OCTOBER 5, 2005
Hey Everyone! Just wanted to let you all know I made it safely to South Africa...we had a good staging in Philly. We have 31 volunteer trainees for Mozambique, group 8. All of these people are really incredible, fun, and cool people. We just got done with our 17-hour flight from JFK in NYC, stopped quickly in Senegal, and then arrived here not too long ago (in Johannesburg). Tomorrow we go to Maputo (cap city of Moz). Everyone keeps telling us this is by far THE best Peace Corps program to be in and Mauritania, South Africa, and Malawi have nothing on us because of the danger levels (it's actually far more dangerous for volunteers in South Africa than Mozambique...believe it or not). But of course there are still dangers and risks, but duh. Anyway, we're all going to go out and eat (we're not allowed out of the hotel here in J'burg due to safety issues) but tomorrow we leave for what people around here call the "real" Africa. Nine more vaccinations and lots of moving around await us...we'll be staying in a Bed and Breakfast for three nights, and then sent to live with our host families who are all apparently very anxious to meet us. Well, that's all for now, I will write more later... Take care! David
OCTOBER 6, 2004
Hi! I am Akisha Pearman, a current Peace Corps Volunteer in Mozambique and just wanted to send a quick message to our new trainees' loved ones that they did arrive safely here. They are packing up again and will be delivered to their families in Masaca this afternoon. They all send love and hugs. Peace and Love, Akisha
OCTOBER 16, 2004
Hi Mom & Dad! We finally made it back to Maputo today - sending the first emails anyone's send since Jo'burg. I'm still trying to finagle a phone or something so I can give you a call, but that will probably have to wait. So here I am on the other side of the world... Life's been so busy and disorienting and weird that it hasn't really sunk in. I wake up every morning at 5am, my day happens with a fury and at 8 I lay in bed wondering what just happened. Prior to getting into the meat of everything I thought you should know that not a minute has gone by that I've felt lonely, unhappy, or questioned my decision. So far this has been the best decision I've ever made in my entire life and I can't see that changing. I've had some really great moments and some really sucky moments. Every day is a roller coaster of highs and lows, but it all equals out when I'm lying beneath my mosquito net, just getting ready to close my eyes and can't help thinking how absolutely amazing life is and how lucky I am to be here. My host family is very nice. I have a mama, a brother (29 years old) and his wife. We had a baby that my mama was caring for, but she recently found a permanent home in a neighboring town. Chickens and goats run freely around town. There is one paved road, a highway that connects to other villages. It is not uncommon in our town to have a rich person living next to a very poor person. The wealthy have electricity, running water, green grass, garage, driveway, and all the modern conveniences (there are a few in our town). The poorest live in reed lean-tos that our smaller than my room back home and have nothing. In between there are the casas we live in. The other volunteers like to joke about mine. My family's casa is, well, humble. We have no electricity (some volunteers (or PCTs) have a bit) and definitely no running water. But my room is huge, bigger than most people's back in the states. The house is made of cinderblocks, with a concrete floor. I've gotten used to sleeping with cockroaches whistling right outside my mosquito net (they like to climb all over), crapping in a bucket at night (you don't go outside, unless you want to be stung by scorpions or worse), checking my shoes for "friends", reading and writing by gas lamp, bathing with a cup and bowl and water I've heated over coals and mixed with well water. When I pee during the day, I go in an area and pee in a crack, or crap in a latrine hole that is covered by a rock. I wash my clothes in a basin and brush my teeth with my bottle of water that I've purified myself. All volunteers more or less live this way. None of this has bothered me at all; in fact this has been the easiest part to get used to. The hardest part so far has been communicating with my family. My Portuguese gets better with each and every day, but there are still a lot of misunderstandings and nodding and saying nothing. I feel stupid a lot, especially when they have to show me how to do simple things that I know how to do but just don't know how to do there way. It is customary (and rude if you don't) to bathe before every meal. This has been a chafing point between many of us and our families. Most of us get away with two-bucket baths a day, but our families would love it if we did it more often. Our families feed us extremely well. The food is very, very good. It's usually rice, vegetables, bread, fish, shrimp, or chicken cooked in oil and spice. Because there is no refrigeration, all meat has to be killed immediately prior to cooking. We had ostrich the other night as a special treat - one of the best meats I've ever had. Fish head soup is a big one. I try to eat everything because there are so many people here who starve to death (the old adage about people dying of starvation in Africa is alive and well). Many people here simply don't earn enough to feed themselves or there families, so they starve - there are no safety nets in place like in developed countries. But this happens more in big cities, not in small villages. Mozambique is the 4th poorest country in the world. It has a functional literacy rate of 41% (people who can just read street signs). The average life expectancy is something like 31. 14% - 28% of the population is afflicted with HIV/AIDS. Polygamy is an extremely common practice. Some of the PCT families have one father who splits his time between several families of which he's fathered children. In our town, most people are subsistence farmers. They work just to sustain their living. Walking to school every morning I pass men working in the fields, women pounding corn. Women do most if not all of the work. Small children, ages three or four, are responsible for their younger siblings (it is not uncommon to see these kids carrying around their brother or sister on their back. Women balance five-gallon jugs of well water on their heads and walk long distances with them. Our group is truly unique and amazing. Every single one of these people are top shell, grade A. Our group is the best that has come through here (and everyone lets us know it, even the current volunteers). The enthusiasm everyone has, just all-great people, but no one's any more "hard core" than any others. Surprisingly, I'm in the upper tier of people who have traveled and done things. I'm right in the middle as far as age goes. There are a lot of Pacts that left the US for the first time this trip, but they are all troopers. We have all a strong solid bond. We meet at the baraka (hut bar) at night, and have fun with our training during the day. This time has been so enjoyable because of the people I'm constantly surrounded by. Training is fun; it's a lot of fun. It's hard. The language is hard. But it's fun. I get a lot of sleep, and look forward to the day ahead. There is so much disparity here, but the kids are hungry to learn. They want to learn so badly. I've never seen any thing like it. They know the power of English and what a difference it can make. It's an exciting time to be here. They need us, and they WANT us. It's a good feeling. After all the shit in Iraq and all you hear about, here we are on the front lines of a different side of a war you don't here about with the potential to really help in a region that wants and needs it. Anyway, that's all from here for now. I know this may sound a bit glowing and that I'm high or something, but as I said before, I've had just as many downs as ups. It's not club med, but it's good. I'm nearly out of time. I love you both. I'm sorry I won't be able to contact you more. I'll try my best. If it makes things better just know that even during the worst times so far I've not wanted to be anywhere else but right here, right now. Tell everyone hi and I miss them. My time's about to run out on this computer and I won't be getting to that bulk email. Please let everyone know I'm well, and all is good. Love, David
OCTOBER 23, 2004
Dear family & friends - I just wanted to let everyone know all is well here. These past three weeks seem like a blur now. It seems like years since we all met in Philadelphia. This week, nearly everyone became sick with something or other. Most were mild reactions to the water, food, heat, etc - nothing major to report. I feel fine, but must admit the food our Mozambican families feed us is not conducive to solid movements...I'll leave it at that. But we all remain in high spirits, despite two volunteers (both girls) ETing (terminating their service early) this week. Most of you have not heard from me since Jo'burg, so where to begin. I will try my best not to bore you with a long email, but they usually end up long anyway, so... We arrived in Maputo on a Tuesday - the flight was one of the worst I've ever had. It was an hour-long puddle jump on a 737 from Jo-burg (Johannesburg) to Maputo and it felt as if we fell out of the sky a few times. The pilot put down the landing gear too early and the plane shimmied violently, lost airspeed and altitude and we pretty much thought we were going to die...but we're here now and it was a good introduction to life here. We spent the first few days in Maputo. Peace Corps put us up in a former Presidential Palace, now Bed & Breakfast. It was a blast. We went to training during the day, swam and played Frisbee and cards at night, we had our own private bar in the basement, we turned the other Palace building into a dance party discotheque...and were served on hand and foot... Not really what you'd expect in Peace Corps, but now I can see why they'd do something like that. Fast forward two and a half weeks - I'm in week two of nine pre-service weeks of training. They're long days, but it's all very enjoyable, just being around these 30 other volunteers - we have a lot of fun - it's just a great, great group of people - no problems, drama, or anything like that...yet. It's been great to have them all nearby going through the same thing, more or less I am. We all live in a small village. There are hundreds of families in this village (Massaca) but everyone knows who we are and everything about us (word gets around VERY fast). Right now it is the epitome of surreal - bizarro world. I wake up every morning at 5:30 refreshed - sweep my room, put up my mosquito net up - my host brother (who is 29) usually has hot water ready for my banho (bath). It is customary (and expected) to bathe before every meal. I have no problems with the lifestyle changes (those are indeed the least of our problems). I actually enjoy the zen experience of bathing oneself with a cup and a bucket of water. Sometimes, you don't want to do it twice a day, especially on cooler days, but it is required if you want to eat. My family has a latrine outside to use the bathroom - it's a whole with a rock over it. You do not use it at night (cockroaches are very inquisitive let's say). You go to bed with a bucket of water. I use the bucket a lot; it's easier than the latrine. We all have to purify our own water, if not we'll likely get violently ill. We can't consume ice cubes (like in Mexico) and since few people have electricity, cold drinks are few and far between. Though all our families are considered middle class here, there is a huge disparity. One volunteer lives in a huge compound with maids, satellite TV, running water, and all the amenities. I probably live in one of the more humble houses - a stone and cement structure with a tin roof - no electricity or running water (they cook and iron with coal, and I have a paraffin lamp I write and bathe with). At night, cockroaches like to roam around my room, so I have to be careful where I step and that I zip all of my stuff closed. I often hear their ghastly screeches through my earplugs, but I've gotten used to it. At around 4am, the roosters start cockadoodle dooing. It's common for singing, drumming, dogs barking, chickens clucking, and what not to last throughout the night. My earplugs definitely come in handy. In the morning I walk about a mile to class, depending on where it is. We have a lot of classes at other volunteers' places. There are no paved roads and few fences in Massaca. The roads are ill defined and have no names, so at first it was hard to find your way around. The dirt is red and gets all over everything. There are some school children who have adopted me sort of - on my way to class they come out of the woodwork and walk with me, usually grab may hands and my arms. They don't ever say anything - all the children walk long distances to school each morning. It's not uncommon to see a three year old walking to and from some place unaccompanied. But the kids are fun. They like to sing and dance and show off. Next-door, there lives a family of four in one very small reed hut lean-to. It is very small and every morning the woman are up mashing the corn with large sticks. It is not uncommon to have a modern, westernized house next to the poorest of the poor. Women balance five-gallon water jugs on their heads as they walk down the street. I've seen a man balance a Lazy Boy cheer on his head walking down the street. We ride what are called Chapas all over the place. They are the only way to get around. They?re like minivans that they cram as many as 30 people into. People hang off of them and climb on top and the doors are never closed. It's quite an experience to say the least. Things are very different here, very little is regulated. Small children buy beer and cigarettes for their family. Trash is either thrown into ditches on the side of the road or, more commonly burned. In the evening it is a sight to walk around the village and see the infernos casting huge shadows as the sunsets. The smoke is intense - it smells like burning flesh, rubber, and garbage. Every weekend, the people in the village slaughter their bulls and pigs in the middle of town for all to see and buy. When my family decides to have chicken, they catch one of hundreds running around the village, kill it and cook it that day - there are few ways to preserve meat here if you have no electricity). Well, that's enough for now concerning my daily life. I do have to say that not one day has gone by that I've regretted my decision to do this. Not to say that there haven't been highs and lows (lots of lows). But it's cool cause all the trainees are going through the same thing, with our families, with he differences. It's nothing like I ever imagined, it's hard to explain. It's bizarro world. So Portuguese is coming along well. I feel good about teaching and am excited to receive my site in just six weeks. We do have a lot of fun here (we make the best out of sketchy situations) - if it's diarrhea, problems with our host families, whatever, we find someway to have fun with it. OK, enough for now. It may be a few weeks until I can email again, I don't know, it's hit or miss. I can't believe the Red Sox are finally in the series and I won't be there to see it, but I'll hopefully be able to listen on short wave. I hope all of you are doing well. The phone situation is rough; so don't hold your breath. Please write. I'd appreciate it very much if you have the time. Take care, David