First 3 Weeks at Site

Adjustment to Life in Macia

My first week as a resident of Macia was predominantly about meeting my basic needs. Thankfully the town is centered on a large market along the main highway in Mozambique, so I was easily able to purchase an electric 2-burner stovetop and some other basic cooking necessities. Even with electricity and running water, however, just carrying out the daily cooking and cleaning can be exhausting. I eat a lot of potatoes, tomatoes, bananas, and onions as they are the most widely available in the market. Not the most balanced diet, but onions always kept me from getting scurvy in Oregon Trail, so I’ll be fine. With a little more effort and meticais, other produce as well as canned beans and tuna can be found in the market as well. I plan on being mainly vegetarian until Shop Rite (the Mozambican equivalent of Wal-Mart) opens in my town and I can purchase previously-killed and plucked chicken.

Overall, my adjustment is going pretty well. It is definitely frustrating at times, especially since I’m often tired, hungry, thirsty, and hot. The heat in particular is a big change, as the temperature frequently hits 90 degrees by 8am. Braving the heat one afternoon to buy a standing fan (totally worth it), I had multiple Mozambicans ask me if I was feeling okay. Not used to white girls of Irish descent turning bright red and sweating profusely, I guess. A puppy back home (shout out to Casey Schneiderman, love you bitch) would act out when she needed to be let outside to pee. Similar to that dog, I’ve found that when I start to get in a bad mood, it’s a sign that I need to take a cold shower. (Yes, that’s a very bizarre analogy, but that’s what happens when you have a lot of alone time.) However, my body is adjusting. When the temperature dropped to just under 70 degrees the last week of training, I wore jeans and a North Face sweater. Maybe in a year I’ll be like the Mozambican worker at an internet café with air conditioning who had to keep running outside to escape the cold.

Highlights thus far:

• A Christmas party for orphans and vulnerable children: For a couple hours before the meal was served, I played games and sang songs with the kids, including Duck Duck Goose, Simon Says, Red Light Green Light, Sharks and Minnows (Lions and Zebras), and the Hokey Pokey, all roughly translated into Portuguese. It was one of my favorite days in Mozambique.

• A local radio station interview: Along with two other women from the same organization that held the party, our president interviewed us about the party and current events. Personally, I was asked various questions including how Christmas is celebrated in the United States and if I think education is important.

• Christmas at Xai-Xai: For the holiday, most of the volunteers in my province rented a house at Xai-Xai beach. It was a much-needed break from site, and spending the holiday with American friends helped missing celebrating with family back home.

My House (see pictures!)

My house is a depedencia, which means it shares a yard with a bigger house. I have a bedroom, kitchen/dining room, and a bathroom. None of them are connected; rather, they all open to a shared porch. So far, the electricity and running water have been fairly reliable. My counterpart from the faith-based organization lives in the main house with a wife (of three) and several kids (of 12) and grandkids. The children are cute and often come over to my porch to color. Finally, the location is great, as I’m far enough off the main road to feel safe but still only a ten minute walk from the market.

Random Bits of American Culture

Why certain parts of American culture make it to Mozambique and others don’t (sorry, Kanye) is a great mystery to me. Michael Bolton, Celine Dion, James Blunt (he's much more than a one hit wonder here) and the musical stylings of a Mr. Kenny G are pretty standard. If I ask a Mozambican which American movies they like, I usually recognize none of the titles with one exception… Rambo. Additionally, Mozambicans love to try out their English with me, and it’s often pretty funny. For example, a neighbor wished me “Merry X-Mas!” and a teenage boy declared, “Hellooooo, ladies” as I walked past alone. One morning a girl yelled “HALLO!” in such a way that I couldn’t help but laugh until I realized that this is what I sound like to Mozambicans constantly.

The D-Word: Shits and No Giggles

Warning: the following is especially for those weak of stomach. One of my favorite discussion topics is TMI (too much information; the other is fofoca, which means gossip) but if you don’t enjoy hearing about bodily functions, stop now.

Anyway, one can’t live or travel within a developing country without experiencing diarrhea. It’s a less-than-fun fact of life, especially for those who possess the “Lawless stomach.” That name is perfect, because not only is it passed (ha! poop joke) down from my dad’s side of the family, but it describes a stomach with no master. Pepto Bismal and Immodium be damned. It has definitely been my greatest challenge as a Peace Corps Volunteer so far, and a round of antibiotics offered only a brief reprieve. I never leave the house without toilet paper as Mozambique is mainly BYOTP and I don’t want to have to use notebook paper a second time. But hey, I heard a trainee in a previous group couldn’t find his latrine in the middle of the night, shit all over his backyard, and woke to find his homestay family sweeping it up. At least I haven’t done that.

Engordar (to gain weight)

Engordar-ing is generally a positive thing here and was a stated goal of my host mother. Despite the fact that food rarely stayed in my body for very long, she declared the mission a success. Unfortunately, under the carb-intensive Mozambican diet, American women typically gain weight while men lose weight. One of my first nights at site, at the exact moment that I was rubbing my pão (bread) stomach, my bed frame broke. On the other hand, I store my money in the world’s greatest money belt, my bra, and often forget to remove it, so I frequently make it rain when I get undressed to tomar banho. I’m choosing to go with the latter (that bed frame was shitty to begin with), but I’m glad to have control over what I eat finally. Plus I’ve kicked my pack-a-day cookie habit.