falo portugues

(11/13/08)

it's nice to see how some things are universal.

i was coming back from walking around namaacha and i saw a bunch of kids pretending to be dogs and growling and barking at each other. and it was cute to see that kids are just as imaginative here as they are in the states. but i still do believe that introducing them to games like freeze tag, capture the flag, and four square would rock their worlds.

also, i'm glad that people in africa also agree with me that it is in fact hot. they don't like the heat either, they're just used to dealing with it.

peanut butter is also an universally appreciated condiment that is enjoyed by many. on the streets of maputo i also saw someone selling a 5 in 1 dvd of chuck norris movies. so, obviously, the glory and manliness that is chuck norris is also universal. and they also have an affinity for soda. i know we drink a lot of soda in the states, but i think i drink more of it here than i did in the states. well to be fair, i did try to stop drinking so much soda in the states, but once i got here, there's nothing like a nice cold fanta laranja. and all the sodas here are made with sugar and not high fructose corn syrup. and there definitely is a difference, and the difference is that soda tastes better here.

but things are still Very different in africa. there is no escape from the heat. you can't just walk into an air conditioned building or put yourself next to a fan or eat some cubes of ice to cool yourself down. you just gotta find some shade and deal with it somehow. when it rains, it'll rain for a week straight. you don't have a cvs to go to if you need to get some medicine. there is no walmart. spices are rare. there is no 99cent value meal. cars go as fast as they can, especially when passing by pedestrians. people do not use the silent or vibrate function on their cell phones. it's not impolite to pick up a phone call and start talking in the middle of a meeting. kids play with trash and in trash piles. hand sanitizer is nowhere to be found. and if you need to pick your nose, go ahead and go for it even if you're in the middle of a serious conversation.

so yea, we're all still people, but nevertheless, tia (this is africa).

well... this past wednesday, i got back from my site visit. for my site visit i went to cumbana which is in the southern region of theinhambane province. it's a small little town and it took about 8 hours by chapa to get there. and no, the ride was not comfortable. but i liked the place a lot. i and another trainee stayed with a volunteer in her two room reed house. there wasn't much room for the three of us, but it was sufficient.

she's an english teacher and her set up is pretty typical of mozambican teachers. she lives in the school and teaches to 7 different classes all in the 9th grade. the size of each class is about 60-70 students. and some of the classrooms have desks, some don't. but no matter what classroom you're in, some students have to sit on the floor.

but since it was a site visit, we definitely ventured out and treated ourselves to some special treats. i ate a version of a gusburger (if you're not from uva, a gusburger is the classic cheeseburger served with an egg in it), and some barracuda. the barracuda was delicious and a good chunk of meat. oh yea, and we cooked a bunch. and when i say we, i mean i myself actually cooked some stuff. yes, i repeat, i cooked. pigs can fly, tupac is alive, and yes, i cooked. and no, surprisingly, i didn't burn anything this time, and it was fantastic. in fact, i single handedly made homemade tortillas and garlic bread. it was soo good and i now i have the confidence to sufficiently feed myself once i am on site.

on the last day of site visit, i and other volunteers met up in tofo. tofo beach was beautiful. i saw the indian ocean. that actually sounds really cool now that i said it. but yea, i saw it and the beach i was at was beautiful. and we stayed at a hostel that overlooked the beach and the ocean and the view was delicious. i know you want pictures, but it'll take forever if i attempt to upload them with this internet connection, so the moment i can use some high speed internet, i'll be sure to put up a massive photo update. at that beach, you can go snorkeling for about $60 and swim with some whale sharks. yea, sounds real cool. i'll be sure to go and do that before i leave africa. oh yea, and definitely go on a safari. sadly, i haven't seen much wild life. i was hoping that my experience would be like a planet earth dvd, but sadly no. the only wildlife i've seen are mosquitoes, cockroaches, and chickens. haven't ridden a giraffe, danced with an elephant, or conversed with rafiki, but i will once i get the chance.

i found out that my ipod has a alarm clock function. and so, every morning i wake up to "aaaaaahhhh sehbenyaaaaaa....", which is the intro to the song "circle of life" from the cinematic version of my life if i was a talking lion, Lion King. so yea, i thought that was cool.

i also got my first package from mamabae today. it was sent about a month ago, but finally got it. i know can make kool-aid and eat fruit snacks. oh man, i missed these welch's fruit snacks. i'm going to savor each bite.

i now officially speak portuguese at an intermediate-high level. so i guess i have learned a lil somethin somethin in the past 6 weeks, but i still can't wait for training to be over. i really want to go to my site and start teaching and do what i signed up for. i want to live on my own in an absolutely foreign country and teach kids about english, music, aids awareness, women empowerment, and my relation with jackie chan. i actually find out where i'll be placed in 2 weeks, on thanksgiving. and i hope that i'll be placed in the south in the inhambane province because the beaches there are beautiful, and i love me some beach.

(11/15/08)

R.I.P.
O Chines

on this ill-fated saturday, i witnessed first-hand the passing of my purple guitar, O Chines.

basically, it is broken beyond repair... yes, i know, sad and tragic, but i did buy the thing from a chinese supermarket for about $60 U.S., and on the inside it said that it was a "word famous musical instruments". that should've been warning sign number one.

well, i guess some things shouldn't be made in china.


i am a sucker for a sad face.

my little sister salida always comes in asking for something. asking for chocolate or gum or candy. she's always asking for something. and she came into my room today and had the saddest face on and start asking for chocolate and whatnot.

i caved in. what else was i suppose to do? what would jesus do? he would've caved in too. the girl is just way too cute.


my mom briefly mentioned that she wanted to send to come visit me, and so i started to think about what it would be like if my parents came. it would be really cool and it'd be nice for them to know how i live over here, but then i realized, i'm crazy.

what am i doing in a third world country? and why am i okay living like this?

what's wrong with me? because living here ain't easy nor pretty. you can't stay clean. there are no fast food joints. you have to walk everywhere. you have to carry water over your head in a bucket and walk to your house. the electricity goes in and out. you don't poop in a toliet. can't take a shower. life here is not comfortable, fun, or safe. and honestly, i don't want my parents to live the way i'm living. it's okay for me, but i wouldn't want them to spend two days the way that i do.

i think i need to raise my standards of living.

(11/16/08)

today, i saw a dead snake with the head of a rat that it just ate sticking out of its body.

once again, whoever created the washer and dryer is a genius. washing clothes by hand with all that soap and whatnot can't be good for me. my hands have battle wounds from scrubbing. they don't look pretty and it stings every time i wash my hands. i spent almost two grueling hours washing my clothes.

after i washed my entire closet, i and a few others went for a hike to this tree that we dubbed "the tree of life" (from far away it looks like rafiki lives there)and had a picnic... it was spectacular. someone somehow made mac and cheese (which was decently delicious), we had peter pan peanut butter, fresh liche, bananas, cookies, m&m's (delightful), and i provided some good ol' kool aid. it was nice.

so i hear that hannah montana has a boyfriend. and he's five years older? and she doesn't care about the age difference? i can see it now. her next new hit is going to be called "age is just a number"

mama bae said that gas is $1.89 is richmond? you kidding me? that's outrageous. i don't believe it, and won't until i see it.

what's it like in america now that obama won? it's still hard to believe at times. i can't believe we have an african-american as president. that's amazing. i heard that when he won, they closed off the highways in chicago and people walked to the downtown area and celebrated. i can't even imagine that happening in the U.S. it's amazing to see that people are that excited for a new president. i can't even think of the last time people have ever reacted like that to a president in the states.

what else is new with the world? i'm itching for some current events. can someone send me emails of the world news? new movies? new music? new mac stuff?

ate logo.