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October 2, 2010

Wow...today has been an interesting day...

We left our comfy, posh hotels in Maputo, packed onto busses, and drove about an hour away through the mountains to the village of Namaacha. On the way, we saw the most beautiful, large spacious homes on the coast in Maputo right next to the poorest slums you could ever think of. We saw people on the sides of the roads selling all types of things. We drove through tiny villages with nothing but a few houses, some made of stones, some made of grass and sticks. We saw women carrying live chickens by their feet to go home and cook. We saw women balancing all types of things on their heads...buckets of water, luggage, some with babies on their backs. We saw all types of goats and chickens and cows roaming about. And we saw the most beautiful terrain. Then we arrived in Namaacha...

Lets say that this whole day has been NOTHING like I expected. Namaacha is pretty much like all of those sites rolled into one. There are people who love in small houses built from cement or wood, and there are people who have more stable structures. I'll get to that in a bit. We pulled into a facility that was OBVIOUSLY brand new construction, since it was REALLY nice, even by American standards. It is apparently the new teacher training center. We went around to the gymnasium, and some of the local boys we playing basketball on the new court, so some of the volunteers joined them...that was entertaining....

We waited and waited and finally our host families all came out singing a song. It was really beautiful. I cried...that wasnt the only time I cried today...but I'll get to that later. So once the song was over, we all went to find our host families. I kept searching and searching but I couldnt find mine...eventually I found a woman with another volunteer who was also holding my name. I asked if we were together, and she said "Oh, you with my sister". My host mother wasnt even there!! So I felt a bit abandoned already..(then again, it seems like something my own mother would do, so I shouldnt feel that bad...) Anyway, all of the host families grabbed their American and trotted down the road, hand in hand. The woman I was with dropped off the other volunteer, Kaitlyn, and her house first. Her son and daughter ran out, greeted us, and we were on our way. We kept walking, while some of the locals stopped and asked what was going on. (One of them though I was her guard because im so tall...grr). We finally made it to an apartment building on the main road. There was a man getting his hair cut downstairs. We went past him, up the stairs, and there we were. My homestay house.

When we were looking at the map of where we would be staying, one of the current volunteers said "Oh yeah, I think that place might be really nice from what I remember". Like I said, NOTHING like I expected. When we were learning how to take bucket baths, I didnt think that my bucket bath would be INSIDE, in a BATHTUB, in a bathroom WAY bigger than any of the ones I've had before. No need for me to learn to use a latrine, because we have a toilet (yeah, you have to pour water down it to flush, but its better than going in the backyard) The apartment is huge! There are 3 bedrooms, a kitchen and a livingroom, (with leather furniture), and an area that I'm not sure what purpose it serves, but its like a room with a couch, table, and overflow from the kitchen...there is a dining area (with really nice chairs carved from wood and a table, and a balcony in the back that overlooks the terrace where people hang their clothes and stuff. We have electricity, but no running water. We have a TV, which is pretty much programmed to Brazilian soap operas all day. My bedroom is huge by my standards. They kept telling us our rooms would be small, but I have plenty of room. The floors are finished and glossy. Dont know what you call that. But yeah...the place is far from what I expected.

Some people do have to go outside to shower and use the latrine. Somehow I lucked out. By American standards, yeah, its not the GREATEST place...but it is really nice.

So I arrived at my house and my...aunt (who explained that she was married to my host mom's brother I think-it was all in Portuguese) left me with Ana Teresa. My host mom Ana Teresa was cooking and there was a girl wandering around who looked to be about 16. That was Luisa, my host sister. Ana explained (in Portuguese) that her other daughters were in Maputo for the day, and would be back later. After my first successful bucket bath (in my super-lush surroundings) we ate. I think she could tell that I was nervous, and she started talking about another volunteer she had two years ago named Molly. Then she pulled out her cell phone and called her. Molly said "she always calls when there's a new volunteer, I dont know why", and she assured me that I was in great hands, and I would be fine. She also mentioned that there were a bunch of sisters. After lunch (of rice with green beans and carrots, fried potatoes, and fish and a banana for desert), Ana Teresa helped me set up my mosquito net, and I took a nap.

When I woke up, Luisa was asleep on the couch. I grabbed my Portuguese books and sat on the other couch. She woke up, and said something to me in Portuguese. I smiled and nodded (thats pretty much all i've been doing). She walked out. Ana Teresa was nowhere to be found. A few minutes later, there was a knock on the door. I waited. No one answered it. The knocking continued. No one answered. I got up to find someone, and it turns out...I was by myself! There was a female voice yelling in Portuguese and beating on the door. I couldnt find Ana Teresa or Luisa, and I was NOT about to open the door...I went to my room and sat there. Then I thought "wait...what if that IS Ana Teresa and Luisa?" I went to the door, kinda hesitant, and opened it. There stood five women (including Luisa) and 2 babies and a little boy. They said hi, pushed past me, and I saw the look on Luisa's face. She had locked herself out. Eventually I realized that all of these women were Ana Teresa's daughters! That's what Molly meant! I forgot all of their names, but there's Ana Carla, Velma, and the other two...no wonder this place is so big. The little boy (about 2 or 3) was so cute. I think his name is Ricky, and I think he kept asking me to pick him up. They told him to call me "Tia" which means "Aunt". The first thing he did was run up to me with a banana, held it up to me and said "BANANA". I dont know if he was trying to teach me Portuguese or what, but he eventually had me peel it for him. The sisters kept trying to talk to me in Portuguese....that didnt go so well. After my snack time (bread, peanut butter, tea, fruit) I got a bit overwhelmed with the kids, and one of them started braiding the other one's hair, then two boys came over and they were all talking, and everything was in Portuguese and I couldnt understand or communicate, so I grabbed my water and my books and I went to my room. Then I started crying again. I think it was just an overwhelming feeling, feeling stupid because I didnt understand anyone and couldn’t communicate. It was just too much, too fast. One of my sisters knocked on the door, and told me she was making dinner. I asked her to let me know when it was done, and I fell asleep again.

When she woke me up, I felt much better. Ana Teresa was back, the boys were gone, and only one of the children was still awake, the youngest baby, It was a little easier to communicate, since I know some Spanish, its become kinda easy to understand basic questions. By the end of dinner, I was calm, and my sisters were asking me questions. Ana Teresa started saying (in Portuguese) "Oh, she knows words though, she just needs to work on grammar. But she knows words! Molly didnt know ANYTHING when she got here, you'll be fine" They asked what religion I was. I didnt know how to say non-denominationa, so I said Baptist, which they said 'Oh, Baptist Evangelical"...I dunno....all I know is, they're Catholic, and I have to be in church at 8am tomorrow. So they sent me to bed. All in all, I know I'm not the only volunteer who might be having a difficult time adjusting. Thankfully Ana Teresa has done this before, so she knows what to expect.