25 de Junio (Part II)

The feast was to honor cross border unity with our neighboring district in Malawi, and many of the visiting dignitaries recognized us from our regular international trips to visit our Peace Corps buddy on the other side (although as is often the case given the number of people we meet, we couldn't recognize any of them). The sumptuous food featured every type of meat available in our community in excessive quantities, including beef, goat, liver, various kinds of fish, and chicken, prepared in multiple delicious ways, and am endless supply of beer (or in Luc's case, Lemon Twist), which was a special treat for Janet, since she never gets to drink in site. Judging by how quiet the town was just after dark on our walk home, everyone else was also exhausted from the long day of celebration.

25 de Junio (Part I)

Americans celebrate independance on July 4th; here we celebrate independance just a couple weeks earlier on June 25th. There are no fireworks or barbeques, and its the middle of winter instead of summer, but the spirit of the day is the same, its a day for pride in your country, and even in a country as poor and problem ridden as Mozambique, there is no shortage of pride on this day. The 25th of June is clearly am important day here as evident by the greater than usual number of goats slaughtered in the market, the larger than normal early morning crowds drinking at the street side bars, and everyone's eagerness to greet us with Boas Festas! Much of the celebrating however was the same as any other holiday: long speeches at the praça de heróis and the ceremonious laying of flowers at the star shaped monument dedicated to the martyrs of independance which can be found in the main square of every town across the country. Unfortunately our main plaza is
only meters away from the main highway uniting Mozambique and Malawi so we had sporadic interruptions from big rigs hauling gasoline to our landlocked neighbor, but no one seemed to mind. Our school youth group presented the theater piece on family planning they wrote and have been rehearsing for the past couple of months. With our mainly pre-TV population, people are easily entertained, so we were a big hit. The morning's formal events concluded with the Nyau's highly energetic traditional African dancing. One of the Nyau, wearing a beast mask with animal horns and brandishing a machette, was particularly scary; he had the masses fleeing before him as he repeatedly charged the crowd and punished anyone failing to get out of his way with a beating. Luckily we were safe in one of the chairs designated for dignitaries next to the chief administrator of our district subregion. The chief invited us to our town's fanciest Independance Day event, held at our
town's only non bamboo hut restaurant. (continued)

World Cup and Community Tragedy (Part II)

The next day all the teachers traveled together to Niquisse's hometown, about 20 kms down the road for the funeral. There were hundreds of people, including some students who walked the entire way and teachers from several neighboring schools. Everyone contributed money or food to help the family with the expenses of procuring a coffin and feeding some of the many attendees. All the donations were documented and read publically before the ceremony, including the 40 Meticais (approximately $1) given by the American teachers. We didn't understand much of what was said, it was mostly in Chichewa, but the sadness was evident. In his grief, Niquisse asked us to scratch his son's name from our roll sheets. The loss of Van Dam was very sad, but not uncommon given the amount of poverty and disease faced by our community- this is the second of Janet's 9th grade French students to die this year. But possibly because death is such a part of life here, the mourning
is intense and fast and then everything carries on, as best as possible.

World Cup and Community Tragedy (Part I)

We've had two weeks of World Cup soccer, watching as many games as possible with our fellow teachers and the students and passers-by who crowd the windows and door of our teachers' lounge trying to get a glimpse of the world sporting event. Most people have little knowledge of the countries involved, but that doesn't dampen their passion for the game. Our colleagues have kept up the enthusiasm despite the disappointing performances by the African teams. Clifford, our school's other English teacher is a particularly avid fan - we suspect he's watched every game that hasn't conflicted with classes. However, as the first round of group stage play culminated and teams began to qualify for the knock-out stage of the tournament, our school suffered a tragedy which eclipsed the footballmania. One of our 9th grade students, the son of our chemistry teacher Niquisse, died unexpectedly from illness. As soon as we got the news, just after second period, the entire
school shut down. Everyone walked to his house to sit with him in solidarity, as is the custom here, crowding the home, porch, and yard with hundreds of students, teachers, and family members. The student, whom everyone called Van Dam like the Belgian action star, was only 14 and he did not have AIDS, malaria, TB, or a history of bad health. Janet thinks he might have had meningitis. Although it is unclear what caused his death, he most probably would not have died if he had recieved modern healthcare, but that is not available here, even for the families of relatively well-off professionals like teachers. So we were not watching USA's exciting last-minute goal against Algeria that put them through to the round of 16 on TV with the others; we were listening at home on the radio, waving our flags and cheering in our yard to celebrate. The other teachers were taking shifts helping our grieving colleague make arrangements for the burial of his son
(continued in Part II).

Local Delicacies

The food we eat here wouldn't seem too exotic or weird to most of you back home. We eat lots of green salads, pasta dishes, stir-frys, chili beans, seasonal fruits and vegetables, and lots of bread. A visit to our daily market isn't too different than any farmer's market in the USA, although we have fewer options to choose from in general since we depend solely on locally produced food and Africans are fairly conservative in their eating habits, rarely deviating from their traditional menus. However, two new items have recently cropped up for winter: bright green bugs and field mice. The bugs are sold in little piles for about 20 cents and the people claim they taste great and have lots of oil. The mice, which people call ratos, sell for about 50 cents served on bamboo kebobs of about ten desicated little creatures. The vendors are keen on emphasizing that these are field mice, and not the ubiquitous varmints found plagueing people's homes, which are
deemed unfit for human consumption. Again, people claim they taste great, once you burn off the hair and fry them up in oil or boil them for a soup. We have yet to try either delicacy, but we would be willing to procure them for anyone seeking some extra culinary excitement on their African visit.

Janet's Birthday, part II

Also while in Blantyre we met several Peace Corps Malawi Volunteers, visited the oldest European building in the country (the original Africa Lakes Corporation headquarters dating from 1881 - the same year as the founding of our hometown Pasadena back in California - and now housing an upscale art gallery/cafe), and received a tour of a Hindu temple just like the ones in India (minus the sacred cows and throngs of boisterous worshipers) serving the small but devoute community of local South Asians. We even contemplated watching Russel Crowe's new Robbin Hood at the only real movie theater within 15 of our site, but our already action packed schedule did not permit that splurge (maybe next time). So, despite finding herself a world away, Janet had a great birthday. We are still amazed how even in remote Africa, technology can bring us your phone calls and emails making up feel not so far away on special occasions like this.

Janet's Birthday, part I

Normally we celebrate birthdays with music, dancing, food, fancy clothes, and cake, but a long week of administering mid-terms at school, hosting surprise Peace Corps visitors, some cold wet weather, and our neighbor's recent loss of her sister to illness combined to dampen our festive spirit. All the elements were present and we had a good time, but Teacher Luka was too tired to show off his popular dancing and our neighbors apologized for not organizing the event properly, promising to make our next party spectacular. To make up for the lackluster birthday party, Luc took his wife to Blantyre for a day of celebrating in Malawi's largest and most happening city. Our Peace Corps Malawi neighbor Jordan joined us for the outing; he needed some time away from site, a feeling easy for us to understand after several uninterrupted weeks of working in the community. The highlite of our trip was the Monster Steak Burger - a tender piece of quality beef, topped
with bacon, cheese, and a fried egg, with fries (which Malawians call chips) and a salad, all for about $6 at a posh sports bar geared for foreigners were we watched the World Cup on an enormous screen. In the city we also got authentic Ethiopian food, soft serve ice cream, and doughnuts that were so soft they felt like eating fluffy clouds. Different flavors and eating options have become increasingly exciting during our stay here in Africa. When not eating, we made the most of our day on the town thoroughly walking the streets and exploring the markets, one featuring beautiful wood carvings and curios catering to tourist tastes, another the largest clothing market in the contoury were Janet showed off here intense negotiating skills to get a Tanzanian batik print cloth for just the right price, and an all food market were we feasted on an African buffet (much to the surprise of the locals who rarely see white people eating their food outside of fancy
restaurants). To be continued, we're maxing out our cell phone's capacity with this narrative.

Hidden Gem

Although we’ve been at site for 6 months now, we still feel like there are lots of areas around town that we don’t know. So this Sunday, after bidding farewell to our fellow Tete volunteer, Adrienne, who came for a visit, we set off on an afternoon walk down a path we hadn’t explored yet. Thinking it would be a simple stroll in the countryside, we were excited to find that our path led us a surprising place. After passing through a neighborhood full of our students, we passed into beautiful countryside. We ran into two of our students returning from their family’s field with bicycle loads of sugar cane, which they offered us. Then we forged a small spring and followed the path up a little incline. We noticed a tree-lined avenue with old cobblestones. Upon reaching the top of the path, we gazed upon a large which compound of buildings with arched windows. The roof was completely gone and the structures we overgrown inside with trees and bushes. The sweeping staircase lead up to the main doorway, above which was written C.F.P.P. de Zobue. We crawled through an opening and began exploring the inside, where we found scratched out images of Mao Tse Dong, Lenin and Mozambique’s socialist leader, Samora Machel. After a break for sugar cane in the old bathroom window, looking out over the fields, we headed home. Upon further investigation, we determined the site was an abandoned Catholic seminary, built by the Portuguese in the 40’s. After Mozambique’s independence, they were forced to move out and the structures became a center for primary teacher training. We never expected to find a secret garden to explore just outside our town. Who knows what we’ll find on our next walk!

Africa's World Cup

It’s very exciting to be in Africa for the start of the first World Cup on the continent. Although some fellow volunteers are actually in Johannesburg watching the games, we’re not that jealous because those plastic horns sound really annoying, plus it would entail 50 hours each way on a bus and we didn’t want to miss that much school since we’ll miss a few days on our upcoming vacation with Janet’s mom and step-dad. Instead we’re enjoying the games in our teacher’s lounge where a crowd of at least ten gathers for each match. It’s like our own private sports bar, just for the teachers and their families, where we often pass drinks and snacks along the 3 rows of seats set up for the tournament. We got the seats of honor on the front row couch for the USA vs England game, which is more comfortable than the ‘nose bleeds’ third-tier seats that are student desks. Everyone cheered on the US, mostly because they are all Chelsea fans and hate Rooney. In general, the mood is very pro-Africa – we could hear cheering across the whole town when Ghana scored on a penalty. Luc is trying not to get too emotionally involved in the tournament since he’s already super stressed out by the Lakers and Africa already had too many real issues like poverty, malnutrition, malaria and AIDS to justify fretting over sports. Still, while listening to excited African fans after Ghana’s victory in town and on our BBC radio, it seemed like people are happy to forget their troubles for a little while and join in the Pan-African celebration.

Páscoa's Birthday

A couple of months ago our friend Pascoalina, who enjoys sitting on our porch to talk with Janet while playing with the neighborhood baby that cries at white people, told us her birthday was coming up June 5. She was turning 18 and probably thought we were her best chance for making something special happen. We offered to bake a cake (we're the only ones with an oven) and, sure enough, that set things in motion for a birthday party. When the event took place, it was unclear who the party was really for. As the guests of honor, the food, music, and dance all centered on us and not so much on the b-day girl as we expected. We were made to sit on the sofa and eat off plates with utensils, while everyone stood and watched. They especially enjoyed watching us dance and having us translate their favorite English songs (the women particularly liked the feminist message in Beyonce's If I Were a Boy). Janet had made a small cloth purse for Páscoa, which was the
only present she received, but everyone seemed more interested in the shiny gold envelope recycled from Christmas we gave it in, decorated with stickers and with Páscoa's name written in big letters. Janet's cup cakes were a big hit, setting off a frenzy. One sneaky neighbor kid tried to take two in the confusion, which is not acceptable here, but people noticed. The hostess patted him down and found his cup cake stuffed in his back pocket; luckily it didn't have frosting.

Being Gay in Africa

In most places in Africa it is illegal to be homosexual; this includes Mozambique. Only South Africa, with its post-apartheid Rainbow Nation embracing of all forms of legal equality, has a progressive stance on sexual orientation, even sanctioning gay marriage. On the rest of the continent gays live in constant fear of being discovered and imprisoned. This fear played out recently in neighboring Malawi where two men were arrested for attempting to marry and sentenced to 14 years jail time. Elsewhere in Africa Uganda was debating a law to implement the death penalty for acts of homosexuality. International pressure from Obama, the United Nations, and the European Union prevented this measure from becoming law, but public support on the continent shows how intolerant many Africans remain. In cultures which prizes fertility, family, and traditional gender roles, any deviation from heterosexuality is strictly taboo. Even the participants at our Peace Corps
youth conference, selected for their leadership on gender issues, expressed openly homophobic opinions and support for the existing legal prohibitins here in Mozambique. These realities are especially difficult for the gay and lesbian volunteers serving in this region. As community guests, Peace Corps Volunteers must always balance their own views and lifestyles with their hosts' value system; grappling with these types of dilemmas is part of our job. Thankfully the President of Malawi, after a visit from the UN Secretary General issued a full pardon to the imprisoned gay couple despite continuing official and public disapproval of their lifestyle.

Deforestation

Most Americans know what a big problem deforestation is worldwide, but rarely see its effects firsthand. We had such a chance when Luc hiked up into our cloud forest on the nearby mountain which straddles the international border with our Peace Corps neighbor from Malawi and a student. It was a cloudy wet day, so we decided to stay off the big rocks and instead hiked through the towering trees looking for monkeys. While enjoying the jungle environment we stumbled across a small logging camp and a gaping hole in the vegetative canopy where locals had chopped down several hardwood giants whose timber law scattered in the unnatural clearing. Although upset by the destruction, we also felt for the friendly lumberlacks who were clearly driven by poverty as evidenced by their pathetic living conditions - a dank camp of makeshift tents fashioned from old plastic tarps and tree branches. We stood among the large stumps of trees which must have been hundreds of
years old without saying much feeling the emotional impact of the deforestation. Our student was particularly affected, remembering when he had taken previous Volunteers through that once wooed part of the forest several years before and wondering where the monkeys would live when the last of the big trees vanished.

Dia da Criança

Here in Mozambique we have a day for everything. June 1st for example was Children's Day. Like all holidays here it involved parading through town, speeches by local dignitaries, laying flowers at our plaza dedicated to national heroes, and singing and dancing. The Administrative Chief organized a soccer match between the primary school and our 8th grade students. Unfortunately it was scheduled during morning classes and about 25 kids skipped French to cheer on our team; Madame Janet was not pleased. Only the elementary school had the day off, but many of our high schoolers claimed to still be children to try to get out of classes. In reality many of them are already adults, in their late teens and early twenties; some already have their own children. The match went into extra time and ended with our side winning in a penalty shoot-out. We missed the first hour of afternoon class. For our victory the Chief presented our school with a beautiful red ball
sporting the FRELIMO (Mozambique's highly visible ruling party since independence) logo. Everyone celebrated on the field, singing and dancing and hugging our players, and about half the kids eventually made it back to school for classes.

World Cup Africa

World Cup is finally here and everyone is ready for the matches to start! The hype has dominated TV and radio for months, counting down the days to kickoff. Some volunteers got tickets and are traveling to Jo'berg to participate in the events and watch some of the games in person. At our school all the teachers pitched in about $5 each to buy a television and install a parabolic antenna so we can have a place to watch the action together. We had to rearrange our entire teachers' lounge, clearing out our vice-principals desks to maximize viewing area. We are just worried power might go out during one of the matches. Although electricity has been relatively steady the part few weeks, usage will spike during the football broadcasts. Since Mozambique didn't qualify for the tournament people are cheering for different African sides, like Ivory Coast, or fellow Portuguese speakers Brazil, but mostly people are just looking forward to a lot of good soccer.

Infelicidades

We live in a small community so anytime anything happens, everyone
knows. This is especially true when something sad happens, which
people refer to as 'unhappinesses', or 'infelicidades' in Portuguese.
Our neighbors are a young couple, a border guard, Batota, and his
wife, Bia. They were expecting their first child, but sadly had a
miscarriage at 4 months this week. Bia had been carrying twins. Even
more common are premature deaths due to AIDS. One of our other
neighbors is sick in the hospital with AIDS-related complications, her
husband already died. The other day on our way to the mini-bus stop we
crossed branches placed across the path - the sign that a death has
just happened there. One of Luka's adult students had lost his sister,
leaving behind 5 young orphans. While people rarely disclose it was
AIDS, often just saying 'she had been sick', it was most likely, since
she was of child-bring age, the most affected age group. When someone
dies the community gathers at the home and sits in solidarity in
gender groups, the men together and the women together. People don't
talk very much on such occasions, they just sit together for some
hours and support each other. So with our young neighbors' tragedy,
people came in and out of the compound in shifts, being together and
helping the young couple through this difficult challenge.