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-

Dão-lhes um centimetro e eles tomam um kilimetro

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!)

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!!)

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!)

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 this 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)

Another one bites the dust...

Hello everyone! It has been awhile since I have last updated...about 2 weeks or so. I think this schedule is going to be pretty regular providing my access to internet is available but pretty expensive (60 metacais per hour or about $2.20 per hour).

So I am and have been at my training site in Namaacha for the past week and a half. I have been taking portuguese classes every day for like 7-8 hours a day. Lets just say that it is pretty tough and mentally exhaustive. In the US I go to bed usually at like 1 am...here it is not un-normal for me to go to bed at like 8:30 or 9 PM. WHOA! I def do not like that but I need to do it because there is nothing else to do and I am just so tired that I have to go to bed. The malaria prophgylaxis I am on (Mela-something) is making me have bad dreams every night, and I,m pretty sure it is the reason why I feel I am mildly depressed. Dont worry thougH! I am fine and its just a lot to bear all at once. I will survive so dont worry too much about me. Oh yeah! If you do want to get ahole of me in person I just got a cell phone in Maputo...contact Dave Rust or someone from my fam to get the number...just remeber to dial 011 before the 258 country code!

I love my familya nd they seem like they love me too...I have a mother (mãe), a father (pai), 2 sisters (irmas) and 2 brothers (irmãos). My bros and sistrers are all younger than me and they are really curious to know about me and where I am from, in egenral just everything about me...kind of cool! The climate here was hot whern we got here but since we are in the mountains we are fortunately cooler than most of teh country. Right now it is freezing at 34 deg C (I think like high 60´s or low 70´s)...Its really freezing here! Who would have thought?!

My portuguese is coming along at a steady pace. Every Friday we have an LPI whichj is just an interview with the language peopel to see how we are doing. I am rigth in the middle so its all good. I can communicate what IU want to my fam and they generally knwoi whwta I´m saying. Most of the time I) just have my dicitionary with me so I can look up the terms I dont know at all. But like last night I was explaining to them that my sister was about to have a baby and what halloween was. They didnt get the ideaabout carving pimpkins bc that would be a waste of food! Also I cooked for them last night an »American» dinner which consisted of roasted chicken (which I helped kill) with roasted potatoes, carrots, and onions. I also made mashed potatoes which they really liked. Which is great b.c I am sick of rice!

Ok on a more depressing note...people keep leaving here to go back to the US. And by people I( mean people that I am close with here. Yes I would consider tjem friends already b.c when you go through soemthing like this you need as big of a support system as one can have. Shari...a friend from Wisconsin left about 5 days ago while Heather a nice girl fron Ohiop left like 30 minutes ago. My support system is dwindling and its not cool. I cant deal with people like this leaving its really really hard. I often want to go home to but I cant leave because I feel like I need to stick it out for the next 10 weeks here and give it a real go. I am not a quitter but hey if after 10 weeks I decide like I am really not meant to be in the bush takinbg bucket baths and all that good stuff then hey, I tried right?! Its not that bad now whre I am dying to come home but I think of it often. I am told this is normal and I know every singloe one of s here is going through the same thing....we just miss home. AKA CULTURE SHOCK. It´s hard and if you have never gfone through this...try it. You will really learn to appreciate everything back at home. Now I dont mean to paint a horribke picture bc I have learnbed a lot and this is a great experience. I wouildnt give this for anything andI hope It continues.

I will leave you with a goodbye from myself and from the entire MOZ 12 group...and hey do us a small favor, have a beer on us!

Love always,
Jon