A Week with the Wisconsinites

Well, it's once again been a bit of time since posting, but I come bearing many photos and a green-chile-induced smile only made all the sweeter by having been able to spend a week touring some of my favorite parts of Mozambique with Michelle and her family. Michelle's parents made the voyage from the Wisconsin and met Michelle in South Africa for a safari, before heading northward into Mozambique and being kind enough to let me tag along on their adventuring through some of the highlights of the north for a week.

A picture says a thousand words; here's the story of our trip:


Mutuáli, Nampula (My site)
After meeting Michelle and her parents at the airport in Nampula we rented a car (the dream of every Peace Corps Volunteer when it comes to transportation), did some shopping and then drove the roughly 4 hours  on mostly paved highway to Mutuáli, the new site that I was moved to after the whole Cabo Delgado relocation. It was great to be able to show them around my new haunts and give a first taste of the volunteer life. The plan was to spend one night there before continuing on to Michelle's home in Lioma, Zambezia.

We had lunch at the hostel/restaurant run by my landlady. I think it was easy to convince the Emersons of the value of a cold Coca-Cola after some walking in the hot sun

We took a walk through some of the machamba, fields, paths. You can see the burning that happens to clean up the areas before planting

Some of the market crew posing for a photo

Lioma, Zambezia (Michelle's site)
After a morning of touring Mutuáli, we packed up the truck and made the 50km, 2-hour trip to Lioma. Those numbers might not add up and that might be because you haven't factored in the abysmal state of the dirt road that connects our sites. We spend a few days in Lioma and Michelle was able to give the family a walk through her daily life at site, as well as show them some of the incredible projects that she is a part of in her community. Michelle's parents were able to experience firsthand the incredible amount of time and energy that goes into the everyday tasks of existence in Mozambique, such as one morning that was spent in its entirety simply collecting water from the nearby well and washing clothes. We finished and it was time to start the hour to two hours of lunch prep.

Michelle showing the community library she organized the building of to her parents. A weekly reading program takes place there every week and it is part of a bigger movement funded by an international organization to increase literacy

Michelle's parents got a good taste of the walking involved as a PCV and enjoyed a full tour of Lioma, presented through the eyes of a local

Beth brought some sunglasses and sweets to give out and found Michelle's younger
neighbors to be willing recipients 

Everyone sporting their new shades

This little guy couldn't get enough of the camera. He kept standing and looking up at me until I took a photo. Then I'd show him and he'd think about it. Then he'd look up again and wait for the next photo. By the fourth photo he had a better idea of the process and would recognize himself in the photo and smile when I showed him

Jeff trying his hand at starting the charcoal stove...and of course in Mozambique there must always be at least one spectator

All of the fires (something that happens across the entire country around this time) do very interesting things to the skies and sunsets. This photo doesn't capture it, but some days the sun is an extremely dark, blood red due to the haze

We took a trip to Lioma's orphanage (one of the places where Michelle helps out frequently) and Beth read a book to some of the children. A-Z animals in Portuguese and then English

At night the burns become especially impressive and, as can be seen from this photo, many times take place alarmingly close to houses. From the looks of it, you would think the entire town was aflame

Gurue, Zambezia - The Land of Tea
From Lioma we headed over to the fabled tea fields of Gurue, where we spent the day and the night. While there, we did one of Michelle and my favorite hikes to the large waterfall that is just outside of town. That night was passed at the local Catholic monastery

Bamboo groves and tea fields 

Spider spotting: common to the tea fields is a small spider with horns that flare out...here the Emersons are searching for the perfect shot. Luckily, the spider is very small.

Jeff and Michelle divvying up the realms

No waterfall hike would be complete without a takeaway chicken and fries picnic
at the top of the falls

A walk through the tea fields

Afternoon sunlight on the treetops 

Along the hike children will run up and ask for empty bottles, money, your hat or anything else in the world they might possibly be able to think of...these two ended up settling for a photograph

Ilha de Moçambique, Nampula (The final stop)
What better way to end a vacation than with the classic ingredients of a good, relaxing time: sun, beach, ocean and seafood? We covered the 7 hours or so to Mozambique Island, which happens to be the first point of contact for the Portuguese explorers who brought with them the societal benefits of colonialism and the slave trade. It is also where the country gets its name, the name of the island's king at the time. Michelle and I had been to Ilha once before and it was long past time to return for round two. Ilha de Moçambique is a magical place and has a different vibe than many of the other places I've been in Mozambique, surely in part due to the fact that it's an island. We spent our last two days there embracing the island life and gorging ourselves on the miracle of fresh seafood prepared according to local recipes.

The view from our rooftop terrace at sunset

The Emersons a hop skip and jump away from Wisconsin

My girlfriend capturing something cool on camera

Swimming off the pier in the Indian Ocean. It was a blast because there were a ton of 'flying fish' in the water that day and if you swam a little ways away from the steps you would all the sudden begin getting pelted in the face by tens of fish and they jumped around trying to escape

We took a tour of the fort on the island. In the photo the chapel can be seen that was used to give slaves a final prayer before being executed after they stopped being able to work in the way the masters wanted

Prawn from Heaven. The lower right is rock fish prepared with green mango. And the upper entree is rice with a vegetable mixture known as "matapa." This mixture is usually made with sweet potato leaves or other greens in Mozambique, but in Ilha it is made with seaweed

Word on the street is...

In Mozambique there's no better way to circulate a piece of information than to share it. Pretty much anyone will do, but if you can find a mãe then you're set. Game over. The whole town will know. Gossip, or fofoca is a force to be reckoned with here.

I remember during training someone was mentioning how the best way to get your news was to go to the market and strike up conversation, or to just listen at your local hospital. It's true. The main way that news circulates in Mozambique is word-of-mouth. Some people have televisions, a few more have radios, but the vast majority don't have anything more than the word of their neighbors, who heard it from their neighbors, who heard from the man buying fruit from them that morning after he eavesdropped at the bus station while the man traveling from Nampula was talking to his friend. In the end, everyone knows that the price of coal in Nampula has gone up and now the Chinese are going to be building another road to help facilitate its transport. For example.

Another reason this medium is so popular is that in some areas there is distrust of the government, resulting in everything heard from official sources being taken with a handful of salt. Not that the fofoca culture always clears the fact-checker, plenty of the information that gets spread is completely false, one of the biggest challenges I face as a Peace Corps Volunteer (foreigner) and health worker. All it takes is one confused mother out in the mato to mention how white people like to run off with black babies and my job becomes ten times trickier. Who's going to talk about malaria with a baby-lifter? It can even become dangerous in some cases, when the disinformation results in mistrust and unrest as people believe the answer to a problem is to get rid of its source (maybe a PCV or foreign aide worker?).

More relevant in the day-to-day is the way this sharing of false information complicated health efforts. If someone starts spreading word that malaria can be treated by making tea from feijão macaco it becomes tougher to convince a person that they need to protect their children from mosquito bites in order to not become sick in the first place. Or if someone says that the free condoms USAID supplies health centers with are actually contaminated with HIV and that's how the disease is spreading, how are we supposed to convince individuals to use protection? These are just two examples, but the reality is that this word-of-mouth publication can lead to incredible complications in healthcare. It is only fair to mention that it can also result in huge successes if it is tapped into in the right form!

A short anecdote to end off. Today I was sitting at a table drinking a Coke and overheard a couple eating a few tables over chatting with someone. Guess who was the subject of their conversation? Yep, nothing more interesting than a random white guy in the middle of Mozambique. Three tidbits about me were shared in rapid succession: 1. "He works at the hospital; he weighs babies." (True. I help with baby weighing and nutritional information.) 2. "He speaks Makua." (Nice to hear and a very sweet compliment, but only semi-true. I know enough of the local language only to exchange pleasantries.) 3. "He rode all the way to Lioma on his bike." (True. Lioma, the town where Michelle works is 57km away and I did bike there once; it was an incredible ordeal that my legs have not forgiven me for yet.) I gave the fofoca game for the day a 2.5/3 and walked away a happy volunteer, proud that my community is beginning to get to know I exist and what I do.

Gazing down upon part of the vast network of gossip that is Mutuáli from above.

Luckily, the Feeling is Mutuàli

It would almost be an understatement to say that a lot has been going on these last couple months, but it is the case and I am certainly going to cite this activity as the reason for my pathetic lack of posting (last post being TWO ENTIRE months ago!). However, here's a little bit of a summary of the situation on my end of the earth.

I have changed sites, spent days in Nampula waiting for site decisions to be made, tried to say goodbye to everyone in Metoro, traveled to Johannesburg to take the LSAT, traveled to Namaacha in the south of the country to help with the training of the new group of health volunteers, visited Michelle and Gurue with one of my fellow Cabo refugees, worked out a temporary visa renewal and then turned in my passport again to attempt to receive the necessary year visa and ran around my new site trying to meet people and start the process of starting up a new site all over again while staying in a hostel as I wait for my house to be finished. I'm not going to go into the details of everything, but I would like to speak a little bit about my new site, Mutuàli.

Due to recent (May and June) attacks by Islamic extremists in Cabo Delgado, which you may have read about, as they made international news, the Peace Corps decided to follow the Department of State's lead and pull all volunteers out of the province. A total of 13 of us, both education and health volunteers, were relocated to various other sites in the country. The majority of us went to the northern provinces of Nampula and Zambezia, with a couple off to the far north (to the west of Cabo Delgado) province of Niassa. My new site is Mutuàli and is situated more or less at the intersection of the three provinces of Niassa, Zambezia and Nampula, although it is officially part of the province of Nampula. It is also a brand new site for Peace Corps, which means I will be opening a site for the second time. It has been a little easier this time around, but the difficult part lies in mustering all the energy and motivation required to begin all over again from square one.

Aside from being a challenge, I believe Mutuàli will prove to be a huge improvement in many ways. The people always make the place and it was painful to leave everyone behind in Metoro, but aesthetically speaking Metoro didn't have much to offer. Mutuàli is located on a high plain surrounded by mountains, with one 'range' reaching right up to the town. There are also two rivers that flow through the town and one huge river, the Lurio, that is located roughly 20km away, serving as the border between Nampula and Niassa provinces. The town is very spread out, with the mayor's office located 7km from my house, along with one of the main secondary and primary schools. Mutuàli is much closer to Michelle (50km) and it will be great to be able to see each other after a journey of 2 hours instead of 2 days. The town has a huuuuuge market (with an incredible amount of clothing, even though I have yet to clothing shop here) in comparison with that of Metoro and tons and tons of produce at much cheaper prices; what little produce could be found in Metoro was extremely expensive. Mutuàli has a train station and the train comes through twice a week in each direction, running between Nampula city and Cuamba. The village also is extremely well-planned, with almost all main avenues lined with trees, which is extremely appreciated during one's day-to-day meanderings. The town is also located in a prime position for travel to the three provinces of Nampula, Zambezia and Niassa and I am very much looking forward to exploring the north and Niassa, especially the huge lake shared with Malawi. All in all, it's going to be a great place to work and spend my final year of service.

I will discuss more in-depth aspects of everything later, but for now here are some photos of my first couple weeks here, the beginning of which I was lucky enough to have my incredible girlfriend and new neighbor, Michelle joining me for.

King of the Rock: Michelle and I hiked the mountain nearby town to get a view from above. You can glimpse a little of this in the bottom left of this photos, but on the other side of the mountain is an area of land filled with farms and surrounded by mountains. A farmer we met on the top said that no cars are able to enter the area and it is easy to imagine it as a little paradise of the Eden type tucked away out of site from the main road

The view of the plain on which Mutuàli lies from the mountian. Unfortunately you cannot see much of Mutuàli in this photo, but it is possible to see the outline of the railroad track making its way across the landscape.

Michelle zenning out on the top of the mountain

There is an old mission in Mutuàli and much of it has fallen into disrepair due to a
lack of religious to care for it. One priest lives here at the moment, a Mozambican
in the Archdiocese of Nampula

The bike I bought in Nampula before arriving in Mutuàli, which has proven invaluable in getting around such a spread out town and the surrounding area

Time to Cool It, Cabo!

A lot of people are curious what the weather is like here in Cabo Delgado and what sort of seasons we have, so I thought I'd jot down a quick little post on the climate here and my personal experience with it. According to the National Geographic, there are three types of tropical climates, and I would say that Cabo Delgado seems to fit quite comfortably in the tropical wet and dry: savanna group. This means there are three principle seasons present: one that is hot and dry, one that is hot and wet and a final one that is cool and dry. Lets go through each of these as they relate to Cabo:

"Cold season" (cool and dry) - this is the season we are entering right now and begins usually towards the beginning of May and lasts 3-4 months until July or August. While "cold" is certainly a relative term, and here means that it can get down to high 50's at night and mid-70's during the day, once one is used to the normal temperatures of the regions a blanket becomes a welcome addition to the nightly routine. This period can be breezy, which usually provides a refreshing movement in the air and helps to cool down the days when the temperature itself doesn't drop too much. This is the time people plant tomatoes, onions, cabbage, lettuce and most other 'small-scale' items (as opposed to cassava, peanuts, beans and corn, which seem to always be planted in huge quantities). Needless to say, this is one of my favorite seasons, as it's the closest I'll get to winter or Fall here!

"Hot season" (hot and dry) - this season is the one that most volunteers fear, due to the merciless heat it brings with it. This season usually begins in August and will last until December or January, depending on when the rains come that year. During the hot season the temperature is in the 90's without fail and can zip up even higher at times as well. In a coastal city like Pemba this season usually takes even fewer prisoners due to the humidity, whereas in a location a little more inland like Metoro it tends to be a slightly drier heat, though not near as dry as that of New Mexico or Arizona.

"Rainy season" (hot and wet) - the rainy season varies in its arrival, but usually starts in December or January and lasts 4 months or less. During this season it is often very hot during the day (progressively hotter as the day goes on) and then the afternoon sometimes brings rain. During this season the heat is a very humid heat and locals use this time to plant their machambas (fields) with corn, cassava, peanuts and beans. The level of production during this period is dependent on the quality and frequency of rain, which is important because the food produced during this season serves as the dietary staples for the rest of the year. This period of time is also known as the tempo de fome (time of hunger), as much of last year's product is being used up and the new production is still growing and not yet ready to be consumed.

Well, hopefully that gives you a little better picture of the swing of the seasons around these parts and know that I'll sitting back enjoying the relative cool during these days as most of you are entering the hottest months of your year! 

When Mãe Puts on her Party Hat...

...things get interesting and the festivities last the entire day! This post is a quick little blurb about Dia 7 de Abril, or Dia da Mulher Moçambicana (Mozambican Women's Day). You may recall in an earlier post the inequality surrounding the genders when it comes to recognition and appreciation, with men somehow claiming every Friday as theirs with "dia de homen," but only giving women the one nationally recognized holiday. Well, when that day comes around on the 7th of April every year, the women make a point to take advantage of it and do it up in style! 

This year's holiday fell on a Saturday and the events began as they do for most holidays: in the praça with the singing of the national anthem and a laying of flowers on the memorial plaque at the center of the square commemorating the country's independence. After that the crowd moseyed on to the gathering space by the administrative building (mayor's office) and listened to a couple speeches made by Metoro's leaders (especially political leaders, who seem to always find a way to sneak in their agendas) before watching a couple performances by local groups. One of the groups that performed was the local school, in which a group of young girls did a dance and a couple adolescents recited poetry they had writtem in memory of Josina Machel, the second wife of Samora Machel,  revolutionary and first president of Mozambique. April 7th is the anniversary of her death and she is widely recognized as a national heroine. 

After the activities in the plaza finished up the real festivities began. Mãe invited me back to her house to cook and spend time with the group of women from the hospital who had decided to make her house the place to be to celebrate. Long story short, I ended up being there from roughly 9 in the morning (you have to remember everything starts early in Mozambique, so the activities in the plaza began around 7 a.m.) until six at night (although the drinking and dancing went on until easily at least 9 p.m.). You might wonder at the fact that the women were still cooking on their holiday, but Mozambique hasn't advanced quite THAT far in the holiday that the men might feel compelled to cook for their wives. Honestly, I'm sure the women prefer it that way for a couple reasons: 1) they would be terrified at the possibility of the food ruining their diversion and 2) spending time with a bunch of ladies and no men is a great way to get some relaxation and gossip in without having to think at all about the men in their lives and homes they have left behind. I said "no men" in the previous sentence, but I was lucky enough to be privy to the entire gathering (except for an hour or so stretch of what I can only assume was especially juicy and mercilessly gender-homed gossip) and was indeed the only male there aside from a couple individuals who helped out with the cooking and domestic tasks during the party. It was a blast and the food was INCREDIBLE! The day was also notable for the fact that many of the women were drinking, which is unfortunately not something usually seen in the culture of the North. All in all, it was a completely full day and packed with learning and great moments with my Mozambican family here!  

Most of the women who participated in the party. One of the traditions is for husbands (if they have the money) to buy their wives a capulana to commemorate the special day. This was the capulana chosen by the hospital this year.

Everyone lined up to place flowers at the memorial. The 'important' community members can be seen lined up in front of the crowd and includes local neighborhood leaders, the mayor ans some of the local police force. 

After the laying of flowers, the ladies marched down the street and back to the gathering area in front of the administrative building.

Some girls of the local school performed a traditional dance that involves the blowing of a whistle.

Prepping the moringa for lunch. The leaves will be boiled to create a stew of sorts and then served with xima (a food of mashed potato consistency that is corn based)

The feasting! As you can see: not many white nor guys in the gathering, but I held my own and made mãe proud by going back for seconds!