O Chines

(Nov. 1)

over a month? already? it's odd how long that first week felt and how quickly the following weeks went. i can't believe that i left more than a month ago.

more or less the weeks have been more of the same. i sleep, eat, go to a variety of classes and seminars, walk around a lot, and poop in a hole. The oddest thing is that the other day i opted to use the hole rather than sitting on an actual toilet. you might think i'm just weird and gross, but i assure you, crouching down like that and pooping in a hole is actually easier. of course i miss sitting on the john and getting myself acquainted with the current events, but when you need to get the job done quickly and efficiently, the hole is the way to go.

yea.. a little too honest and open to start off a blog, but the longer you're in africa, the more comfortable you become with talking openly about anything and everything. here, details are not spared.

last week i visited maputo, the capital of mozambique. i can sum up my experience there with two things: grilled cheese sandwiches and pizza. grilled cheese sandwiches and pizza never tasted sweeter. yes, i indulged and gorged and had my own little feast, which was eating two of the grilled cheese sandwiches and a large pizza to myself. the end result was not fun At all, But it was well worth it.

and so was the second round. haha. this past saturday i went back to maputo and didn't get to eat grilled cheese sandwiches, but i did have a large pizza for myself. and it tasted just as heavenly as it did the first time. and this time i came back from maputo not just with a full stomach, but with a guitar as well. i figured that i'm going to have a lot of spare time and so i decided to buy and learn to play the guitar. the only choices i had was a purple guitar or an electric blue one. and so, i went with the purple guitar. and there i was, an asian guy in the middle of africa walking around with a purple guitar in my hand. i think just having the purple guitar gave me instant superstar status. i kept getting asked to play something and asked if i was an artist. while i was in the chapa (which is the taxi we take and something that i'll touch on after this) i was trying to bargain with a kid to give me a coke for a cheaper price. and then he started to ask me if i was an artist. and i decided to play along and told him that i was this huge star in Namaacha (the city i've been staying in for the past month), and then he asked me what my artist name was and my response was "o chines" (The Chinese). i think he got a kick out of that. people here don't really differentiate the different types of asians. they just say chinese, and for the sake of convenience, sometimes i just go with it and say that i'm chinese, and yes, you are right, i do look like jackie chan, and he is in fact my brother.

Chapas- the 15 passenger van made in sometime between 1962- 1978 that takes people from namaacha to maputo in an hour. and although the van is made for 15 people, they attempt to break the Guinness world record for people in a vehicle each time a chapa leaves for maputo. when i first left for maputo i was in a chapa with 24 people. you quickly learn to get snug and comfortable and personal with strangers, and somehow manage to sit still for an excruciating hour. chapas are cramped and no fun and don't adhere to any traffic laws. and actually, i don't really know if they have traffic laws here.

i have eaten chicken liver, intestines, gizzard, and feet. all are chewy.

sometimes i'm really taken aback by the cultural differences. i know i mention a lot of things that are different in terms of food and bathroom situations, but their values and beliefs are a lot different too. they practice polygamy, present their infants to the moon to prevent epilepsy, and believe that one should not touch an infant after he/she had sex because it will give the child a fever. i know it sounds really odd and farfetched, and it is. but these are beliefs and values that are deeply rooted in tradition and in their culture, and to call them silly or ridiculous would be rude. but things are slowly changing, and certain practices are modified or left out, and what it really comes down to is information. not everybody gets a quality education here. sometimes it's because of other responsibilities such as responsibilities with the family, and sometimes people are just in remote areas where a school has yet to be formed or teachers are not available. 5% of students actually go on and complete a secondary education (grade 8-12). and it's just startling and overwhelming sometimes when you see how limited the opportunities are.

but things have already changed so much in this country in the past few years. i am a part of the 13th group that peace corps has sent to mozambique, and just in the past few years, things have changed a lot. and the refreshing thing is that people do learn, people do change, and things don't always have to be the same.

but the going is not easy. we looked at the syllabus for 10th graders, and the topics that need to be covered are topics like "agriculture and a sustainable environment" and "international diplomacy". basically, the topics that they cover are stuff you learn in college. and soo much is expected out of these kids at such a young age. and it's tough to see how one can even manage to explain or elaborate on any of these topics in a language that they are still learning.

but despite how grand or lofty these goals are, at least the bar is set up high. at least they are pushing to go above and beyond. at least they don't just have easy goals that are easily attainable. at least they have goals that are challenging, thought-provoking, and stimulating.

there's just so much to be done. and i'm a part of 56 other volunteers that are only going to spend less than 5% of their entire lives to help better an entire country that on top of education and hiv/aids issues, still believes that burning trash is okay, listens to the advice of traditional healers that don't always have correct information, and limits the opportunities for women in a world where sometimes the only option they have to get ahead is to use their bodies. oh yea, and it's hot. real hot. and all of this is just overwhelming sometimes, and i wonder what i'll see after i spend a mere 2 years in a country that just recently gained its independence and ended years of war.

But.. i am positive. because i know that i'm not going to change the world. but i'll do what i can to do my part in changing someone's life.

anyways... sometimes i watch the news here and try to understand what they're saying in the limited portuguese that i've learned thus far and i found out that obama ran a 30 min. ad on tv? which must've been crazy expensive, and he must've raised a ton of money. And i saw that two kids got arrested for plotting to kill a bunch of black people and obama? what else is going on in the world? as mentioned before, i obviously miss keeping myself up to date on current events while taking care of business in the bano. so what else is going on?

i hear the office is still hilarious and it's confirmed that lindsey lohan is a lesbian? how was halloween? election coming up soon, is obama a shoe-in? titans still somehow undefeated? phillies won the world series and did anybody actually care?

well, i hope all is well and i'll try to update a little more and a little more often.

tchao.

(Nov. 2)

so went for a hike up this mountain in namaacha and at the top you can see mozambique, south africa, and swasiland. at the top, they have barbwire fences that block off everything, but at the very top the fences are broken and you can step into all three countries. i thought that was pretty cool. so, i can actually point to a map and say i was at that exact location. pretty cool.

we also went out for a hike when it was 38 degrees celcius (roughly 100 degrees Farenheit). yea, it was hot and dumb, but well worth it.

at the end of this weekend we go on site visits. will update more later. tchao