These past couple of weeks have been filled with upgrading my house and work. Everything with my house is done and I've even added some things. My yard has no shade besides my lone papaya tree so I had a roof built with palm branches to finally have a place in the shade. My yard gets a good breeeze normally which helps a lot. Slowly my house is coming together and I'm actually getting excited to live here. I still have occasional visitors of different big bugs but I have not seen or heard a rat since they found the dead one and chased the 3 living ones out.
Since everything was pretty much done with my house (besides my dona de casa taking her things) I went to maxixe this weekend to buy a stove, fridge and other things so I can actually cook. I did get everything (for the most part) bit I also went to bring amendoin home. He has grown so mich since I last saw him! To bring him back I put him in a straw basket and felt like Paris Hilton...never again. Not only was I getting stared at like normal but people were actually stopping and staring. That hasn't happened in awhile. The 2 hour ride back was uneventful with amendoin sleeping pretty much the entire way. Once back home I put him on the ground because I had fashioned a leash and collar from a luggage strap and that got even more stares. Normally you see goats on leashes being draged so everyone was intrigued that I had a dog on a leash. Since I don't have a gate he's tied to my papaya tree. He has a lot of room and shade and can still come on to my porch. He's a bit of a cryer but I'm hoping he'll grow out of that. He's still very much a puppy and has been a lot of fun to have around.
I hope everyone is well and I really enjoy all the mail I've been getting!!!
Love,
ann
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Sunday, January 24, 2010
let the house flipping begin...
so the past couple of weeks have been filled with visits dealing with the problems of my house. the conclusion is that peace corps wants me to stay in my house and just make a ton of upgrades. this past friday is when the work began and hopefully it will be done soon so i can finally have a house and really move in (i'm still living out of suitcases and on bread). on monday, the real work is going to start (hopefully!) and i hope all will be done by the end of the week...although with african time i'm not sure that's possible. at least once this is all said and done i can add house flipper to my resume...
my job has been confusing because right after ICAP spent the week here helping me define my job my counterpart Olga had her baby (a girl) and will be on maternity leave for the next 3 months. after talking with my supervisor and another woman in ICAP i decided to go out into the community to try and make things happen. I have 2 meetings next week with 2 different organizations that are working to fight HIV/aids and also helping people living with or who are effected by the disease. I'm excited because my job is more of being a community volunteer working on health issues.
other than house flipping and working i've been making sure to walk around the community to start to get to know people. i really like my town and have even made friends with store owners and women at the market. it's great that i am starting to be called ana instead of teacher emma...the only things we have in common are that we are white and blond! this weekend i went to the pontinha with scooter and it was really nice to know that only 10 minutes from town is a great little beach. don't think i can swim in the water because it's fresh water but it will be a great place to hang out once it's a little cooler!
love,
ana
p.s. if you ever want to call me (since i can't really use skype because the internet is too slow) you can go to greatminutes.com to get really cheap rates!!!
my job has been confusing because right after ICAP spent the week here helping me define my job my counterpart Olga had her baby (a girl) and will be on maternity leave for the next 3 months. after talking with my supervisor and another woman in ICAP i decided to go out into the community to try and make things happen. I have 2 meetings next week with 2 different organizations that are working to fight HIV/aids and also helping people living with or who are effected by the disease. I'm excited because my job is more of being a community volunteer working on health issues.
other than house flipping and working i've been making sure to walk around the community to start to get to know people. i really like my town and have even made friends with store owners and women at the market. it's great that i am starting to be called ana instead of teacher emma...the only things we have in common are that we are white and blond! this weekend i went to the pontinha with scooter and it was really nice to know that only 10 minutes from town is a great little beach. don't think i can swim in the water because it's fresh water but it will be a great place to hang out once it's a little cooler!
love,
ana
p.s. if you ever want to call me (since i can't really use skype because the internet is too slow) you can go to greatminutes.com to get really cheap rates!!!
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
From the office...
I had a great and relaxing 24th birthday. I spent the day hanging out at scooter's and it was so great! We took the straw mat and sat on her front porch because it was actually cool and cloudy...pretty much a first. At lunch we had the pineapple upside down cake that scooter had made and the sisters put candles in it and sang! The cake was amazing and I got to make a wish! All in all it was a great birthday completed with a few episodes of 30 rock. It was a little weird to spend it in the heat sweating rather than in the freezing cold...
Today i started up work again with a thing called posithive teas. They are on the 1st Tuesday of every month and are a forum for people living with HIV and aids to come together and talk about their problems and their questions. One question today was if Mosquitos could transmit HIV and I actually added to the conversation! It was amazing to be in a space with so many positive people because in all reality I don't think I ever personally knew some one with HIV. They all had so much spirit and wanted to learn and were so full of life! This tea made me so excited to really start working! I'm excited at the prospect of making a difference even if it's only for one person. Tomorrow I will be meeting with a supervisor from ICAP to discuss what my exact role will be here.
I've returned to living in my house because of work. I think I killed all the rats because I've had food in my house and it's still here! Thank you rattex! Even though I think the house is rodent free or at least less I still am eating dinner really early and going to my office aroud 7. My office is my bed because it has the fortress of my mosquito net. I can't wait until I can eat late at night and do work at a table. If anyone wants to send me sudoku or people crosswords I've been really going through the stash I brought since I'm in bed for a good 2 hours before I go yo sleep! Hopefully I'll find a new house soon and will really be able to settle in!
Love,
ann
Today i started up work again with a thing called posithive teas. They are on the 1st Tuesday of every month and are a forum for people living with HIV and aids to come together and talk about their problems and their questions. One question today was if Mosquitos could transmit HIV and I actually added to the conversation! It was amazing to be in a space with so many positive people because in all reality I don't think I ever personally knew some one with HIV. They all had so much spirit and wanted to learn and were so full of life! This tea made me so excited to really start working! I'm excited at the prospect of making a difference even if it's only for one person. Tomorrow I will be meeting with a supervisor from ICAP to discuss what my exact role will be here.
I've returned to living in my house because of work. I think I killed all the rats because I've had food in my house and it's still here! Thank you rattex! Even though I think the house is rodent free or at least less I still am eating dinner really early and going to my office aroud 7. My office is my bed because it has the fortress of my mosquito net. I can't wait until I can eat late at night and do work at a table. If anyone wants to send me sudoku or people crosswords I've been really going through the stash I brought since I'm in bed for a good 2 hours before I go yo sleep! Hopefully I'll find a new house soon and will really be able to settle in!
Love,
ann
Sunday, January 3, 2010
wowah
I have been at my site for about 3 weeks now and it feels like i've been here a lot longer. I am currently staying at my site mates house because mine is not ready... My site is really pretty and has access to both the beach and two main cities in my province. my town is on the main highway and it is really easy to hitchhike up to the cities which makes it easier cheaper! I got a dog as my christmas present to myself as a friend and for protection...for some reason mozambicans are afraid of dogs! I named him amendoim (peanut in portugese) because he's tan and needed a good mozambican name. He's up at my friends house in the city because i don't have a house yet...
Before Christmas I brought my stove to Scooter's house because we decided that we wanted to cook a holiday meal and watch christmas movies. We decided to make hash browns, french toast and no bake cookies...not a typical christmas meal for me but i guess french toast is a main item at christmas here! I bought an electric stove and once we were finished cutting everything we were cooking. we started the hash browns first because they would take the longest. once they were well on the way i turned on the second burner to start cooking the french toast and it started a fire. i turned off the second burner right away but that didn't help. The fire burned through the surge protector and was burning on the wall (picture of the aftermath on facebook). I proceded to run out the door looking for a fire extinguisher...doesn't really help when there arn't any. good thing that the girl from across the hall heard us because she came in and told us to through water on it! i remember from fire safety not to use water on electrical fires but scooter grabed some water and through it on th wall finally putting out the fire...i think at that point the wall was on fire and it was not electrical. I guess my south african stove was just too much for the current here!
For new years i went to a place called Vilankulos which is a tourist town on the beach. Scooter and I bolea'd all the way up there...it took 6 cars but they all had a/c!!! It was so nice to get away from my site and to hang out with the other volunteers from my province. i had pizza twice on my 4 day vacation and spent a few days just relaxing at the beach! it's definitely been weird not having any snow or cold being january although the beach is a nice trade off! For the next few months i have to stay in my province so besides weekend trips to the beach i'm going to be working a lot! i'm excited to get working and to settle into life here!
I hope everyone had a great christmas and new years!!!
love,
ann
Before Christmas I brought my stove to Scooter's house because we decided that we wanted to cook a holiday meal and watch christmas movies. We decided to make hash browns, french toast and no bake cookies...not a typical christmas meal for me but i guess french toast is a main item at christmas here! I bought an electric stove and once we were finished cutting everything we were cooking. we started the hash browns first because they would take the longest. once they were well on the way i turned on the second burner to start cooking the french toast and it started a fire. i turned off the second burner right away but that didn't help. The fire burned through the surge protector and was burning on the wall (picture of the aftermath on facebook). I proceded to run out the door looking for a fire extinguisher...doesn't really help when there arn't any. good thing that the girl from across the hall heard us because she came in and told us to through water on it! i remember from fire safety not to use water on electrical fires but scooter grabed some water and through it on th wall finally putting out the fire...i think at that point the wall was on fire and it was not electrical. I guess my south african stove was just too much for the current here!
For new years i went to a place called Vilankulos which is a tourist town on the beach. Scooter and I bolea'd all the way up there...it took 6 cars but they all had a/c!!! It was so nice to get away from my site and to hang out with the other volunteers from my province. i had pizza twice on my 4 day vacation and spent a few days just relaxing at the beach! it's definitely been weird not having any snow or cold being january although the beach is a nice trade off! For the next few months i have to stay in my province so besides weekend trips to the beach i'm going to be working a lot! i'm excited to get working and to settle into life here!
I hope everyone had a great christmas and new years!!!
love,
ann
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Merry Christmas!!!
Hey everyone!
Sorry for the long time between posts but between the end of training and moving to site its been pretty hectic and I really haven’t had access to the internet. I arrived at site on Friday the 18th and I was in for a surprise…I really did get a hut! My house is a kanisu house (which means it’s made out of straw and it has had many problems. There are a ton of rats living with me…so much for living alone! And I have a ton of bugs and ants which are living inside the straw. Being a straw house I can hear everything outside and can never tell exactly where it is coming from. The house has three rooms and a ton of furniture which I really don’t want or need…I also think some of the pieces are what the rats are calling home. The house does have electricity but no water so I have to have someone bring me water often. Because of the state of my current house I am going to be switching houses soon (hopefully!) and am actually going to look at them tomorrow!
I live in a new house (no one from Peace Corps has lived there before) so I am constantly going to Maxixe or Inhambane (the two major cities an hour north of me) to buy things. It’s great because I go with my site mate Scooter often and then we can bolea(hitchhike) and it takes less time and money. It’s also great because the big cities have a South African grocery store, where I can buy cheese, yogurt, diet coke, and many other things that are hard to find, a store owned by Chinese men where I can practice, some really good places to get amazing (well know I think so) food and other places. The two cities are about 10-15 minutes apart by boat because Inhambane is located on the peninsula and Maxixe on the mainland and by car they’re about 40 minutes.
My town is a great place because it is located on the EN1which is the main road going up the coast of Mozambique which means a great market area. But it also means that I am constantly being called Maloongo (white person) and am being given the higher prices. It’s especially bad right now because all the South Africans are traveling up for the holidays…I hope that it will get better once everyone realizes that I’m actually living there!
My job as of right now is still not defined but I know that I will be giving talks on all things health here in Mozambique. I’m excited because my organization International Center for AIDS Care and Treatment Program (ICAP) has the main office area in a youth health building (Servicos Amigos para Adolecents e Jovens SAAJ) and so I hope I can work a lot with the ‘at risk’ age group here! I am really going to start work after the new year, it’s been hard coming in right around Christmas time because everyone is just trying to finish up for the year.
I still cannot believe that it’s Christmas! Its been so hot here and there is no snow or really any Christmas decorations that it just doesn’t seem time. Every time I comment about the weather I have to explain how cold Chicago is with snow and they still don’t understand…they think 20C is the end of the world and now I do to! I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year if I don’t get to a computer before then!!
I’m trying to put up pictures but I think you can see them on my picture site: http://gallery.me.com/aedavis
Love you and miss you all!!!
Ann
Sorry for the long time between posts but between the end of training and moving to site its been pretty hectic and I really haven’t had access to the internet. I arrived at site on Friday the 18th and I was in for a surprise…I really did get a hut! My house is a kanisu house (which means it’s made out of straw and it has had many problems. There are a ton of rats living with me…so much for living alone! And I have a ton of bugs and ants which are living inside the straw. Being a straw house I can hear everything outside and can never tell exactly where it is coming from. The house has three rooms and a ton of furniture which I really don’t want or need…I also think some of the pieces are what the rats are calling home. The house does have electricity but no water so I have to have someone bring me water often. Because of the state of my current house I am going to be switching houses soon (hopefully!) and am actually going to look at them tomorrow!
I live in a new house (no one from Peace Corps has lived there before) so I am constantly going to Maxixe or Inhambane (the two major cities an hour north of me) to buy things. It’s great because I go with my site mate Scooter often and then we can bolea(hitchhike) and it takes less time and money. It’s also great because the big cities have a South African grocery store, where I can buy cheese, yogurt, diet coke, and many other things that are hard to find, a store owned by Chinese men where I can practice, some really good places to get amazing (well know I think so) food and other places. The two cities are about 10-15 minutes apart by boat because Inhambane is located on the peninsula and Maxixe on the mainland and by car they’re about 40 minutes.
My town is a great place because it is located on the EN1which is the main road going up the coast of Mozambique which means a great market area. But it also means that I am constantly being called Maloongo (white person) and am being given the higher prices. It’s especially bad right now because all the South Africans are traveling up for the holidays…I hope that it will get better once everyone realizes that I’m actually living there!
My job as of right now is still not defined but I know that I will be giving talks on all things health here in Mozambique. I’m excited because my organization International Center for AIDS Care and Treatment Program (ICAP) has the main office area in a youth health building (Servicos Amigos para Adolecents e Jovens SAAJ) and so I hope I can work a lot with the ‘at risk’ age group here! I am really going to start work after the new year, it’s been hard coming in right around Christmas time because everyone is just trying to finish up for the year.
I still cannot believe that it’s Christmas! Its been so hot here and there is no snow or really any Christmas decorations that it just doesn’t seem time. Every time I comment about the weather I have to explain how cold Chicago is with snow and they still don’t understand…they think 20C is the end of the world and now I do to! I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year if I don’t get to a computer before then!!
I’m trying to put up pictures but I think you can see them on my picture site: http://gallery.me.com/aedavis
Love you and miss you all!!!
Ann
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Site placement/Thanksgiving
So I found out where I'll be living for the next 2 years and I'll be living in inharrime, inhambane. It's in the south and it's only about 5 or 6 hours from Maputo and only 45 minutes to 3 hours (depending on transportation) to the big beach!!! There is a beach near my town which is only around 10 minutes to half an hour away. So everyone start saving up your money to come and visit me!!!
Today we also had thanksgiving and it was amazing!!! We had everything that I love and then some fun mozambiquan treats! I'll write more later but will update more later!!!!
Love,
ana
Today we also had thanksgiving and it was amazing!!! We had everything that I love and then some fun mozambiquan treats! I'll write more later but will update more later!!!!
Love,
ana
Sunday, November 15, 2009
It’s long enough for a lunchie and a beer…
So last week I went on a site visit to Zambezia. It is a province in the northern part of the country and it was a well needed break from training. First and foremost I only had a school backpack to pack in and I am a huge over packer…but I did it and still had too much stuff for the 5 day trip! Because Zambezia is in the north of the country we got to fly from Maputo to Quilimane, the capital of the province. One rule of the Peace Corps is that you cannot travel at night, so because my site was 4 hours and 2 chappa rides away I stayed the night in Quilimane. I had a great time just hanging out and eating pizza…I’ve missed it so much!!!
The next day I was up at 5:30 to catch my first chappa from Quilimane to Namacurra. There are no scheduled times for any type of chappa…they go once they’re full. I got to the chappa stop and had to wait around for and hour and a half in order for my chappa to fill up. (a chappa is a small van/bus thing that is meant to hold 3 people across it’s 4 rows but in Mozambique you have to have at least 4). I was lucky enough to get the front seat next to the driver. The ride to Namacurra was beautiful. It is just starting pineapple season here and the fields were what I remembered from being little and in Hawaii. Once in Namacurra I took a big truck (flat bed) to Macuse. We ended up driving around surrouding villages and it took 3 hours but it was awesome to see all the traditional mud and stick huts. This region also was the biggest exporter of coconuts while the Portuguese were in control so there are tons of trees.
I stayed in Macuse for 2 nights and had a great time just relaxing and eating Indian food (the volunteer’s neighbor is from India and constantly brings food over!) It is a very small town but is situated on the inlet and it used to be an old port. There is a beach but it is an hour away by bike. Macuse had a ‘hospital’ but it only had 2 nurses. Mozambique is in a huge need for doctors and nurses considering they only have 900 doctors for 20+ million people.
To ensure I’d be back to catch my flight I had to leave Macuse early morning of the 4th day of the trip. After doing my 2 chappa rides back to Quilimane I met up with two other trainees and we went to Zalala beach which is about an hour from Quilimane. It was so nice to be at the beach and I swam in the Indian Ocean for the first time! The water was so warm and the waves were big enough to body surf. We shared our chappa ride back with all the seafood that was just caught, including a small hammerhead shark. We had hamburgers and ice cream which was so good! My first of both since getting to Mozambique!!
Once home we had our normal classes resume but I am so re-energized and excited to finish training and get to site that I don’t mind it! It was just the same thing for so long but now I can see the finish line and it is pretty sweet! We are also allowed to go to Maputo by ourselves and have a later curfew which is so nice! I went to Maputo yesterday and had a great time buying capulnas (like a sarong that you can make things out of) and jewelry. The Mozambique soccer team, the mambabas, won a world cup qualifying game yesterday against Tunisia and it was so cool to be in the capital for the win!!! Wish I had gone to the game but hopefully I’ll bee able to see them in the world cup!
I find out my site on Thanksgiving and am so excited!!! I’ll be sure to keep everyone updated on where I end up! Hope everyone is well and is gearing up for the holiday season! I did get Elf on my computer and am so excited to watch it (not to mention it will be the closest I can get to snow!).
Love,
Ana
The next day I was up at 5:30 to catch my first chappa from Quilimane to Namacurra. There are no scheduled times for any type of chappa…they go once they’re full. I got to the chappa stop and had to wait around for and hour and a half in order for my chappa to fill up. (a chappa is a small van/bus thing that is meant to hold 3 people across it’s 4 rows but in Mozambique you have to have at least 4). I was lucky enough to get the front seat next to the driver. The ride to Namacurra was beautiful. It is just starting pineapple season here and the fields were what I remembered from being little and in Hawaii. Once in Namacurra I took a big truck (flat bed) to Macuse. We ended up driving around surrouding villages and it took 3 hours but it was awesome to see all the traditional mud and stick huts. This region also was the biggest exporter of coconuts while the Portuguese were in control so there are tons of trees.
I stayed in Macuse for 2 nights and had a great time just relaxing and eating Indian food (the volunteer’s neighbor is from India and constantly brings food over!) It is a very small town but is situated on the inlet and it used to be an old port. There is a beach but it is an hour away by bike. Macuse had a ‘hospital’ but it only had 2 nurses. Mozambique is in a huge need for doctors and nurses considering they only have 900 doctors for 20+ million people.
To ensure I’d be back to catch my flight I had to leave Macuse early morning of the 4th day of the trip. After doing my 2 chappa rides back to Quilimane I met up with two other trainees and we went to Zalala beach which is about an hour from Quilimane. It was so nice to be at the beach and I swam in the Indian Ocean for the first time! The water was so warm and the waves were big enough to body surf. We shared our chappa ride back with all the seafood that was just caught, including a small hammerhead shark. We had hamburgers and ice cream which was so good! My first of both since getting to Mozambique!!
Once home we had our normal classes resume but I am so re-energized and excited to finish training and get to site that I don’t mind it! It was just the same thing for so long but now I can see the finish line and it is pretty sweet! We are also allowed to go to Maputo by ourselves and have a later curfew which is so nice! I went to Maputo yesterday and had a great time buying capulnas (like a sarong that you can make things out of) and jewelry. The Mozambique soccer team, the mambabas, won a world cup qualifying game yesterday against Tunisia and it was so cool to be in the capital for the win!!! Wish I had gone to the game but hopefully I’ll bee able to see them in the world cup!
I find out my site on Thanksgiving and am so excited!!! I’ll be sure to keep everyone updated on where I end up! Hope everyone is well and is gearing up for the holiday season! I did get Elf on my computer and am so excited to watch it (not to mention it will be the closest I can get to snow!).
Love,
Ana
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