The half way slump

So, if it wasn’t made obvious by some of the previous posts – coming back to site after Christmas was difficult. I’m told that this is normal.  That this time is supposed to be a low point in the “life cycle of a PCV.”  I felt like I was especially struggling  (along with other Moz15ers) for a number of additional reasons.

Our Peace Corps Mozambique family suffered a horrible tragedy while I was on leave in the states. Five volunteers (one of whom is a good friend of mine) were in a car accident on December 21^st. Two of the female volunteers in the car, who had only arrived in country Sept. 2011,  died almost immediately. The other 3 were med-evac-ed to South Africa with serious injuries (they are all currently recovering well). You can imagine how incredibly traumatizing this was for our entire peace corps family – let alone the families of the volunteers at home in the states.

Needless to say, this took a huge mental toll on my readjustment in Cateme.  Add that to the riot, the fact that I still didn’t really know anyone at my new site AND that I was trying to transition back from America……. Lets just say January was rough.

Not to worry though! I’m pushing right through that little troubled spot in a number of ways.  Some of these things might sound menial.  However, even the smallest things can be a game changer when you’re hanging by a thread…

My personally tested “How to pull yourself out of a funk” guide:

1.      Break down and buy yourself a nice phone.  You have no idea how much the full keyboard on a blackberry will enhance your life. Ha!  Not to mention the Internet capacity. Plus, getting emails and texts from home is generally a highlight of my day.

2.      Get a puppy. If nothing else, it will keep you extremely busy.  If you’re lucky (like me) she will be very cute, willing to listen to whatever you want to talk about, and hands down the most excited person (?) to see you everyday. In fact, Hannah, Eden and I each took one of the puppies from the newest litter at our old house in Moatize.  All 3 sisters are growing and doing well J

3.      Start exercising on a normal basis.  I’ve gotten in the habit of waking up at 5 am and taking off on a morning run as the sun rises.  I’ve never felt more productive before 6 in the morning!

4.      Find students that are screaming potential. Helen and I have started 2 groups for the 11^th and 12^th graders at our school. The first group, REDES, is specifically for girls and focuses on female empowerment. Our girls want to learn how to make a business plan – then to sew and sell capulana bags at our school. The other group, JUNTOS, is a co-ed group that focuses on youth activism.  This particular group of kids wants to either do community theatre (most likely HIV focused) OR write a newspaper for the school/village.  Now this won’t be like an American high school paper. It will be a single copy, handwritten newspaper posted in a communal place. Regardless, these kids show SO much potential… it’s incredible. They’re excited. They know they have to work for their futures – and that they’re fighting an uphill battle.  They hang on every piece of information they can get their hands on. I’m SO thrilled to be working with all of them!! I’m sure you’ll be hearing more about  both REDES and JUNTOS kids in the future.

5.      Never underestimate how much little things can help. Paint your nails. Put up pictures.  Cook something you love.  Watch an episode of Friends.

You’ll be just fine!