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.
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| 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 |
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| 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. |
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| Michelle zenning out on the top of the mountain |
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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 |
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| 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 |
