OK sorry everyone that this blog has been delayed so much...there has been so much to do. not to mention that the one fast computer in Namaacha is always taken by other volunteers. I actually has to get out of class early to get this spot...haha. well anyway like I said, a lot has gone on here in the past three weeks and I am going to do my best to catch you all up to speed on the happeneings here in good 'ol Moz. (PS - sorry about the nature of this blog its a bit choppy but I have so much to talk about...bear with me!) (A group of clad in costume at our halloween party)Well, the weekend after my last post myself, Lo, Tommy, Jared, Tara, and Raposa (all education volunteers located here in Nam-town too) went on a huge ass hike up one of the mountains bordering here and South Africa. From a point here in Namaacha you can see the quintessential African trees (think Lion King on the savana)...well we went in search of those. we crossed a huge damn that is like 50m hight and no bars across it to cross. Nevertheless, I was scared! Well we finally got to the top of the mountain and it was a beautiful view...well worth it!!
The day after all the volunteers here in Namaacha celebrated Halloween MOZ style
. We had a big festa at the casa da corpo da paz where almost everyone was clad in a costume. Let me tell you these costumes were great for the limited available resources!! There were robots, pirates, peacocks (that was me and another girl), the people from Wizard of Oz, a lobster, and a glow worm! Most of teh costumes were made of things found around here (like banana fronds) and items bought from the huge third world market that rolls into town twice a week. It was a blast...not like any halloween I have celebrated in the US but still awesome! (Lo and I as peacocks for Halloween!)
. We had a big festa at the casa da corpo da paz where almost everyone was clad in a costume. Let me tell you these costumes were great for the limited available resources!! There were robots, pirates, peacocks (that was me and another girl), the people from Wizard of Oz, a lobster, and a glow worm! Most of teh costumes were made of things found around here (like banana fronds) and items bought from the huge third world market that rolls into town twice a week. It was a blast...not like any halloween I have celebrated in the US but still awesome! (Lo and I as peacocks for Halloween!)Sadly...two more people have left our training class here in MOZ. One individual was sent home bc of his adverse actions against other trainees and the other was transferred to Namibia for her service...we all wish her luck in her new adventure!!
Sooooooo....on October 19, 2007 my niece, J'ana Theresa Xenon-Bates (or whatever her last name is...I still dont know what my sister decided) was born. I am so happy to know that both her and my
sister are healthy and doing well. I am just sad that I cannot be there to see her and knowing I wont see her for a year and a few months is tough too. I knew these things would happen while I was over here but when it happens its just harder to swallow. But all is weel and I will be home before you know it. While on the topic of babies, my mother here is preggers and is in her 5th month. She has decided to name the baby after me or my mother in the US if it's a boy or girl, respectively. Its pretty cool knowing that they like me enough to name their child after me! Of course its tradition (called "chara") that if they are named after you that you must buy them some clothes...i like to think that they like me enough more than they just want clothes. Such the optimist! Cool anyways. Love my fam here! (Those are 3 of my siblings!!)
sister are healthy and doing well. I am just sad that I cannot be there to see her and knowing I wont see her for a year and a few months is tough too. I knew these things would happen while I was over here but when it happens its just harder to swallow. But all is weel and I will be home before you know it. While on the topic of babies, my mother here is preggers and is in her 5th month. She has decided to name the baby after me or my mother in the US if it's a boy or girl, respectively. Its pretty cool knowing that they like me enough to name their child after me! Of course its tradition (called "chara") that if they are named after you that you must buy them some clothes...i like to think that they like me enough more than they just want clothes. Such the optimist! Cool anyways. Love my fam here! (Those are 3 of my siblings!!)OK so I got my first piece of mail here from Angay!! I was so elated to finally get somethjing. I was starting to think that nothing was going to get to me here. It was great to hear from people back home and have it to keep as a "momento" of sorts. I still like emails though! Thanks Ange!!
In terms of my portuguese, it's loads better. We had our mid-training LPI (language proficiency interview) and I scored in the region that woukld qualify me to become a PCV)...which is flippin awesome. Our group as a whole had a 92% pass rate...from what we heard about years prior (I dont know how trustworthy this info is though) we are doing much better. Go MOZ 12! Its pretty sweet. Things are looking up here in all aspects, not only in language. Thje Malaria meds arent as potent on my emotions anymore so I am not siffering from bouts of depression like symptoms and always wanting to go home. Actually in fact I rarely feel that way and am starting to really love it here!
So thispast week we all went on site visits aka vacations for the trainees! I went to the Manica province which
is located on the border between MOZ and Zimbabwe. It was B-E-A-utiful! The mountains came out of no where and were very reminiscent of 'The Others' village in LOST. The volunteer I went to visit, Kelly Searl, was awesome (thats me and her). She had a lot of info for me about the whole PC experience (she COS'ed after I left aka finished her service). She told me alot about being gay and in the PC and more specifically PC MOZ. It was great to finally hear it from someone that has gone through the whole things. She put me into contact with an RPCV who lives and works in MOZ now for an NGO, this RPCV is also gay. Talked to him last night for awhile which was pretty awesome. I'm excited for service now more than ever after the site visits...it really inspired me to do my best and got me excited to be here! Sweeeeeeeeeeeet!!
(This is a view from the plane down to Mozambique...Sofala province I think!)
is located on the border between MOZ and Zimbabwe. It was B-E-A-utiful! The mountains came out of no where and were very reminiscent of 'The Others' village in LOST. The volunteer I went to visit, Kelly Searl, was awesome (thats me and her). She had a lot of info for me about the whole PC experience (she COS'ed after I left aka finished her service). She told me alot about being gay and in the PC and more specifically PC MOZ. It was great to finally hear it from someone that has gone through the whole things. She put me into contact with an RPCV who lives and works in MOZ now for an NGO, this RPCV is also gay. Talked to him last night for awhile which was pretty awesome. I'm excited for service now more than ever after the site visits...it really inspired me to do my best and got me excited to be here! Sweeeeeeeeeeeet!!(This is a view from the plane down to Mozambique...Sofala province I think!)
So I mentioned this open air market here in Namaacha earlier...well they call it "Shoprite" but its actually not a shoprite at all. Shoprite is actually a huge groceryt store but th
is is a flea market of sorts. Well we went shopping the other day and I got some great finds. I would have never thought that I was going to shop at a third world market, let alone like what i found. I found like 3 nice vintage t-shirts from the US...these are shirts people pay upwayrds of 30USD for but I payed only like 0.85USD. I also found a sweet muscle polo from Abercrombie (that I'm actually wearing right now!) for the same price!! It was the ebst deal ever...this is worth like 35USD...I love it! Amongst the other treasures there...I found a nice pair of jeans from Austrailia for less than 2USD. what finds at the Namaachian Shoprite!! (Thats all of us at the local bar playing drinking games and enjoying a Friday night Nam style!)
is is a flea market of sorts. Well we went shopping the other day and I got some great finds. I would have never thought that I was going to shop at a third world market, let alone like what i found. I found like 3 nice vintage t-shirts from the US...these are shirts people pay upwayrds of 30USD for but I payed only like 0.85USD. I also found a sweet muscle polo from Abercrombie (that I'm actually wearing right now!) for the same price!! It was the ebst deal ever...this is worth like 35USD...I love it! Amongst the other treasures there...I found a nice pair of jeans from Austrailia for less than 2USD. what finds at the Namaachian Shoprite!! (Thats all of us at the local bar playing drinking games and enjoying a Friday night Nam style!)On my trip to Maputo two Saturdays ago I went to the 2007 World Press photo exhibit. Apparently its really famous and, yes, I went to see it for free. It was located in this old fort on the harbour and was beautiful. The pics were awesome/sad/inspiring/thought provoking all at the same time. I went with my Mozambican friend, Felipe. He shows me around the city when i go there and lets me use his internet sometimes. He is a nice guy and someone to hang outwith that isnt a trainee too. The day after Maputo, Sunday, my Mozambican parents took me to church with them. I told them I was raised Catholic but they insisted that i still come to their Apostolic Church. Well I eventually aquiesced (sp?) and went. IT WAS PURE HELL. Not only was it 95 degrees the whole day but it was 13.5 hours long. I was so mad at them for taking me there on the longest church service of the year. I thought It was rude of them and they knew I was pissed at them that night when I slammed my door to go to bed and hardly talked to them at dinner...the enst day is when I went on my site visit so they didnt see me for a week after...haha. we are all good now but lets just say that i did my penance and am not going to anothe rone of those services ever again!
Well MODEL SCHOOL is next week and I'm pretty damned nervous about the whole thing. We have to teach like 5 lessons or something, im still not sure yet, in all portuguese in front of like 45 students. I know that this is what its gonne be like at site but i am still nervous to be doing this in a language that i am still new in and hardly know that well. I will let you all know how it went in my next blog, thats for sure! ALSO, in less than 2 weeks we find out where our sites are going to be!!! crossing my fingers for an ocean site or mountains...I dont want to be in the boring plains where there are no beautiful landscapes...hope that I get a good one people!!
I miss you all and hope that you all are surviving the cold weather over there in the US...as its becoming winter over there, its approaching summer here and boy can you tell. Today it was 95 again. Have a great Thanksgiving and Black Friday!
Love you all and until next time,
Jon
(Myself, Adrienne, Tariq, and Lo at a Maputo gelataria)
