An extremely long-winded account of my journey home

After a long week of literally doing nothing but waiting to go home, Wednesday December 7^th could not come fast enough.  As instructed by my mom when she visited in July – I hardly brought anything with me.  First of all, it's not 110 degrees in America – so my tank tops didn’t need to make the trek.  Secondly, my favorite pair of J.Crew jeans now has a total of 8 holes and, as much as I love them, they would be frowned upon at home. I did, however, plan on bringing an empty suitcase with me to fill with goodies from the craft market in Maputo.  So I threw my laptop, camera and a few other things in my overworked backpack, grabbed my empty suitcase and took off. And by took off, I mean I talked some friends (who conveniently have car) into dropping me off at the Tete airport.   Naturally, as soon as they pulled away, I realized the number of critical things I had forgotten in Cateme (my Kindle - not like I had 3 hours to sit and wait for my plane or anything…. and my phone charger).  No worries, I thought. I’m going home. It’s all going to be fine.

So after waiting 3 hours of the plane and then a 2 hour flight to Maputo (seriously, just sitting), I finally made it to the capital city.  It was late afternoon and my flight to South Africa wasn’t until the next afternoon.  At first, I thought this was a huge bummer BUT my parents so kindly offered to put me in the hotel of my choice that night.  So I left the airport in a taxi headed for Hotel Cardoso (which was the hotel we stayed at a year earlier the night we swore-in…I had fond memories of taking an hour long shower and nearly making myself sick on the breakfast buffet. Needless to say, I was quick to choose Cardoso). Just as I hopped out of the cab (which I was expecting to be about 300 mets – or at least it was in October) and was about to throw back whatever was in that champagne glass as a welcome drink, the driver says its 950 mets. WHAT?! Naturally, I freaked out. I’m sorry, but 950 mets! That’s insane.  I can come and go from Tete to Chimoio 3 times for that – 18 hours in a bus or 20 minutes in a cab1?  I realized I wouldn’t win this battle, so I paid the man, shot him an angry look and decided to put it behind me. A hot shower was in my future, I wasn’t going to let this joker ruin that.

As I checked in, I had a conversation with the lady about how my father in the United States had booked this room and prepaid it. There was a little bit of confusion, but I figured if worse came to worse I’d just hand over my credit card and call it a day.  At this point, my phone was doing that angry beep about every 2 minutes to tell me it was dying. This was mainly a problem because, Eden, one of the volunteers from Tete was going to stay with me that night. Now, I don’t know my way around Maputo that well, but I look like a tour guide compared to Eden.  There was no way she would be able to find me without a phone.  I paced angrily around my room for a while (still peeved over the taxi incident) and decided that my best move was to find dinner. Now, Maputo is the food meca as far as Mozambique is concerned.  Determined not to waste a coveted dinner in the city, I took off looking for a suitable restaurant.

After wondering around for about 20 minutes and using the last of my cell phone battery to message Eden my room number, I found a fancy little Thai place. Jackpot! I went in, sat down, and ordered enough food for about 3 people (I assumed Eden would show up at some point and appreciate being greeted with pad Thai)….and asked for it to-go.  I also decided that I deserved a beer for my efforts – and in the process made friends with my server… who I then convinced to charge my phone for me on his charger in the back.  I left the restaurant with a hugeeee bag of food and a new found sense of accomplishment.  The rest of my evening consisted of taking a glorious shower and eating some delicious Thai food while lying in a giant bed and watching Gossip Girl on my laptop. Seriously…AWESOME. Eden showed up around midnight just in time to eat, chat, and pass out in what was the most comfortable bed I had touched in about 8 months.

When I checked out the next morning, I re-encountered that whole “prepaid room” mess. They had no record of it being paid, and my credit card had so conveniently expired.  Sweet. I told them if I could get my dad on the phone he could email in all of the information to pay.  My phone was doing the angry beep again, so I called America, woke up my dad (it was his birthday – I’m sure he loved being woken up at 4 am by a daughter requesting he send his credit card information half way around the world) and attempted to explain the humor of the situation to the man at the counter….not sure whether that worked or not….

Finally, we got everything figured out and Eden and I set off to do some Christmas shopping at the craft market. Two hours later, we emerged with huge carved wooden bowls, tons of beautiful batiques (I have no idea how to spell that), and lots of other fun stuff. We hit the fish market for lunch, where we feasted on prawns, mussels, crab and draft beer for my last meal in Mozambique.

I left Eden in Maputo, and I flew to Johannesburg, South Africa for yet another 4 hour long airport-sit. The lack of kindle or book was really starting to sting at this point.  Also, my ipod and laptop had already died. Again, I was going home. All good. I finally got on a giantttt Atlanta-bound flight and mentally prepared for 16 hours of airtime.  Luckily, I was able to sleep for a significant amount of time (thank you hundreds of hours of African travel – which was much less comfortable than the wonders that Delta had to offer)

In the Atlanta airport, I practically ran to the closest open fast food place (a burger king, in this case) and got a large fountain diet coke.  Then, I grabbed a shiny new Cosmo magazine (!!!!!!) and tried to ignore the fact that people were giving me strange look (I know! I’m wearing flip flops and a light jacket and you have on a scarf and snow boots….I’m coming from Africa, leave me aloneee!!!!).

From there, it was just one quick flight to Louisville. I seriously don’t think I have ever been more excited.  Even as quickly as I was busting toward my parents (who I knew were waiting just past the security point), I honestly looked at all the “Welcome to Kentucky” stuff on the walls and LOVED IT!  Unbridled Spirit logans, I have never been more happy to see you!!! I was a few minutes early, so I surprised my parents when I came running out. Naturally, my mom and I both cried and my dad attempted to take photos. They wrapped me up in my favorite red coat and traded my flip flops for cowboy boots right there. SO WORTH THE TRAVEL!!!!

Solitary Confinement

After Helen left, I still had about a week to kill before I took off to the enchanted America-land.  Seeing as there was no one around,  I found myself on the edge of boredom induced insanity.  When you wake up at 5:30 am and have literally nothing to do, no food and no one to talk to, things get weird.  Aside from reading like a crazy person, watching an entire season of Top Chef, and perfecting my friendship bracelet making skills, I made a running list of the things I missed the most about home.  Don’t judge.  After 15 months you too might miss the Kardashians.

Couches. Bad reality television. Driving a car.  Good bottles of wine. Talking to someone who doesn’t live in Africa for longer than an hour. Fountain diet coke. Wireless internet. New music. My bed. Pedicures. Football and basketball games. Smart phones. Vegetables other than tomatoes, onions and green peppers. Boots. Mexican food. Yoga class. Not sweating.

The list goes on and on, but you get the idea   J

The Move

After a week on playing on the beach in Vilinkulo and a very memorable Thanksgiving in Gorongosa National Park, Helen and I packed up our house in Moatize.  A Peace Corps staff member came with one of those magical Land Rovers to help us move to our new place in Cateme.  Honestly, I was pretty impressed with how efficiently and quickly we were able to transfer all our stuff (we’ve been accumulating tons of things over the past year). 

It took us about 45 minutes to arrive at our new site in the private car (in public transport, it would take about an hour and a half).  The majority of that drive was on bad dirt roads headed straight into the bush.  Yikes. Helen and I were pretty accustomed to the “city life,” as we called it.  When we pulled up in front of our new house, I was pretty relieved. It’s a cute little place, right smack in front of the school and in the middle of the teacher housing section.  People came out of no where to help us unload our things and get settled in. So that was extremely comforting in itself.   Unfortunately, most of the other teachers and students had already left Cateme for Christmas break – so it was pretty lonely around here. 

I think the easiest way to summarize my thoughts about the new place is through a pro/con list.  Here we go…. First the positives:

1.      roommates- Just Helen and I in Cateme (thank god)!

2.      Commute time – it literally takes less than 10 seconds to walk to school. It’s seriously right outside our front door.  Goodbye hour long commute and fighting the chapa rush every morning!!

3.      Water! – after being such a stress in Moatize, we were thrilled to find that our new place has indoor plumbing and running water. Granted, it switches on and off throughout the day… but still. Running water!!!

4.      Community – Our row of houses is reserved specifically for the teachers at our school.  That means that 18 of our colleagues will be a stones throw away and therefore, much more accessible

And the negatives:

1.The market – we lived right next to the biggest market in Moatize (which is a sizable town, as it is).  The new ‘market’ is a 20 minute walk away.  The air quotes are because, well, I'm not sure I would consider 4 women selling only mangoes and tomatoes a market.  The food situation will be a major challenge here

2. “get out time” – Often times, volunteers will refer to how long it takes them to  “got out of their site.” For example, we could get out of Moatize in 15 minutes…chapas ran continuously and it was a major road. Hannah, on the other hand, might have to wait anywhere between 15 minutes and 2 hours – just for a car to pass through her village.  Unfortunately, Cateme is wayyyy out and not on a main road. We’re looking at the 2 hour ‘get out’ time frame now.  Goodbye jetting into the city for lunch and being home again by 1 pm.

3. Furniture – the padres from our old school furnished our entire house for us. This house is completely empty. No bed frames. No table and chairs. Nothing. Luckily I got a few little things when my parents visited last summer. Our little wicker outdoor furniture is now the centerpiece of the living room.  I’ll keep that as long as I can get myself some sort of bed hah!

Updates and Whatnot…

With no luck finding a new acceptable housing option – Helen and I have committed to moving sites and teaching at the Cateme Secondary School next year.  Even though we’ve fought this moment since March, we eventually gave in and agreed to move.  Fortunately, Cateme is only 30 k from Moatize so we’ll be able to  visit AND keep our same friends/support group! Our new school is brand new and apparently beautiful. Cateme itself is a pretty interesting place – a few years back , one of the huge Brazilian mines wanted to mine a part of Moatize where a village existed.  Being the super-power that they are, the company planned and built a new village and transplanted all of the displaced residents.  And that’s where we’re headed! We’ll live in teacher housing on the school campus (no more hour commute!!!) and are moving there at the end of November.  Obviously, I’m crushed to leave the school and community I’ve integrated into here and I can’t help but feel like next year will be “year 1, round 2” as opposed to “year 2.” BUT. I’m excited to try it all again! I’ll certainly have a lot of advantages having opened up a new site here in Moatize. 

            The school year ended relatively calmly. Aside from chasing down failing students and giving them a “last chance” test to prove they should pass (most of them shouldn’t …. I mean, you don’t know what the pronoun “I” means?! We’ve got problems, kid) and announcing our official departure –  summer break came with ease. Everyone needs a break J

We had a lovely lunch with Crispen’s (one of my little welder) family.  He’s one of my favorite students and, as an orphan, was taken in by his aunt and uncle.  His “sisters” (who are really cousins) prepared quite a feast for us! We assured his aunt and uncle that he’s a good student and watched about an hour of home video of a cousins wedding (complete with footage of Crispen – who ripped his pants dancing too much at the reception… the kid’s a riot! I’m going to miss him next year).  Helen and I left very full, carrying an offering of a pumpkin, and an invitation back anytime. Mozambican hospitality gives the South a run for its money. 

            Also, we have a new addition to our house/petting zoo…. A tiny little white and orange kitten who is providing us with tons of entertainment!! Helen settled on the name Oliver (which I thought was adorable) – but now after about two weeks, we  think Oliver might be Olive (aka his female alter ego).  How two people with a degree in biology have this much trouble assigning gender to baby animals is beyond me, lol!

English Theater

One of the Peace Corps initiated projects in the Mozambican school system is an English theater compitiion. Basically, schools from around the province will come together for a weekend and present 10 minute original plays about a social issue while showing off their English skills.  This year’s theme was “Choose your Future” and our students came up with a little play about staying in school.  Being novices to the competition, we weren’t sure what to expect.  The kids wrote the play by themselves in Portuguese and then with the help of their lovely English teacher (aka, Helen and I) translated it to English.  The students are always encouraged to write the piece themselves – but normally, it comes down to a teacher stepping in and taking control.  Needless to say, we were more than proud of our students for writitng the script themselves.

Our nine boys and one girl who participated were rockstars!!!  I’m pretty sure Helen and I looked like beaming stage moms as we watched them from the side.  We didn’t win any prizes – nor was it the most action-packed play.  But hey, we had no idea what we were getting into! And now, in the words of wise little Cloves (one of my star students) “Its ok that we didn’t win, I already have ideas on how to improve for next year.”   Plus, they all got t-shirt, certificates and pocket English-Portuguese dictionaries.  Pre-dictionary, Cloves used to bring a single, folded up paper to every one of my English clases.  It was a page from the dictionary in the back of an English text book he’d found somewhere. Needless to say, the shiny new pocket dictionary is a prized possession!

The Monday following the compitetion, I had arranged to have them perform the play for the entire school body (since they weren’t able to go to the actual competition).  I was a little nervous for them – a few weeks ago, another activista group did a play.  The students seemed completely uninterested in watching and ended up talking through the entire thing.  So when my group started and the 350 people in the audience crept closer and closer in complete silence, I was shocked!! Man, those kids were mesmerized! They couldn’t look away! When the kids took their final bow and the rest of the school broke into applause – I knew it was worth it. They were ecstatic and it was the talk of school for the rest of the day!

Food evolution

At home, I love everything about cooking. I love finding new recipes and hunting down random ingredients. I love having the kitchen to myself and carefully selecting a playlist to jam out to while I cook.  I love when my dad whips out a bottle of wine and some random fancy cheese (or the college version: my roommates, a jug of cheap wine and a cosmo magazine…).  I’m the child of foodies, what can I say! My mother, the fabulous gourmet chef that she is, is the daughter of a… how should I put this… a frugal country cook? Eh. I can’t think of anything better right now. But I can tell you that my grandma makes some mean mac&cheese, peas and dumplings and fried bologna sandwiches. Not to mention jam cake (and peach ice cream)! 

During training (a YEAR ago!), Mama Joanna was the sole provider of all my meals. Which meant that I ate the same fried egg/salad/bread combo for breakfast everyday.  For lunch and dinner, we did rice plus some vegetable mash – couve, matapa, cabbage, etc. Occasionally she’d get creative and fry some little fish… or real crazy and make fried fish stew (not my fave).  Not that this wasn’t delicious, but it led to wicked food cravings.  Some days, I thought I might go crazy if I didn’t have some cheese. Or chips and salsa. Or some good fish. Let me tell you, ten weeks of eating the same 6 meals is rough.

Then we moved on to the next phase. The “just moved to site and I have NO idea what I’m doing here” phase. This was marked by many days where food was not “prepared” in any way. For example, lunch…. 4 mangos. For dinner, bread and peanut butter. OR a can of tuna with market crackers. (Oh. This was also in the days before my mom mailed us a can opener. Needless to say, my leatherman tool hacked its way through many a tuna can).

After a week or two, we started to get our act together. Christmas was approaching and as fun as eating mangos and bread for Christmas dinner sounded (seriously, that would have ended in tears….), it was time to step up.  School hadn’t started yet and our biggest challenge was just finding ways to fill the hours. 

Cue Mozambican Julia Childs.   Vegetable Lasagna with homemade marinara sauce and hand rolled noodles, check.  Spinach ravioli, yep.  Tortillas (and chips), Puerto Rican beans and rice, mango salsa…. Oh yes.  Pineapple and caramelized onion pizza.  Pumpkin curry and naan.   When you wake up at 5 am and have a solid 14 hours to kill, you can impress yourself!

One Year

It’s been a year! Can you believe it?! A whole year in Mozambique. Quite often around the ‘sleazy Teazy’ (as we affectionately refer to Moatize) do we begin conversations with “If you would have asked me 11 months ago what I’d be doing right now, I would have never guessed….”  (but now we can say ONE YEAR!) This usually comes up when we’re stuck in some ridiculous situation.  Like when I woke up to find an entire cows head in my kitchen. Like when Hannah had to sit through the ‘super mato pregnancy test’ (aka all female students had to whip out a boob to a panel of female professors to make sure they ‘weren’t pregnant’….not kidding…). Or when a baboon stole Helen’s purse and then proceeded to slap her in the mouth (can’t make that up… but it was kind of funny).  Or  when – on any number of occasions – I’ve been crammed onto a chapa or in the back of a flat bed truck and someone shoves a live goat into the mix…. Or (a personal favorite) decides that a skewer of field mice is the perfect snack for the drive.  

It’s all just part of the ride, I guess J

It’s been a year since I’ve had access to a flushing toilet or a shower.  Instead, water (or the lack of) has probably been one of the most stressful parts of my life here.  Not the fact that it’s not “running” but the complete lack of it. As in, “Welp. There’s no water in Moatize, guess I’m not washing my hair”

It’s been a year since I’ve listened to the radio or watched any number of quality TV shows (Real Housewives, Kardashions and Jersey Shore – I’m looking at you).  Instead, I listen to crazy Mozambican music and Justin Beiber (‘Baby’ obviously) against my will as it’s blaring from the market. I watch my neighbor kids playing and the goats and the 7 dogs that live at our house.

It’s been a year since I’ve zipped around in my beloved Jeep.  Instead, I elbow no less than 3 people a day trying to get a ‘seat’ in a gutted van that will (inevitably) break down or have the door fall off within a week. 

It’s been a year since I’ve gone to my favorite yoga class and then treated myself to a smoothie or a fountain Diet Coke.  Instead, I walk my daily 4 k to and from school and (if I’m lucky) have a fresh mango/pineapple/tangerine/guava when I get home.

It’s been a year since I’ve crept around Whole Foods for an excessive amount of time looking at all the goodies. Instead, I hit the market near our house where ladies sit on the ground behind little piles of tomatoes, onions, coconuts, greens, garlic and piri piri peppers.  Where I buy all of my dinner ingredients for about 40 cents and attempt to say a few words in the local language.

It’s been a year since I’ve felt like I blended in to a community. Since I’ve not gotten stares, since men haven’t literally yelled at me, since babies haven’t cried at the sight of a white girl.  One year since I’ve hugged my friends, since I’ve had a real mattress, since I’ve blow dried my hair. One year since I’ve browsed the web, bought new clothes, worn high heels. I’ve missed my brother’s graduation, the death of my grandfather and countless other problems of my friends and family. 

Now before you think I’m going on a big downer trip….

A year ago, I didn’t speak a word of Portuguese – and now, I can give a 90 minute lesson on the respiratory system.  I had never stood in front of classroom and felt the excitement of students. I’d never seen the Indian Ocean or hiked up mountains or seen the stars this bright.  I’d never travelled the length of an entire country by myself with just a small backpack.  I didn’t know how amazing these women would be - carrying babies on their back and baskets of produce on their heads.  I didn’t know the same generosity that is culturally ingrained in Mozambique – that someone would literally give you the shirt off his back or split what little food they have in half so that you can eat too. 

It’s a beautiful thing!

Thanks to all my amazingggg family and friends for being such rock stars the past year.  Your love and support keep me strong.  Love and miss you all.