there are four seasons (they believe in rainy and dry seasons only). During the summer/rainy months, August to March, the temperatures hover around 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Now they are substantially lower and stay around 80. It's great! I love being able to just walk out of the house and not feel like I need another shower in 10 minutes. Another thing is that I can tell that my body is accustoming to the weather here because when it gets in the low 80's and 70's I just want to layer up with a jacket! Weird...I am actually starting to become more Mozambican! Holla.

As you have undoubtedly read from my last blog, I just finished up my 3rd month of service, 6th month in country, and PC Moz regionals for the souther region. During the first half of this time we had many workshops and forms centered around HIV/AIDS and our experiences in the field during the past 3 months. We also were acquainted with how to develop, implement, and gather funding for projects concerning HIV/AIDS for our respective communities. The second half was purely Peace Corps related. At this time we met our new Country Director, Christine Djondo, and Admin Officer while saying good bye to our temp AO, Mark. It was also a chance for all the PCVs in the south to finally meet each other. I know that I personally did not know everyone in the south and it was great to meet everyone here. We just had a good time in the capital of Mozambique, Maputo. Whats not to love about free, all you can eat food, hot showers, aircon, TV, internet and all of the accoutrement of first world life?! It was a very nice but brief respite to our daily bush lives. Good times had by all...especially the karaoke, shopping, dancing, and bonding that occurred. I joined some great projects and committees that I am especially excited to get a start on. I did drop the JOMA project at my school for lack of participation/motivation on my schools part.

Arriving back at site after a 5 day getaway proposed some difficulties. Not only did my Portuguese suffer from speaking little to no Portuguese but also separation anxiety set in. It was so nice to see all of my friends that I hadn't seen seen since training that leaving them was almost too much to handle. I did get over it and from what I heard it's a pretty standard thing after the first regional meeting. What doesn't kill you definitely makes you stronger. Another thing was that I gave my final the days after I got back. It was a whirlwind of events getting everything done and corrected but its all taken care of and I'm happy, my counterparts are happy and most importantly, my school is happy. 'Ta bom! Now the next thing I have to look forward to are what's called conselhos...basically from what I have heard just a place where everyone argues in rapid spitfire Portuguese about students grades. Wow. What fun, I can hardly wait. Sounds like a picnic.

Most volunteers, when COS-ing (leaving to go back home to the US) have paigns about not seeing the value of their work in country or progress made. Especially as a teacher it is very likely. However just because you are teaching in a formal education setting does not mean that when you are done giving lessons that day you are done teaching. It also doesn't mean that you are going to stop learning either. This teaching/learning dichotomy continues into day to day life. Point in case is my best friend here at my site, Joca.

About two months ago when I was just a fledgling in Chibuto and just starting to cultivate my friendship with Joca, we had a long conversation about the importance of moving up in life and how to do so. I explained to him about the strategy of networking to find employment. Specifically he wanted to work for an NGO so I gave him some tips on effective networking. We then discussed that by simultaneously working and saving money you can buy things to advance your life (eg: transport and education) even further and how this practice can and will lead to better opportunities in life. Well I thought that when that convo had ended that that was as far as he was going to get. Just recently Joca told me that he followed what I had taught him and found a great program called something like “Candidatos Presidentais Mocambicanos do Futuro” (Future Mozambican Presidential Candidates). Although it is not exactly a job as much as an internship of sorts he still will receive an amazing about of money while learning really great leadership and networking skills. He is going to use all the money for a motorcycle to get to and from a job.
I couldn't believe it when I heard it and I still am in a bit of shock. I am so happy for my friend and happy that I could just be there for him to guide him on course for success. Parabens!

Like I said we are at the end of the first trimester and I am having a hard time believing that we are already to this point. Time has literally flown by here and from what I'm told it doesnt slow down. Not that that's necessarily a bad thing but its not a good thing either. Of course I want to see my family and friends and have all the wonders of home but I definitely don't want to wish away my time and experiences here. Nevertheless, teachers have about a one week vacation after conselhos and I am going to use that time to stay in my community and try to integrate more. I also plan to spend a full weekend at the beach and get some good times in before this jam-packed trimester begins.

Recently while talking to one of my very close friends from the States (a 315 number, of course!) I was asked what I do for fun here at my site because it is so bush like. Well I should say that for my town being considered a bush town, we are pretty advanced...at least I happen to think so upon seeing some other peoples communities. I mean I have some sidewalks and some of my streets have names, its not just all goat paths and chicken coops. Anyway, my response to this question was there's a lot to do if you know where to go, what to look for, and who you know. Just the other weekend there was a soccer tournament where teams from South Africa and Swaziland came to play against my home Chibuto team. It was great because people who spoke English flooded the town. Though I speak English I was reluctant to speak with them for the sole fact that they were the supporters of the other team! Haha. No, no, no, I'm not that much of an ass but it was still fun. Upon entering the “stadium” my site mate and I were very surprised to find a huge baboon tied with a chain around its waist to a pole as the teams mascot. The funny thing was that as someone walked by the baboon would to to play/attack with that person. It successfully caught a small boy and was “playing” with it. It was pretty hilarious. Shortly thereafter the rains pored down like it was Noah's flood and my little umbrella was no match for this. We were soaked from head to toe and just decided to leave upon cancellation of the games that day. It was a lot of fun.

Another activity to do here is just go out with people on the weekends at night and hangout. Usually this involves a barraca/bar of some sort (and by bar I mean a tin shop with a window to vend out of and chairs around a table). Even if you don't drink its a great way to get into the community and integrate even more. People not only see you as a teacher and professional but also as someone they can relate to, someone who likes to have fun too. Just the other night my good friend, Baito, picked up me and Samantha from my house and took us into a very small bush village 30 minutes away. I was frightened by the vast nothingness that seemed to be present until we came upon a small village and all of a sudden as we turned a corner there were about 200 Mozambicans dancing and just having a good time. We got out of the truck and got a drink and just had a good time with everyone. It's times like that that are the memorable stuff here. I loved it.

Anyway that's all I got for this update. I just want to say thank you to everyone who keeps up on my blog. I really appreciate you reading this and being interested in my life here in Mozambique. Although I cant do my experiences and my life here justice in this blog, you at least can see some what I am and Peace Corps Volunteers do in country. I still miss you all and cant wait to see you again soon!

Jon

(the next one will have pictures, I promise.)

Oh where, oh where have I been??!

Hey everyone! Sorry it has been so long since my last blog entry...what can I say, it's Africa and a third world country, access is few and far between. I suppose I'm damn lucky that I even have internet connection. I mean when I was preparing to come over here I didn't even think I would have electricity, running water, or internet. Haha ok well I do have two of those things, I'm just lacking on the whole running water issue. Ahhh the life of a PCV in an African country.

OK so the last few weeks (or months...I can't even really remember; time flies here!) have been pretty good over all. A lot of noteworthy things happened during this short period of time, if you can believe it...

I finally got my computer that my mother so generously sent from the US. It was a damn pain to not only get it here but then get it out of Mozambican customs. If the cost of shipping on top of the computer itself wasn't enough, the customs department put it over the top. Its just so ridiculous that they include shipping when they calculate the fee owed to customs! I couldn't believe it. Anyway, it started when i got a call that notified me that my computer was in Mozambique. I set up plans to go to Maputo to go get it. Well I got into Maputo and the next day i went to the airport to go get it armed with my passport and copious amounts of Meticais (the currency of Moz: metical [sing.], meticais [pl.]). The people there did not know what I was talking about when I was there. Now some of this may have been attributed to my talent in speaking Portuguese but I think I can actually get a coherent thought across. They asked if I had a form to pick it up, of course I didn't – no one told me about a form. Went back to the PC office to find out that I in fact do need a form, I didn't know what form or that there was even a form in existence. I called up my mother at 1:30 am, NY time, and had her fax all the info that she had. I went back to the airport only to have them send me downtown to the post office. The post office didn't have anything so I was instructed after many hours of questioning to go to a place called Sky Net (partner of UPS). I finally get there at 11:45 am, Moz time, 15 minutes before its set to close (just about everything closes at noon in Maputo on a Friday). They said they delivered a customs form to the PC office. I was furious. I just spent 1200 meticais on taxi's getting to and from everywhere and the source of the problem was the second place I went to, my organization! Turns out that my higher-up left the form with another person and didn't inform this person of what it was this person subsequently left the country for an extended period of time. What can I say? My luck is just too much for one person! Basically that weekend was a waste of all my money and I didn't get much out of it. The next weekend I headed back down and retrieved my comp after my organization picked it up for me. So, alas, I now have my computer and am severely contented.

I did get some good things out of my first weekend in the “big city.” I randomly met up with a fellow MOZ 12-er, Ali, and we ended up hanging out together at the PC office for CD Dave's going away party/despedida then sspending a well needed night just hanging out. It was good fun after the computer incident. You might have caught it or perhaps not but I just alluded to the change in Peace Corps Mozambique regime. The Country Director of Mozambique, Dave Bellama, retired his position as CD after 3 years of service here. He was one hell of an awesome guy and he will be missed. Now we have a new CD who I have yet to meet but pretty excited to get to know her.

The biggest change/event in my life since my last post is the start of classes here in Mozambique...well at least at the Escola Secundaria de Chibuto. After much disorganization within my school we are finally in flow with the first trimester. I thought/was told I would be teaching 11^th grade chemistry to 4 turmas (classes) but that has changed into me teaching 9^th grade and 7 turmas. So within one week I am teaching for about 21 hours 350 students. Most of my pupils are nice and fun but I do have some “indiciplinados”/class hellions; I mean they are high school freshmen after all. Pretty much things go smoothly so it's all good. We are just about to enter into our midterm time here and we are almost finished with the first trimester already! I can't believe it has really gone by this fast! All-in-all I'm having a really good time teaching these kids the noble study of chemistry (must be my Leo side...blah blah) and they seem to enjoy me, which is a really good thing too.

The only truly difficult thing is the whole teaching in Portuguese issue. OK, I am not lying when I say that I don't speak hardly a word of English in class...well maybe a word or two like “yeah” and “good afternoon/goodbye.” But thats it really. I must say that it is getting easier every class but its really frustrating when the students laugh at me sometimes because they know what you're trying to say but your clearly not saying it correctly. I do get a bit flustered but try do everything I can to not let them see that. Hey they would be having a hard time too if they arrived in the US only 4 months before starting teaching without knowing a single world of English before they came. Of that I'm certain, and that gives me some sense of self-satisfaction and accomplishment. So in the end it's the beginning of an adventure and I'm absolutely positive that i will have more stories as far as teaching is concerned.

Other ongoings at my school would include the secondary projects that I am continuing and starting up. First, what is a secondary project? Well a volunteers primary project is what we came here to do, in my case teach. Secondary projects are projects/initiatives that are done in addition to ones primary job, hence the name. These secondary projects can come in all shapes and sizes. The secondary projects I am currently doing/going to start very soon is a Theatre Club for boys through the Peace Corps started organization JOMA (Jovens para Mundanca e Accao/Young Men for Change and Action). Basically it is a group centered around gender equality campaigns and HIV/AIDS awareness through the medium of acting. The other project I hope to start in my town soon is the National HIV/AIDS Awareness & Science Fair. There are three official regions in Moz and every region holds a fair with participants from as many school as possible to sumbit science fair projects. Students have to devise and implement a science experiment and then present and publicly defend their project. It's never been done at my school and I'm really excited to have some of my students submit projects!

Other than the projects that I am doing at my school, I am also taking an aerobics class there too! Who would have thought that there would be an aerobics class here?! Its crazy ridiculous and just over the top. It's not really a workout as much as just something to give me a routine in my crazy scheduled life here. I mean I sweat more from the walk to catch a ride home than I do in that class. Nevertheless it's a great way to integrate more in the community. Hell yeah!

Well I can say that it has been nearly 6 months since I first landed here in Mozambique and I have been an actual Volunteer for 3.5 months. (Congrats Moz 12!) It really doesn't seem like it has been that long since I left but I will be the first to admit that so many things have happened to me in the short time that I have been overseas. I wish I could accurately explain the effect that all of these events has had on me already but truthfully I don't even know the extent to which I have been affected. All I know is that I have been in a way. Don't worry though! I am not going to come home and not take showers or something ridiculous like that.

That being said I can say that my life here in Chibuto (pronounced 'Shi-boo-too'), my fair hamlet, is coming along at a pretty good pace. Not only have I started school but I have also gotten in pretty good with the integrating process. Now most people in my town (aprox. pop.: 10,000 people) know my name, who I am, and what I'm doing here. I mean there are only 5 volunteers in Chibuto, 3 from the Peace Corps and 2 from JICA (the Japanese equivalent organization), and there are NO foreigners in our community besides us. For the most part my community is really accepting/tolerant of expats. They all seem to want to get to know me...which brings me back to a conversation I had with some Moz 10 volunteers before they COS-ed and went back home. “Are you ready to be a Mozambican rock star for the next two years?” was the question asked to me. I didn't exactly know the full extent of that question and how truthful they were being when asking me that at the time. Now I have a bit more experience – and they weren't kidding! It really does feel sometimes like I am a rock star here. I would be lying if I didn't like it sometimes (blame the Leo in me, what can i say) I mean who doesn't like some attention but other times it just gets so damned annoying. Like for example: I'll be waiting for a chapa (a packed minivan type taxi of sorts) and someone will just be staring at me from across the road...sometimes for up to 20 minutes until I say something to them like 'Bon dia' or 'Boa tarde.' I mean come on, seriously people what is so interesting about a white dude waiting to get a ride?! Alas, just one of the 101 questions I have for this country. Again, the life of a PCV.

Back to my 'fitting in' exposé...I also am starting to make friends and contacts in my community and around the country. I have a few friends here in my community that I hang out with on a regular basis and show me around to some of the more fun parts of my town. The other night the volunteer from a town 20 minutes away, Samantha, came over. Eventually my friend and two of his buddies came over and decided to take us out to the local “hot spot.” It was pretty cool, it had a pool table, a nice bar with a wise assortment of South African wines and cold beers. They also had a DVD player that kept playing CDs of Justin Timberlake, Lisa Jaymes, Beyonce, and (oh yes!) Michael Bolton. I wont even start about the wide array of “discotecas” here in my lovely bush town. Life is going pretty well over here so far.

I don't know if you have heard of anything on the world news or BBC but recently the chapa union decided to raise their fares by 100%. Quickly after, the government put a stop to that as it was such a steep increase and a majjority of the community would have a hard enough time affording that. Well naturally that just set the chapa people of this country into pandemonium because not only are the chapa people angry but with the increase comes the increase of all the goods/services in the country...and now we have riots in parts of the country. In Maputo (the country capital) there were tire burnings, a fatality, and cars being stoned in broad daylight. Luckily and thankfully due to the swift action of PC Moz none of us volunteers have been involved in anything. Like I said this rioting is going through the country, but at a slow pace. My community is not immune to it and in fact we had a series of riots here in Chibuto. I didn't go to school one day because I got a text from my site mate telling me of the craziness. Apparently from what I heard was that a special type of police was brought in to control the crowd because people were firing guns, burning tires, mugging people, looting stores, and burning bread stores. Needless to say i didn't leave my little house/backyard area. All is well now so no worries! I mean really, what is service without something scary and crazy like this happening?! What an adventure!

OK just one quick note...I finally got a chicken! Her name is Penny and she is such a stress because she doesnt like to sleep in her own coop. The neighbors think a magical chicken just showed up until I killed that idea. I cant wait to get my own eggs from her...and eat her offspring.

Also, if you have tried to call me part of last week and this week, my cell phone was stolen while visiting a friend. What can I say? It was bound to happen. Nevertheless I am still pissed! Well all good now. I have a phone...so what are you waiting for?? Call me! Don't forget to use the internet program SKYPE (www.skype.com). All you need is an internet connection and a microphone. According to my family its pennies compared to any other means of calling communication. If you don't want to call then you can always shoot me an email at jon.d.bates@gmail.com. I'm not choosy and will take anything.

Well currently I am in Maputo for our bi-annual regional meeting. Most of us Moz 12-ers are pretty excited because we haven't seen each other in awhile, some of us since swearing-in in December. It also happens to fall on the oh-so-fun holiday of St. Patty's Day!! Hell yeah! Good times for all to be had.

Well that's the latest from me here. I hope you all have enjoyed reading. I miss you all and hope that you all are doing well and staying safe in wintery New York. I cannot explain how much I really miss everyone. I have a wall of all pictures of my old life back in NY. I can't but help to realize how lucky I really am. Each one of you has a very special place near and dear to my heart. Sorry I just went all mushy but sometimes it needs to be said and consequently heard.

On a completely unrelated topic, now that I have my computer feel free to send me DVDs and CDs of the latest movies and music (or anything really, I'm not picky!). I mean you can't really get to much over here and the internet connection sucks to download anything (hello dial-up!). Also one last thing but still very important. Thanks so completely much for all the mail that you all have been sending to me. Whether they were letters or packages of sweet treasures, I value and appreciate EVERYTHING. I mean it from the bottom of my heart when I say thank you.

All my love,

Jon

PS- Enjoy some pics from me and fellow PCVs on the beach after a long week at work! Suckaaaaaasss.

My fellow Moz 12 Gazan's, Megan Moriarty and Lindsay Hutchinson.

Life is boring when there is NOTHING to do.

Yeah so it has only been like a week since my last post, I kow its crazy but since my town has internet and I nothing to do at this moment, I suppose I can post.

I surprisingly and remarkably continued my already long vacation last week when I unexpectedly decided to go to the capital of Maputo for a weekend excursion. I told no one I was going and was just going to go and have the weekend to myself...boy was I wrong about that. On my way to Maputo, in a lovely chapa, we stopped for gas. Beacuse it was so stuffed and cramped, therefore hot in the chapa, I was desperately craning my neck out the back window to get some relief of fresh air. At that same moment, I spotted what the locals call us, a "mulungu!" It was one of the gals from the health group with 3 others that was on vacation with me in Tofo. I came to find out that they had the same destination as I and we were all staying at the same exact hotel. The weekend turned into a really fun one with us going shopping, lounging around in the air conditioned oasis of Hotel Africa II, enjoying meals out, and going to the best club n the country: Coconuts. It was awesome and I had a great time, kind of made me not want to go back to my life of a house with no fan, running water, or a sittable toilet. But, alas, I went back and all is well here in Chibuto.

That Monday I returned was MOZ 12's official 1 month anniversary of service! I didnt do anything special, just sat around all day trying desperately to escape the heat. Congrats us...1 down 23 to go! haha.

Yesterday I had a chicken coop built for me by some of the neighborhood children. It was awesome how they were gathering the materials and analyzing a local coop to see how to construct this one...good skills to learn! 'Ta Bom! It only cost me like what would be in USD, $2.85...nice! Next comes the chicken then the eggs.

So as I alluded to earlier, I have nothing to do in my town until the school year starts on the 30th of this month. So I just sit in my house reading "Les Miserables" all day and watching the chickens run around. Its really boring and I'm just itching until the school year can start. I cant wait. Oddly enough, right now it feels more liek solitary confinement than Peace Corps service but that will end, like I said, when school starts and I start working full time.

Well thats all I have in my life right now, dont be surpirsed if you have a 315 area code bc I'll probably call you since its free (thanks Orlinda!). OK enjoy the record temps in NY!!

- Jon

Life is a whirlwind when you're in Africa...and then some.

Hello again everyone! I know it has been a long time since i have last posted here (like 6 weeks I think?!) but with swearing in and site delivery and finally getting here and starting to get situated it has been really hard to get to a computer and not to mention the fact that the internet in my town has been broken for the last 2 weeks. Well anyway I'm just lucky that I am in Africa and have internet. So no onto what my life has been like for the past 5 or 6 weeks...

I think I last posted before Model School...well itr was a two week teaching experiment (or thats what I called it, bc thats what it seemed to be like) in which they put all of the freshly speaking portuguese speakers in front of classes of 20 students and had us teach to the students. I have to say that even though it was all in portuguese it was not too hard. Yeah sure the lesson plans took 10x longer than any of the english teachers but it was still a good time. My students liked me or so i heard from my collegues (bc most of the students were our host brothers and sisters) and it was just fun. I think it may be in part due to me being a Leo but I liked to be up in front of them and teachng them. It was a challenge too so i think that had a lot to do with it as well. All in all it was a good experience...i dont think it prepared me for my real job but rather just ntroduced me to what it could be like. Nonetheless I'm pretty stoked for my job to start in a month.

In the midst of Escola Modela was Thanksgiving. The PC basically screwed us this year and told us that unless we were going to plan and execute everything then it wasnt going to happen. Usually they buy everything for the dinner and that was even cut. But you dont give PCT's (now PCV's) an ultamatum like that one. We took the bull by its horns and had ourselves a damn good Mozambican Thanksgiving. We bought two turkeys and killed, defeathered, and gutted them and cooked them: one in stew and the other in the traditional oven. We had most of all the traditional staples of a US Thanksgiving feast as well. We had mashed potatoes, yams, deviled eggs, apple pies and crisps, cookies, browniws, squash, green beans, and even cranberry sauce...made from crasins (bc cranberries dont exist in Moz). For such a sad day to be away from home it wasnt all too sad. Mainly because eveyone was there and just having a good time cooking and having a few local beers.

About a week later was what all of us had been waiting for since we started training...SWEARING-IN!! Sadly we came in as a group of 69 of us and left with 65...4 ET'd, 1 transferred, and we got a transfer from another country! The ceremony took place at the ambassadors house in Maputo...it was an awful and rainy day. Everyone took care too look their best in Moz and the torrential downpours that followed just rined everyones magnificent look. Damn it! So we got to the ceremony and took the oath and after a few speakers we were official Peace Corps Volunteers (PCV's). Everyone from PC Moz was there including officials from teh government, the US Ambassador, and the former Peace Corps Worldwide Director, Gaddi Vasquez. That was such an amazing surprise to hve him there...it made it special x 100. Funny thing is that while walking on the road in our training town of Namaacha to get a chapa to Maputo Gaddi Vasquez stopped on the road and got out and talked to us. How in the hell does something like that happen?! It was fucking awesome... his response after was "I thought you were in the Peace Corps." Amazing. Something I will never forget. PS - I did have a mohawk for the ceremony...all the dudes did...well most.

So a day after we were sworn-in we were delivered to site. With 64 of us to get to every stretch of Mozambique it wasa clusterfuck of a mess but all in all I think they di an awesome job. I left my home in Namaacha at 5 am and got to my site at 3:30 pm. I was the second to last of 7 to be dropped off in my group. It was long and tiring as well as exciting and really sad. I really wanted to get to a place where i knew it woul;d be my home but i didbnt want to leave everyone! Well lets just say that after a day I had my first break down. I have since then bounced back and am doing much much better. It's just the shock at first to know that you know absolutely no one but this is your home and not to mention the fact that you are the different one and everyone knows it just by lookign at you for 0.001 seconds.

My first two weeks here, at site, were a real rollercoaster of just about everytuing. The dog that I took in from the volunteer before me killed a goat so I had to deal with all of that my 3rd day here....that is what set me over the damn edge. All my neighbors wanted to kill her and the dogs she ran around with. They basically gave me a deadline before they were going to kill her. I found 2 voluteers to take her...now I just have to get her to them. lol. That was probably the worst thing that happened to me by far so far. I did go to work for a week to grade tests and meet all of my counterparts. That was intreresting. I also met a lot of my neighbors and people in the makret. Made my first friend and met up with one of the other volunteers in my town from MOZ 11...Alyssa from Amityville, NY. Two people from NYS in the same small African town...what a trip.

So those two weeks went by and along came the holidays. We planned a vacation to the Praia do Tofo on the Indian Ocean in Inhambane Province. What was only supposed to be 5 days ended up being 10 and itw as one of the best vacations i have ever been on. We left for a PCV's birthday party in Cumbana and spent the night there with lik 12 PCV's and one of the PCV's girlfriend that was visiting. It only took us 4 hours to hitch a ride from a nice Swazi-man on his was to Vilankulo. The day after we headed to Tofo Beach, didnt take long at all, only like an hour. We got to the hostel we were staying at...fuck that it was more of a resort than a hostel. It's called Fatima's Nest and has dorms, private bungalows, camping, and tents with beds in them. Its literally on the ocean, I could hear the waves at night when I was sleeping. They had cabanas with hammocks in them where you could chill all day under and sleep under at nigth if you wanted to. I slept in one my last night there.

At first it was like 15 PCV's which after Christmas dwindled to like 9. It was nice having everyone there but it was even nicer being in a smaller group. A few days after Christmas 4 more left and one came so it was better yet. What was awesome about this trip was the amount of people there and how many countries were represented by people staying there and that I met. Here's some of the countries that had citizens there and thatw ere crazy fun: USA, Canada, Brazil, South Africa, France, Spain, Germany, The Netherlands, Norway, England, Belgium, and Egypt. It was fucking awesome. We celebrated New Years at Tofo as well and it was redonk fun. I have never had such a great meal here in Moz until that day. We cooked a fish called "dacuba"...? I think its wrong but I know its starts with a D. I am not someone that likes fish but it was so good. Loved it, shut up! Other than the group I came with I made a small group of friends from South Africa. Lo, another PCV, was enamored by one of them and we became a happy little family (Myself, Lo, Natalie, Carl, Al, Floyd, and Marie) for our time there. It was awesome because now we have plans to go to Joburg and Cape Town and visit! So excited to go and visit in a few months! Cheers guys and thanks for making it what it was...a kick ass shit show.

I should let all of you know that if you want to send me anything use this address from now on:

Jonathan Bates

CP 270

Xai-Xai

Mozambique

I got one closer to me by like 3 hours. Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet.

I also want to take some time to shoot some thanks to everyone that has been awesome at sending me things and contacting me in any form. I really really really appreciate it all and every buit of it helps even if it is just a wall post on facebook. THANKS GUYS, I LOVE YOU ALL. I really do have some of the best friends ever. I really do love you all. Also, btw I'm getting my computer soon so I should be able to communicate for frequently, which will be awesome. Also, I want to apologize to all the people in the 315 who I have been harassing...its free for me to call 315 area codes for soem reason so I am taking full advatage of it. If you're getting sick of me just let me know! I dont know how you could though...haha. jk.

Yeah so now I'm just waiting for school to start in a month and get my hopuse ready as much as i can before all hell breaks loose there. I have a lot i want to do to my house but it should be fu getting everything and completng the jobs.

OK I just had to add this funny thing that happened today: I threw away a condom bc it was covered in shampoo from my trip and not but an hour later did I see a small neighbor child of mine blowing up what appeared to be a balloon...well yeah it was that condom. what the hell?! it was so hilarious.

OK and one last update on my feelings on being here... its still hard especially after an amazing vacation where I had running water and my friends but its getting better everyday. So tomorrow I leave for Maputo for the weekend to go get my mail and see Felipe. Fun!

PICS OF MY HOUSE ABOVE

Until next time,

Jon

What the fx up-